Handicapped in Hawai'i

Ten

"All right–I gotta know, or it's gonna drive me abso-fuckin'-lutely ape-shit. What the hell'd Rikki say to ya when he huggedja after my proposal?"

        Richie cocked a brow curiously as he turned so that he could see his now-fiancé better from where he sat next to her in the hot tub. Everyone else'd long since gone into the house, and a single glance back at it told him that they were all likely in bed. Whether they were already asleep or not was an entirely different story, and he didn't rightly care if they were or not. Aside from not having witnesses at this point, he only cared about finding out what'd been said to his fiancé like it was some kinda classified gov'ment Secret.

        Chuckling, Leilani shifted slightly so that she could see him better, too and reached up to tuck his hair behind his ear. She'd debated telling him, whether he outright asked her or not, the whole Time they were waiting for everybody elseta go inside. And during that wait, she'd finally decided she'd tell him that, as well as something else she'd Intended to tell him soon.

        "He told me I'd be making the biggest mistake of my Life, if I letcha get away from me," she finally answered. "'Cuz there's a whole lot more Deannas in this World than there are Richies, and at this point, just seeing those around him held the Power to make him happy."

        The virtuoso's jaw dropped in surprise as he processed that, 'cuz it certainly wasn't anything he'd have expected outta even Rikki.

        "And when I think about it, he's right," Leilani continued. "You've prolly been the most honest guy I've ever met besides Rob, even when ya didn't wanna be."

        "Well, with the exception of tonight," he admitted. "But then again, ya can't blame me for wanting to make a proposal a surprise."

        "I don't, and I wouldn't," the young woman agreed. "No more than I think you'll blame me for wanting my own newsta be a surprise."

        "Oh–and what news is that?" Richie queried, once again cocking a brow curiously.

        "Happy early Father's Day, e ku'u aloha," she answered, pulling his hand to her lower belly and gently holding it there.

        "Wait, are ya fuckin' shitting me?" the virtuoso asked, his eyes damn near popping outta his skull.

        Grinning as she nodded, Leilani told him that she'd started getting suspicious when she'd missed her period a couple weeks previously. She hadn't wanted to be rash and jump to conclusions, so she'd waited a bit to make sure that stress at the shop hadn't just caused her to be a lil late. It woulda been a bit usual for her since the most her periods were ever late was usually only a Day, but not entirely outside the Realm of Possibility.

        When she'd started waking up nauseous and unable to stand the scent of red meat, 'cuz it only made her nausea worse, she'd confided in her sister. Kailani'd detoured to the nearest drug store, which was all but across Town from their bridal shop, and headed inside. Upon her Return, she'd dropped the bag she was carrying into her lap, and opening it'd Revealed the box of pregnancy tests she'd bought.

        Her sister'd advised her to wait till she got up the next Morn to take the first one, 'cuz according to her own OB/GYN, that was when she'd get the most accurate result. It made perfect sense, 'cuz if she was, indeed pregnant, the hormone'd be more concentrated than at the End of the Day. For that reason, the young woman'd done as instructed, and she'd honestly been surprised when the result'd appeared and shown a pink plus-sign. She'd still been a lil dubious about believing it, though, so she'd taken the other two pregnancy tests each Morn after that–and the results'd been the same as that very first one, so there wasn't really any denying it.