Only You by K.T. Quinn

50

Molly

The Day I Learned I Was Pregnant

“Based on the hCG hormone in your bloodwork,” the doctor explained, “you are quite pregnant! It is early, of course, and we have been too busy to perform any of the relevant tests, but at this time we have no reason to believe the virus has any effect on the gestation of a child. I will leave you to your doctor in America to take additional steps, although—as I said—a stronger dose of prenatal vitamins is a good first step. Do you have any questions for me?”

I stared at the doctor without really hearing her. A switch had flipped in my brain as soon as she said the word fetus.

I was pregnant.

My mind raced. It must have happened when my birth control ran out. We switched to condoms two days before the last pill, which was already a slight risk, but there was also the time we fooled around without a condom and Donovan pulled out…

My eyes swung to Donovan. His mouth hung open, and he was blinking rapidly. He looked like he was in shock.

Then he looked down at me. Our eyes met, and I held my breath while waiting for his reaction.

He gave me a huge face-splitting grin. The pure joy in his steel eyes was as genuine as could be. He wasn’t just faking it for me.

My heart swelled with love. I squeezed his hand.

The doctor sighed. “My goodness. You were not aware. Of course. I, ah… I will give you two a moment alone.” She dipped her head and left the room.

“That explains all the vomiting,” Donovan said with a chuckle. “It wasn’t the virus. It was morning sickness.”

I folded my hands in my lap. “How do you feel about… I mean, do you really want… I don’t know what I’m trying to ask.”

Donovan sat on the edge of the bed and smiled down at me. “I’ll be honest. I didn’t expect for this to happen so soon. I always thought I’d be older. But when the doctor said those words just now? Something blossomed in my chest. I feel happy, Molly. Happier than I ever expected to be. As long as you do too, I mean. Maybe you…”

“I want this,” I quickly said. “I really, really want this, and I didn’t realize I did until just now.”

“You’re sure?” he insisted. “We’re not rushing into things? We’ve only known each other like seven weeks…”

I shook my head and allowed my heart to speak for me. “We’re not rushing into anything, Donovan. I’ve spent more time with you in the last two months than I’ve ever spent with anyone else. I feel like I’ve known you for years.”

I reached up and caressed his hair, smoothing out the parts that were sticking up.

“Whatever else happens with us,” I said, “I know that I want you to be the father of this child. I’m lucky, Donovan. I’m so, so, so lucky.”

There were tears in his eyes as he hugged me, and kissed me on the forehead.

“Were you serious when you mentioned your friend finding me a job in Elkhart?” he asked.

“Yes!” I said. “I mean, I was serious at the time. Are you sure you want to come with me, though? We can try long-distance at first. And maybe I can move to Boston…”

“I want to come with you,” he said. “My parents retired in Florida. There’s nothing in Boston waiting for me. And even if there was, it wouldn’t matter. I want to be where you are.”

I rested my hand on my belly. “You’re just saying that because you know I’m carrying your child.”

“Nope. I swear.”

“I don’t believe you,” I teased. “You cheat at hide-and-seek, after all.”

Donovan took out his phone and swiped on the screen. “I booked my return flight on the waiting list. I’m not flying back to Logan. I’m flying to O’Hare.”

He held out the screen so I could see.

“You did what?”

He frowned in confusion. “Was that not the right airport? I looked online and it said the easiest way to get to Elkhart is to fly into Chicago and drive to Indiana from there…”

“No, that’s the right airport. I’m just surprised.”

He rested his hand on top of mine on my belly. “See? This proves I want to be with you, regardless of the situation. You’re stuck with me, Feisty. As long as your friend can get me a job, that is. I don’t want to be a bum all day.”

“You can be a bum as long as you make me breakfast, lunch, and dinner!” I said. “I’m eating for two now.”

He kissed me and said, “Molly, I have something to tell you.”

“Uh oh. First you knock me up, then you tell me your deep dark secret…”

He laughed and waved a hand. “I was going to say that… I love you. I love you, Molly. I know, it’s nuts. We’ve been together less than two months, but I know how I feel and I can’t deny it—”

“I love you too!” I blurted out.

Donovan hesitated. “You don’t have to say it just because I did.”

