"If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."
1 John 3:17-18 NIV
Serena's POV
Oh, my feet are killing me, I mentally whine to myself as I lock the car and walk up the steps to the front door.
The keys go through the lock easily and as I toe my shoes off and walk up the stairs, I remember the plan I had made in my head. Looking over the banister, I peek into the kitchen where Jacob is currently grading tests and quizzes. My eyes soften and a new vigor runs through me. I keep my steps light to hide my presence, hoping the papers will keep him occupied for the next ten minutes. Although I would much rather tell him immediately, my initial excitement still coursing through my body persuading my to scream it out as soon as my feet pass the threshold of the front door, I want to add a whimsical undertone to the announcement.
Pushing passed our bedroom door, dumping my work bag onto the soft... soft bed. No, I need to tell him, and then I can take a nap. I grab the purple envelope from the bag, which holds the revealing holiday card. I mean, it's June anyways.
"This will work, even though it's not the actual day yet, " I whisper to myself. "He'll get confused, but then it'll become clear. Hopefully. He's not that dense. He works with kids for god sakes, he can't take being stupid."
I think to myself that I should write on the card but then it would give to much away too soon. I want him to have the realization hit him all at once. Putting the card and envelope down, I reach for the pregnancy stick. I can still feel the heart pounding sensation I had when I first tested it back at work. I laugh a little as I remember how crazy my co-workers were acting.
"You need to test it," Aniyah exclaims, "you been sick since Monday." Jalisa nods in agreement.
I look at the test in her hand. "I'm probably not even pregnant and this'll be a waste of time."
"You said probably, so you agree there's like a fifty-fifty chance of being preggers," Jalisa smirks.
I scowl pathetically at them and take the test out of Aniyah's hand, walking to the bathroom. They cheer and follow me inside.
Once I've finished, I walk out and place it on a napkin on the sink counter. "Now we wait."
"I wonder if it'll be a girl."
"I bet a boy."
"No way. Thirty bucks says it's a girl."
"Bet. I'm aboutta have thirty more dollars."
I barely register their banter as I stare at the two lines. "Girls... girls... Girls!"
"What?" they shout.
"Two lines."
Their mild annoyance turns to glee as they embrace me and jump.
"You're pregnant!"
I grin widely as I stick the test in my back pocket, turning to face the door and walk out of them bedroom. Taking the stairs back down, my heart rate speeds up. I can't wait to see his face when I tell him the news. With my left hand fisting my work shirt, I turn to the dining hall watching as the focus on Jacob's face turns relaxed and loving once he sees me.
"Hi, princessa. I didn't hear you come in." He leans up for a kiss and I press my lips to him, giving him another on his forehead after our lips separate.
"Hi, Jacob. I have something for you."
His eyes light up. "What is it?"
"Close your eyes."
He does so without hesitation and I grab the envelope from my pocket and put it in his hands. He opens his eyes and frowns. "Is it my birthday and I forgot somehow?"
"No," I laugh, "just open it."
When he does, and he sees the Happy Father's Day calligraphy on the front, his eyebrows furrow. "Baby, it's not father's day and I'm not a dad."
He looks up again and I smile, widening my eyes in hopes that he'll get the hint. I can tell that a lot is going through his mind. Finally, after a couple seconds, his eyes widen and he stands up abruptly. "I'm gonna be a dad!?"
I laugh and nod my head. In return, he shouts and grabs my waist lifting my up and spinning my around. When he puts me down again, he sits me on the table and cups my face.
"You are amazing," he says as he kisses every inch of my face. His face hardens for a second and I begin to worry. "Princessa, I adore you and the life you're going to create, but you're in medical school. I want you to know that I will take care of you and our baby. When it becomes too tough at some point I want you to talk it out with me, okay? This baby will have a strong mother and a proud father, so I don't want you to work yourself too hard okay?"
I nod, my mood sobering. " I know. This won't be easy but I know we can handle it."
His face softens. "I love you so fucking much, princessa."
"I love you, too, Jacob."
"So when did you find out?"
"Today, My co-workers were bugging me to do it after I got sick again."
"Again?"
"I know," I sigh. "I just took flu medicine because I thought it was a minor bug."
"You thought our child was a minor bug?"
"Stop," I laugh. "I didn't know."
"That's what I'll tell them when they're born, that you thought they were a bug."
I pout at him and shrug his hands off my face. "I'm going to walk away if you keep making fun of me."
He puts on an affronted expression on. "First of all, rude. Second of all, I have you trapped so, ha!"
"I could slide over the other side of the table."
"I'd like to see you try."
I smirk at him. "Alright."
I push myself back and left my left leg to rise above his head, rolling over to get to the floor on the other side of table. When I'm upright, I smirk at him. My expression falls when I see his face.
"Princessa, the baby!" He quickly walks around the table and places one hand on my face and the other on my belly. Although I appreciate the sentiment of him worrying, he's overreacting a little.
"Jacob, the baby is fine. And you told me to do it anyways."
