Island Rush (81 page)

Crossing my arms, biting my lip, I could tell something was up.  Casey finally spoke.  “Oh,” he sighed, nonchalantly.  “The couple moving into Brad’s house came by.  Turns out they are really poor so I, being the nice gentleman I am, gave them the table.  I knew they needed it more than we do.”  He smiled proudly though I knew he was full of shit. 

“I’m sure that’s exactly what happened,” I said sarcastically, my smile growing as I glanced to Brad. 

He was more than happy to tell me.  “Mister elegant dancer here dropped the table as we were fitting it out the front door.  Broke the damn thing, which takes skill for such a sturdy table.”  His smirk grew.  We looked to the embarrassed dancer, seeing those pursed lips again and blush.  He glared at Brad. 

“That sounds more accurate,” I said, eyes meeting Casey’s embarrassed yet amused ones.

He went on as Casey and I glanced back at him.  “I, being the nice
and
honest gentleman I am, will forgive your clumsy husband for not only dropping your table but for also breaking the doorframe in the process.”

I couldn’t hold it in anymore and laughed, looking to Casey.  He gave his friend a death glare, laughter in his eyes as well despite his embarrassment.  I had to ask.  “How did you even do that?”

He looked back at me, smiling slightly.  “Give me some credit.  How many people do you that can do that?  Not many,” he defended himself.

“True,” I smiled.  “You are the only klutz capable.”

He sighed in exaggeration, looking back to him.  “You couldn’t just stick with the story of the new owners needing it, could you?”

Brad smirked, shrugging.  “Hey, why do you think I still drove here with no table?  I like giving you a hard time.”  He raised his hand, patting Casey’s shoulder before glancing to me.  “Janice is too nice to give you a hard time so I have to.”

Casey smirked and chuckled.  “Are you kidding me?  She likes starting trouble.”

I laughed, meeting Casey’s eyes with a loving and knowing stare.  “I do it for your own good.  Your ego gets too high.”  I stepped closer to him, leaning up and lightly kissing his smirking lips before stepping back, smiling to Brad.  “So, are you almost all moved in?”

“Just about.  I still have to take care of a few things and should get going.  Plus, it’s father’s day, and my mom wants me to take them out to dinner.  That’s also why I stopped by; I would have passed your house anyway.  I’ll see you guys around,” he said, smiling and leaning forward, kissing my cheek lightly.  He winked at me, teasing Casey.

“Hey now!” Casey said loudly yet lightly, holding back a chuckle.  Brad always did that to try to tease Casey, but it was just a funny little game.  Casey shouted with a hint of a smile to him as he quickly went back to his truck.  “You better watch yourself.  That’s my wife.” He smiled, putting his arm around me and pulling me into his side.

Brad laughed as he opened the truck door, glancing to me.  “I feel bad for you, Janice,”  I smirked as he looked back to Casey, giving him a genuine smile.  “Hey, thanks for the help today.”

“Anytime,” Casey said back to him.  Starting the truck, he pulled out of our driveway. 

Still holding me against him, I looked up to him and saw he was already looking down to me.  Smiling, Casey leaned down and connected his lips with mine, kissing me.  I felt his other arm go around me as he turned me to him, hugging me to him too.

As our lips moved, my mind was scrambling.  I was going to tell him… but how?  This was a special day, and I needed to tell him that. How would he feel?  I knew he would be more than happy.  Hell, Casey wanted this, was ready for this, way before.  He would be way more than just happy.  He waited until I was ready, not once pushing me until I brought it up.  He deserved this… and telling him would be a privilege. 

When our lips broke, and we slowly moved back, we opened our eyes and his brown ones lit in mine, making me smile.  My chest was twirling, stomach turning, and heart beating fast. 

“Since I broke our future table, how about I make dinner to make it up?” he asked.

I chuckled, taking in a deep breath.  “Actually… do you think we can maybe go for a little walk first?” 

His eyebrows rose, a brighter smile showing as his lips parted, perfect teeth in a white smile.  He glanced up at the sky, seeing the sun was lowering.  “Yeah, we have time,” he said as he took my hand.  We started to walk around the side of the house and into the backyard.

