Grace (BWWM)

Chapter Forty-Two

My phone rings and I pick it up immediately once I see it's Grace.

"Hey love," I answer.

"Joe." Her voice is pinched and it's not her usual greetings. I was just leaving work and heading home.

"Something wrong, Grace?" I ask, finding a safe spot to pull over. Whatever it is, I don't want to be on the road when I hear it. "Are you okay? Is it any of the kids? Did—"

"No, it's not any of that, I just . . . I think I'm pregnant."

Her words stop me short, and my mind goes blank. Pregnant?

Grace and I have joked about the possibility of her being pregnant a few times, but as time goes on, I think we've begun to think that it will likely not happen. It's almost like we forgot the God we serve.

"Joe?"

Her voice draws me back to our conversation.

"Pregnant."

"Yes, but I'm not . . . " She trails off and then sighs. "It almost seems too good to be true."

I get what she means. We celebrated our one-year anniversary just two days ago and now she's pregnant?

"I just want to make sure before we think about it too much. Can you get some pregnancy tests on your way home?"

"Pregnancy tests." I repeat the words a few more times before they finally settle, clicking into place. "Yeah sure. Just . . . all of them?" I ask.

"All of them?" she echoes. "Like the brands?"

"Yeah, should I get all the brands just in case?"

There's probably only three or four types.

"No, just the top brands."

"Right . . . what are those?" I ask, not knowing anything about this.

"Just like . . . well . . . I'm not sure. It's been eighteen years since I was pregnant, I'm not familiar with newer brands. Should we just go together?"

"Yeah. I-I'll just . . . um-wow." I stop, my thoughts coming to a halt once more as I try to warp my mind around this. Pregnant? Grace? Oh, my word.

"Joe?" she asks hesitantly.

"I'm here."

"Do you think we are ready for this? We wanted this, but now that it is happening, I don't know if I'm even prepared. My body hasn't done this in almost two decades, and I don't know if I even recall how to take care of babies. I just . . . are we prepared?"

It takes a while for her words to process, but once they do, I straighten my head back on my shoulders. My woman's anxious and I want to ease that anxiety for her.

"Gracie," I say gently.

"Yes?"

"This is what we wanted," I remind her.

She hesitates.

"Yes," she says,and I can imagine her slight pout.

"We've got nine months to prepare, so we don't need to worry about that," I assure her.

"Okay," she responds, sounding close to tears.

"We also have family and friends that have kids, so they're great resources. Along with that, I don't think you've forgotten everything that you know; I think more than anything, you're nervous, love. I get that, but take a few deep breaths for me. We'll get some tests and see what's going on. Alright, love?"