Nate

When I went back to The Sunnyside Home I knew it was only going to be for the day. Just long enough to say goodbye to everyone, but also to get a pregnancy test. It had only been twelve hours since Brian knotted inside me, but I could already feel some subtle changes—ones that definitely seemed related to my hormones. I had to wait until the afternoon to see Dr. Livingston, then I was going to go to my new home.

The amazing thing was, I felt better than I had in a long time. I had more energy and it wasn’t so hard to let myself feel good. I could actually see my life going somewhere with Brian and our baby, instead of feeling like everything was going to come crashing down on top of me at any second.

“So, I hear you’re going to be my next-door neighbor.”

I looked up from my duffel bag and saw Jason standing in the doorway. I shoved my last T-shirt inside and zipped it up, then slung the bag over my shoulder. “Yep,” I said with a smile. “I have an appointment with Dr. Livingston, then I’m heading over to Brian’s for good.”

“Well, I’ll be heading home in about an hour. Do you want to wait around after your appointment and I’ll give you a ride home?”

“Thanks, Jason. That sounds good. All I’ve got is this bag, but it’d be kind of a pain in the ass to take it on my bike.”

“We can throw the bike in the back of my car, no problem,” Jason said.

“Okay, well, I’m gonna say goodbye to Daniel, then head over to the clinic.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you over there when I’m done.”

I left my room and took a left to go to the community center, while Jason headed to the right to finish his rounds. As I approached the common room I could hear some kids singing and laughing. I stood in the doorway for a moment and smiled while I watched Daniel show some little kids how to square dance.

They continued to hold hands and skip around in circles as I walked around the perimeter of the room. I waited for a few minutes until Daniel gave the kids a break and headed over to where I was standing. “Hey Nate. So you’re leaving today?”

“Yeah, Brian asked me to move in with him.”

Daniel leaned in and gave me a big hug and suddenly I realized his positive attitude wasn’t rubbing me the wrong way anymore. When he pulled back and looked at me I could see that he was genuinely happy for me and I was touched. This guy barely knew me, but he was treating me like a friend. I kind of wished I’d been a little nicer to him while I was living there.

“That’s so wonderful, Nate. I guess I’m always a little sad when people I’ve come to know and like leave here, but I’m so excited that you have a place to go to and someone to be with. I know it’s been hard for you here,” he said with his hands still on my shoulders. “And you deserve to be happy. I really hope you come back and visit us sometime.”

“I will, I promise.” I paused for a moment because I still felt a little funny bearing my soul to anyone. But I really wanted Daniel to know how grateful I was. “Listen, I know I was kind of a pain in the ass, and I’m sure it didn’t seem like it while I was living here, but I really appreciate everything you did for me. I know you had something to do with getting me my new leg.”

“Well, I didn’t really have much to do with it other than mentioning your situation to my husband, Cameron. He’s the one that coordinates the funding of most of what we do here. Some of it is through investments and grants, but some of it is out of his own pocket. He was already writing a blank check for your new prosthetic leg before I finished talking to him about you. And I want you to know you’re covered if you need anything at all, no matter where you’re living. You’ll always be a lifetime resident of The Sunnyside Home, and I know Dr. Livingston will say the same thing. You’re always welcome back here, Nate.”

“Thanks. Maybe I can talk to Hank and Jason into having another one of their big barbecues pretty soon. Or we can take the kids on a field trip to the park.”

“That would be really nice. I know they’d all love that. Take care of yourself, Nate.”

“You too.”

My next stop was Dr. Livingston’s office. His door was open when I got there so I went right in.

“I hear you’re leaving us, Nate,” he said as he gestured for me to sit down.

“Yeah, I found a place to go.”

“Well, I can’t tell you how good it is to see that smile on your face. You’re like a different person than the one that showed up here a couple months ago.”

“A lot of that is because of you. I really appreciate all your help. Everything just seems to be coming together right now and I think it’s all having an effect on how I feel. My new leg, being able to get around better, having more confidence, and now having a family.”

“I have to admit I was wondering how all that was going,” he said with a smile. “Is that one of the reasons you’re here to see me?”

“Yeah,” I said, unable to wipe the smile off my face. “I’d like to take a pregnancy test if that’s okay.”

“It’s more than okay. But just by looking at you I can almost guarantee what the results are going to be. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone with as rosy of a pregnancy glow as you have.”

I laughed and went into the exam room with Dr. Livingston. He gave me the test and it immediately came up positive.

“Now, I want you to come back at least once a week for the next month so that we can keep an eye on how well your leg is doing. You’ll probably need some slight adjustments. Then, I’m going to want to see you in two months for an ultrasound.”

“Okay,” I said smiling up at Dr. Livingston. I paused for a moment, but decided it was okay to act on my feelings. I threw my arms around his neck and gave him a big hug. “Thank you so much, Dr. Livingston. Really, you have no idea how much everything you’ve done has meant to me.”

When I stepped back and looked up at him again he was smiling, but I could see tears in his kind eyes. “Thank you, Nate. It’s people like you that really make my job worth it.”

By the time I made my follow-up appointments with the receptionist, Jason was already done with his rounds and ready to head home. When we got there, he parked in his driveway, then pulled my bike out of the back of his car and walked it across the lawn to Brian’s house while I carried my bag. Brian must have seen us coming because he met us out on the porch.

