Chapter One... Positive?
Waiting... Waiting... Waiting...
Three minutes certainly went slow when you wanted them to pass quickly. It was two in the morning, and I stood nervously over the bathroom sink as I stared at the stick that I'd just peed on. I hadn't planned on having another baby any time soon, but I guess you can't plan everything in life.
I had woken up to the sound of my daughter Becca crying just an hour before. I was six days late, and had been trying to avoid the inevitable. Becca was only two years old, and I had hoped she would be at least four before my husband and I had any more children.
I could hear Cameron's loud snores from the room next to the bathroom. He was the perfect husband, but he was old enough that he didn't look odd with two children... let alone one. I was eighteen, a high school senior, and I had a two year old.
Yes, I did always do everything a little bit early.
I remembered back to the day I found out I was pregnant with Becca. I was fifteen, just two days off my sweet sixteen. And I had never been more scared in my life.
*Three Years Before...*
I felt sick to my stomach. I had some annoying bug that had been pestering me for the last week. The worst thing? It would come and go over different parts of the day. I felt absolutely perfect when I didn't feel like throwing up, and it would last for hours. Then, out of nowhere, this annoying nausea would suddenly return and I'd be hugging the toilet bowl, praying for it to disappear again.
My mom had been asking me if I was alright, and I would complain that this stomach bug was a pain in the ass! Nobody else seemed to have it, and that's what annoyed me the most. I just wanted it to go away...
"Why don't you try drinking some ginger ale?" mom suggested as I sat nauseously at the kitchen bench again.
"Yuck!" I groaned. "That would make me feel even worse!"
"Well, I'm offering you a suggestion," mom snapped. "Look. If it's still around in a couple of days I'll take you to the doctor. Okay?"
"Mom, I'm sixteen in two days!" I complained. "I want to be all better by then!"
"I don't know where you even picked this bug up from," mom mumbled. "At least you haven't given it to any of us yet."
"Please," I groaned. "Take it from me. I'm sick of having the toilet bowl as my best friend, you know."
"Oh, Rose," mom sighed. "I've never met a girl who could complain as much as you do, you know that?"
"Mommy, make me better," I begged.
"Go up into my bathroom and get the pepto-bismol," mom suggested. "That might help a bit, okay?"
"Alright," I sighed, getting up off the stool.
I walked into mom's bathroom. It was quite large for an ensuite. I started searching through the cupboards when something made me come to a staggering halt. Something I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of myself.
A colourful box of tampons sat at my eye level, and I realised something. I felt cold inside... No... No way... I was too young for that. Right?
It wasn't impossible. In fact, it was quite possible. My body felt stiff as I opened my mouth and let out a scream.
Suddenly mom and my older sister Jenna burst into the room. My dad and my brother weren't home, luckily. This was gonna be bad enough.
"Rose? What happened? What's wrong?" mom asked, shaking my shocked figure.
"Rose?" Jenna asked. "Oi! What's up, sis?"
"Talk to us, honey," mom spoke softly.
"Not possible..." I gasped, barely audible.
"What isn't possible?" mom asked, frowning. My eyes were still fixed on the little box that caused me to go into a state of shock.
Mom followed my eyes and started looking through the cupboard. Jenna just stood there, unsure of what to think. I couldn't blame her, really.
"Did you find the pepto?" mom asked, looking at me again.
"No," I managed to say.
"What is it, Rose?" mom asked, getting a little frustrated.
"It's not a bug," I replied, my eyes filling with water.
"A bug?" mom frowned, and then her eyes fell on the box that I'd been staring at in disbelief. Suddenly her brain clicked, and she knew exactly what was running through my head. Her eyes fell on Jenna.
"Jen, could you run down to the store and grab something for me?" mom asked, barely able to speak.
"Sure," Jenna replied. "What do you need?"
"A pregnancy test," mom sighed in distress.
"A...?" Jenna began, but then stopped. "Oh," she gasped silently, slipping out the door. Mom managed to lead me over to the bed in her bedroom.
I sat there staring blankly at the wall as mom paced up and down the hallway. From the looks of it, she was as shocked as I was! My boyfriend Cameron and I had been so careful! How could this had happened?
