3
"Of course. Just wish I could pick you up from work, is all. Let me know when you're in the car."
Oh, right. That reminds me-
I bring the phone away from my ear.
"Noah's stuck at the garage. Could you take me over there?" I ask Chelsea.
She just laughs, as if it's silly I would even ask.
I bring the phone back to my ear.
"Okay," I say. "I'll be there soon. I love you."
"I love you more," he says. With a click, the call ends.
For a second, I remain stationary. My eyes narrow slightly, and I re-think the call over in my mind.
He definitely wasn't his usual happy-go-lucky self, but he's been busy at work lately.
His manager Vinnie promoted him to assistant manager a few weeks ago, and is now talking about taking some well deserved annual leave.
Vinnie also has a new girlfriend, which is in direct correlation with all these events, according to Noah. More money coming in for us though, so we don't complain.
I worry that the promotion might be stressing him out, and frown.
"Everything alright?" Chelsea asks as she closes her laptop. Her freshly manicured fingers are bright against the dull office desks. She pops gum.
I shrug. "Think so. Shall we go?"
Outside, the the sun has set.
It's cold and dark and I make my cardigan turn into sweater paws to stop my hands from turning blue.
Chelsea has a nice car now, one bought for her by her rich, fancy boyfriend (but he's lovely and he treats her right, so I should probably use his actual name.) Since I've passed, she's let me drive it twice.
Not tonight though - she won't let anyone else touch it in the dark, just in case.
As we're driving through the dark roads with the heat blasting, Chelsea glances over at me and smiles.
"Why's Noah working so late, then?"
"I don't know," I answer honestly, my lip curling. "Probably just because of the promotion and with Vinnie just about to go off for a while. I think he's stressed."
"Yeah," she grins. "Probably."
Unusual. Very, very unusual.
"What was that?" I ask.
"What?"
"That weird big smile you just did."
She squawks. "There was no weird big smile. This is my regular smile and my regular face. Don't be so rude."
Sheesh. "Alright," I answer, voice high and my hands up in defense. "Jeez, what's got you all jumpy tonight?"
"I'm making a curry in the slow cooker and I'm worried it's turned to mush."
That is ridiculous. Completely and utterly ridiculous. I don't say anything though because she's still acting incredibly weird and I don't think I want to know why.
We sing along to songs on the radio until she pulls up outside the garage.
Noah's car is nowhere to be seen.
"He said he was here," I mutter, moreso to myself than to Chelsea.
"Huh?"
"Oh, it's just- Noah usually parks out here."
"It's alright," she smiles. "I'll wait just in case he's not in. Go on."
She shoo's me away a little too fast. With a frazzled head and an unsteady grasp on my bag, I hobble out of the car and close the door. Chelsea gives me a double thumbs up and shoo's me once more towards the entrance door.
My eyebrows thread together.
Everyone's acting so weird tonight.
At least Noah should have some sense of normality around him, surely - even if he has parked God knows where and was acting strange on the phone earlier. A big cuddle with him and it'll all be fine.
I knock twice on the door, just in case one of his coworkers is in.
I don't like to barge in unannounced, not since I walked in on David making out with his boyfriend in the back of one of the cars.
(Noah was out on a lunch break. I vowed not to say a word and never to barge in without knocking again.)
Nobody answers so I push it open - thankfully unlocked - and peer around into the space.
My breath hitches.
Usually so garage-like - dirty, damp, filled with various crap from different cars, the large space is almost always a mess. Not tonight, though.
Tonight there are dozens of candles arranged on the floor, all warm and flickering.
Fairy lights have been strung up overhead and twinkle intermittently, my favourite album is playing overhead, and Noah is stood against his own car next to a blanket picnic set-up holding a bag of my favourite Mexican take-out.
Tears line my eyes.
"What's this?" I ask.
I look back to Chelsea but she's already pulling away, grinning as she was before. In on the secret.
Noah places to bag of food down and walks over, taking both my hands in his.
"I missed date night this weekend because of work."
"So you did this?"
There must be close to seventy candles on the floor.
