Elisa (20 page)

“Jared,” she said with a moan. “Jared.”

I pulled away and wiped my lips. “I would never leave you hanging, baby.”

I moved up the bed then crawled under the covers, pulling her into my arms. “I love you so much,
Ellie. This is what I’ve always wanted.”

“I love you too.”

I held her while I closed my eyes. We sat together in the darkness. I started to feel my mind drift as the exhaustion took over. I imagined what my baby would look like as the darkness descended. I heard the heating system kick on in the background. The townhouse was old so it had some mechanical issues with it.

“Jared?”

“Hmm?”

“Is the gun in the drawer?”

“Yes.”

“Is it loaded?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

23

A part of me was nervous that we were having a baby, but I was definitely excited more than anything else. The pregnancy wasn’t traditional. I’m not sure how it even happened because she was on birth control. Perhaps she stopped taking it for the days she was in the hospital and that was enough to make her fertile. There was no point in dwelling about it now. It was done. We were having a kid together.

Elisa had recovered from the incident, but I still preferred it if she stayed in bed or on the couch. I was scared that something was going to happen to her or
our baby. Since I hadn’t gone back to work yet, I took care of the house and the kids as much as possible. I didn’t want Elisa to stress about anything.

When she was still asleep one morning, I went into the living room to see Ethan sitting at the table.

“Hey,” he said as he read the paper.

“Hi,” I said with a little more enthusiasm than I normally would.

He laughed. “Still excited about the baby?”

“I’m
gonna be excited for the next eight months.” I grabbed some coffee and sat down across from him.

“So, are you going to ask her?”

I knew what he meant. “Yes.”

He nodded. “Good.”

The calm behavior was a miracle coming from Ethan. I expected him to hold a fist to my face and threaten to kill me if I didn’t propose. It seemed like the guy finally trusted me.

“When?” he asked.

“I haven’t decided.”

“I think she’ll say yes.”

“I know she will,” I said with a smile.

“So, you aren’t getting cold feet about all of this?”

“Of course not. Why would I? This is exactly what I wanted.”

He shrugged. “It’s just a lot to handle. I love Sadie more than anything, but if she told me she was pregnant
, I would be freaking out.”

I laughed. “I guess I’m a little nervous, but since Elisa has already done this twice
, I know she’ll know exactly what to do.”

“Then you have to go back to work, right?”

“Yeah, I will soon.”

“Do you think you can get your job back?”

“Yeah. I can come back whenever I want.”

“That’s a relief.”

“If not, I’ll just work somewhere else.”

Ethan flipped the page of the newspaper and continued to read.

Elisa walked into the room, lighting it up with her innate shine. I smiled and watched her pour herself a cup of hot water and grab a tea bag. She wasn’t far along, but she looked totally different to me. She was even more gorgeous than just a few days ago. I stood up and kissed her on the forehead. “Good morning.”

She smiled then kissed me on the lips.
“Morning.”

I eyed the tea bag. “You shouldn’t have caffeine,
Ellie.”

“
It’s decaf,” she said as she took a drink.

“
I guess that’s okay.”

She rolled her eyes. “I got this, Jared.” She took a seat at the table.

“Are you hungry?” I asked.

“No. I always get morning sickness if I eat,” she said as
she dabbed her tea bag. “I went through the same thing with the other two.”

I sat across from her. “I made an appointment with a
n obstetrician. He’s the best in the city.”

She looked at me. “Why?”

“I thought you’ve done this before?”

“I’ll be fine, Jared. I don’t need to see a doctor.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Yes, you do. We are going. End of story.” My voice came out harsher than I meant it to, but it just slipped out. When it came to the health of her and the baby, I was a little crazy.

Ethan looked uncomfortable. “I’m
gonna go check on Sadie.” He left the newspaper and his coffee on the table.

I looked at her. “So go get dressed.”

“No.”

“What did you say to me?”

“Jared, calm down. I don’t need to go right now.”

“We need a sonogram to make sure everything is okay. Plus, we need recommendations for prenatal vitamins.”

She averted her gaze. “Jared, I don’t have health insurance.”

“You don’t get it through Ethan?”

“We have emergency coverage but I can’t afford preventative coverage.”

I nodded. “Well, that doesn’t matter. I’ll pay for it.”

“Doctor visits and tests cost a fortune, Jared.”

“I don’t give a shit. We are going.”

“No.”

I clenched the table with my fingers. “I have money, Elisa. When have I ever given you the impression that I didn’t? And this is my baby too. I want you to go to the doctor and get checked out. You can’
t argue with me.”

She met my gaze. “Jared—”

“Please, just do this for me.”

Her eyes widened. “You can’t argue with me about this. Go get ready—now.”

After she stared at me for a moment, anger brewing her in eyes, she finally left the kitchen and went into the bedroom. I felt horrible for yelling at her but she was being infuriating. I didn’t give a shit about the cost of the doctor. My baby’s health was on the line. And after we got married, her and all the kids would have health insurance.

She came out forty
-five minutes later, her lips pressed together in a line and her gaze averted. I knew she was mad at me but I didn’t address it. Sadie said she would watch the kids while we went to the doctor, so we left without further discussion. I held Elisa’s hand as we walked down the street. Her hand barely squeezed mine.

I got her into the cab then sat beside her. After I gave the address to the driver, I looked at her. “
Ellie, come on.”

She looked away.

I sighed. “I apologize for yelling at you.”

She still said nothing.

