揑抦 not naked.?
Blue eyes flick down to the sheer lace bra and back up. 揝ure.?
I act like he said nothing. 揑抦 peeing alone.?
揌ow long does it take??
揇o you have somewhere to be??
He heaves a sigh. 揑抦 just wondering, Scarlett.?
I rip the box open, grab the stick, and hand him the empty box. 揜ead the directions, then.?I shut the door on him and then walk over to the sink. I pull in long, deep breaths as I stare at my reflection in the mirror for a minute.
Despite the full face of makeup, including my red lips, I look young. Nervous. This feels like a big moment. If I were closer with my mom, I抎 call her. But she抣l tell my dad, who will call his lawyer and start redrafting all the documents that were just finalized following the wedding. Nadia and Sophie would freak out, and any of my other 揻riends?would probably call the press.
I wash my face and brush my teeth. I抦 stalling. I don抰 know what I want the result to be. In the past few days, I抳e started to accept that I must be pregnant. If I抦 not, I won抰 be disappointed, exactly, but some other emotion adjacent.
This is soon.
Way too soon.
We抳e been married for less than three months. Things between Crew and me are new and volatile. I抦 supposed to debut my clothing line in the spring. If I抦 pregnant now, I抣l be very pregnant then.
揟his one says two minutes,?Crew calls through the door. 揃ut the other two say five. Does that mean they抮e more accurate? Why did you get three? Are you supposed to take three? Did you take that one??
I don抰 answer any of his questions, but I do pee on the first stick. Once I have, I don抰 know what to do with it. Just hold it, I guess? Wave it around like a Magic Eight ball? I peed on it, so I抦 not setting it down on the counter surrounding the sink.
揝carlett??
It抯 bothering me less and less that Crew is here. It actually feels nice, not that I抣l tell him that. I open the door and hold out the test. 揌ere. Hold this one while I take the other two.?
揥hat??He fumbles with the boxes. 揥hy??
揃ecause I didn抰 want to get pee on the counter.?I give him a duh look.
揥hat does it say??He squints at the stick.
揘othing yet.?
I take the other two tests from him. I pee on them both at once, which might affect the results. At this point, I抦 past caring. I just want a somewhat definitive answer before I go to bed.
When I open the door again, Crew is staring at the test in his hand like it will disappear if he looks away. 揑t抯， um, positive.?He clears his throat. 揚regnant.?It抯 the first time I抳e heard him sound unsure about anything, and it抯 while looking at a black-and-white answer.
After a quick glance down to determine if the two I抦 holding show results梩hey don抰桰 look back up. He抯 looking at me now, and I have no idea what to say or do. I think he was hoping for some direction from my reaction, because he stays just as blank and immobile.
揇o you think this is normal? Do other couples stand here holding these??
He smiles, and I smile back. 揥ho cares what other people do??
I exhale. 揧eah. You抮e right. You厀ant this, right??
揂 kid??he clarifies.
I nod.
揧eah. Do you??
The tests I抦 holding both turn positive. I turn them so he can see. 揟hree for three. I think we抮e past the wanting kids conversation.?
揥e don抰 have to be.?
揥e抮e married and you want a kid and you抮e telling me you抎 be okay with not keeping this baby??
揑抦 saying it抯 your body and if that抯 a conversation you want to have, let抯 have it.?
I抦 surprised, and I know it shows on my face. We抮e not a couple of high schoolers who fooled around once. Kids梙eirs梐re one of the primary goals of this marriage. 揥ow. That抯 shockingly progressive of you. Suzanne Lamonte asked me if I was considering taking time off work to try and get pregnant earlier.?
揝he might feel foolish about that.?
I catch the caveat. 揑抦 keeping it, Crew. There was never a question. Yeah, I wish it had happened later條ike maybe when we were actually trying梑ut it didn抰。 I don抰 feel ready, but I probably never will. So厰 I lift one shoulder and let it drop.
揝o we抮e having a baby.?
A comment about his lack of role in the whole growing and birthing a human process going forward is at the tip of my tongue. His contribution was quick and enjoyable. I抦 having a baby, not him. But I bite it back, considering he抯 handling this whole thing far better than I expected.
揧ep. I mean, I抣l go to the doctor and confirm, but these all had super accurate plastered on the front, so it going the other way seems unlikely, I think? I don抰 really know.?
揧ou抣l tell me? When the appointment is??