We usually try and go out together once or twice a month, just to be out of the house and have some time to ourselves that doesn't involve the living room or the TV. Noah's been working a lot more lately, so I didn't mind missing our allotted date night, but obviously he did.
He's pulled out every stop.
There are even rose petals scattered on the blankets that are laid out.
"Noah," I cry. Literally cry. Tears begin running down my cheeks.
"Hey- woah, why are you crying?" He laughs, pulling me into his chest. "Do the candles smell too strong? Is it too cold in here?"
"The candles smell so good," I sniffle. "You're just too sweet to me. Most perfect boyfriend ever."
He lifts me off my feet, my legs wrapping around his body by instinct. It's something we've done so many times that I don't even have to think about it, just wrap my arms around him and press a kiss into his hair.
The candles flicker around us as he carries me over to the pile of blankets.
I notice a few pictures of us have been hung up around his workspace - maybe they were there before and I never noticed them, but they're cute.
Some of us grinning, some kissing, one we took outside of the house just as our mortgage got approved.
"You're ridiculous," I say, because it's all I can think of. This is everything. "How long did all this take you?"
"All day," he admits, sitting next to me on the pile of blankets. They're so thick that I can't feel the cold floor beneath them. "They guys helped though."
"Did you get any work done today?"
"Nope," he pops. Then hands me my usual order from our favourite Mexican place and pops open a bottle of white wine. He pours out my glass for me. "Cheers?"
"To what?"
"Hoping these candles don't burn the place down."
I suppress my laugh as our glasses clink together.
We talk about life as we eat and drink, much like we usually do on our dates. Complain about rising mortgage rates, chat about work updates, decide which one of us will do the food shop on the weekend.
"Remember our first date?" Noah asks suddenly, taking me by surprise.
"Your dad's work?" I guess. My memory isn't the best, but I distinctly remember going there a lot with Noah in our early days, getting lovely Italian meals cooked by his father. Sometimes dining with his parents.
"The drive in," he corrects with a smile. The memory hits me like a train, sudden and without apology. Rum and raisin ice cream, my feet up on the dash as a Christmas movie played, Noah admitting he'd been coming onto me, our conversation about exes. Our first kiss.
"Of course I remember." I answer softly. "I said you were too sweet for all those tattoos, and you told me I'd said that before, and all I was thinking about was how someone so sweet could be so fucking hot."
He actually blushes. I playfully push my shoulder against his.
"You're funny," he deadpans. "All I could think about was your brother cutting my dick off when he found out that I'd taken you out."
"Oh my God," I gasp. "Is that why you're smooth like a Ken doll?"
"You're so fucking annoying," he snorts, placing his food down. "Come here, I wanna show you something."
He stands and then holds out his hand for me, which I take as soon as I've swallowed my last bite of food.
I'm pulled into his side and then led over to his car.
He often works on the BMW - it's getting older now and he continues to drive it quite a lot, so it needs repairs little and often.
Sometimes he talks about upgrading, but I think he's too attached to let go.
Our first date happened in this car. We've had more car sex than can be counted by the naked eye in this car. Technically, with all the trips to work when we first met, we fell in love in this car.
Maybe I'm too attached as well.
We walk around to the passenger side and I watch as he opens the door.
Immediately, my gaze drops down next to the seat. Painted onto the door frame are curly red letters - actually hand painted - that read Madelaine.
"Noah," I coo, bending over to get a closer look. "See. This is why I'm always saying how sweet you are, graffiti-ing your car for me."
He's suspiciously quiet. Probably just embarrassed at what a softie he is.
"Why?" I ask, my hand grazing over each of the letters.
"Because I want you to marry me."
My back snaps with how quickly I stand up straight and spin around.
I bring my hands up to cover my jaw dropped mouth and take in the sight before me with wide, watery eyes.
Noah is down on one knee. On one knee.
Holding a ring box open and waiting for my response. A diamond glitters in the box. The candles flicker around us.
Still, I'm not sure it's real.
"What?" I ask, just to be sure I'm hearing him correctly.
He gives me that killer grin.
"Madelaine, will you marry me?"
