14. Clyde
CLYDE
As much as the three of us loved being together, our living arrangement wasn’t easy for any of us. Stephen had to go back and forth to get things or to work. The space was really cramped, and it was like we were on this temporary status that had no end in sight.
We’d looked around for places, but with our schedules, it hadn’t been a priority. And this morning, when I noticed Stephen nodding off at the breakfast table, it hit me that it had to be.
Stephen was shouldering the brunt of this. He wasn’t getting the sleep he needed and was inconvenienced at every turn. It wasn’t fair to him. He never once complained. That wasn’t who he was, but it didn’t have me feeling any better about him sacrificing so much for us.
“Daddy, it’s time to go to school.” Posy had her backpack on and her umbrella in her hand.
“I didn’t know it was supposed to rain today.” The weatherman had made a big deal about there being no rain in sight.
“It’s not, but it’s sprinkler day.” She hugged the umbrella close.
“Do I even wanna know what that means?”
She shook her head and giggled. “Probably not.”
“Will it get you in trouble?”
“No, Daddy. You know I don’t get in trouble at school.”
And she never had, but she was definitely up to some kind of mischief. And I could be one of those dads who tried to find out what it was and to stop her, but this was the time in her life to make mistakes. If that meant she lost a recess because of something with an umbrella, then so be it.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
“Can we stop along the way?”
“Sure. Did you want something to drink?” A new juice bar had opened up on her way to school, and she’d mentioned it three or four times that other kids brought them in with them. I thought she was hinting to get one too.
I was surprised when she instead said, “No. I wanna get a pillow for Stephen.”
I squatted down to be at her level. “Can you explain why you want to get a pillow for Stephen?”
“Because he’s really tired, Daddy. And according to Sally at school, when her daddy was pregnant and he was really tired, he needed a special pillow to go between his legs when he slept.”
“Okay. Roll back. You think because Stephen is tired that he’s having a baby?” That was a pretty big leap.
“Not at first, but I was telling Sally about how he went to bed early every single day this week and that he’s still tired in the morning. And I was worried he might be sick. And she’s the one who told me he was having a baby.”
School conversations sure had changed.
“How about we don’t talk about Stephen being tired at school anymore?”
“Okay. Does he not like it when I talk about him at school?”
“I’m pretty sure nobody likes people guessing whether they’re pregnant or not at school.” I assured her he wouldn’t be mad.
“Makes sense, Daddy. Can we still stop?”
“We don’t have time. It’s on the other side of town. How about we pull up the website real quick, and I’ll have it delivered?”
She liked that. And we got a pillow designed to go between his knees. And it wasn’t until I hit the order button that I realized she might be right. He might be pregnant. I’d been trying to help her do something nice for him, without considering the possibility was real.
I dropped her off at school and then I went to work.
But try as I did, I couldn’t get the morning out of my mind.
Was he pregnant? We a million percent didn’t do anything to not get him pregnant.
We hadn’t really talked about starting a family now either.
We already had one. At least Posy didn’t seem upset by the possibility.
She just wanted to help him. That was good.
I sat at my desk and got absolutely nothing done. So when lunchtime came, instead of heading across the street to the deli, I got in my car, stopped at the pharmacy, and then drove straight to my mate’s work and called him from outside.
“Hey. I came to see you.”
“I’ll be right out.”
He came out, and I took his hand and led him to my car. I wasn’t sure how much people might overhear or see, and this was pretty private.
“You’re scaring me, mate.”
“Don’t be scared. It’s just Posy said something to me this morning, and I can’t get it out of my head. And so here.” I shoved the bag at him, and he opened it up.
“You think I’m pregnant?”
“I don’t know, but you’ve been very tired. And I thought instead of thinking about it nonstop with no answers, you could take a test at lunch. Maybe?”
“Wait here.” He rubbed his cheek against mine, jogged off into the building, and was back in a few minutes. “I took the rest of the day off. Do you have leave?”
I was already calling it in.
He followed me back to my place where he took the test, and the two of us watched, waiting for results. Neither of us had expressed whether we were happy or sad by the possibility. Instead, we just stared and stared as one line became two.
“So Posy was right.” He held the test, his eyes glued to it.
“Yeah. She was. But in all fairness, it was Sally who was right.” He looked at me like, “Okay,” and I told him the story. He shook his head.
“Oh, kids.” He chuckled.
Kids indeed,
“This is a good thing, right?” I would give him support whatever he thought, but I wanted us to be on the same page.
“It’s the best.” He wrapped his arms around me and held me close. “It’s the absolute best. But it means we have to change things around. We’re gonna need to get moving soon.”
“True. This house is not big enough for all of us. And even if it were, I wouldn’t ask Posy to give up her bedroom for a baby.” I wanted that out there from the get-go. We both agreed that Posy was our priority, but hadn’t laid out what that would look like if and when our family grew.
“Exactly. This is going to be a big enough adjustment for her without giving her the message that the baby will come first.”
I kissed my mate’s mark, the one that told shifterkind he was mine. “You’re amazing. Speaking of Posy, how are we going to tell her?”
“I suppose we could just say you were right.” Stephen pulled back. “Or… how about we go and buy her a present?”
We went to the toy store that specialized in really nice stuffies and managed to find a large bunny and a baby bunny, representing each sibling. When she came home that night, we sat her down and handed her both. And then, just as my mate suggested, we said, “You were right.”
She picked up the little bunny. “I’m gonna have a baby sister.”
“Or brother.” Stephen rested his hands on his belly.
“She’s not gonna be a bunny, though.” She tapped her nose. “Will she be a fox or a wolf?”
“Don’t know.” And we wouldn’t until they were older.
“It doesn’t matter because she’s gonna be the best.” Posy was set on them being a sister, which was adorable, but also something we were going to have to work on. “Because she has two best dads ever and the best big sister.”
“The very best sister,” Stephen said.
I couldn’t have agreed more.
“We need to go tell Miss Caitlin. She’s going to be so excited!”
Posy was already dragging Stephen out the door. It was adorable, and once again, Posy was right… Miss Caitlin was thrilled for us.