Linda's Story

Valentine's Day

Two days before Valentine's Day, he had decided to do two things, one of which involved bribing their roommate to be out of the apartment.

"It's not like you're gonna have sex everywhere," she had said sarcastically, sipping her wine and rolling her eyes. "But yeah, fine, whatever. Long as you save me some chocolates."

So she was taken care of, and now he had to take care of breakfast. Only.... how could he do that? Could his wife even eat breakfast today?

That was one of many reasons he wanted to surprise his sweetheart with breakfast. She hadn't been feeling the greatest the last few weeks. He had wanted her to see a doctor, but she insisted she was fine. He hoped she really was fine.

As Danny got the stuff out to make the pancakes he smiled to himself. It was the first Valentine's Day he and Linda were spending together as a married couple. He wanted it to be special, and wanted Linda to feel special. A special breakfast for a special lady.

He found a recipe book and found an easy pancake recipe. He could do it- the recipient said for beginners. He quietly got out the pan and all the ingredients he was going to need. He used the electric mixer to mix it up, since he knew Linda was a very heavy sleeper.

He turned the mixer off and the heat under the pan on. He let the butter melt on its own accord as he stared at the batter.

"What the hell?"

It wasn't supposed to look like soup! So Danny tried to add more flour (because hadn't Linda said something about adding flour to thicken things?) but that didn't really work out. The batter was still watery and now it was lumpy.

He cursed at it, then turned to the recipe book. No where did it say what to do if there was a mess up. He needed this information! How was he supposed to make a nice romantic breakfast if he couldn't fix his mistake?

"Cooking is the worst!" Danny's voice involuntarily cracked on the last word. Maybe if he cooked them they'd firm up, kind of like.... He had no idea; like bread? So he poured some onto the pan, but the batter came out far too fast and splashed over the sides and onto the stove.

He cursed as he slammed the bowl onto the counter, knocking into the pan in the process. As if the morning couldn't get any worse, the pan fell to the floor with a loud clang!.

*********

Clang!

That was the last sound she wanted to hear upon waking up.

"F***ing f***ers! Ugh!!!"

Those were the last words she wanted to hear upon waking up. So very quickly she got out of bed and almost ran into the kitchen. She got there just in time to see her husband slip on some sort of batter on the floor.

"Danny!" Linda was quickly by his side. "Are you okay? What happened in here?"

"Me. That's what happened. Me! See," he brushed off some flour on his knee. "I wanted to make you nice a breakfast, since it's Valentine's Day and you haven't been feeling well. But the batter was watery and then it was lumpy, and I knocked into everything and I messed up."

"You were making me pancakes?" She blinked, her hand on his shoulder.

"I was trying to! But I failed."

"You.... had a hiccup. Come on," she stood up and held her hands out for him to take. "This is very, very sweet of you, sweetie. I couldn't have asked for a better morning surprise."

He was about to say something sarcastic when she kissed him soundly and passionately.

"Now help me clean this up. I'll teach you how to make pancakes so you can make 'em for me next Valentine's Day."

********

The day was better from there on out. The pancakes they made together were fantastic, and after Linda's classes, they were going to give each other the actual presents. Breakfast wasn't the present, it was just a prelude. The real present was going to blow her socks off. Her present to him was going to blow anything and everything out of the water.

Linda sighed as she wrung her hands together in the bathroom. She was finished getting ready, and now she was nervous. She really hoped Danny liked his present. She couldn't return it, so he better like it. It was wrapped in a jewelry box and sitting on the bathroom counter. She was told to stay in the bedroom while Danny got ready. She didn't know what he was doing outside, in the main room of the apartment.

Meanwhile, it was a mad dash, Danny versus the clock as he quickly through together the table. He had gotten a red table cloth, drippy candles, heart shaped plates... the works. He was supposed to be done fifteen minutes ago.

He frowned at the table cloth after he had set everything up. "Oh, that's uneven. That's really gonna bug her. And me." He needed to fix it without ruining any of the decorations.

"Danny, can I come out now?" Linda yelled from the bedroom. She was getting fat too nervous and claustrophobic in the bedroom.

"Just a few more minutes!" He yelled back, quickly gathering all the trash strewn across the floor. After he disposed of the mess, he opened the door to their bedroom.

Linda walked out, the present hidden behind her back. She was going to say something about Danny's nice suit, but the table caught her attention. "Huh! Did you do all this?"

The table was decorated with a red table cloth and a smaller white one on top. The decorations included drippy candles and lace doilies, along with heart shaped plates. There was red, pink, and white confetti hearts sprinkled all over the table.

"You like?"

"I love it! It's adorable!" She turned and gave him a kiss.

"Ooh, Lemme get your present," he said, stepping out of her arms.

"You mean this isn't it?"

"No. That's just a bonus." He walked into the kitchen and was back quickly with a basket of flowers and a heart shaped candy box. He handed her the candies first.

She opened them, a grin coming to her face. "These are Stork's Orange Creams, aren't they?"

"Of course they are!" He smiled when she popped one on her mouth. "This next present- while it is for you- is really for the both of us."

"Oh?" Linda cocked an eyebrow, thinking he meant what was sure to follow their dinner. Her eyes grew wide as he moved his hand down the handle of the basket to reveal a set of keys.

"We can move into that apartment you want-" he didn't get to finish as she launched herself at him, hugging him tightly.

She laughed in delight. Finally, their own place! She loved her roommate like a sister, but there had been far too many times awkward conversations had arisen.

"I bet you can't top that." He teased her, setting her on the ground again.

"I most certainly can." She bit her lip as she handed him the box.

He shook it, "is it a watch?" It looked like it could be a watch, repackaged. He took the bow off and handed it to Linda (she always saved bows and ribbons), before ripping the paper off.

Linda held her breath as she watched him open the box. She watched the utter confusion on his face.

"It's a pregnancy test? What am I looking at?" It took him a few moments to connect the dots. "Linda...."

She shrugged, "that's why I've been feeling so weird. It really was hormones- pregnancy hormones."

"We're going to have a baby?"

She nodded, "we're going to have a baby!"

Danny laughed and spun her around, planting kisses all over her face. He was certain there was no Valentine's Day present as special and fantastic as the one he just received.

Linda was pregnant, they were going to have a baby!