A sob breaks free.
"Are you sure?"
He laughs and reaches forward, pulling me towards his body. I straddle one of his knees, still stood up, towering over him. His face is warm in my hands.
"Of course I'm sure, you moron. I've been sure for the last two and a half years." When we met. Of course. "I bought the ring a year ago, you know."
"You did?" My voice is embarrassingly croaky.
"I was telling the guys today that I've been waiting for the right time to propose for months and I always decide whatever scenario wasn't good enough.
They asked why the fuck I was waiting - and then we did all this.
" He wipes a tear from my cheek. "I want to marry you, Maddie.
I asked your stupid brother and everything. "
"Oh my God," I say through laughs.
He kisses each side of my mouth and then raises an eyebrow.
"As if I would say no. Of course I'll marry you. I already want to be with you forever, anyway."
·─────?? ??─────·
Holy shit.
Holy fucking shit.
"No fucking way," I speak, even though there's nobody in the bathroom with me.
Two years ago, Noah and I were married in a small ceremony in the countryside.
Family and close friends only. We honeymooned in Mexico for two weeks, came back and bought out Vinnie's garage (Noah is an incredible business owner; very sexy in a suit) and upgraded our two bedroom house for a three bedroom.
The talk about kids came around then.
We'd try, but not very seriously. We wouldn't stress over it anyway. I went off birth control and that was that, nothing else to think about. And then a few months passed, and nothing.
I started tracking cycles, we began to take it seriously. We talked through our options and eventually took fertility tests. I visited three different doctors who all told me there were no issues - a baby would come eventually. Still, nothing.
A sob breaks out of my mouth. I thought something was wrong with one of us, despite all the tests.
I'd almost believed it wasn't going to happen anymore.
Chelsea's firstborn came and when she named me Godmother I decided I would throw all my motherly energy onto her little boy instead of continue to panic over my own lack of baby.
"No way," I repeat.
The third test colours.
Positive.
The fourth: positive.
The fifth, sixth and seventh: positive.
I knew as soon as I threw up my eggs this morning that something wasn't quite right. I love scrambledeggs, there's no way my body would willingly get rid of them.
I bounce on my feet and then stop, cradling my stomach.
Wiping the tears, pulling up my pajama pants (didn't realise I'd left those down in the haze of waiting for the tests to give a reading, oops) and grasping the selection of seven tests in one hand, I half run down the stairs before thinking how dangerous that definitely is.
I'm not wearing a bra, but who cares?
Some things are more important.
My car keys are on the kitchen island, next to my half eaten breakfast and a little note from Noah telling me to have a good day. He works Saturday's now, sad but essential for the time being. His assistant manager is on sick leave, and he's taken it upon himself to pick up the slack.
I need to tell him. If I wait until tonight I'll explode. If I tell anyone else first I'll explode.
Within seconds, I'm outside of the house and in my car. I'm not entirely sure I even locked the front door. Fuck it. If we get robbed, we get robbed. I don't think a tornado could wipe the loopy smile off my face.
"Oh my God," I whisper. Then again. I scream into the steering wheel for good measure, and then set off with shaking hands and a constant need to touch my own belly.
Just to be extra, extra sure, I stop by a supermarket and pick up six more tests.
I take four of them in the bathroom (once it's empty) and wait for the positive to show up. It does, all four times. I decide to leave the two extra tests, maybe take them with me to the garage so Noah can share the joy of me peeing on a stick and having it tell us how pregnant we are.
The garage is only a few miles away and I'm bouncing in my seat once I've arrived.
I park next to Noah, pick up my now eleven positive pregnancy tests, and shove them into my pajama pants pockets.
It's freezing cold and I'm wearing a tank top that definitely shows my nipples now that they're hard from the weather, but not a single man in the garage looks at my chest as I burst through the door. David pulls himself out from underneath a car upon hearing my constricted breath.
"Noah's in a meeting," Frankie, one of the other workers, tells me immediately. "Are you alright, Mads?"
"I am so unbelievably good," I say. "In his office?"
