by Robin Leaf
“Do you think you caught a bug?”
“It’s possible, but I felt fine throughout the wedding. I’ve never had a stomach bug where I felt completely fine for a few hours. Honestly, I’ve never had a nervous stomach either. I don’t know what this could be.”
He slid his hands down her legs and removed her shoes. “Do you want me to run you a bath?”
She removed the cloth from her face and smiled at him. “Yeah. If you get in with me. I feel fine now.” He stood and helped her up. “First, we promised Darby we’d open her gift.”
Riley found the bag and handed it to Vanessa. She dug into the tissue and held up a purple and white box. Her face paled again. “No.” She almost dropped the gift. Riley took the box from Vanessa and read the front. It was a pregnancy test. He looked back at Vanessa. “It can’t be, Riley. I’m on the pill. Why? Why would Darby do this?”
He shook his head. “Why does Darby do anything?” He thought for a few minutes. He was now intrigued. Darby’s hunches were usually dead on. “Take the test, Vanessa.”
She looked at him like he had told her to drown a bag of kittens. “Why?”
He reached out for her hand and lifted it to his mouth, gently pulling her toward him. “Why not?” He wrapped his free arm around her waist and rested his forehead against hers. “Just humor me.” He kissed her temple. “I’ll go get the bath started, unless you need my help.”
“I think I’m fully capable of peeing on a stick all by myself, Riley,” she retorted.
He tried to hide how much her annoyed tone amused him by turning quickly and heading to the whirlpool tub. While the tub filled, he stepped into the room to remove his tie and his jacket. The night was not going as he had planned, but if she was pregnant, it would be better than he dreamed. He tried hard not to get his hopes up, but there they were, in the sky, up as up can be. Flashes of the conversation they had just yesterday about the future and children filtered into his awareness. Both of them wanted at least two kids, maybe four. Vanessa didn’t like odd numbers. The rational, together woman was very superstitious about it. He was not against starting right away. However, he agreed to wait at least two years so they had time together just the two of them. Time, for whatever reason, seemed insignificant right now, except that it was taking too long. Three minutes felt like forever. He found himself wishing for a positive. Jeez, he was going to have to do some superior acting if this test was negative.
“Riley!” Vanessa howled. He took a deep breath, quickly shut off the water and made his way over to her. She shoved both the stick and box in his hand. He was too busy trying to decipher what two lines meant against the box with his back to her to notice that she had entered into a full-scale, level-three panic attack, complete with tears and pacing. “How, Riley? I’ve never missed a day.” She continually shook her hands like she was flinging water off of them. “I take it at the same time every day. Always.”
He seemed frozen, his head wrapping around the fact that his wish came true, grinning like an idiot. Finally he noticed her near-meltdown state and moved toward her, stopping her pacing and wrapping his arms around her. He stroked her back. “Breathe, Vanessa.” She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. He felt her breathing return to almost normal and her trembling subside.
“Didn’t you miss a period?” he asked.
“No. I had one. It was light, spotting actually, and it only lasted a couple of days, so I chalked it up to stress.”
He tried to think of words of comfort for her, but he realized that telling her the pill was only 99% effective, and she may be a one percenter didn’t seem like the right thing to do. Abruptly, the next thought hit him like an avalanche. “The antibiotic. It can weaken the effects of birth control pills.”
“Really?” She twisted in his arms and looked at his face. “And you knew this?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t remember until just now. Someone in college got his girlfriend pregnant in high school the same way. He said the whole reason he was a biotech major was that he wanted to work on creating a birth-control-pill friendly antibiotic.”
“Great. We’re just like horny teenagers.” She sighed. “Well they should tell everyone that takes an antibiotic that little factoid when prescribing them, or at the very least put that in big letters on the bottle.”
He smiled into her hair and hugged her more securely to him. “Vanessa, are you okay with this?”
She pulled back and studied him. Finally she sighed. “I think I will be. I’m just… surprised.”