He goes to argue but his sentence stops after his mouth opens. "I... Okay, so I did technically tell you to, but I didn't think you'd actually do it."
I give him a look. "You should know by now that when you tell me I can't do certain things, I will do it to prove you wrong."
"I know, but I was thinking that since you were pregnant, you wouldn't."
I nod. "Okay, I won't try to do stuff like that anymore while I'm pregnant."
He kisses me and pulls me up. My legs wrap around his waist before he sits back in his original seat. He begins working again on grading his student's test. "Good. I'm glad we've come to this decision."
I giggle into his neck, starting to kiss it once my laughter has died down. "Me too."
The next minutes are spent in silence. Jacob's focus has been put almost entirely on his job, almost because my lips were being a bit distracting. I couldn't help it. I knew not to give dark or big hickies, he worked in a high school, and he wouldn't like to cover them. Now his skin that gets covered with clothing... that's mine to have fun with. Nevertheless, I wanted to kiss him in a way where I didn't keep him from work but could still satisfy me. And I'm pregnant, so he should let me do this. But on the other hand...
"When is dinner happening?" I mumble into skin.
"Dinner is ready, it just needs to be heated."
"I'll do it."
With great reluctance, I disconnect my lips from his skin, and walk to the stove where the food sits. Rice, frijoles, and chorizo. I exclaim my love for him and he laughs, returning the statement back. Heating it all up, which takes less than ten minutes, I plate it and bring them to the kitchen table. I also forks and drinks, water for me and coke for him. He has already put away his papers and we begin eating.
"How was work?" I ask him.
"It was good. My students were engaged and they only slightly complained that they wanted their test from a couple days ago back. I only have a few left to grade so I told them they'd get it back tomorrow."
"What was the test on?"
"Concepts in genetic transmission, the interactive effects of heredity and environment, and how evolved tendencies influence behavior."
"How well did your classes do?"
"Overall they did well, many were paying attention and asking questions during class and I had a lot of students stay after for extra help."
"That's good."
"Yeah, most teachers don't have their students engage themselves like that so I like to think that I'm doing a good job as a teacher and helping them to enjoy learning."
"Yes, baby, you're a wonderful teacher. And you're going to be a wonderful father too."
He smiles. "Oh yeah? You think I can teach our baby about the different states of consciousness."
"You could but I think they'll only care about sleep and awake."
He pouts and leans back in his chair. "Our baby is going to break my heart before I even see them."
I shrug, picking up our plates and bringing them to the sink. "That's a strong possibility."
"So what? You think the baby will be more interested in the field of anesthesiology?"
I smile as I begin washing dishes and as he brings the cups over, immediately wrapping his arms around me once they're put in the sink. "Probably not, but you never know."
Jacob begins kissing my neck. My washing motions slow down a couple paces as his lips travel the length of my neck, from below my ear to my shoulder. I roll my eyes softly at his actions.
"Jacob."
"Yes, princessa?"
"I'm doing the dishes."
"I know."
"You're distracting me."
"And you can't handle it?" he asks. I can feel his lips curve upward in a smirk while his hand find my waist. I purse my lips at his obvious tease. He just wants to see me break so we could have fun. Well too bad for him because I got some work to do and don't have time for his distractions. With my mind made up, I step back quickly, effectively pushing him away from me. I hear his shout before I could see his face as he pulls at my hips to turn me to face him. I give him a look, and he gives me a pout.
"Why you being so mean to me, princessa? I'm just trying to love you."
I smile at him reluctantly. "I know, but you have tests to grade, and I've got dishes and homework to do. We don't have time right now."
He frowns. "Later?"
"Later," I agree. "Go be a good teacher."
He purses his lips and leans his head forward. "Not until you give me a big kiss."
"Oh, you big baby," I whisper before leaning in.
Just as the kiss lasts for more than a couple of seconds, I shove my wet and bubbly hands under his shirt. He curses and jumps back.
"Betrayed! By my own wife!"
I laugh and turn around to face the pile of dishes we have. "Go grade."
He audibly huffs before walking back to his papers. Once he's gone, I look down and smile at my stomach, where a treasure grows.
"You're daddy is so dramatic, but he'll love you... I just hope you don't grow to be as dramatic as him. Please let your mommy have a break cause I can only handle one dramatic person in this house."
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And that, is officially the end. I hope this pleases you all. It's not that long of a chapter but I didn't want to drag this chapter to more than it needed and I felt that this was a good place to end.
I don't want to say goodbye, but all things come to an end. Don't worry, there are still lots of my plans in my head of a possible sequel and spin-off, and other books. Maybe.
Bare with me please, I am but a broke engineering student who needs warmth and time. And food, but mostly books and hoodies... I'm a needy person in general, don't judge.
(Also, I'm legit finishing this chapter while I avoid studying for my physics midterm. At 2am. RIP. I'm a bad noodle.)
You've all been a blessing to me during the writing of this book and I am grateful for all of you. I wish you all the best for your lives.