“The last year has been really tough for me,” I explained softly. “Since my parents died, I haven’t felt like I have a home. I sold my parents’ house. My apartment is big and lonely. I visit my friends, and they’re supportive and loving, but it’s all just temporary. But when I’m with you? I feel like I’m home again, no matter where we are. Whether it’s the hospital, or Elkhart, or the Residencia Al Gladiatore hotel, I’m home whenever I’m with you.”

“Damn, Feisty. That speech definitely trumps my I love you.”

“Expressing our love isn’t a competition,” I said. “Although if it were, I’m sure you’d find a way to cheat.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”

“Nope!”

The doctors kept me in the hospital for two more days, just in case. Now that my condition wasn’t as dire, I was moved to a larger room that I shared with about fifty other patients. It was cramped, but I still considered myself lucky. It could have been worse.

It could have been so much worse.

I replied to the standby email and got myself added to the same flight as Donovan. The timing worked out perfectly: the flight was scheduled for the evening when I was released, which was forty-eight hours since I’d had a negative test. Donovan and I were safe to fly.

“It feels so good to walk around!” I said when we finally left the hospital. “It’s beautiful out. Rome really is gorgeous. Maybe we should stay longer.”

“You’re babbling,” Donovan said while wrapping an arm around me.

“I can’t help it. I’m excited! We should have sex.”

Donovan laughed.

“I’m serious,” I insisted. “I can’t wait until we get back to the hotel. Let’s find an alley to hide in so I can jump your bones.”

“As appealing as that sounds, we’re on a tight schedule,” Donovan replied. “Our flight leaves in three hours. And we have to pack.”

“Plenty of time!” I said.

He grinned over at me. “Well, I was sort of hoping you would use that time to take a shower. You’ve, uh, been in the hospital for a few days. And before that you were bedridden.”

I pretended like I had been stabbed in the chest. “Ouch. Guess the honeymoon’s over.”

He leaned over and kissed my hair. “Love means being brutally honest sometimes. And I’m sure the other passengers on our twelve-hour flight will appreciate your hygiene.”

“Good point.”

When we got back to our rooms, we were greeted by a powerful, pungent smell. The containers from our last meal before leaving had been sitting out for several days now. It was a wonder the room wasn’t filled with flies.

Donovan pulled out forty Euros from his wallet. He placed the bills on the nightstand. “This is the last cash I have on me. The maid who eventually has to clean our rooms deserves it.”

Both of us took long showers in our rooms. Donovan spent a few minutes trimming his beard down so that he didn’t look like a seventeenth-century pirate. Then we hastily gathered our belongings. It felt surreal to pack. Part of me had thought this day would never come.

“Molly?” Donovan called from the next room over. “Come here.”

I found him on the balcony. He waved me over, and put his arm around me.

“One final selfie before we go,” he said, extending his phone and snapping a couple of photos.

“Wait,” I said. “I have a better idea.”

We ran up to the fifth floor and took the ladder to the roof. The view there was much better. Donovan wrapped an arm around me and took the photo. The sun was setting behind the Colosseum, casting long shadows across Rome.

“Our last Roman sunset,” Donovan said, holding me close.

“Our last, for now,” I said. “We’ll come back someday. When everything’s normal again.”

“Forget that,” Donovan said with a laugh. “The next time I come to Europe, I’m visiting Paris!”

We collected our suitcases and got into the elevator. Donovan laced his fingers into mine as the car began to move. Holding hands on the ride down, I felt sad to be leaving. It was an ending to something special.

But it was the beginning of something even better.

The door opened on the ground floor. We rolled our suitcases halfway across the lobby before we realized there was someone behind the front desk, bent over and rummaging through a drawer.

“Is that… The concierge?” Donovan asked.

The man suddenly stood up. He gasped when he saw us. “You two! You are still here? But we stopped the supply packages weeks ago!”

“We made do,” Donovan said.

I handed him the key ring. “We had to use these to get in and out.”

The concierge took the keys and scowled down at me. “You were instructed to remain in your rooms.”

“Oh, we did,” Donovan quickly said. “We only came out to do laundry, and to get food at the grocery store.”

“That is all?” the concierge asked skeptically.

“That’s it,” I said. “We promise.”

The door to the restaurant flew open and a man in a white apron stormed out. He aimed an accusatory finger at the two of us and spoke in passable English.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BEAUTIFUL KITCHEN!”