She tried to smile. “Nothing like becoming a wife and learning you will be a mother all in the same day.”
He dropped his lips to hers and kissed her softly, then abruptly pulled away startling her. He dramatically smacked his forehead. “Holy shit, I’m going to be a father!”
She smacked his arm. “Hey, Tate. No cursing in front of the kid. I know you were raised better than that.”
He picked her up and twirled her around twice. “Oh my God, Vanessa. I’m going to be a father.” He sat her down on the floor gently, kneeled on his knees, wrapped his arms around her backside and put an ear to her stomach. “You have a living being growing inside you.”
“Yeah.” She deadpanned. “So did Sigourney Weaver.”
He looked up at her face, ignoring her joke. “My living being.” His eyes glistened, and her face softened. “My child.” He choked on the word child and buried his face in her stomach. “Oh, I love you so much. Both of you.”
“I love you, too, Riley.” She ran her fingers through his hair, seeming to let him have his moment.
“Thank you, Vanessa,” he whispered against her stomach.
“I’m glad my klutziness has made you so happy.” When he looked up at her, confusion colored his features. She smiled and gently wiped his tears with her thumbs. “If I hadn’t fallen against your fireplace, this,” she pointed to her stomach, “wouldn’t have happened.”
He stood and chuckled. “If you hadn’t been a klutz the first time we met, we might not have happened. So yeah, thanks for that.” He found the zipper of her dress and slid it down. “Now, about that bath.”
She began to unbutton his shirt. “Riley, so just how did Darby know?”
He laughed again as he unhooked her bra. “A hunch, I’m sure. She’ll say it was your aura.” He slid her bra off and tossed it on the counter. “Did you see her today?”
“Yeah, she came in to check on me.” She slid his shirt off his shoulders and ran her hands down his chest.
He leaned down to kiss her neck as he hooked his thumbs in her off-white, barely-there panties and slowly slid them down her hips. “Did you say you felt queasy? Maybe she picked up on that.”
“No. But maybe Emily said something.” She moved her hands around his chest, barely touching his skin, making it hard for Riley to concentrate on her words. “I dunno. This afternoon was a bit of a blur.” She slid both his pants and boxer briefs down and he stepped out of them.
“For me, too. Until I saw you. Then time seemed to just…”
“…stop,” she finished for him.
They stood naked in front of one another, staring into each other’s faces for a long time. His hands rested on her hips drawing lazy circles with his thumbs. Her fingers slid around his backside, to his waist, then up his chest to the back of his neck. His eyes kept drinking in her face, stopping occasionally on her lips. He pulled her toward him gently and bent his head slowly to graze her bottom lip with his. “God, I love you, Vanessa.”
“Show me how much, Riley.” She drug the tip of her tongue across his upper lip. “Make love to me,” she whispered.
“After the bath…”
“No. Now. Please.”
His mouth covered hers as he lifted her off the ground, wrapping her legs around his waist. Vanessa smiled against his lips, remembering the last time he did this. He considered taking her just like he did that first time against the wall in the bathroom, but it didn’t feel right. Instead, he carr
ied her to the bedroom, and did just what she asked.
THIRTY TWO
Riley slung the towel around his hips, found his pants and fished out his phone. He and Vanessa heard it vibrate several times from his pocket after their third round of love making, this time in the tub. Since it was after 1:00 in the morning, Vanessa, ever being the worry wart, feared there may be an emergency. He had several missed calls and texts, all from Darby. Without reading them, he fired off a quick response.
Thanks for the gift. Good hunch. Tell NO ONE. Talk tomorrow.
He turned off the phone and returned to Vanessa, helping her stand, opening her towel, wrapping her in it and helping her step out of the tub.
“So, how’re we gonna do this, Riley?” Vanessa asked, wrapped in his arms, her head cuddled against his chest.
“After three times, you can’t possibly be thinking I can do it again.” He grinned down at her.
“No.” She looked up at him seriously. “What are we going to tell everyone?”
