Chapter 37
“Gentlemen… I didn’t fail us. I stood up when it counted. I did my duty. Honored my oath. It was hard work, with sweat and tears but… I did it.”
Madison sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose as Ben helped her onto a chair. He, on the other hand, stayed up with his fists on his waist. She had heard him rehearse his speech during the thirty-minute cab ride, and she knew there was no way in hell he was going to stop before the end. “I have, single-handedly, restored the balance. I am the creator of harmony. The peace-maker of the group. The-”
“Madison, we told you to keep him from eating your prenatal vitamins,” Ian cut him off. “It goes straight to his head.”
“Sam of the fellowship,” Ben continued, unfazed. “The one no one saw coming who saved the day in the end. I…” He took a dramatic pause, inhaling deeply as he looked at the table.
“We’re having a boy, and he’s been drowning in his own ego ever since the doctor told us,” Madison said before he could make the announcement.
Ben deflated like a balloon. “Pumpkin!”
“Evie was about to fall asleep!” Madison said in the middle of the general cooing.
Chris stood up, wrapping Ben in a bear hug, coupled with a few manly slaps on the back. “Congrats. It’s a blast.”
“See, I told you everything was going to be fine!” Everleigh squealed. Madison smiled, a little sheepishly. “Yes. Everything seems completely in the norm. The only thing a little bit worrying is the size of the father’s ego, but I’m afraid we can’t do much about it.”
“For real, guys. Finally. Like fucking finally. It’s gonna be balanced. Of course, there wouldn’t have been so much pressure on my shoulders if Harper hadn’t decided to start dating a woman and ruin Chris’ efforts,” he added with a pointed glare, “but I got your backs, guys. I got your backs. It will be five girls and five boys.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Harper said with a roll of her eyes. “They’re babies. They don’t even count.”
“They will when they’re old enough to get a vote for what are we watching after Sunday brunch!”
Harper shook her head, waving him off, before turning her attention to Everleigh and Madison. “OK, you guys have to step up for the next one, OK?”
“Hey! Why us?”
“Evie wants two children, she only has one for now so obviously she will eventually try for number two. And we can’t put all that pressure on her shoulders only.”
“What about you and Vi?” Madison asked. “In case you didn’t notice, my uterus is going to be busy for a little while, and this one wasn’t exactly… planned.”
Violet grimaced. “Yeah, nope. No kids for me.”
Harper nodded. “Same. Sorry, I don’t make the rules. You two are officially the breeders of the group.”
“I didn’t sign up for this.”
“Neither did I,” Everleigh added. “Even though, yes, we are going to try for a second one at some point.”
“Seeing as once this one will be born, I will officially be dealing with two children, I’m not gonna promise anything,” Madison deadpanned, throwing a pointed glance at Ben who was giving a detailed description of his future father-and-son dates at the ballpark.
“Of course, Pumpkin will be allowed. But she already knows that there will be no brainwashing with stats and players. Nope. My son will watch the game, and we’ll have hot dogs and ice cream and that will be it.”
“You can’t brainwash someone with facts, Ben.”
“Chris, you don’t know Pumpkin like I do. She’ll make a little geek out of him.”
Madison’s grin stretched wide. “Oh, I’m not so sure about that. I think maybe his dad will take care of that for me.”
Ben narrowed his eyes at her while she looked at him innocently. She would have loved to tell everyone about his dark past as a fan of The Lord of The Rings, but after outing his first name, she figured she had done enough.
Their son would obviously learn that little fun fact whenever he was old enough to watch the first movie with them. Ben wasn’t a big fan of the books and to be fair, neither was she, and she wanted it to be a family moment.
“Are you guys already thinking about names?” Violet asked, pulling her attention back to her friends.
She shook her head. “No. I mean, we knew from the start we wanted to find out the gender and… we figured it might be better to not start until at least then. Limit the arguments, you know?”
Everleigh laughed. “Yeah, I didn’t really consider that aspect. In the end, we had no clear idea, just a small list of potential names. We decided the day Jonathan was born. But I didn’t want to really start until… I was in my sixth month, I think.”
“Yes, it feels a little soon,” Madison admitted. “That being said, I fully expect to wake up tomorrow to a chalkboard and Ben writing down names like Hercules, Maximus, Alexander the Great, or any name that he will decide is fit for his son.”
“He’s not gonna use a family name?” Everleigh asked in a low voice. It was no secret that his middle name came from his father, just like it was no secret the father-and-son relationship was less than ideal.
“I… doubt it.”
It was still hard to think about Ben’s reaction to the pregnancy news, even if now, she understood it much better. It was still a sensitive topic, one she hadn’t been willing to approach. Family was often complicated, and in Ben’s case, it was a painful complicated.
His arm gently slipped around her shoulders as she was listening to Harper’s next set of traveling plans with Paula, thinking that it would be a while before she’d get to hike in Yellowstone - if she ever decided hiking was for her, that was.
