Hey guys!
Sorry for the super late update, but my Wifi wasn't working all day and it was super frustrating. I finally got it up and working, so although it is late, I was able to get an update out for you guys.
Sorry again, enjoy the update!
-Becca xoxo
{Patrick}
I pull the key out of the ignition after I pull into a parking spot in the underground parking lot of Trump Tower.
I get out of the car, and lock it, as I close the door after me.
I head towards the elevator, and press floor eighty-four as the elevator doors close behind me.
I lean against the wall of the elevator, exhaling deeply as I throw my head back, closing my eyes.
It's Wednesday, December 28, about 5:30 in the evening.
The Blackhawks had a two hour practice at Johnny's Ice House this afternoon, which started at 3:00.
It was a long and hard practice.
The Hawks haven't had a game since just before Christmas, and this was our first day back on the ice after the short Christmas break that all NHL players get.
It was a great Christmas break.
Abby and I went to the Quinn family home and had Christmas dinner there with her family and my family.
It was great to see everyone again, and it was definitely nice to get a break from hockey, even for a few days.
In saying that none of us had been on the ice for a few days, Coach Q ensured that he worked us hard.
We had an hour of dry-land fitness, and then the on-ice drills were just conditioning.
We ran the beep test on ice, and that thing is literally Satan.
I can feel my muscles cramping up as the elevator ascends.
I'm going to be sore tomorrow, that's for sure.
The elevator quickly reaches floor eighty-four, and the doors slide open.
I file out of the elevator, and head down the hallway to our apartment.
I unlock the door, and swing it open, closing it behind me.
I can hear the stove fan on, meaning that Abigail must be cooking some kind of pasta or something.
Good, because I'm absolutely starving.
I take off my jacket, and hang it up in the closet, leaving me in just a black v-neck and a pair of jeans.
I walk through the apartment, and notice that Abby has set the glass dinner table already, with a few candles lit right in the middle.
We haven't had an actual dinner date here at the apartment with candles and all that, for a while.
Something must have convinced her to do this.
I notice Abby standing by the stove, dishing out what appears to be spaghetti onto two separate plates.
She turns off the stove fan, and the apartment is now quiet.
"Hey love." I say, as I walk over to her, wrapping my arms around her waist.
She spins around, and looks up into me.
"Patrick!" She giggles, jumping into me, and kissing me on the cheek gently.
This is odd, I think to myself.
I saw her like two hours ago...
She's usually only this excited to see me after I've come home from a long road trip or something.
"How was practice?" She asks, as she kisses me on the nose gently.
I keep my hands on her sides.
Her hair is down and naturally straight, and she's wearing a white v-neck with a pair of leggings.
"Exhausting." I laugh, running a hand through my curls.
"Lots of conditioning?" She asks.
"Tons." I reply.
"Sorry." She says, shaking her head.
"Ah, it's alright. I'm used to it by now." I laugh, shaking my head.
She laughs too, as she takes the two plates to the dinner table.
"How was work today?" I ask, looking over at her.
She shrugs, smiling.
"It was pretty good. I got out a little earlier than I thought I would, so that was nice." She says, laughing.
I nod, smiling.
I lean against the counter, and she walks back and turns the stove off completely, before facing me once again.
"This dinner looks delicious." I say, smiling.
"Patrick, I have to tell you something," She says, quietly.
She looks down at her feet, before looking back up at me.
She takes my hands in hers.
"What's up?" I ask, smiling down at her.
Her brown eyes are shining.
Glittering.
Her eyes are literally like the stars in the sky at this point.
There's passion resting in her eyes, and they resemble galaxies in this moment.
She bites her lip, looking down at the ground one more time.
"Abigail, what is it?" I ask, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
She looks back up at me, smiling.
"I'm pregnant." She says, biting her lip.
I feel my jaw drop.
My stomach drops with it, and then an overwhelming rush of beautiful butterflies fills my stomach, quickly.
I feel my eyes widen, and then before I know it, a huge smile has spread onto my face.
"Oh my God!" I say, my jaw dropped.
She smiles up at me, biting her lip.
"Oh my God!" I repeat, my jaw still dropped.
She giggles.
"Oh my God, Abigail! You're pregnant!" I say, my jaw still dropped and my eyes wide.
She nods, smiling.
"Yes, Patrick! I'm pregnant!" She squeals, squeezing my hand.
