The Green Guardian

Bonus Chapter: Expectations

Five weeks earlier

        Maria had never done a pregnancy test before, so she had no idea what she was doing. She and Mateo were always careful, but he did get a little too excited on his twenty-first birthday. Oh gosh, she had butterflies in her tummy. They fluttered like a million bees in a hive. Maria shakily opened up the test kit and pulled out what she needed most... the instructions. "Okay, okay," she said.

Maria looked them over. She tucked a strand of her black hair behind her ear. "So pee in a cup and then dip the testing stick into it. Seems simple enough." She shrugged. Maria, though, was already starting to get emotional. She had no idea why. She begged that the test result would be negative, but at the same time, she wanted it to be positive. If she was positive, how would Mateo react? He was pretty clear about them having kids when they were older. There was so much at stake right now.

Maria opened up the bathroom sink's cupboard. She pulled out an old, clear cup and held it up to her face. "This should work." She got the tissues ready, just in case. She pushed them to the counter's corner, which was right next to the toilet. Maria unbuckled her jeans and sat down on the seat. Her whole body shook. She felt like her breasts were going to fall right off her chest; they were so sore. Nevertheless, she did what the instructions told her to do. She peed in that cup. She assumed that her nervousness was the reason why she sat there for a whole minute.

Maria wiped, and then she pulled her jeans up. She struggled to her feet. This was so gross. She set the full cup down on the counter. Maria swore that her heart was about to come flying out of her mouth. She checked the test instructions again. "Wait for three minutes after putting the stick in." She heard that three minutes was the average wait time. Maria steadied her hand before she dipped the stick into her urine. Pulling it out, she stuck the test cap over it. Okay, now all she had to do was wait.

It was the longest three minutes of her life. Maria was so scared that she put the box of tissues over the stick. After washing her hands, she paced back and forth in the bathroom. She rubbed them together. Was she overreacting? Some women had their periods later than usual. She and Mateo just got their house.

Finally, the timer on Maria's phone went off. This was it. Were hers and Mateo's lives about to change forever? Honestly, she was too scared to take the tissues off the pregnancy test, but she inhaled deeply to calm herself. A few tears ran down her cheeks. Eventually building up her confidence, she removed the tissues. Her heart almost stopped. "Oh my God," she whimpered.

"Pregnant" was on the stick's screen. Not "Not Pregnant" but "Pregnant".

"No." The tears fell like a fountain. "Please no. This has to be a joke." However, Maria knew it wasn't. She checked the test result again. Surely, her eyes were playing tricks, right? Of course not. "No," Maria repeated. Nevertheless, she started to feel a little less scared. There was a pinch of excitement in her gut. "I'm going to have a baby," she said. "I'm going to have a baby." She pressed the pregnancy test up against her belly. How on Earth was she going to tell Mateo? Maria took the rest of the day to prepare.

After she managed to calm down a little, she took a trip to the supermarket. She walked up and down the Baby aisle, checking everything out. She stopped at a table of black caps that had "Mom" and "Dad" stitched on them. Another young woman soon joined her. She was a few years older than Maria. Her hair was medium-length and brown, and she wore a cute sundress. She also seemed intrigued by the hats.

"Are you expecting, too?" she asked.

Maria nodded. "Yes. I found out today."

"It was yesterday for me," the woman said. She picked up one of each cap. "This is our second. What about you?"