Jenna returned with the test, and mom silently handed it to me. She gave me a disappointed look, and I couldn't blame her. But I stood watching as a little plus sign appeared on the test. Mom stood over my shoulder as I sank to the floor in utter disbelief.
Oh, yes. I was pregnant.
"What are you going to do, Rose?" mom asked after the initial shock had worn off. I was now laying on my own bed, staring at the ceiling.
"I don't know," I sighed. "I mean, what can I do? I was safe, and I still got knocked up. I'd say that I'm pretty much beyond normality right about now."
"I didn't even know you and Cameron were having sex," mom sighed.
"Well, I wasn't exactly gonna tell you, mom," I said, letting out a small smile.
"Look," mom began. "No matter what you decide, we will be there for you one hundred percent. Okay?"
"Thanks, mom," I said tearfully.
"You should talk to Cameron, though," mom told me. "He has a right to know, no matter what."
***
I had gone over to Cameron's house that afternoon, and sat nervously on the end of his bed as he paced. I'd told him I needed to talk to him. and I could imagine I'd made him nervous. He probably thought I wanted to break up with him, poor bugger.
"Just say it," Cameron muttered, coming to a halt and then walking again. I took a deep breath.
"I'm pregnant," I said simply. Cameron stopped dead in his tracks.
"Oh, the condoms failed?" he asked. He always knew how to put a random spin on something serious...
"Yeah, they did," I frowned. "Umm... what are we gonna do about this? We've had sex a lot, but umm... I never actually planned for this ever happening."
"Well, I always pictured us having kids," he smiled. "I mean, some of my friends are dads."
"Yeah, but you're nineteen years old, remember?" I sighed. "I'm only fifteen!"
"Sixteen in two days," he reminded me.
"Right now, I feel like I'm going on twenty," I groaned.
"Look, we can do this, Rose," he smiled. "I love you, and we've been together for two years."
Cameron got down on one knee and took my hand. I wasn't quite sure what to think...
"Rose Maddison Fisher," Cameron began. "I love you, and I couldn't be happier that we're gonna have a baby together and be parents. Will you marry me?"
My mouth fell open. I hadn't expected this at all.
"Are... are you serious?" I whispered, tears welling in my eyes.
"I've never been more serious in my life," he smiled.
"Wow..." I gasped. "I don't know what to say..."
"'Yes' usually works," he chuckled.
"Yes," I smiled confidently. "Yes! Yes I'll marry you!"
I hugged him tightly and we kissed passionately.
*Present Time...*
Becca was truly the best gift I could have ever gotten. Yes, I was young. I still am. But I wouldn't trade my daughter or my marriage for anything. Anything at all. I love my husband, and I love my daughter.
Three minutes had passed, and I picked up the stick. That little pink plus sign appeared again, and I knew that instantly I was gonna be a mom again. It was truly the most rewarding thing. I went into Becca's room and gave her a kiss.
"Mommy's gonna give you a little brother or sister," I whispered. "Sleep tight, princess."
I walked back into my own bedroom and settled into bed next to Cameron. He awoke when I laid down, putting my cold hand on his bare back.
"You're hands are freezing, Rose," he mumbled sleepily.
"You'll live," I chuckled.
"Is Becca asleep?" he asked.
"Yeah, she's sound asleep," I replied. "I just checked on her."
"What were you doing out of bed for so long?" he asked, looking at the clock. "You got up over an hour ago."
"We're gonna have another baby," I announced.
Cameron sat up straight.
"You're pregnant?" he asked, smiling.
"Yep," I grinned.
"Oh, wow," he gasped. "Maybe I'll have my son this time," he joked.
"You wouldn't trade your little daddy's girl for a boy, though," I laughed. "You love her too much. Though if we have one of each..."
"No, I would never trade Becca," he smiled.
"I think I'm four weeks along," I said, counting back. "Roughly. I'll go to the doctor in the morning for sure."
"I'll come with you," Cameron promised.
"You have work," I reminded him.
"My family is more important," Cameron smiled.
And that sentence always made my heart melt. I loved Cameron with all of my heart.