“You were being inconsiderate and it was pissing me off.”

“Don’t ever talk to me like that in front of our kids,” she snapped, glaring at me.

I grabbed her hand. “Elisa, I would never do that.”

Her eyes softened. “Okay.”

“Don’t ever worry about the cost. In the end, what’s more important? Money or health?”

“I just didn’t want to go
in yet. Maybe in a month or two when the development stages are more critical. We can get more for our money.”

“Like I said, I don’t care about money.”

She looked straight ahead and fell silent.

When we reached the doctor’s office, the nurse ushered us into a room. Elisa l
ay on the bed and closed her eyes. I stood beside her and ran my fingers through her hair. The tension from the fight seemed to disappear in light of where we were. I could see the happiness of her face. It matched mine.

“
Ellie, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, babe.”

“How did this happen?”

She shrugged. “Well, I
guess I got off schedule when I was in the hospital and we had sex right after that. Once we were back together, I was so happy that I didn’t think about it.”

“So, you didn’t do it
...on purpose?”

She shook her head. “I can’t believe you would even ask me that.”

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I’m not accusing you of anything.”

“I admit that I tricked you before you left, but I would never do something like that.”

“Okay. I’m sorry I even considered it.”

“It’s okay,” she said quietly.

I placed my hand on her stomach. “I’m really excited about this. Even if you had tricked me, I would still be happy.”

“You’re so sweet, Jared. I was so scared
about how you were going to react.”

“Are you kidding? I can’t wait to be a father. I’ve always wanted a baby of my own.”

“Well, we aren’t married so I wasn’t sure how you would feel about it.”

“That doesn’t make a difference to me. It’s just a piece of paper,
Ellie.”

“Do you think your dad will be disappointed?”

I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter if he is. I’m still happier than I’ve ever been. The opinions of other people don’t matter. When you stop caring about what other people think, it makes you feel free.” I rubbed my hand across her stomach. “And when you believe in something so much, you’ll always stand by it forever. No one can take this feeling away.” I kissed her stomach then pulled away.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too.”

The doctor came in and shook my hand. He was old, frail enough to retire. He started the sonogram machine and placed the
lubricated probe against her stomach. When the image formed on the screen, I couldn’t decipher anything. It was a blur of black and gray lines.

“That’s the heartbeat,” the doctor said, pointing to the small movement within the picture.

I stared at it, mesmerized by the beauty of nature. My whole life was in that picture, the child I would love forever. “It’s beautiful.”

Elisa squeezed my hand.

“Do you know the sex of the baby?”

He shook his head. “Sorry. That won’t be determined until the second trimester.”

I nodded. “I’m excited to know.”

Elisa smiled. “I hope it’s a girl. I want another one.”

“I would be happy with either one.” I looked at the doctor. “So is everything okay?”

“She’s perfectly healthy. She doesn’t need any special
accommodations or treatment. I’ll just get you some vitamins.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much.”

“Congratulations,” he said as he walked out.

Elisa sat up and I helped her to the floor. She pulled down her shirt and hid the pale color of her skin. I wrapped my arms around her, unable to hide my excitement.

The nurse returned with a bag and gave it to Elisa. She placed it in her purse then we walked to the lobby.

“Stay here,” I said when I helped her sit down in a chair against the wall.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“I’ll be right back.” I walked to the counter until the nurse looked at me. “I would like to pay for the visit today.”

“Well, we’ll contact your insurance and have them billed.”

“My girlfriend doesn’t have insurance.”

She looked at her computer and pulled up Elisa’s name. “I see.”

I opened my wallet and handed her the credit card.

“You usually just send a check after you get the bill.”

“I don’t want her to see it,” he whispered. “Can we do this here?”

She nodded. She pulled up the forms then printed them out. When I looked at the number I was astounded by the cost. I didn’t think twice about it and handed over my credit card. I hoped Elisa couldn’t see what I was doing.

The clerk ran it through the machine then handed it back to me. “Thank you, Mr. Montague.”

“Have a good day,” I said as I turned away. I walked back to Elisa and helped her to her feet.

“What was that?” she asked.

“They asked me to fill out a survey,” I lied.

She stared at me. “Thank you for everything, Jared.”

I smiled. “I’ll always take care of you.”

“I know.”

I grabbed her hand and we walked back to the townhouse.

“After the baby is born, I’ll start working,” she said.

“What? Why?”

“Well, Tommy and Becky will be in school by then. And I don’
t want Ethan to support me forever. He’s got his own life.”

“I’ll take care of you. I thought I made that clear.”

“Well, I want to help out with the bills and stuff. We’re a team.”

I stopped and looked at her. “And what are we going to do with our baby? Someone needs to take care of it.”

“We can hire help.”

I shook my head. “We aren’t doing that.”

“I can’t expect you to take care of all of us. I want to help.”

“No.”

“Jared—”

“I don’t want a stranger taking care of my kid,” I snapped. “I want it to be you. I want to come home and see you greet me with a smile and kiss. I want you to cook dinner for me and spend the day with our children. I don’t want you to work, Elisa.”

“But that isn’t fair.”

“How?
That’s exactly what I want.”

“Well, I’ll start working after the baby gets old enough.”

“And what about our other kids?”

“Our other kids?”

“I want to have at least one more.”

“You want to have four kids?” she asked incredulously.

“Five, if you are willing.”

“Jared, kids are expensive.”

“Don’t ever worry about money. I have plenty of it.”