“But, it’s just—”
“I know. It’s scary. But if we don’t celebrate the good, then the bad will consume us. Don’t hide those ultrasound pictures, angel. Frame them. Put them someplace to remind yourself exactly why we’re doing this. Fill that baby book with every damn memory you have, so when this is all over with and we’re sitting here with our little monster, waiting for him to spill coffee or soda all over me, we can remember every single detail and know that it was worth it. Because we got him.”
She smiled a genuine heartfelt smile.
“You think it’s a boy?”
“Maybe.”
“And what would you name this boy of yours?”
I grinned mischievously. “Zebe.”
“No!” She laughed, shaking her head.
“Billy Bob?”
Laughter turned into cackling as I flipped her over on the couch beneath me.
“You don’t like my names?”
“Hate them. Try again.”
“Could I turn this into a game?”
“You and games. What do you have in mind?” she questioned.
“Every good name gets me an article of clothing?”
“You’re on.”
I had her naked in two minutes flat.
“WAKE UP.” JUDE nudged me.
My eyes fluttered open. “No.” I pouted, pulling the covers back over my head in protest.
“Please?” His hands reached under the sheets, pulling me to him.
I opened my eyes again, focusing on his beaming smile. “Don’t want to.”
He laughed, his forehead resting against mine, as his sneaky fingers began to wander across my stomach.
“I’m a college student. We’re not supposed to wake up before noon. It’s a rule.”
“Angel?”
“Yeah?”
“You took a year off, remember?”
“Oh,” I answered, slumping back on the pillow.
“That means it’s time to get up!” he exclaimed, slapping my ass.
I yelped as he stole the comforter from the bed, leaving me in nothing but a sheet to keep me warm.
“What are we getting up for anyway? It’s not like either of us has jobs.”
“I have a job. It’s just very far away,” he reminded me with a grin.
A twinge of guilt tried to worm its way into my stomach, knowing that he’d taken an entire year away from the company for me, but I pushed it away. I’d taken a year off of school. We’d both made adjustments for this.
We had to.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” I reminded him, sitting up to stretch.
“We are going out.”
“Out? That’s vague. Care to be a little more specific?”
“We’re going to Disneyland.”
That got my attention. “What?”
“Disneyland,” he repeated. “The happiest place on earth. Mickey? Minnie? Any of this ringing a bell?”
“I know what it is, dork! I just don’t know why you’ve suddenly decided to go,” I said, looking around, trying to remember what day it was.
Tuesday! It was a Tuesday!
“On a random Tuesday,” I finished.
He smiled as he finished putting on his shoes and came to join me on the bed since I still refused to relinquish my warm spot.
“Like you so eloquently stated, neither of us has jobs or school. There are only so many movies I can watch before my brain turns into mush. As lovely as this house is, I’m getting cabin fever, Lailah. We need to get out, and as long as the doctor keeps giving you the thumbs-up, I think we should do just that.”
I gave him a suspicious look. “This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with my Someday List, would it?”
His eyes softened. “Do you remember how sad you were that last day of our honeymoon? How you wished we could have more time together just like that?”
I nodded.
“Well, we have it now. It might not be exactly the same, but it’s time nonetheless. And I figured if we’ve been given this uninterrupted time together, where I’m not being called away to meetings and you don’t have tests to study for, we should make the most of it.”
“By taking me to Disneyland?” I questioned.
“By fulfilling as many of those wishes on that list as possible,” he replied.
Because who knows how much time we have?
It wasn’t said, but I could see it there, dangling in the air between us. Neither of us wanted to acknowledge the possibility of what could happen if things went badly with my pregnancy, but if they did, he knew we should spend the days leading up to that moment to the fullest.
“Disneyland it is,” I said. “But I want Minnie Mouse ears.”
His smile grew. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
I’d lived in Southern California for the majority of my life, and I’d never been to Disneyland.
I never knew it was so big.
People seemed to be everywhere, but we were actually told park attendance was low due to the middle of the week and time of year.
I’d hate to see it during the summer.
“What do you want to do first?” I asked excitedly as I looked around in every direction like a gleeful child.
“This is your day, but we need to go to one place first. Come on,” he said, pulling me toward a row of stores.