Love Under Construction

39. Paper Trail

Spencer's POV

I wake up and notice I'm alone before seeing my fiancée returning from a little distance.

I chuckle because she clearly was in a rush as I find her things scattered on the ground by her chair.

My hands reach down and grab lipstick, mascara, and loose change.

"Babe—- you must've been in a—-" my words are low before they pause and my eyes become fixated on a slightly folded piece of paper that happened to fall open while on the ground.

My mind processes the words I am able to see written on a doctor's note, that surprisingly took place hours before we left for San Francisco.

"What's wrong?" She asks while I grab the paper and, by the look on her face, she instantly knows what I'm about to say next.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to see the doctor?" I ask and her eyes start to tell the story before her mouth even speaks. "Nausea? Pelvic pains? Liv, this is serious. You never told me about any of this."

"Baby—- I didn't want you to worry!—- but that's what I was going to tell you," she says with an unsure smile.

"Tell me what?" I ask curiously as my mind starts to wrap my head around her unspoken words.

"I went to the doctor because I've been throwing up every morning for the past week."

"I've been with you—- I haven't heard you throw up," I say sincerely.

"You go to the gym at eight o'clock every morning and I'm throwing up by eight o' two," she admits and I shake my head as I continue to piece this situation together.

"Okay," I say and pause. "What are you saying to me, Olivia?"

"I'm saying— I'm—saying we're pregnant!"

My heart skips a beat or two before reality sets in and her words reach every functioning cell in my brain.

"I'm going to be a dad?" I ask myself and she giggles before tears flow down her cheeks.

"Are you happy?" She asks as I reach to hug her. "I'm six weeks according to the test results."

"Are you kidding me? I'm— I'm very happy!" I promise her as the tears I tried to keep away, runs rapidly.

"Baby, I know we are both still establishing ourselves, but I think we can do it!" She says as she wipes my tears away.

I agree with her. We weren't trying to have a kid before marriage. But we weren't, necessarily, preventing it either.

We kiss passionately as I start to ask questions. "When did you find out? Is that why you're on a cleanse?"

"The doctor's office called a few minutes ago. And I mean—- I had my suspicions with the morning sickness, but I must've read a thousand different webMD results for my symptoms." She jokes.

"Those things are trash!" I tell her and she agrees with a smile before I touch her stomach using the palm of my left hand. "I can't believe it's a baby in here.— My baby—-."

"No! Our baby," she rebuttals, playfully, and I get on one knee to kiss her midsection before staring at it a little while longer.

"Hey little one. This is your daddy! You've probably been hearing my voice. And had I known you were in here, I would've said what's up sooner. —- But now that I know, I'll be right out here waiting for you to come out of your mommy's belly.— and I promise to always love you. No matter what! Even when things aren't going well, I'm going to love you. But you have to promise to let me know if I'm messing up. I want to be perfect for you. Okay?"

I can hear the remnants of Liv's faint tears as she watches quietly.

"A wise man once told me, we are all imperfect, and we all fail. In fact, more often than not failure is a prerequisite to success." She says all in one breath. "Spencer, when our baby comes, he or she will not be looking for perfection. He or she will be looking for love and some parents they can rely on. And when the time comes, that's what we will be."

"Who said that?" I ask and she laughs.

"I don't know. Julie posted it on her IG feed a couple days ago." She tells me and I laugh.

"Seriously though, what if I'm no good at it Liv?" I question seriously as she tries to stop her giggle.

"No good at being a daddy?" She questions.

"All of this—- I'm about to be your husband and a dad all at once. I've never done any of this before."

"There's no book on it," she answers sincerely. "I mean, there probably is—- But no one has time to read it once they become parents and providers. You and I will be on a steady diet of diapers, bottles, and a hell of a lot of scheduled date nights. So we just have to do our best. And we will be okay."

"I hope she wants to play soccer," I say as I allow my fiancée's words to free me of my worry.

"She?"

"Yes! My baby girl— my angel— daddy's little princess!" I say and Olivia smirks.

"And what if he wants to be a journalist like his momma?"

"No way—- I just talked to her! She's currently preparing to be a 'daddy's girl'." I tell my future wife and I can hear the elation oozing out of her hysterical laugh.

"Would you like to close your tab?" The waitress interrupts and I nod as she hands me the bill before scrummage through my wallet for my bank card.

"We should go up to our room and have an official celebration.—-Maybe we can be the first couple in the world to make another baby while the other one is still baking."

I watch as Liv throws her head back in laughter. And I do the same.

"Why are you like this?" She asks playfully as our waitress returns with my copy of the bill. "And we won't be doing anything if I have to wait ten minutes for this busy ass elevator."

I smile, knowing she's right! The elevator is slow and must be the only one in this hotel. So I quickly sign the merchant's copy and lay it down on the table, before noticing more of Olivia's things on the ground.

"Your stuff is all over," I tell her.

"I know. I accidentally knocked everything over trying to answer the call." She tells me as I reach down and pick up a lip gloss and nail filler.

"Thank you baby," she responds before attempting to walk away.

"It looks like some type of business card went all the way back into the bushes," I add as I size it up. "You need it?"

It's a little out of my reach, but if she needs it, I'll move the chair and risk a few sticks from the bush to get it.

"You can leave it— Who knows what it is— I've been meaning to clean this bag out for the past month," she says nonchalantly as she turns to walk away.

I look over at the card again and from a distance, it's impossible to see the words or it's importance.

"You sure?" I yell and she waves me towards her.

"Yeah, baby! Hurry up so we can catch this elevator," she tells me and I lightly jog to catch up to her.