“I don’t think you’re going to be needing that anymore,” he said as he looked down at the bike.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I have a surprise for you,” Brian said as he came down the stairs, put his arms around my waist, then kissed me.

It felt so surreal for him to greet me like that and it sent goosebumps all over my body. I smiled up at him and squeezed my arms around him. “Really? I have a surprise for you too.”

Brian smiled and stared at me for a moment. “Is it what I think it is?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

We just stared at each other for another long moment, both of us smiling and speechless over the fact that, in a really short time, we’d gone from childhood friends, to passionate lovers, to parents of our own baby. Brian moved his head down to kiss me on the lips, but within seconds Jason made his presence known. We’d both completely forgotten he was still there.

“What?” he yelled. “What’s the surprise? The suspense is killing me!”

The two of us turned and looked at him and started laughing. “I’m pregnant,” I said.

Jason took one huge step toward me, picked me up and twirled me around in the air, then gave me a big bear hug. “Holy shit! That’s the most amazing news I’ve heard in a long time! Congratulations you guys,” he said, setting me back down on the ground. “We’ve gotta go tell Hank. He’s gonna be so excited.”

“Hank already knows,” Brian said. “I mean, he knows we might be.” Brian looked down at me. “I hope you don’t mind me saying something to him, but I saw him earlier today and he pretty much guessed.”

“Yeah, he does that,” Jason said with a smirk.

“I don’t mind at all.” I moved back into Brian’s arms again, then picked up where we left off with the kiss that Jason had interrupted.

“I can’t believe Hank knew and he didn’t even tell me,” Jason mumbled. “I’m gonna go talk to him. You guys, come over for a celebration in a little while. We could throw some steaks on the barbecue or something. How does that sound?”

“That sounds good,” I said, still gazing up at Brian.

“Okay, I’ll let you guys get too it. See you in about an hour?”

“Yeah, an hour,” Brian said, bringing his lips to mine again. “I’ve been waiting for this all day.” He pushed his hands up through my hair and turned my legs to noodles with another kiss. “Are you ready for your surprise?”

“Yeah, sure. What is it?”

“It’s in the living room. I hope you like it.”

Brian picked up my bag and opened the front door and the first thing I saw when we got inside was a BMC bike propped up against the entry room wall. It was almost exactly like the bike I’d had before I had to sell everything, only it looked like the most recent model. “Holy shit! Is this yours?” I asked.

“No, it’s yours,” Brian said.

I turned and looked at him but I didn’t know what to say. My mouth just hung open as I looked back and forth between him and the bike. “These things cost like ten-thousand dollars, Brian,” I said when I finally got my voice back. “There’s no way you could afford this. I can’t accept something like this.”

“Look, I didn’t pay ten grand for it. The bike is brand-new, it’s this year’s Teamline—the best model they make—but it’s used. Barely. The guy said he bought it on a whim and has only taken it out once, but now he needs money to start up a business.”

“How much was it?” I asked.

“Does it really matter? I wanted to get it for you. You used to be crazy about riding your bike, Nate. I remember how much you loved that thing, and I really want you to have that back again. You do still like riding, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do. I just don’t know if I could ever go back to biking like that again.”

“Why not? You’ve got your new leg and it doesn’t hurt anymore does it?”

“No, but …”

“But what? You don’t want to take something like this from me, right? You think it’s too expensive or that you’re putting a burden on me? Well, you’re not, Nate.”

I looked at Brian and I felt like a dick. He was trying to do something nice for me and I was completely ruining it for him. “But can you afford this?”

“Yes, I can afford it. I didn’t even pay him a cent. Were doing a trade.”

“What kind of trade?”

“I’m designing a website for him and doing some online ads and print brochures. It’s probably gonna be about ten hours of work total. And it’s not a rush job or anything so it’s gonna be really easy. But, Nate …” Brian said, grabbing my arm and pulling me close to him. “Even if I did have to pay for it I would want to do it. I want you to have this bike, if it is something you want. Please don’t feel bad about taking it. It makes me really happy to be able to do this for you.”

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m still feeling weird about taking handouts. That’s all I’ve done this last year and I’m tired of it. I want to be able to do something on my own, make my own money.”

“You will,” Brian said. “I believe in you.”

“But how? I have no idea what I’m gonna do, Brian. I mean, I know I’m gonna be busy once the baby is born, but I still want to do something with my life. I want to feel like I can contribute in some way.”

“You already do. You contribute to my happiness. That something pretty important, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess,” I said with a smile.

“I understand if it’s not enough, if you want something more, though. So, if that’s what you want, you better start training.”

“Training for what?”

“Well, I found out that the National Bike Organization’s Grand Championship race is going to be held in Portville in October this year. That’s in a couple months.”

“Dude, that’s, like, professional level bike racing. Three different competitions over three days. People travel from all of the world to compete in that race.”

“Like I said, you better start training now, and this is going to be the perfect bike, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” I said as I ran my fingers across the seat. “It is. You know what the grand prize for that race is, don’t you?” I said, looking back at Brian.

“Yeah. Twenty-five-thousand dollars.”