Never Giving Up (Never #3)(10)

I had to laugh at her dramatics. “Megan, it will all be ok. Just buy a test and meet me there. You won’t change the outcome of the test by worrying about it.”

I heard her exhale loudly. “Ok. See you there.” She hung up and I got in the shower. My mind was so frazzled I couldn’t remember if I washed my hair or not so I ended up doing it again, just to be sure. I found myself smiling as I drove to the store, my mind clouded with images of Porter pushing a stroller, holding a newborn baby, tossing a baseball to a little blonde boy. I kept reminding myself that I still had to take the test and even then, still had months of waiting to do beyond that.

The waiting wasn’t any better at the store either. I found myself folding shirts, then refolding them, walking to the window to look for Megan, then finding something else to fold. I finally couldn’t take my own inability to sit still and decided to walk down the street to the coffee shop I went to every once in a while.

“Hi, what can I get started for you?” Asked the pretty brunette girl behind the counter. She smiled and was friendly, causing me to smile back at her.

“Hi, can I get a medium iced mocha?”

“Iced, huh?” She said as she scribbled on the plastic cup with her marker. “It’s pretty cold for iced drinks.”

“Oh, yeah,” I said as I dug through my purse for my wallet. “I don’t like hot drinks. Doesn’t really matter how cold it is.” I reached out to hand her my credit card and then a thought shot right to the front of my brain, making my heart falter. “Is it too late to make it decaf?”

She shook her head, “Of course not.” I breathed a sigh of relief. I’m sure one cup of coffee wasn’t going to hurt, but I wanted to do everything by the book. I couldn’t go screwing up this baby before I even was sure it was in there.

“Thank you.”

I walked back to the store really feeling the cold now that I was holding a cup of ice in my hand. I spotted Megan’s car parked on the street in front of Dahlia and a little jolt of anticipation shot through my system and my steps quickened. I unlocked the front doors and walked in, my eyes scanning for her.

“Oh my God, Fella, you’re glowing.” Megan stood behind the counter where a cash register would eventually be, smirking at me.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Ha ha ha.”

“I’m just kidding. You look great.”

“Did you bring it?”

“Of course I did. Do you know how many choices you have when purchasing a pregnancy test? There are, like, twelve options. It took me a while to compare and contrast.”

“Ok, well, let me see it.”

She reached into her purse and pulled out a box that was mostly blue. “I chose the one that had actual words. I didn’t think you wanted any room for confusion.”

“No, I think if there’s any time in a woman’s life when she wants clarity, it’s while taking a pregnancy test,” I said, holding the box in my hands, looking it over, reading the instructions.

“Ella,” Megan said.

“Yeah?” I didn’t look at her, still focused on the box.

“Pee on the freaking stick.”

My eyes snapped up to her and my heart rate picked up with the expectant look on her face. This was it. I was going to take a pregnancy test. I couldn’t help but laugh at how, for so many of my younger years, the idea of taking a pregnancy test held a scary connotation. Being pregnant would have been terrifying, something that interrupted my life. But now, with Porter, a baby would even everything out, bring us closer, and ultimately make us that much happier. Now, instead of hoping it was negative, I would be praying and wishing for it to be positive.

I went into the small employee restroom, followed the instructions, and checked my watch to make sure I waited the appropriate three minutes. I walked back out to where Megan was waiting anxiously, tapping her fingers against the countertop.

“Well?” She asked excitedly as soon as she saw me.

“One more minute.” Officially the longest minute ever. When the second hand of my watch reached its mark, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and felt Megan come to stand right beside me, her arm wrapping around my waist, leaning in trying to peek at the test. I exhaled slowly and flipped it over.

Pregnant.

One word.

One perfect word.

I gasped and my hand came up to cover my mouth and I had to remind myself to breathe after a moment. Everything went a little blurry and as I blinked, I realized tears were filling my eyes.

“Oh my God,” I whispered.

“You made a baby,” Megan said, just as quiet as me, as if speaking loudly would disrupt what was happening. “That’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done.” She sounded like she was in awe of me.

“Oh my God.”

“Fella, you ok? Do you need to sit down? I could grab that step ladder.”

“I can’t believe it worked.”

“What? All the sex?”

I looked at her and I could feel how big my eyes were, my eyebrows stretching up to my hairline. “Yes. All the sex. It worked. It made a baby.”

Megan giggled a little and pushed me towards the step ladder by the counter. “Take a seat, Momma. Let the news soak in a little. Do you want me to call Porter?”

“No! I can’t tell him over the phone!”