Bound By Blood Anthology

“You look beautiful,” I murmured as I pulled her into my arms, trying to remember if I’d forgotten any kind of special occasion. Usually Lily didn’t wear dresses or her hair down for a standard dinner. Something was the matter. It wasn’t her birthday, that had been three weeks ago. I’d never forgotten a birthday or anniversary before.

“You sound surprised,” she said with a soft laugh, her eyes tender and emotional.

“I’m never surprised by your beauty. I’m just…. Is today a special day?”

She took my hand, biting her lip. Something was definitely the matter. “I’m happy, that’s all. Today, Mrs. O’Hara invited me over for coffee.”

That our old lady neighbor had finally accepted Lily hardly explained her strange mood. She led me into the kitchen where the scent of roasted meat and tomatoes got even stronger. A casserole with bubbling cheese baked in the oven.

“Your favorite.”

“Cannelloni al forno?” I asked.

Lily nodded with a secretive smile. My mother had taught her how to make the dish, which had been part of our family for generations. Candles cast a romantic glow over the table and at my usual place a parcel waited on the table.

Fuck. Had I really forgotten a special date? Something important? But no matter how hard I racked my brain I couldn’t come up with anything.

Lily squeezed my hand. “Why don’t you open it?”

I sank down on the wooden chair and reached for the red ribbon wrapped around the white parcel. Lifting the cover, I peered in. It took my brain several seconds to process what I was seeing. A long stick stating “pregnant” and a tiny onesie stating “Best Dad in the World”.

I looked up, stunned. Lily was crying and nodding.

“You’re…?”

“Pregnant!” she exclaimed.

We hadn’t been trying for very long. Only once really, even if Lily had stopped taking the pill a few months ago. I shoved to my feet and pulled her against me, kissing her over and over again. “When did you find out?”

“Only today. I couldn’t wait to tell you. I have a doctor’s appointment in two days, but the three tests I took all showed the same result.”

I lifted her off the ground, needing to feel her even closer. Lily and I had often talked about starting a family but becoming Captain and moving into our new home had kept us busy for a while.

“Are you happy?” Lily asked.

“Can’t you see?”

She nodded, more tears streaming down her face. I wiped them away and buried my face in her hair. Eventually we pulled apart.

“I need to take the cannelloni out or they’ll burn.”

I sank back down on my chair, completely stunned as I watched Lily put the casserole on the table. Soon she’d give me a child and we’d become a real family.

Lily caught my gaze and gave me the smile I’d love till the day I died.

She sat down across from me and I put a generous amount of cannelloni on her plate, much more than in the past, before I filled my own plate.

Lily laughed. “I know some people think you have to eat for two when you’re pregnant, but that’s not true.”

“I just want you and the baby to get all you need.”

Lily took a bit of the pasta with an amused look. “You realize I’ll double in size if I eat like that.”

“You’d still be gorgeous with a few pounds more.” I shoved a forkful of the cannelloni into my mouth and groaned in delight. “I think you might actually be cooking this better than my mother.”

“Don’t tell her. She’d be heartbroken you think so.”

I chuckled. “My mother loves you. She won’t mind.” I paused. “When can we tell our families? My mother has been eagerly waiting for grandchildren from me.”

“I don’t know. It’s still early but you know how bad I am at keeping a secret. How about we tell them next time we see them in person. I don’t want to share something this important in a message or phone call.”

I reached for her hand, stroking her knuckles. “Perfect.”Lily got more beautiful in her pregnancy, even if that should have been impossible. I had to admit I really liked her new curves, especially her fuller hips and bigger butt. As a woman, Lily of course always worried about gaining weight but I did my best to show her how much I desired her pregnant body. The last few summers we’d spent in Italy in a beautiful country house in Sicily and on Luca’s yacht but this year Lily didn’t want to fly.

Instead we rented a beach cottage in North Carolina in late August for a week. Just the two of us where nobody knew us and we could act like a normal couple. Nobody gave us special treatment or the best table because the mob loomed over us. We were just a normal young couple enjoying their babymoon. I had to admit I enjoyed these days of anonymity. Lily positively loved it.