I'm in shock.
I can't believe this.
The anticipation, the nervousness, and the excitement that has been hanging over me ever since Abby's birthday, has finally been washed away.
And it has been replaced, with pure joy.
"Oh my God, Abigail!" I repeat, laughing.
She giggles, putting her hands over her mouth, big brown eyes shining, as she looks up at me.
I laugh, as I pick her up, wrap my arms around her back, and spin her around in a small circle.
Both of us laugh as we move in a small circle, her hair blowing in the direction that we spin.
I put her back down, and she places her hands on my pecks, looking up at me, smiling.
Her expression is one of pure joy.
"I'm speechless." I say, shaking my head.
"Your eyes explain your emotions on their own." Abby says, piercing through my eyes with her brilliant ones.
I laugh, shaking my head.
"I'm so happy! Abigail, oh my God!" I say, pressing a kiss to her lips gently.
She giggles, as she kisses back, and then runs a hand through my curls.
I honestly don't even know what to think.
This is such an overwhelming rush.
"You didn't even tell me that you were going to do the pregnancy test today!" I say, my eyes wide as my hand rests on the small of her back.
She giggles, shaking her head.
"I knew if I told you, you wouldn't be able to focus at practice. So I did it when I got home from work, while you were at practice, and decided I would tell you when you got home." She smiles, pressing her lips together.
I shake my head, exhaling deeply.
I take her hand in mine, kissing the back of her hand gently.
"I have no words. Abby, I'm honestly so..." I say, shaking my head.
I look out the windows at the back of the apartment, and the city lights glimmer vividly.
"Patrick, I'm so excited. Oh my God, I love you." Abby says, looking up at me.
I kiss her lips gently, and I can tell by the way her face moves that she smiles as I do so.
"I love you too. This love is ours." I say, kissing her neck lightly.
She giggles, and intertwines her fingers with mine.
"This love is ours." She says, gently.
"I can't believe this. This is incredible." I say, shaking my head.
"Patrick, we're having a baby!" She says, her eyes wide.
I bite my lip, smiling at the ground.
"I'm in shock. Abby, this is one of the best experiences of my life." I say, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
She nods, smiling.
"You're one-hundred percent sure?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.
She giggles, turning around and grabbing a Ziploc bag from the counter.
She passes me the bag, smiling.
I take it from her hands, and inside the bag, sits a pregnancy test.
A pregnancy test that reads positive.
I shake my head, biting my lip.
"Oh my God, you are serious." I say, smiling.
She nods, blushing.
I set the bag down, and pull her in for a kiss.
I tilt her backwards slightly, and she wraps her arms around the back of my neck.
"We're going to be parents, Abby." I say, looking into her eyes.
An entire galaxy swirls passionately within her eyes.
"I know." She says, smiling.
With that, I press my lips against hers, and her lips move in-sync with mine.
I smile as we kiss, and she bites my lower lip gently.
I run my tongue across her bottom lip, and she giggles as I do so.
We finally part, and she looks up at me, biting her lip as she does so.
I support her by wrapping my arms around her back, as she is tilted backwards slightly.
I then pull her back upwards, so she is standing normally.
I place both of my hands on her stomach.
Of course, there is absolutely no baby bump yet, but just knowing that there is a little one in there...
It's magical.
Honest to God, it's incredible.
I can't even begin to explain.
A little human, that Abby and I created, is in there.
She giggles, looking down and placing her hands over mine.
"It's hard to even comprehend that there's a little one in there." Abby laughs, shaking her head.
I smile, as I can feel the tears of joy burning behind my eyes.
"I already can't wait to meet them." I say, sighing happily.
She looks up at me, biting her lip.
"This is the happiest day of my life, Patrick." She says, placing a hand on my cheek.
I kiss her cheek.
"Me too, darling." I say, smiling down at the ground.
Abby smiles up at me.
"This love is ours." Abby says.
I nod.
"This love is ours." I reply, quickly.
"Now, I think we should go eat dinner, because the food is probably getting cold." Abby winks, giggling.
I smile, nodding.
"Yeah, sounds good." I say, exhaling deeply.
With that, the two of us head over to the dining room table, and we sit in chairs across from each other.
I take my first bite of the spaghetti with some fancy kind of sauce that Abby has made.
It melts in my mouth, and it is absolutely delicious.
