Chapter Thirty-Seven
Terrance
2 Weeks Later
There was a skip in my step as I made my way to the gym, the weight and importance of this day driving me forwards. There was a massive smile playing on my lips, a permanent yellow happy aura surrounding me. I felt like a brand new man.
“You’re super happy!” Braxton chuckled by my side. “You have been for the last couple of weeks. It’s really nice to see.”
“I just feel like everything has fallen into place,” I told him, clapping him on the back. “Morgan and I are great, all my problems have...gone.”
That was a time of our lives that I didn’t think we’d ever be able to talk about again. It was done, in the past, and that was where it would stay. There was no point in rehashing the horrible event where so much blood was shed. “You live below me, and today is the scan!”
“Oh my God, that’s so exciting.” Braxton’s eyes widened, his face twisted up into a grin. “I didn’t realize that was today. How do you feel? Are you nervous? Ooh, are you going to find out the sex?”
“No, it’s too early for that, and I don’t know if we’re going to leave it as a surprise or not, but yes. I am very excited. I can’t wait.” The more I got used to the idea of having a child of my own, the better I felt about it. Slowly my feelings were growing, progressing, blooming. “It’s going to be awesome.”
His face curled up into a confused expression, and I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on inside his mind. “I can move out now, you know, if you want me to? You brought me that place to protect you and now things are... Well, done, so I can leave.”
“Braxton, don’t be an idiot.” I shook my head and laughed at him. “I brought you that place for you. I want you to live near me, that hasn’t changed now that the problem is gone. You’re my friend, and it’s great to have you living so near to me.”
“Are you sure? I feel totally guilty for it-”
“Braxton, just shut it. The apartment is yours. If you want to sell it to get yourself something better, I don’t mind, but if you’re content where you are then you must stay.”
He pulled me towards him for a one arm, manly hug, which made me laugh even louder. The cost of that home was nothing compared to the protection he gave me, especially during that night. And now that I had Morgan to love with all my heart, the money hardly seemed worth anything. All it did was buy me stuff. I didn’t need stuff anymore.
As soon as we stepped inside the gym, Emily came bounding over to us with that perky smile I now knew was inherently her.
“Hey!” she called out happily, waving her little hand at us. I still couldn’t work out how they’d ended up together – they were polar opposites. But hey, if it worked for them, then I was happy. “How are you guys? It’s good to see you here.”
“Yeah, all good. Glad to see Braxton back on his feet.” I patted my friend on the back again, trying to play down how worried Emily and I really had been about Braxton as he lay there in the hospital bed. We seemed to have this silent understanding that it was all moving forwards.
“He’s doing really well isn’t he?”
As Emily leaned in to kiss Braxton, I discretely made my way over to the treadmill to give them some much needed time alone. It was funny that now I had Morgan, I didn’t feel jealous at all to see them together, just happy that everything was much better.
I flicked the machine on and pumped my legs, while stuffing my headphones into my ears. As the music blasted and my body perspired, I thought again about the little family I had coming my way. If it had been left up to me, I never would’ve taken that bold step, but now it was happening to me anyway, and I was over the moon about it.
And today, I would get to see my baby.
***
“Are you ready for this?” Morgan slipped her hand into mine, not even blanching at how sticky it was. “I’m nervous, are you?”
“Nope, totally cool!” I blatantly lied, shrugging as if I truly was as blasé as I wanted to sound. “This is just another day for me. Nothing particularly exciting.”
She giggled anxiously, totally disbelieving me. She knew me well enough these days to be able to see right through me. I liked that she knew me that well, and I enjoyed knowing her, too. I’d never bothered to get to know any woman before, but with Morgan I wanted to scoop every single piece of information from her brain.
“Hey, it’s even weirder for me. I know all the doctors here, so this is totally bizarre...”
At that moment, we were called into a small, weirdly-lit room, filled with odd machinery that I couldn’t even begin to understand. Morgan chatted to her friend for a moment, but I couldn’t even begin to join in. I couldn’t even hear what they were saying the buzzing was so loud in my ears. This was terrifying, and about to become even more of a reality than before.
I thought I was totally okay with it, but now it was hitting me all over again. Not that I had any intention of running...
“Right, Morgan, do you want to lie down on the gurney?” the doctor asked, with a kindness to his tone. “Then I’ll have to spread the ultrasound jelly across you – it is cold I’m afraid.”
