Chills

fourteen

"Oh my god..." I murmur. Excitement and fear bubble at the pit of my stomach. "Robby!!" I shriek.

I hear something crash, it better not be one of my paintings, then I hear him race up the stairs to get to me. When he's in front of me, panting and scanning what the danger is, I start crying. I'm on the ground with my legs sprawled out behind me. I lift my hands to cover my ugly crying face.

His eyes widen and he falls to his knees beside me to pull me into a bear hug. "What's wrong?" he says out of breath.

I don't respond for a few long moments. Maybe I read it wrong. Will he be ready for this?

I shove the white stick into his hands, wanting to gauge his reaction. I really hope this is it. I watch as he stares at it. I can literally see the gears in his head working as he tries to comprehend what he's looking at. Robby continues to stare at it like it's an extremely foreign object to him, and I understand because he's a guy. He'll never have to go through what I just did.

Then his eyes squint at the little screen in the middle of the stick. My breath catches in my throat. His eyes widen once he sees the red plus sign.

"No way...!" he breathes. His eyes flicker towards mine. "Is this what I think it is?"

I nod. I sniffle and try to stop the tears from falling by wiping my hands over my cheeks.

Robby's eyes fall back to the stick. "So I'm going to be a dad!?"

He looks like he's going to be sick but I can also see the happiness in his eyes.

"Yes, you are."

He engulfs me into a hug and begins sobbing into the crook of my neck.

"These are happy tears, I swear," he mumbles incoherently after he's managed to calm himself. "I'm just so nervous as to what will happen. Are we rea--"

I shush him before he can finish his sentence. "Of course, we are."

Robby smiles warmly at me, then his eyes fall to my stomach. It's not big yet, it's only been a couple of weeks but I can already see the love in Robby's gaze.

I look down too and smile through my tears.

I'll take care of you.

"We're gonna have to come up with baby names now! So I like Asher for a guy or Amber for a girl--" Robby starts.

"--Let's not get ahead of ourselves!" I chuckle while placing my index on his lips to quiet him. "Baby Asher or Amber doesn't have a sex yet."

His face lightens up. "So you like Asher or Amber?"

I nod. "If you think they're good names then I agree."

I lean forward to kiss his softly on the lips. Robby returns the kiss. He snakes his arms around my waist and pulls me towards him.

"I love you, Ivree Rowan."

"I love you too, Robby Stanley Cup," I tease. "Wait, if our kid gets your last name then they'll forever get made fun of! We should give them my last name."

"No way! If they get your name, people will make fun of them for being named after a type of tree!"

I give him a flat look. "It's better than being named after the Stanley Cup." I point out.

"The Stanley Cup is a great honour that only few have the chance of getting!"

"They have a chance of getting it every year--"

"--it's a very huge honour that no one should ever make fun of or diss!" Robby says loudly to drown out my insults. "I'm sure our kid will understand the importance of hockey."

"My kid will be a basketball player!"

Robby's jaw drops. "No they'll definitely be a hockey player! Maybe he'll even make it to the NHL!"

"Oh God, if he does then a whole nation will be making puns of his name."

Robby's about to interject but then realizes I'm right, so he closes his mouth to pout.

"At least people will know who he is," he mutters.

"You're such a Canadian child," I giggle. "Did you ride a polar bear to school?"

Robby slaps his palm to his forehead. "No, of course not. You do realize that our kid will be half Canadian. So all the insults you throw at me is also half directed at the baby?"

"The baby's gonna be born here, so that makes him less Canadian already."

Robby pretends to hold his heart in his hand. "Ouch."

"Hey, at least you'll be my one and only full Canadian man."

I blow him a kiss, then wink. He pretends to smack it away, his face scrunched up in hurt.

"No, you're a meanie."

"You already told me you loved me. Plus you're stuck with me. You married me." I lift my hand and wiggle my fingers to show him the wedding ring on my ring finger.

"You're right. Plus now that we have a baby, it's harder to leave." He pretends to smack his knees in defeat.

I gasp and shove him playfully in the shoulder. "You don't mean that!"

He grins. "No, I don't." His face becomes slightly more serious as he scoots closer to me. "I want to stay with you forever."

I feel the heat radiating off him and I instantly feel safe and at home. "Good, I don't want you to leave."

"I never will, don't worry. I promise to never leave your side, Ivree." He leans his face to mine and kisses me passionately.