We went for walks all the time.  Our house was small, but the space around it was large.  That was something we loved about our home.  It had a backyard that stretched far back into a forest.  It was nothing like what the island was.  Not even close.  On the island, the trees were spaced out around camp with barely any crowding brush.  There was also unlimited amounts of land.  It wasn’t the same.  No long wavy and beautiful green grass but rather dirt in these woods.  Not a relaxing waterfall but a swamp nearby.  Either way, it still reminded us of the island.  It reminded us of our time there.  The time we still liked to talk about.  The time that made us feel free and alive.  We missed it sometimes and often, we walked back here just for the fact that it was relaxing.

We walked down the path we managed to make through the woods, walking through the trees until we reached a large corn field.  On the edge of that corn field was a row of large pine trees.  At least along here, it was more spaced out and nicer, not crowded.  There was actually longer grass here between the edge of the woods with the pines and the corn field. 

His hand in mine, we walked in a comfortable silence down the line of pine trees in the grass and next to the cornfield.  On the other side of the cornfield, there was a highway, but it was far enough away that we couldn’t hear it.  Surrounded by all nature, surrounded by silence.  We hadn’t said a word yet, and it was nice that way.  But in the silence, this time, my mind was reeling, still trying hard to grasp what I found out earlier.  And now… I had to tell him.

He was the first to break that silence.  “Are you okay?”

Looking up at him, I smiled.  I wondered what was giving me away.  “I’m fine.  Why?”

As we walked, he shrugged, looking down at me.  “I don’t know.  You just seem tense.”

I bit my lip, looking ahead at the stretch of grass between the cornfield and trees.  Taking a deep breath, I looked back up and into his questioning gaze.  Sighing, I spoke.  “Remember a couple months back?  When I said, I was ready to start trying for a baby?”

He sighed.  “Yes.  And I know it’s been hard for us.  I know that you are really sad even though you try not to be about this.  But that’s why we have been trying extra hard.  That’s why we have been going at it nearly every night.”  He smirked and winked, trying to bring what he figured was a sad mood up.  I couldn’t blame him for thinking that.  I would often dwell over this, talking about how sorry I am he had to go through this.  He would always reassure me though that he was okay with waiting and okay no matter what happened.  He was just worried about me. 

Thing was… he didn’t know that I wasn’t bringing this up because I was sad or angry.  He didn’t see I brought this up because of something else entirely.

That’s why he was trying to cheer me up and continued.  “Though it sucks that it’s hard for you to get pregnant, the nice thing is the constant sex.  It’s kind of a plus, how much effort we must put in,” he said, making me chuckle.  A few seconds later, though, he sighed and looked down at me again, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on the hand he held.  He voiced his final thought on it.  “It will be hard, but we can do it.”

“Yeah, we can handle being parents,” I said, ready to tell him.  I watched his face closely, my heart in my throat as I held back a smile. 

He nodded, eyebrows dipping slightly.  “Yeah, I know we can handle being parents.  What I meant was, it will be hard for you to get pregnant but we can handle doing it.”

This was it.  Watching him and forcing my voice to stay level, to not break, I spoke nonchalantly.  “We won’t need to worry about that, I think.”

After I had said it, we continued walking as if I said nothing.  But then, something registered in his head.  He was quick to show suspicion on his face as if he wasn’t sure he heard me right.  Eyebrows dipping, he slowed to a stop with me, looking down at me with wide and questioning eyes.  The burned with the need for a desperate answer.  He turned slowly, looking down at me.  He wasn’t sure if what I said was real, not sure if I meant what he interpreted it as. 

“Janice…?”

I smiled up at him, searching his face.  “Happy Father’s Day.”

His eyes somehow got wider, lips parting in hard gasps.  I smiled as I felt my eyes water at the sight before me.  The sight of Casey grasping the news that would change our lives.  Seeing the happiness spread over his face, it was wonderful.  His hands rose and rested on my arms, holding me firmly as he lowered his head, looking hard and deep into my eyes.  His eyebrows were high, face breaking with emotion too. I felt his hands were slightly shaking.  Then they slid up and cupped my cheeks.

