Thorns & Oranges

How About You?

Chapter Twenty-Six

Before I could answer, there was a knock on the door. Jorge didn't look like he was going to put away the engagement ring, a solitary diamond with sapphires on either side, until I gave him an answer, however. If he'd asked me three months ago, my answer would've been unequivocally yes but after everything that happened...

And Rey...

This all made me think back to the last time I'd been asked this question.

On the last night we were together, one of his sober, nice nights, Ford made us dinner. When I got home from the diner, I found the table all laid out, the apartment picked up and cleaned, he even had two candles lit on the table.

I was so surprised and so happy I didn't expect anything was up besides our two year anniversary.

It just also happened to be the same day I found out I was pregnant.

I walked into the apartment, taking off my jacket and placing my keys on the hook. Ford came out of the kitchen in an ironed white button up, I could see the same color wife beater underneath the thin fabric, black slacks, his Sunday dress shoes I'd last spotted in the back of our small closet, and his hair gelled back. He knew how to clean up, that much was true.

"Oh my god," I whispered.

He smiled at me and took my hand, leading me over to the table. "I wanted to surprise you."

"I'm surprised."

He pulled me close and kissed me. Usually his kisses were domineering and possessive but this one was different, loving almost. For a second, I thought my brother may have called and told him my news but I'd sworn Vince to silence. I told him I wanted to be the one to tell Ford.

"I'll be glad when you graduate. I won't have to go all day without seeing you, wondering what you're up to."

I smiled up at him. "I have something to tell you."

"So do I. Sit. Dinner should be done in five minutes." He pulled back and looked me over. "Better yet, why don't you go change? You still smell like grease and cleaner."

Not the most romantic notion I'd ever heard him utter but I nodded in agreement and exited to the small bedroom. My hands were shaking from what I had to tell him and I almost dropped my meter as I tested my blood sugar. I was fresh out of the shower and dressed simply enough. From the estimations Michelle helped me do earlier, I was at least six weeks along. She helped me set up an appointment with her gynecologist and reassured me everything would be ok. I was still scared out of my mind because Ford told me back when we first started doing this he didn't want to have kids.

I hoped he changed his mind.

I barely ate dinner my nerves were so insane. They made my stomach roll and eating anything was impossible. It'd been like that all day and I even threw up that morning.

Ford didn't say anything about my lack of appetite and I didn't know why until it was too late. He was just as distracted as I was. Although his nerves were completely different from mine.

When he brought in dessert, I'd decided it would be best to blurt it out. I wasn't paying much attention to what he was doing so we were both surprised that my answer to the question he just asked me, and I didn't hear, was, "I'm pregnant."

His face paled dramatically and the smile on his face disappeared. "What?"

"I'm—I'm pregnant, Ford. Six weeks, I think." He continued to stare at me, his hands frozen in mid air where he still held out the ring. "I just found out today. I have a doctor's appointment next week. Michelle and I tried to get a closer one but they were booked solid for the next couple of days." I flashed him a brief, shaky smile. "They'll have to confirm it, of course, but I'm already three weeks late so I'm pretty certain. Not to mention the fact I took three of them. They all came back with two solid pink lines and..."