Ruby Tuesday

Chapter twenty six

Two days later I was sat on the settee wringing my hands nervously. Jack was buttering his toast. Usually, I'd hear him whistle or sing as he went about his business but not this morning. As soon as I'd woken him up I'd said I had some big news. He was the one that insisted on having some food first. I couldn't eat. 

He came in and sat in the opposing armchair, legs spread wide and toast dangling from his mouth. "You look nervous," he remarked with a mouthful of churned up toast.

"I am!"

"Don't be," he dismissed. He must have some inkling about what I was going to say. He must have had thoughts spilling around his mind. Thoughts that I was leaving, cheated, pregnant...

"Jack, I'm pregnant," I said in one gush wanting nothing more than to get the words out. He raised his eyebrows and began chewing a lot slower. That was it? I peered at him, observing every inch of his face waiting for an explosion. I thought at least some of the stress and nerves churning up inside of me would subside once I'd told him. It hadn't. I was still fighting back the urge to run to the bathroom and make myself throw up just to try and make the nerves settle.

He wagged a long finger at me, "That is big news."

"Are you mad at me?" My voice was quiet, wobbling with apprehension.

"Mad?" He cocked an eyebrow slightly perplexed. I could see in his eyes he was dazed, probably in shock. "Why would I be mad? Did you do it on purpose, Rubes?" His eyes narrowed. "D'you try and trick me so we're stuck together, that it?"

"What the fuck? No!" My cheeks were burning hot. How dare he accuse me of something like that?

He shrugged, seeming to relax back into the armchair. He took another bite of toast. "Then I ain't mad. I gotta...I'm gonna go out for a bit." He nodded more to himself and got to his feet. "This is big news. Very big news." I watched as he tottered into the bedroom. He returned moments later with a jacket and his shoes on. He pointed at me, his eyes forever moving to my belly. "Big news. I'll see you in a bit." He kissed me on the forehead and left me alone.

I sighed. I'd not been expecting him to fall over his feet in excitement or twirl me around the room singing at the top of his lungs. I didn't even know what to make of his reaction. All I gathered was he was pretty astounded. Good or bad I was yet to find out.

I sat back into the sofa, curling my legs up and nibbling furiously at my nails until they were ugly uneven stumps. I waited a good ten minutes before Jack returned. He stared at me, nodding his head slowly. "Great," he whispered. "Ok."

"Ok?" I pursed my lips together. 

"Yeah, we got this. We're going to be parents, Ruby." He took my face in his hands and kissed me hard. The pair of us scared out of our minds. What kind of crazy parents were we going to be? I was barely eighteen.

"Oh God," I pulled back, the rush of endorphins suddenly turning to mush as one face sprung to mind. Jack sat beside me, taking my hands in his and gazing at me as I'd morphed to glass. "My dad's going to kill us."

"Shit."

***

I spent the following week visiting family and telling them the fantastic news. My mother insisted on taking me shopping (and by that, I mean taking Jack's money shopping) and kitting me out in a whole maternity wardrobe. I'd sat dad down with a strong cup of tea, clapping my hands together feeling way more nerves than when I'd told Jack.

He said nothing. After the longest, most painful silence of my life he slowly nodded once and said, "Well it is what it is. It's not really ideal, you're not married or engaged who's to say he won't dump you?"