“I’m… I’m…  His voice was high, and it cracked.  He couldn’t even say it.  Couldn’t because it was just too shocking, too good to be true for him.

I nodded, chuckling lightly with joy and pure happiness.  Happiness we now shared at the knowledge I was pregnant.  His beautiful eyes, so full of delight, were overwhelmed.  He wanted to grasp it.

“Yes.  You’re going to be a dad,” I said, voice breaking myself.

He looked down, breathing hard as he tried accepting that.  Swallowing, he looked back up at me, an inch from my face.  He was breathing rapidly.  “I- I’m…  I’m going to be a daddy…”

I smiled, nodding as a tear fell at seeing the realization, at seeing it hit him.  It was bursting with bliss and joy on his face.  His mouth spread wide into a heartbreaking smile.  “Oh!” He breathed and moved forward, hitting his lips with mine in a fierce kiss.  Breaking quickly away, he kissed me again and again in short, sweet kisses.  I grinned at him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

I felt his arms quickly slide down, wrapping around my back.  He started to turn us in circles from his excitement, moving quickly.  Laughing, he swung me around, my arms around his neck. Then, he quickly put me down a second later, so happy.  He held my sides, facing me, expression awake and powerful.  It was full of life and energy and love. 

Leaning in, he spoke with excitement, his breath hard on my face.  “I’m going to be a daddy.  A dad!” He smiled so brightly, raising a hand and cupping my cheek, stroking my tear that fell.  “A dad!  We did it!” he said, leaning in and kissing me hard.  Against my lips, his grin never faltered, and neither did mine.  His hand moved around my back again and pressed my chest against his.  I broke away as I couldn’t hold back my laughter and happiness.

“Oh,” he sighed, staring hard at me, the smile never faltering.  “A dad…  A dad.  Are you… are you sure that you are really pregnant?”

I bit my lip, nodding as I held back my smile.  There were a few times that I thought I would feel something.  But when I would take the pregnancy test, it would result in a few tears from me for putting too much hope into in and a sad day for Casey.  So this time, when I felt I might be pregnant, I didn’t tell him.  I didn’t want to hurt him again if it turned out the test was negative, like the other times.  But this afternoon, I took the test and it was positive.  And at seeing that… seeing I was pregnant, I was so shocked.  So sure we wouldn’t or couldn’t be able to do it.  But later, I took another test.  The results were the same and that’s how I knew for sure. 

I told Casey this, that I knew for sure and how I knew.  “My god, Janice,” he breathed, so much on his face then.  So much emotion, so much love and joy and pleasure.  He hugged me to him, wrapping his arms tighter around me.  My head resting on his shoulder, arms around him, I felt the warmth spread through us at knowing that we would be parents.  “A baby.”  He pulled away, letting me go and smiling hard.  “We are going to be parents.”

I nodded, wiping a tear away.  “Yeah, we are.  We can finally start a family.”

He opened his mouth, ready to say something but couldn’t seem to find the words.  Instead, he let out a large gasp and turned around, stepping away.  He started to pace before me, walking in circles in a way and I smiled.  He couldn’t stand still, so taken over by the news I gave him.  Eyes lost in the future, in his thoughts as he watched the ground, his feet were fast on the ground as he walked back and forth before me. 

Looking up at me, he smiled and chuckled. Stopping in his movement, I watched as he lifted his hand, wiping it below his eye as he approached me again. “You’re going to be a mother, a mommy, and I will be a father.  We are going to have a baby…  A baby.  Oh, my god.  Oh,” he breathed, having a hard time getting it through his head. 

Sure, most parents I’m sure are really excited.  But this was different for us.  I shouldn’t have gotten pregnant, that’s how small the odds were.  But for a while, all we could do was wait and hope.  That was especially hard for Casey, I knew.  He wanted kids long before me.  He’s been wanting kids for around ten years now and yet, he stuck with me.  He was ready to stay with me even if I couldn’t get pregnant.  I felt so guilty about it for the longest time.  And now… somehow, someway we did it.  That was a little more than exciting for us. 

“My God.  I… I have you.  My loving and perfect wife.  My wife… and that is still hard to grasp after all this time.  And now…  now a baby,” his said, voice breaking on his last words.