“I hope you don’t get mad, but I just told Darby.” He searched her face for a freak out, but there was none. “I asked her not to tell anyone. She won’t. I promise.”
She sighed. “No. She deserved to be told. But what about everyone else?”
“Vanessa, we will do whatever you want to do. Whatever decision you make, I’ll stick to it.”
“I want to wait. Let’s keep it just between us for now.” She smiled. “I want to have time to wrap my own head around it before anyone else knows.”
He bent down and kissed her lightly on the lips. “I love that plan.” He rested his forehead against hers. “I talked to Darby’s publicist today about releasing the news about the wedding. It’s better for it to come from us than to have the press get wind of it on their own. I proofed the press release earlier, but I wanted to run it by you first. She just needs an okay from me to send it.”
She thought for a moment and groaned. “Send the okay in the morning. By the time it hits, we’ll be on our way to Hawaii.”
“Speaking of that, we should go to bed. We have an early breakfast with everyone before we leave.” He moved her hair out of her eyes. “You are carrying my child now, and you need your sleep.”
“Ugh. Is that how it’s going to be now?” she grouched, but the gleam in her eye told him she wasn’t completely serious. “Are you planning on using the ‘mother-of-my-kid’ card all the time?”
“Yes ma’am,” he answered, absolutely no shame in his tone.
***
“Please promise one more time,” Vanessa pleaded as she finished wrapping her hair in a ponytail.
“Jeez, Vanessa. For the third time, I promise I won’t say a word about the baby,” Riley said smiling.
“Pinky swear?” She held up her right fist, pinky extended.
He laughed, laced his pinky with hers and kissed her pinky. “Pinky swear. Now c’mon. We’re already late.”
They held hands the entire way down to the same secluded room where they had their reception.
Right before they entered, Vanessa squeezed his hand. “Remember, not a word.”
“Trust me, Vanessa,” he assured her.
A small buffet lined the back wall. Everyone from the wedding was already there either filling their plates or sitting at the tables, chatting about various topics.
“Good morning, everyone,” Riley sang to the group, as he led Vanessa to the food. He noticed how she smiled and nodded at everyone, but did not say a word while the others greeted them warmly.
Vanessa’s father walked over to them and extended a hand to Riley. He turned to his daughter and opened his arms for a hug.
“I’m pregnant,” she blurted loudly and threw herself in her father’s arms. He stiffened and stepped back to look at his daughter’s face. All chatter and activity stopped, except for Riley’s chuckle, and all eyes turned to stare open mouthed at Vanessa and her father. After what seemed like an eternity of shocked, awkward silence, Officer Taylor spoke.
“Is this why you got married?” he asked sternly.
Vanessa shook her head. “No, Daddy,” she answered, barely above a whisper. “I didn’t even suspect until last night after the ceremony.” She shot a glance at Darby. “I took a test and it was positive.” She gave her father a tight, timid smile waiting for his response. He was quiet for a long time, his face expressionless.
“I’m going to be a grandpa?” he smiled.
“Well, you already are.” She nodded to Seth. “But yeah.” She patted her stomach. “This time, it’s your flesh and blood grandchild.”
Robert crushed his daughter to his chest as the room erupted with noisy congratulations. Riley was hugged and patted on the back and watched closely as Vanessa was passed around from person to person.
Darby was the last to hug him. "How did you know, Darbs?” he whispered in her ear.
“I didn’t. I called and texted you to tell you I sent you the wrong bag. I sent you a figurine of Hera, the goddess of marriage. Ally and I have decided to try and have a baby. She was inseminated the week after we travelled to Texas. We have an appointment next Monday to see if she’s pregnant, but I couldn’t wait. I bought the test yesterday to give to Ally last night after the ceremony. As soon as she opened her bag, I knew I gave you the wrong one and that Vanessa would freak. It was honestly a mistake.”
“The universe speaking to us?” he teased.
She smiled. “Sounds like it. See, I’ll make a believer out of you yet. And if Ally’s pregnant, our kids can be besties.”