"Abby this is amazing. Seriously the ideal dinner, thank-you." I say, between bites.
"Oh God Pat, finish your bite." Abby rolls her eyes, playfully.
I laugh, swallowing my bite of food.
She giggles as well.
"Hey Pat," She says.
"Mmm?" I ask, looking up and across the table at her.
Her light brown hair is pulled to one side as she eats, and her skin is perfectly smooth, despite her not wearing any makeup.
And the woman in front of me, is absolutely stunning.
She is the absolute love of my life, and that I know.
"Can we not tell anyone about this? For now? I just sort of want to... keep it quiet." She shrugs, a small smile on her face.
I nod, smiling.
"I was thinking the same thing." I say, nodding.
Abby nods, exhaling deeply.
"Typically, they say that you shouldn't tell too many people about your pregnancy until you're about three months. So I was thinking we could keep it really quiet, until then?" Abby asks, raising her eyebrows.
I nod, smiling down at my food.
"Yeah. It will be between you and I." I say, smiling.
"Thank-you, Patrick," She giggles.
"I'm kind of nervous." She admits, biting her lip.
"I am too, but I'm more excited than anything." I say, swallowing.
She looks at me from across the table, nodding slowly.
"When I first saw that pregnancy test read positive, for a second I was really freaked out, I'll admit," Abby laughs, running a hand through her hair.
I laugh, shaking my head.
"To be honest, I was actually surprised. I had played around with the idea that I was pregnant for the last few weeks, and then suddenly knowing... it's so different than thinking. Everything changed. In that moment, everything changed." Abigail laughs, taking a deep breath.
I nod.
"Do you feel different? Knowing you're pregnant?" I ask, tilting my head slightly.
She nods.
"Yeah. I mean, I've been pregnant since my birthday, but suddenly, I feel different. There's a little human inside of me, I'm pretty sure that makes someone feel a little different." She laughs, shaking her head.
I laugh, smiling across the table at her.
"Things will never be the same, Abby. But that's not a bad thing." I say.
She nods.
"I know. In a short amount of time, we'll have a little one running around this place." Abby giggles, biting her lip as she smiles.
"I honestly can't wait." I say, throwing my head back as I smile.
"You're going to be a good dad, Pat." Abby says, smiling down at her food.
I laugh, quietly.
"And you'll be an incredible mom." I say, raising my eyebrows.
"We'll make a good team." Abby winks.
I nod.
"Yes, we will." I agree, nodding.
After about twenty more minutes, Abby and I both finish our dinners.
I thank her for the excellent meal, and then we put away our dishes and clean up the kitchen a little bit.
After all that is finished, we decide to hang out and watch a movie on the couch.
We turn off most of the lights in the apartment, simply allowing the Chicago skyline to twinkle at the back of the apartment.
Abby and I lay down on the couch, together.
She lies beside me, and I spoon her, my stomach pressed against her back, and my arms cocooning her body.
We decide on watching Friends With Benefits, despite both of us seeing that move hundreds of times.
The movie begins, and I move my hands down and over her stomach.
Nothing about her stomach has changed, obviously.
But psychologically knowing that my child is in there right now, is changing the way I am thinking.
"You're so excited, Pat, and it's absolutely adorable." Abby giggles, placing her hands over mine.
I laugh, sighing happily.
"I just want to meet this little one already." I chuckle.
"Well you're going to have wait a little while." Abby giggles.
"I know." I say, quietly.
And with that, both of us continue to watch the movie.
But, my mind is wandering.
Wandering through a completely different stage of life, that will soon be the one I am in.
And despite not knowing the little one that Abby is carrying inside of her, at all, for some reason, I begin to imagine what meeting this little one is going to be like.
I will become familiar with the sound of their heartbeat.
The touch of their skin.
The moment at which I meet them, is going to be the moment that everything changes.
And although I have no idea what to expect, I already know that one thing is certain.
And that is, that their first breath is going to take mine away.
My mind continues to wander, and I begin thinking about how happy Ally would be to hear that Abby and I are expecting a baby.
She always wanted kids. She knew that much her entire life.
She would be overjoyed to hear that Abby is pregnant.
I smile, closing my eyes for a few moments as I fathom another thought.
Two years ago, at Christmas, we lost a life.
But this year, at Christmas, we were blessed with a life.