Epilogue
“Okay, Dad’ll be here in a minute to pick J.J. up. Should we eat at Jade Forest or get it to go?” Jesse rubbed his hands eagerly as he came up behind Sophie.
“Let’s take it to go. Or order later.” Sophie turned her head to catch a kiss from her husband and bent to pick up J.J. “I’m glad it’s still staying dark this late in the morning. We can go to Dad’s and drop him off.”
“J.J. wants to show him the train set your parents built with him last weekend.” Jesse stopped in the doorway of their dining room to look into the little playroom area they’d made in the living room.
“You know... I’m not saying it can’t happen someday, or that it won’t happen this time, babe, but it might be cool not to have every single thing in the house babyproofed this time next year.
He’ll be three, and he won’t fall in the toilet.
I might even be able to stop saying ‘Excuse me, I have to potty’ when I hang out with people. ”
Sophie laughed. “Yeah, except that potty training is really going to kick in soon. It’ll be a whole different thing. Speaking of which—you get the door. I have to go potty,” she said with a rueful smile.
“Again? You were just in there when I wanted to get J.J.’s bathtime stuff.”
“I know, but I have to go all the time.”
“I thought that was later in the pregnancy.”
Sophie froze halfway out of the room. “What?”
“Oh! Oh, no. Honey, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. I was just remembering how it happened when you were pregnant with J.J. I’m sorry, Soph.”
“It happened early on, too. I was sleepy, starving, and had to pee a lot.”
Jesse nodded. “But... You said you weren’t. You got your period.”
“Well, I got something. It was super light. More like spotting.” Sophie felt her knees wobble, and she went to grip the wall for support—only to discover her hand was still clutching a box of cereal—and her other hand was in it. Pulling handfuls out like she’d never heard of a bowl.
“Have you been eating cereal straight out of the box?” Jesse came over to her, a look of suppressed excitement on his face.
“Mmhm.” Sophie squeaked.
“But you tested, right?”
She bit her lip, then shook her head guiltily.
“I... I got my period, or I thought I did, just a couple of days after we came home. I thought for sure I had my timing wrong, and I wasted our ‘baby moon.’ I mean, I know now it wasn’t wasted at all.
It made things so much better, and I’ve stopped stressing about things, and so have you.
I didn’t test. I mean, that was early for that month, and it’s been almost six weeks now—”
“As we abide by the Bi-Monthly Treaty signed over sex, crab rangoon, and double cheese pizza, yeah,” Jesse laughed, gently taking the box from her hand.
“So, I was early.”
“But technically, babe, I wonder if you’re late,” Jesse murmured, hugging her to his chest. “Weren’t you telling me there are times when you get these little spots, but it’s not because it’s a period? It’s the sign that it worked? What’s it called?”
Sophie has tried to put everything she’d been obsessing over, every little symptom, every technical term, out of her head and just enjoy being married to her best friend and the love of her life, trying to appreciate the baby they already had, even if it was clear he wanted a sibling.
Still, when Jesse asked, the words came right back. “Implantation bleeding.”
“Go take a test. I know we have a giant economy pack in our bathroom,” Jesse urged.
“But I just went! It says it has to be first thing in the morning.”
“Go test! Just because. Please?”
Sophie held up a hand in protest. For months, they had tried. Nothing. The empty tests with one line instead of two mocked her.
“I don’t want to.”
Jesse’s face fell, and she could see he was trying to say the right thing, mouth moving, then stopping in silence.
“But I will, just for you.”
Sophie trotted up the stairs, wincing when she heard the doorbell ring. Mr. Minegold AKA Dad, was there to pick J.J. up early and take him for a “Grandpa Weekend.”
I’m just going to keep my happy face on. It’s okay. We’ll try again. Or not. We’ll try other things. A family has lots of ways to grow. J.J. will have friends who are so different from him, and they can all be different together.
A litany of positivity and self-comforting phrases raced through her mind as she undid the wrapper on a pregnancy test, used it, washed up, and stared at the little blue-and-white test accusingly.
One line.
Of course.
Of course, it’s also only been ten seconds. The fluid was still moving across the strip.
One line. One line.
Two lines.
What??
Two lines, no. No, no, but yes, that’s definitely a second line, and it’s a super clear line, and it’s a dark line, and, “Jessseeeeee!” A banshee-like crow of joy ripped from her throat, and then she was silent, pale lips quivering, praying out every not-quite-formed thank you she could think of, to God, to the fae, to the people in her life.
Jesse was beside her that fast, eyes wide. “What? What did it say?”
“Look! Look, it is! We are!” she babbled, pointing at the stick on the bathroom sink before launching herself into his arms.
“Mama!” J.J. was calling for her in the bedroom.
“Mama is right!” she cheered. “Dad! J.J.! Want to know some very good news?”
“I want to!” J.J. chirped from Mr. Minegold’s arms, and Sophie could see from the older man’s beaming smile that he’d heard and understood the whole thing.
“Is this weekend canceled, my dears?” he asked, beaming.
“Nope! We’re going on a different type of baby moon.” Sophie beamed back and swooped J.J. up in her arms. “Hey. What have you been asking for?”
“Cupcake?” J.J.’s eyes lit up.
Jesse chuckled and came over to ruffle his son’s hair, putting his arms around his little (but growing) family. “Besides a cupcake. Your friends at Bright Stars have some.”
“Dinos?”
“Some that live in the same house as them. A friend you live with.”
“Baby!” J.J. shouted triumphantly, proud that he’d solved the guessing game. Then, his little eyes brightened further. “Us! Baby for us?”
Sophie squeezed him tight. “A baby for us.”
IF YOU ENJOYED SHORT stories from Pine Ridge, meet more residents in the Pine Ridge universe here. Keep reading for a peek at The Minotaur’s Valentine.