Grace (BWWM)

Chapter Forty-Two

"Okay," she says and sighs. "Thank you, Joe. I've just been getting anxious. I mean, I noticed that my period hasn't come for some time now, but I know that sometimes the menstrual cycle can be out of normal for various reasons. Although I could not say for the life of me why it seemed off . . . but this is probably the reason."

"And you've been sleeping more."

"Right, but I thought that was just because we've been intimate a bit more."

"It might be that, and you've been wanting to have sex more than usual. Is that some type of symptom?"

"It can be. Some women experience a decrease while others can experience an increase, but this is early," she muses. "I had that happen with the twins, but that was in my last two trimesters. But of course, this is a possibility as well I mean—" She cuts off abruptly.

"Everything alright?"

"Yes, I just caught myself. We're talking like I'm pregnant, but we don't know for sure. Maybe we should hold off on that until after the tests."

"No harm there. I'm heading home now, so I'll come get you and we can go get them."

"Okay. Drive safely, Joe."

"I will."

"Okay . . ." she trails off, and I pull off the shoulder, making my way down the highway. She doesn't hang up and neither do I. I listen to her steady breathing as she holds the phone close, and nothing is said until I've pulled into the driveway.

"Is that you?" she asks.

"Yeah."

"I'll come down then."

"That's alright, I'm heading inside anyways. I want to put my uniform away."

"Okay."

I get out of the truck and head in. Grace comes down from the stairs and we just stare at each other in silence. I approach her, and she comes down the last few steps before flying into my arms, holding on tight. I hold her close, taken aback once more by the mere possibility of this.

We get ready and head outto the local pharmacy. We had to do some searching online before that to figure out which brands were the better ones to get. Even while inside the pharmacy, as we stood in front of the products, we felt uncertain. There were products on the shelves that we hadn't seen while doing a basic search. But we finally got our stuff and checked out.

Once back home, Grace tried all of the tests and we waited for the results to show. It's early morning and the kids are asleep. Austin has been here the past few days, and Rose spent the night, since it's the weekend. I'm glad they're all here. If what we think is happening is in fact happening, then I want them all to hear about it at the same time.

"Oh my gosh, Joe." Grace holds tightly to my hand as we sit on the floor together, looking at the sticks in front of us.

"My word," I mutter. A few may need more time, but five out of the eight tests show clear results. "Grace . . . " I don't even know what to say. I just stare for a while before wrapping my arms around her and holding her close.

Pregnant.

She's pregnant.

Grace cries, and I get choked up myself. She's pregnant. She's pregnant.

Delight is the only emotion I feel right now. It seemed too good to be true before, but with all of this confirmation, I can't help but start to imagine a life with this little one inside of her.

My word . . . there's a tiny human inside of her. I take hold of Grace's shoulders and look down at her belly. There's no bump at the moment, but I place my hand where there will soon be one, and tears brim in my eyes. There's a precious life in here. A life that the Lord deliberately knit together and created. There's a life here made in the image of God. I can't even fully wrap my mind around this. We're allowed the blessed opportunity to be the parents of this child. I can't even put into words the gratitude that I feel.