He nods. The curtains are open so I can see Noah sat behind his desk in a button up shirt and suit trousers, sat opposite an elderly gentleman who's nodding and smiling at whatever he's saying.
I remember him telling me briefly about a meeting with another garage owner last night, and immediately wonder if I should interrupt him.
I stop at the door of his office and bounce on my feet.
"Seriously, are you okay?" Frankie asks once more. "Do you want a jacket while you wait?"
"Please," I nod.
He must see something in my eyes, because he pauses and tries to read my face for a few seconds. Frankie is lovely, like somebody's second dad, and I've gotten along well with him ever since Noah took him on.
I want to blurt it out. I'm pregnant!
But I want my husband to know first. I can't wait to see the look on his face, the excitement behind his eyes. My hand is still on my belly when Frankie wraps his own coat around me and pulls it to, covering my chest.
"Thank you," I smile. "How's... car stuff?"
He snorts. "As good as ever."
The only words running through my head are finish meeting, finish meeting, finish meeting, but I follow Frankie over to his work station and take a look at the car he's currently working on, not that I can be of any help. My brain is just glad for the short distraction.
I'm practically vibrating on the spot two minutes later.
Noah still looks enamored with his meeting, speaking passionately about something, waving his arms. I groan under my breath as he pulls out a wad of paperwork and begins looking through it. The man opposite him smiles and nods.
My stare must burn into the side of his face, because his gaze snaps over to me quickly.
He closes the wad of paperwork, says something, and then stands up from behind his desk. I squeal and run over to the door of his office, getting there just as he opens it.
I'm held at arms length as he looks me up and down.
"What's up, love? Are you alright?" He frowns at Frankie's coat, and then appears more alarmed the further down my body he looks. "You're wearing slippers, sweetheart."
"I need to speak to you," I say. "Are you busy?"
Past him, the man sat across from his desk waves politely at me. I wave and take hold of Noah's biceps. Put his hands on your belly, blurt out the words- show a little self-restraint.
Noah turns to his guest. "I'm sorry, Bill, could you give us a few minutes? This is my wife, Madelaine."
"Of course. Lovely to meet you, Madelaine."
"You too, Bill," I say as he walks past the two of us and over to the small congregation of workers. My being here seems to have unsettled them - or perhaps it's my behaviour, or lack of appropriate clothing. Could be a whole number of things.
Noah closes the door behind us and draws the blinds shut, immediately kissing each of my cheeks as soon as he's done so.
"Are you okay?" He asks.
I reach into my pajama pockets, grasp as many of the tests as I can with one hand, and then drop them onto his desk. His nostrils flare.
He picks up one, then another, and then me.
"You serious? Is this serious?"
"Of course I'm serious," I half cry. "I'm pregnant. I took eleven tests."
"Oh my God, Maddie. Fucking Christ- I thought-"
His eyes well with tears. I realise that I've never seen Noah cry before, that this is the first time.
I know what he's going to say. I thought we couldn't. We never spoke about it, but after almost two years of being off birth control and multiple doctors visits, we both thought the worst. I could see it in his eyes every time I got my period.
"I thought so too," I admit.
Wiping the tears away from his eyes, I gently lower myself to the floor and then press his hands against my stomach. He pushes them under the coat and my tank top, covering half of my belly with two big palms.
"You should've called me," he says. "I would've come home."
"I came straight here to tell you. Well, after the shop for more tests. Shall we do some more tests, do you think? I have two more."
"I think eleven tests is pretty solid," he snorts. Our foreheads rest together. "What now? Do we book a hospital visit? I can get someone to cover me for the next few days. We can do some baby shopping."
"I have literally no idea what we're supposed to do now," I admit through a laugh. "But we'll figure it out together, okay?"
"Alright," he breathes against my skin. "You're going to look so fucking good as a mother."
"Are you kidding? You'll be the daddy all the mum's at daycare talk about."
We kiss through tears.
So many tears over the years, some sad, most happy. So many moments we've been through together that have led directly to this moment. I thought meeting Noah was endgame, but it turns out meeting the love of my life was just the beginning.
Now for everything else.
I'm just glad to have Noah by my side for it all.