Chapter Forty-Eight
Four months later
At my desk, I signed off on the table arrangements for the upcoming managers’ meeting to announce Brenda’s new position within Shaw International. Though people expected it, nothing had been made official. Brenda wanted to make sure she was the right fit. As it turned out, she exceled at it.
As for me…I simplified my life. Public relations was a dream of the past. My heart wasn’t in it. So I stuck to planning. It kept my nights free for Garrick and made traveling with him easier. And we were building a house on the beach. That in itself seemed to suck most of my time these days.
Life was good. More than good, actually.
I yawned. Man, I was tired, and it was only ten in the morning. I still hadn’t caught up on my sleep. On Friday, the nieces and nephews had come over for their second sleepover in the last four months. Kimberly joined them. She was an amazing child and adjusting so well.
Even though we watched movies and played games, it felt more exhausting than the first one. I fell asleep during the first part of the movie. With our schedules, it would be a while until we could do another one. Of course, Garrick’s siblings were ready for us to do it again. They rarely had time to themselves. I treasured the time with our nieces and nephews and loved them so.
My assistant, Theresa, poked her head in. “I’m going to head across town to get the samples. Do you need anything?”
“No, I’m good. Thanks.”
Theresa would be promoted soon to event planner alongside me. She had more than proven herself. And the functions for Shaw International kept growing. We were even hiring an assistant for us to share.
No further incidents happened in the wake of Navarro’s death. I truly believed that part of our lives was behind us for good. Evelyn and Ricardo were true to their word; they’d left the chance to take over the Allaway interests alone. An Italian mob had come in and taken the controlling shares.
A wave of nausea came over me, and I put my hands on the desk as I waited for it pass. Man, I feel terrible. A spring bug had been going through the office like wildfire. I thought I’d managed to avoid it, but I must have been wrong. That, or the muffin I’d eaten not too long ago had not settled well.
I pulled up Garrick’s meeting planner. He was in the conference room. I was going to dash upstairs to our apartment quickly because the nausea only kept getting worse.
Without causing a scene, I hurried to the private elevator in his office. “Hey, Annie. I’m going to use Garrick’s elevator.”
“Are you okay? You look a little flushed. Did you get that crud?”
“I don’t know. I’ll let Garrick know I’m heading upstairs.”
“Get some rest.”
“I’m going to try to come back.” Another wave of nausea hit, and I did my best to breathe through it. “I’ll see you later.”
Without waiting for her to respond, I hurried to the elevator and barely made it upstairs to our apartment before I was sick. Ugh. I officially had whatever bug was going around. It was terrible. My stomach rolled and my skin felt clammy.
I crawled over to the bathroom cabinet to get a towel and saw the fifteen boxes of pregnancy tests tucked away in the back. After the first month of miscarrying, my period hadn’t returned completely to normal, and I’d been neurotic about taking them.
Then two months ago, I stopped. The worry had me uptight. If it was meant to be, it would be.
When was my last period?
I felt so terrible I couldn’t remember. Work had been busy, and we’d been traveling. I honestly lost track. I reached for the test but then stopped. What if I’m not?
Then I’m not. And I still have Garrick.
Brooke helped me face my fears about pregnancy. Though I wanted to have children desperately, I’d accepted the fact that at some point, adoption might be the most viable option. I wasn’t there yet…but someday.
On a whim, I grabbed the test. There was no use stressing about it. It would either be positive or negative.
After peeing on it, I set it on the counter and set the timer on my phone as I changed into more comfortable clothes. I felt terrible and was definitely not going back to work.
The timer went off.
With heavy steps, I went back to the counter and picked up the test.
Pregnant
My heart raced as I read the word again and again. Is it right? When I checked the box, the test said it was only ninety-seven percent accurate. I needed to take more. So I drank some water. Then drank some more as I lined up the rest of the tests from under my cabinet.
Wow, that was a lot of tests. I would have to be fast.
If they all said the same thing, then the chances were good.
Right? Stop. Don’t get ahead of yourself.
I took a deep breath. The first one might have been wrong.
Finally I’d drunk enough. It was a mad dash as I peed on stick after stick. Again I set the timer and paced. Calm down. My palms were sweaty, so I wiped them on my pants as I waited. Part of me thought about calling Garrick, but if it was a false alarm, I wouldn’t want to put him through the mental agony. I mean, of course I would tell him, but this waiting was torture.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
The alarm went off. It was the moment of truth. I froze, unsure if I wanted to read them now. Be strong. Have courage. With shaking fingers, I picked up the first stick.
Pregnant
Stick after stick read the same thing. Pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant.
My hand went to my mouth. If I was registering on the pregnancy stick, that meant…that meant I was further along than I’d ever been. Garrick. I scrambled for my phone and dialed him. The call went to voice mail. He had to know. I wanted him to be part of this.
So I texted him.
Me: Please come to the apartment. I need you.
The phone rang immediately. “Garrick?”
“Knoah, what’s wrong?”
I heard movement on the other end. It sounded like he was running. “Are you coming?”
“Yes. I’m almost to my elevator. Are you okay?”
“Yes. I think so. I just need you.” The reality still hadn’t fully sunk in. I kept looking at the stick. I’m pregnant.
“Knoah, you’re scaring the shit out of me.”
This wasn’t something I could tell him on the phone. “I’m fine. I promise. I’m in the bathroom. I came up here when I wasn’t feeling good.”
He exhaled a sigh of relief. In the background, I heard the elevator ding. “Okay, I’m in the elevator. I’ll be right there.”
“Okay.”
We hung up. A few seconds later, Garrick rushed into the bathroom, out of breath. “What’s wrong?”
Then his eyes swung to all the tests. They covered the counter. He stepped closer and picked up one. Then another. Then another. His eyes grew wide—hopeful. Garrick searched my face. “Is this…? Does this mean…?”
“We’re pregnant. I-I-I took all those tests. They say the same thing. They have to be right, right? That means I’m pregnant, right?”
Gently, Garrick pulled me to him. “I think it’s safe to say you’re pregnant, sweetheart. I can’t believe it.”
There was so much hope in his voice, and it brought back what happened last time. “Garrick, I’m scared.”
He brought me down to sit on his lap on the bench in the bathroom. “Whatever happens is meant to be. And I’ll be by your side the entire time.” He took a deep breath. “As long as we have each other.”
I brought his hand to my stomach. Though I was scared, I would treasure every second the life we created was inside me. “This means I’m further along than I’ve ever been. Can we go to the doctor today?”
“Yes. Let me make the appointment right away.”