“Pumpkin?” Ben said in a low voice, his breath warm in her ear.
“Mmh?”
“Will you marry me?”
“No. But I’d love a hot cocoa.”
She felt the smile stretching his lips when he pressed a kiss on her cheek. “Got it.”
***
After the four-month ultrasound, Madison seemed to relax. It took her a few weeks to really allow herself to find joy in her pregnancy. Ben still wasn’t sure why she had been so nervous at first - she was the most rational human being he knew. For some reason, she seemed to lack that ability to see facts and reassuring statistics when it came to her unborn child.
So… seeing her getting back to her usual self was mostly a relief, even if her new habit of biting her nails was very telling. She had officially moved in with him, and he had had to compromise when she had started freaking out about him paying the bills.
Statistics and facts also didn’t matter much when it came to salaries, rents, utility bills and so on, apparently. The fact that he had inherited the place, or that he made much more money than she did at this stage of her career - especially with her student loans, which he also had been lucky enough to avoid - had made no difference. Nope. Madison was as stubborn as usual and had dug out a spreadsheet to make sure she was “contributing to the household” as she had said.
It hadn’t mattered when he had pointed out that her carrying their baby was plenty of contributing. So, he had relented, splitting the electricity bill, and letting her pay for the WiFi, sending a mental apology to his grandfather who was probably rolling over in his grave at the idea of his grandson, who sat on a very large trust fund, splitting an electricity bill in half with the girl he had gotten pregnant and who was making a very entry-level salary.
Instead, he had set up a monthly payment to a charity that helped single mothers. Hopefully, that would be enough to make his grandmother take his defense in the afterworld.
He still volunteered at Nate’s gym whenever he could, even though he had warned him that he might take a break once the baby was born. Today was the last session of the group, and he had made sure to stuff his face with as many cookies as he could, even though Martha had prepared an entire box just for him - and the future mother, she had specified sharply.
The apartment was quiet when he opened the door. Unusually so, and he figured Madison was probably walking Rocco because the little dog always welcomed him home.
But the picture that was waiting for him when he walked into the living room proved him wrong.
He might be one of Rocco’s favorite humans, but he couldn’t compete with a nice little nap in Madison’s arms.
She was fast asleep on the couch, facing the TV even though the screen was black. Rocco was curled up against her stomach, blinking sleepily at him.
“I’m sorry, buddy, but we’re gonna have to go for a walk,” he murmured softly before putting the box of cookies on the counter. He picked up the blanket that was carelessly thrown on a chair then gently covered Madison, making sure her feet were tucked in. She got cold easily, and her toes were always freezing.
“Ben?” she murmured.
“The one and only.”
She kept her eyes closed through her lazy smile, and he couldn’t resist, crouching down to give her a gentle kiss.
Her fingers stroked his jaw as they pulled apart. “I’m sorry. I had planned to make a nice lunch.”
“Well, if it makes you feel better, you’re definitely cooking something really nice,” he said, his hand gently rubbing her stomach. She was clearly showing now, a round, firm baby bump that was impossible to miss when she was laying sideways.
“Do you mind if I stay in today?”
“Not feeling well?” he asked, worry creeping up his spine. She had been looking forward to spending the day baby-shopping, and they had also planned to meet with everyone for dinner.
A shake of her head made her hair fall down over her face. She pushed it back with a yawn. “I feel good. Just sleepy and I don’t want to have to, you know, wear real clothes.”
He grinned, looking at her leggings, thick socks and one of his old high school hoodies. “Comfy?”
“Very.”
“We’ll get some food delivered, then.”
“You can go without me. Tonight, I mean.”
He tilted his head, smiling at her sleepy face. He had always been a party guy. Not the wild kind of parties, at least not anymore. But going out, meeting people, laughing, talking, having a drink… that was his thing.
Except, lately… he had found himself adapting to Madison’s more leisurely pace. She had always been, and would always be, much more calm and quiet than him. The pregnancy had only reinforced that.
He had always thought he would miss it. The Friday night drinks, the clubs, the booze, the partying, the girls. It was one of the many reasons why he had never seen himself as a settled, family guy. He was starting to realize that he had just been trying to fill an emptiness inside him.
Emptiness that a cute little brunette had discovered and invaded, slowly, discreetly. It wasn’t just about the baby, or just about having a steady girlfriend.
It was her. The way she understood him, in a way that sometimes freaked him out a little, if he was honest. It was unspoken, but so obvious in her eyes every time she would look at him.
He was loud and obnoxious, boasting about his future son?
Madison knew. She knew it was him feeling a little more in control of the future. She knew it was him feeling utterly relieved that their baby was alright. She knew it was him feeling humbled and honored and, yes, nervous, about becoming a father to a little boy.
More importantly… she knew it was him trying to ignore the subtle, persistent pain of all these dreams and hopes he had for his child, of all these moments he couldn’t wait to share with him… reminding him that his own father had never felt that for him.
She knew.
And she loved him nonetheless.