He let go of Darby and saw Vanessa seated and talking to Emily. He filled a plate for Vanessa and sat it down in front of her. “Seriously?” she muttered and rolled her eyes at him but complied.
After everyone finished eating he stood to address the group.
“Thanks, everyone. For all you’ve done. Everyone in this room is important to both Vanessa and me. It is perfect to share our happiness with those we love. We really want to keep quiet about the pregnancy for now. In fact, we didn’t plan to tell you today.” He grinned down at Vanessa. “We want for the press to be able to digest the marriage first before the pregnancy goes public. But now, we really need to get to the airport.”
A fresh round of hugging and goodbyes commenced. Vanessa’s grandmother approached them. “You know, your grandfather knocked me up with your father on our wedding night.” She turned to Riley. “Once I got past the sickie stage, I turned into one horny beast.” She patted Riley on the butt. “I hope for your sake it’s hereditary.”
***
“Keep them closed,” Riley instructed as he led her out of the car and down a gravel pathway. He held on to her shoulders from behind to keep her steady. Easing her to a stop, he turned her slightly. He watched her inhale deeply and quickly moved to the side of her to watch her expression for the big reveal.
“Okay, you can open them.” Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened.
“Oh my goodness, Riley. It’s breathtaking.” She moved forward down the pathway to the small house, cupping and sniffing the plumeria, hibiscus and other tropical flowers Riley didn’t know all the names of growing wild along the pathway.
“I told you it was not big.”
“Riley, it’s perfect. Open the door.”
He unlocked the door and swept her up in his arms to carry her over the threshold, keeping in time with all the traditional fanfare. She looked around the wood-paneled room, decorated in overstuffed rustic furniture in hues of mismatched blues, accented in traditional Hawaiian prints, a perfect surfer getaway. Just like his house in Malibu, the entire back wall showed an amazing view of a private beach about 50 yards away.
“No one except Darby and Allison knows about my little hideaway. I usually spend my vacation time here alone. I have some friends who watch over the place when I’m not here. I called Leo and Leia yesterday and asked them to stock the kitchen. We might see them soon, but they only will come by to say hi. They know I’m on my honeymoon, so the
y may leave us alone.” He carried her around the corner. “Kitchen.” She nodded, an adorable grin on her face. “Are you hungry?”
“Not terribly. I just really need to pee.”
He laughed and set her down gently. “The bedrooms are this way.” He grabbed her hand and led her through the living room to a hallway. “We can take whichever one you like better.” He opened two doors on either side of the hallway. One was decorated in earth tones with the view of the tropical side of the house. The second room was brightly decorated in loud Hawaiian prints, but it had a view of the beach.
“I can’t really make any decisions until I use the restroom. This having to pee all the time sucks.” He opened the door at the end of the hall to reveal a large bathroom with a large shower, a vanity with two sinks and a toilet. “What is it with you and showers with benches?” she joked right before she shut the door.
“I’m going to get the bags out of the car,” he said through the door. “Then we can go get something to eat.”
He collected their bags from the car, smiling that he only had to make one trip. Vanessa had packed one small suitcase and a vanity. She was definitely not like most women who would bring their whole closet for a weekend trip, and they planned to stay for at least two weeks. He added this to the list of things he loved about this woman.
He entered the hallway and heard her retching in the bathroom. His heart clenched, until he remembered the reason for her getting sick, and smiled, not that he was happy about her getting sick, just about the reason for it. Knowing she would refuse his help, he dropped the bags inside the beach room and headed to the kitchen for some ginger ale and crackers. When he heard the bathroom door open, he quickly finished cleaning up and made his way down the hall. He found her curled up on the bed.
“I thought you’d choose this room. I brought you some crackers. And you really need to stay hydrated.” He sat the items down on the table next to the bed.
She devoured a cracker and gulped the ginger ale. “You don’t know how much I hate to throw up,” she grumbled and took another generous sip.
