29. Chapter Twenty-Nine ~ Brayden
Chapter Twenty-Nine ~ Brayden
Things between Mia and I felt a lot lighter after our visit with Trent. We spent a week in Florida and visited him every day until we left. Each day he showed up to the visit, his smile was brighter. He had new clothes and looked a little healthier. He'd even been able to see a barber and pay for a haircut before we left.
I wasn’t happy with leaving him behind, but I was very pleased with being able to see him and contribute to his stay. Uncle Joe worked around the clock to pull strings getting him free, or at least into a work camp or halfway house to finish out his sentence. That worked wonders for Mia and I’s relationship. It was as if it brought us closer than ever before.
Summer was almost over, and we’d spent every single day together. Whenever I had some free time, like while I was at therapy or she was out running errands, I read her best seller and started taking some pointers from her work. I always knew she was a great writer, but I was surprised to see just how deep into her passion she was. She was a hopeless romantic. A woman scorned, a certified lover. But most of all, she was passionate, and used the disappointments in her life to fuel that fire.
One random afternoon, Mia woke up and she was as sick as a dog. I thought she caught a bug while we were in Florida, but she didn’t quite think so. She said her monthly visitor hadn’t shown up and she was so wrapped up in us fighting and finding Trent, she didn’t realize it. Right away, we went out for a test and when I say it was the most nerve-racking thing I had ever experienced in my life, I thought I would faint from the anxiety.
“Oh my God, oh my God, what am I going to do if I'm pregnant? I can’t be pregnant. I have things to do. I have a book tour coming after summer. I can’t be pregnant and I’m trying to work. I don’t even know if I want kids. Kids are hard to take care of, I'm just now settling into my freedom away from my family, I can’t be a mom to someone else right now.”
Mia's freaking out freaking me out. I wasn’t sure if I wanted children either. I didn’t know the first thing about being a dad. I had never even changed a diaper before. However, I did my best to keep her calm because if we were both freaking out and losing our minds, nothing would get squared away. Besides, I loved her so much, I was willing to figure out whatever life threw in our direction.
“Babe, breathe. Okay? We haven’t even taken the test yet to see if you actually are pregnant, and even if you are, we can figure this out together.”
She was still nervous and on edge about becoming a mom and ironically, the more she freaked out about it, the more excited I became about the prospects. When I thought about us having a baby, it made the love inside of me grow for her even more. A baby and marriage were the final steps in our relationship anyway.
“Are you ready to be a dad?” she asked. “Being a parent means you have to give up your selfish habits and always be ready to consider someone else before yourself. It means waking up early, and giving up date nights sometimes. Not getting drunk whenever you want and actually showing up for the child in every single way. Are you ready for that?”
“I’m ready for whatever there is that comes with you,” I said. “As long as we love each other and have our best interest at heart, we can get through whatever there is to come. I can learn to be a father. I'm ready to learn, if this is the time for me. I will always step up to the plate for you and my responsibilities. Always.”
Needless to say, she took the test, and we were pregnant. When the reality set in, there were some unsettled nerves present, but after a while, things calmed down for me. I was ready to grow our family. I was ready to give her a ring.
We started to plan things out a little prematurely and it made us both nervous again, but the more we talked and laughed about how we would be as someone’s parents, the more we settled into the thought of becoming parents.
“I can’t even imagine you as a dad,” she laughed. “Then again, you’re like a big kid yourself sometimes, so our kid might love you more than they love me.”
“Hopefully it’s a boy. I’m not ready to get my fingernails painted and wear a tutu just to keep my daughter happy,” I laughed. “Either way, I'll be happy with whatever you bake in there. I know we’ll be great parents. Even if it means figuring things out along the way.”
We broke the news to uncle Joe first. Then Trent, when he called. He was so ecstatic to become an uncle, he broke down into tears over the phone. I was happier for him more than anything, because it gave him something more to look forward to when he came home.
“You finally did it,” he said. “I always knew it would happen, I just didn’t know when. I guess marriage is next then, huh?”
Both Mia and I grew quiet after his question. I had always planned to ask her someday, but when Trent mentioned it, it was the first time I felt super inclined to make the decision of when.