Lonely Together

49

MARIAH

Standing beside him in front of the stove, I couldn't cast my gaze away from the intense stare he was giving the pasta he was making.

Five days had passed since he showed back up in our lives, and in all honesty they had been some of the best days of my life. We were so overjoyed to just be back in each other's presence that we would spend hours on end just talking and being in each other's arms. Just as I had expected, he wanted to know everything about the pregnancy—what foods I craved, how each trimester went, how much the baby kicked, and more.

We spent the past couple of days letting people know that he was actually alive, and explained the situation to everyone. Somehow, it even made its way to the national news which only made more people call and text. The federal government wasn't too happy to have to reverse everything they had changed once they thought he was dead, but luckily for us they finished everything quickly. It had been a crazy past couple of days, but it felt great to know that our lives could go back to normal—or at least our normal.

"You are so fine," I told him finally, running a hand down his arm as he turned to look at me out the side of his eye.

"You know you've been telling me that every day since I've been back," he replied, scooping out some of the pasta and urging me to open my mouth to try it.

I opened my mouth and let him drop it in, savoring how rich the sauce was and the perfectly al dente pasta. He couldn't flip a pancake but he could sure make some Italian food.

"That's delectable," I smiled as he wiped some remaining sauce of my lips and licked it off with his finger.

Suddenly, I let out a loud hiss as a searing pain ran through my stomach and lower back. I had been feeling cramps and dull pains all day, which was normal for my pregnancy, but they were increasing in number, getting closer together, and becoming stronger.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" He questioned with urgency as he wrapped an arm around my waist while I dropped my head as the pain continued.

It only lasted for about forty-five seconds at most—a painful forty-five seconds nonetheless. I let him lead me over to the dining room table where he pulled out a chair and made me sit down.

"They're getting worse, Ri. I know you don't want to get your hopes up...but you're a week overdue already, love. I think you're going into labor."

His eyes searched mine for an answer. He nodded his head when he saw me roll my eyes—my way of letting him know that he was right.

"Okay, but," I started, always needing a way to counter what he thought whenever he was right. "My doctor told me to wait until they were five minutes apart and lasted a minute. And maybe to wait until my water broke."

"Babe, that one was forty-five seconds long and the one before it was less than ten minutes ago," he argued, taking my hands in his. "I don't want to be the one to have to deliver this baby so we're going to the hospital."

I bit down on my bottom lip, contemplating whether or not that was a sound idea or not. He was right, it would be a disaster for me to have to baby at home without any direction, but I was also starving.

"Let me eat first," I muttered, making him let out a chuckle.

As I ate the plate he made for me, he rushed upstairs to grab everything we needed for the hospital. When my nesting had kicked in, I made sure the bags were all packed so it wasn't very hard for him to collect them.

"We're about to have our baby, love," he said with a grin once we were in the car after yet another contraction racked through my body. "You'll do so well. Everything will go perfect. She'll be healthy, you'll be healthy, and we'll be happy."