Best Mistake

I shifted uncomfortably on the exam table in one of Dr. Gresham' rooms. It felt like the babies in the pictures on the cork board were staring at me, and I consciously made an effort to keep from looking at them. I couldn't wait for the day that Will's first picture got to join them.

Alex stayed home for my appointment. He and Jack were working tirelessly to get the nursery done in time. They'd already painted it, and were to spend the day putting all of the furniture together and setting everything up. He wouldn't allow me to see it until it was done, since he insisted on it being a surprise.

We hadn't had any more scares since the first one. I'd felt great, actually. I wasn't as tired as I expected to be, and Will was always so active. It was a little uncomfortable when he kicked all the time, but I happily dealt with it.

"Good afternoon, Whitney," Dr. Gresham said as he walked through the door.

"Hey, Dr. Gresham," I smiled.

"How are we feeling today?"

"Great," I nodded. "I think I may have a punter on my hands."

He laughed. "As long as he plays for the Ravens."

"Oh, I don't think his father would allow otherwise," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well let's take a look at him, shall we?" he asked as he lifted my shirt above my bump.

I watched as he squirted some of the gel onto my stomach and picked up the camera. Soon I was looking at my son and a smile fell into place.

He looked so big on the screen compared to how tiny he actually was. I watched as he spread his fingers on one hand and rubbed his nose with another.

"He must've been napping," Dr. Gresham smiled.

"If he takes after his mom, he was," I laughed.

Dr. Gresham turned off the sonogram machine. "Everything looks great. Seems like we'll have a healthy baby boy making his arrival in about three weeks."

"That's awesome," I smiled. "Thank you so much, Dr. Gresham."

He smiled and waved as he exited the room.

When I got home, I found Alex and Jack standing around the island in the kitchen. They looked exhausted.

"Hey guys," I smiled.

"What's up, Whit?" Jack said as he gave me a side hug.

Alex was quick to pull me into his arms. "Hey babe," he said, smiling as he kissed me.

"So did you guys get a lot done?" I asked.

They both nodded.

"We finished it, actually," Jack said.

I looked at Alex, who was nodding.

"You want to see it?" he asked.

I nodded quickly and he lead me to the nursery, Jack following behind me. Alex opened the door and stood to the side as I walked in.

"Oh my god," I whispered.

One of the walls was painted a hunters green color. Will's crib was placed in the center of it, and it was even already set up with his safari themed sheets. A green fleece blanket with his name stitched into one of the corners was hanging over the railing and a carousel spun above it.

The next wall was painted a dark grey. The changing station was set up in front of the bay window, and a diaper genie sat next to it. The guys set up a storage table on the other side of it for the diapers and wipes.

Another wall was painted a dark blue color. Alex insisted on buying a book shelf for all of the baby books and stuffed animals we'd received from the party. He staggered each shelf with toys and books. It looked like a display in a baby museum. The whole room looked like it was copied and pasted from a magazine.

"Wow," I whispered.

Alex was beaming when he showed me the closet where all of Will's clothes were hung up on little hangers. His shoes were displayed on a shelf lower down.

"Ready for the best part?" he asked excitedly.

I nodded and watched as he turned off the lights and pointed up. Somehow either he or Jack stuck glow in the dark stars up on the very high ceilings. I stared up in amazement.

"I figured it'd add a nice touch, especially if he's scared of the dark," Jack smiled.

My eyes drifted down to him and he smiled, shrugging.

"Thank you, Jack," I said. "It's perfect."

"Don't mention it," he nodded. "I'm gonna give you two a minute," he said as he walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

I turned to look at Alex, who was looking around himself.

"Do you like-" he started, but I cut him off with my lips pressing against his.

"I love it," I said once I'd pulled away. "It's so great, Alex."

He nodded, looking around once more. "I'm pretty proud of it."

"As you should be," I said, kissing him again.

He smirked. "I bet you didn't even notice your late baby shower gift," he said.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, and he turned to point in one of the corners where a white rocking chair sat. I had completely looked over it.

"Oh," I smiled. "This is nice."

"Read the note attached."

