My Brother's Best Man
ONE MONTH LATER
Ben
“And that’s why you never start fights,” I tell the kids, pacing up and down in front of the gym.
They range in age from six to seventeen, most from broken homes, most going through the similar sort of stuff I did as a kid. As I look at them, I find myself picturing our future children, hoping I can lead them right.
“The skills I teach you will make you stronger, a better fighter. But they’ll teach you how to conduct yourself too. They’ll teach you confidence and that you don’t always need to fight. Remember that. It could save your life.”
I trail off when I see my Becca bee standing at the glass door, her beautiful face appearing. Her brown hair spills down to her shoulders, messy like it was this morning when I left, after my woman woke me up with her legs straddling me, her fingernails buried in my chest.
Focus.
But it’s difficult when I meet Becca’s eye, an unreadable look on her face, at least from here.
What is she doing here?
She knows I have another class in thirty minutes. We arranged to meet later.
Once this class is over, I rush outside, spotting Becca in the corner of the room. I say hello to the parents, making small talk, then cut over to her as quickly as I can without being rude.
“What is it?” I ask, touching her shoulders to stop her pacing.
She looks up at me. Her cheeks flushed in the way that drew me to her, to begin with. Her lips are parted somewhere between a smile and a frown, as though she can’t settle.
“Becca bee? You’re not going to sting me, are you?”
She laughs, shaking her head. Moving closer to me, she bites her lip as if to stop it from trembling.
“I had to come here,” she says. “I… I realized something earlier about my time of the month. So I got a test – well, two tests, and I did them both. And….”
My heart is pounding, the whole world suddenly seems to get brighter and become a better place.
I feel like singing.
“Tell me,” I whisper.
“I’m pregnant, Ben,” she cries, letting it all out in a rush.
I cheer as I sweep her into my arms, spinning her around and finding her lips. She laughs in that just-Becca way, that joy-filled way that has me imagining an even brighter future.
It’s like a camera flash, so bright it dazzles, and yet it’s all the time.
Every second with my woman – and now with our child – is the best second.
“I love you,” I tell her. “And I love our baby.”
She laughs as I put her down. “See, once upon a time, I would’ve found that a little crazy. How can you love somebody you haven’t met yet? But you know what, Ben?”
“What’s that, Becca bee?”
She grabs my shirt and pulls herself close for another kiss. “I feel exactly the same.”