I helped Morgan up and into a lying position, then I watched in awe as she pulled her top up to reveal what was definitely the beginning of a little bump. Ever since we came into this room, she seemed much more confident, whereas I had fallen apart. I tried not to let that show, though. I simply clamped my lips together and clutched hold of her hand.
“Oh my goodness, that really is cold,” she squealed as the blue jelly flew across her torso. “Does it have to be that cold? It’s like torture.”
They laughed. I didn’t. I was so scared that if I made any sound I might throw up all over her, and the last thing I needed was to be office gossip in the hospital where Morgan worked.
As the doctor ran his little device across Morgan’s stomach, I fixed my eyes on the screen. As fuzzy black and white shapes started to appear, my heart thumped and squeezed in my chest. I felt like it was pumping blood so hard and fast around my body that I could pop at any given moment. Thoughts raced through my mind so rapidly that they were tripping over one another, none of them making any sense.
I gripped tightly onto Morgan’s steady hand, trying to keep the shakes in mine discrete.
“Okay, this is it, this is your baby.”
Oh... My... God...
Everything stopped as the whole world zoned in on me and the image on the screen. That little bump was my child, and it was becoming clearer with each passing second. There was the head, the body, legs, maybe even an arm...
“Are you crying?” Morgan asked me incredulously, clearly ignoring the thick emotion in her own voice. “Oh, Terrance, that’s too much.”
My face was wet. I could feel all the emotion trickling down my face. That there on the screen was the life I had created. It was amazing, absolutely incredible. The love that warmed my chest felt boundless, more than I even knew I was capable of.
I was going to be a father, and now that I could see that for real, I couldn’t wait.
***
“I don’t know why you ever invite me around for dinner, I nearly always end up cooking,” Morgan laughed happily. “Although I do like cooking, so it isn’t too bad. And actually, it’s nice to have some time.”
Ever since seeing our baby, we were in our own little bubble of happiness, and I adored being there. We had a club that was just for us, and I loved that. I moved closer to Morgan and wrapped my arms around her back while she cooked. She paused what she was doing to fall against me for a moment, and we simply embraced one another, falling deeper into love.
As I saw our child up on the screen, I realized that my love didn’t just extend to the life in Morgan’s belly, but to her, as well. I knew that I liked her. I knew that I was falling, but now I was there. I was in love. I just wanted to wait for the right moment to tell her. I didn’t want her to think it was only for our child.
As Morgan pulled away from me to continue on with what she was doing, I went to grab the picture of our baby once more. “That was crazy today, wasn’t it? Doesn’t it feel strange that it was the first time we’ll ever see our child?” I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it; it was beautiful, magical, and wonderful.
“I know.” I could see Morgan’s body language shift as she thought about our child. She was in love with our baby, too, which made her incredible. “Did you get any feeling? What do think we’re having?”
“A boy,” I told her with utter certainty, nodding my head determinedly as I spoke. “We’re definitely having a boy.”
“You think?” She snatched the picture from me and grinned. “Because I’m pretty sure that we’re having a girl. In fact, I would be willing to bet money on it. I just have a feeling.”
“Oh well, you should know. I suppose you have the deepest bond.”
Morgan wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled her lips towards mine, connecting them together in an incredibly powerful kiss. I grabbed onto her hips and fixed her against my body, adoring the familiarity against me.
Now that I had Morgan, I could barely stand to remember that I’d ever found any appeal in sleeping with a selection of nameless faces. Why did I think that had ever made me happy? This was where true joy lay.
“Right, get off me now,” she said as she shoved me away playfully, turning back to the food cooking behind her. “I need to finish cooking. Sit down at the table because you’re in my way.”
“Anything you say, ma’am.”
As we ate, I couldn’t stop sneaking looks at Morgan, smirking to myself every time. Her beauty shone through, even today when she had her comfortable sweat pants on and her hair pulled off her face. Her inner gorgeousness brightened up her face, making me desperately want to kiss her with every passing second.
“Will you stop it?” she suddenly snapped, catching me looking at her. She wasn’t angry though, she was smiling to herself just as much as I was her.
“I’m sorry, I just can’t help myself. You’re so very pretty.” There was a teasing to my tone, but the words were real. She really was the most stunning woman I’d ever known.
She gave me a coy smile, and she stood up to grab hold of me. “Well, if you aren’t going to stop looking, then I suppose I’ll have to take you to bed then, won’t I?”
“But my dinner...” I acted like I didn’t want to leave my food, but Morgan knew me far better than that. She knew that I couldn’t resist her, however hard I tried.
“Later,” she snapped. “Priorities, God!”