Hi baby!
We're all so sorry we couldn't make it for your surprise shower. But we hope this gift makes up for it.
This is the same rocking chair I used to rock you in when you were a baby. We decided twenty years ago to hold on to it, in hopes some day you would want to use it to rock your children to sleep. Your daddy sanded it down and repainted it and fixed it so it was sturdy again. We truly hope you enjoy it.
Your daddy told me he's going to be there when you have Will. I know you're excited about that!!
We love you, sweet girl, and we're both so proud of you.
See you in a few weeks!
Love,
Mama, Daddy, David, and Traci

I was in tears by the end of the letter. My parents didn't necessarily get along, so the fact that they collaborated on inarguably the best gift I'd ever received really meant a lot to me.

Alex rubbed my back. "Do you like it?"

I nodded, sniffling. "How did it get here, though?"

"You're mom rented a moving truck just for it to be brought here. I told her about the baby shower and she felt horrible that she wouldn't be able to be here for it, but she still wanted to give you this. Then she told me that she was afraid it was too beat up for you to use, so I talked to your dad and he said he could fix it up in time. I was in the middle of giving your mom our address when you walked in on us that morning."

I was completely shocked. Alex never seemed to run out of ways to amaze me. I pulled him in, wrapping my arms around his neck. He responded by slinking his arms around my waist, holding me tight.

"I love you, Alex."

The words startled me as much as they seemed to have startled him. His body stiffened against mine and I drew in a deep breath, hoping to pull the words back in. I stopped before exhaling as Alex slowly pulled away.

"You what?" he asked in a whisper.

It was suddenly hard to breathe. I struggled to calm my staggering breaths as I shook my head and turned away, sitting in the rocking chair.

"Whitney," Alex said, kneeling in front of me. "You love me?"

I couldn't even look at him. I knew I'd been feeling some kind of way about him lately, but I didn't know what feeling that was until I said it. I wished I'd had more time to process everything before I blurted out some pretty serious words to him.

"Please," he begged, taking my hand in his. "Please, tell me."

With a heavy sigh and a shake of my head, I looked at him and said, "I love you."

He gasped.

"I'm sorry," I said, shaking my head. "I shouldn't have... I'm sorry."

He swallowed hard before saying, "You really mean that?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. I mean,... yeah, I guess I do."

I watched as he blew out a deep breath I wasn't aware he was holding in. He rested his head on my knees, his hands wrapped around my ankles. I thought I could see him smiling as he said, "Thank fucking god."

"Huh?" I asked.

He lifted his head to look at me, a grin on his face. "I've been loving you for some time now, Ms. Pate."

"Wait. What?" I asked, utterly confused.

He shook his head. "I love you, too."

"But 'for some time now'?" I asked, putting air quotes around his words. "How long is that?"

"I think I realized it when we were in Georgia, when I first felt Will kick. I'd kind of brushed it off at the time, since I was drunk, but when I saw you the next morning, I still felt it, so I knew it had to be true."

I stared at him for a moment. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Alex blushed a little. "We'd only known each other for seven months, and we'd only been together for one of them. And, you didn't even know you were my girlfriend at the time. I didn't want to overload you with my feelings."

"Well, it's been a month and a half since then. Why haven't you told me yet?"

"I was afraid to. I didn't want you to think I was moving too fast. I almost did when we were sitting outside my parents house and you watched me cry like a baby, but I got too freaked out and couldn't."

"Why?"

"I don't know, Whit. I was afraid that I'd tell you and you wouldn't feel the same way and I'd make a fool out of myself and make you uncomfortable around me in the same token. I didn't want any of that. Why haven't you told me that you love me yet?"

It was my turn to blush. "I don't know. I think I only just realized that I do."

He shifted a little. "But you do right?"

I nodded, and when Alex stood and pulled me up with him, I smiled.

"Are you sure, though?" I asked. "That you love me?"

Alex chuckled a little. "Ask Jack. I'm pretty sure he's happy we're done with the nursery so he doesn't have to hear me talk about it anymore."

"He loves you, Whitney!" Jack yelled from the other side of the door.

Alex rose his eyebrows at me, his expression screaming 'see?'.

I laughed and yelled, "I love him too, Jack!"

Notes