When Alex said he loved me, I felt fireworks light up my heart. I didn’t expect him to show up, though a tiny voice inside my mind kept reassuring me he would.

Sure, I had Brianna to thank. My life would be radically different if I hadn’t stumbled upon her. I couldn’t even be mad at her for going behind my back and contacting Alex. That morning — which I will never forget — I left the test in the trashcan almost hoping she’d find it. Hoping she’d have the strength to do what I clearly couldn’t.

My dear Alex. Soaked from head to toe by the torrential downpour, standing in front of my apartment. I flung myself into his arms, trying my best not to cry. That night we spent talking, baring our souls to one another made me realize he was the man I wanted to spend my life with. 

The road ahead would be full of bumps and debris. The first one would be perhaps the hardest to deal with — my father. We couldn’t just tell him I was pregnant, that would give him a heart attack. Mentioning Alex was the father would probably kill him on the spot before the end of the sentence.

Regardless, I wanted him to be a part of this. As much as he hadn’t been a great father, perhaps he would be better suited for the role of grandfather. Hard to tell, at least for the time being.

Alex and I devised a plan for what we jokingly referred to as “the big reveal”. Both of us would sit in my office, waiting for my father to arrive for one of those mentoring sessions he seemed to love so much.

“This feels like an ambush,” I chuckled, looking over my shoulder towards Alex.

He showed me his phone. “I have nine-one-one pre-dialed in case he faints,” He laughed, his wide grin filling me up with joy.

I rolled my eyes at him, sighing in fake exasperation. “You’re terrible, Alexander.”

He was, to others. To me, Alex was nothing short of perfect.

We both sat there laughing and chatting along as though we hadn’t grown up at all. We felt free and happy, something I had long since experienced. I can imagine it would be the same for him, given how his life had turned out.

A couple hours passed and my father finally decided to show up. Ever since he retired, he took punctuality as a hobby rather than an obligation, though I couldn’t put it against him. The man had spent years living by the corporate book, he’d earned some rest.

I was feeling nervous. Still, Alex’s presence gave me all the strength I needed. We would be fine regardless of how my father would react. 

He sauntered into my office, breaking the balance Alex and I carefully created. My father’s eyes darted from me to him in a split second, and a look of horror made its way onto his face.

“What’s he doing here?” My father hissed, stopping dead in his tracks just a few feet away from my desk.

“Francis. Always a pleasure to see you,” Alex nodded, and I stifled a laugh.

I took a deep breath, preparing to speak the word my father hoped he would never hear. “Dad, there is something I — we wanted to tell you.”

As we expected, it didn’t go too well. As soon as we mentioned we had been dating for some time, my father stormed out, huffing and puffing about rivals and “back-in-my-day-s”.

I can’t deny it hurt me a little bit. Then again, he probably needed time to understand I no longer was his sweet little girl. 

“At least he didn’t faint,” Alex spoke, breaking the silence.

I chuckled, trying to wash away the sour taste left in my mouth. “Yeah, I guess…”

Alex took my hand into his, rubbing his thumb across my palm. “He’ll come around, just you wait. And if he doesn’t, we’ll be fine on our own.”

I wanted my father to be in his grandkid’s life, but most of all, I wanted Alex and I to be there. We both had our fair share of issues growing up. It brought us closer together, made us feel as though we weren’t alone. There was someone that went through the same struggles, regardless of how easy one must think our lives had been. They were, for certain verses, but certainly not for others.

The love we both needed, our parents thought they could buy. They couldn’t, naturally, but that never stopped them from trying. It’s a miracle Alex and I didn’t grow up to be monsters. When I found out about the pregnancy I vowed to always put my future child first, above my job and even myself. I wasn’t too sure I could do it alone, at least not at first. It all changed when Alex came back.

Our child would grow up in a loving home. The sins of the fathers could be absolved, as it turned out. All we had to do was try.

We both knew the road ahead wouldn’t be the easiest to follow, yet all we needed was to look into each other’s eyes to find the strength and courage we required. 

Life set us onto different paths that collided by pure chance. We found love in a place we were told would contain nothing but hatred, and it saved us both from a God knows what.

Alex and I both had out faults, we were far from perfect human beings. No one is, and I shudder to think of what could have become of us hadn’t fate brought us together.

I chuckled as I lost myself in my thoughts. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Alex craning his head towards me. He said nothing and threw his head backwards, leaning onto the chair he sat upon. The silence was blissful, and I fully intended on savoring every bit of it. We were set to run out of it in just a few months.

The life growing inside of me wouldn’t have existed, had my father not used me as a chip in a poker game. Alex later confessed he egged my father to do it just to mess with him. To his credit, he didn’t think the old man would go through with it. All the anger I felt towards my father vanished over time. He unknowingly gave me a shot at what I always thought my dream life would be like, growing up.

Granted, not every wish came to life — there was no pony, and I didn’t live in a pink castle. The most important one did come true, however — I was not alone. 

And we would never be.