the fate played

Bonus Chapter #2 - little one

Chris Langford

It was evening turning into the night when I walk back into our house and plop myself on the couch. A full minute of rest later I get back on my feet and make my way to the bedroom.

Hailey was sitting on the bed with legs extended and hands clasped. She beams when I make my way towards her, sit beside and kiss her.

"What is it wifey ? Are you all right ?"

After biting on her bottom lip she says, "I have something for you." "What is it?" I ask. "Give me a second", she says before getting up from the bed and starts making her way to our closet.

There is a small box in her hands when she makes her way back to the bed. I straighten myself. She blows out a puff of air, inhales a deep breath, and speaks, "okay, okay, here I go."

I frown, thinking why was she speaking to herself. Handing me the box she says, "okay, here you go."

"Is there anything wrong Hailey?" I ask concerned about her behaviour while placing the box in my lap.

"No, no, no, nothing, nothing wrong", her dismissal was quick making my worry multiply.

"then why are you nervous?"

She huffs, "Look, Chris! Just open the box, okay."

"you sure?"

"Yes, 100%"

I glance down at the box, wrapped in gift paper. My eyes go back to Hailey who was biting on her nails. Anxiety building inside me, my fingers carefully fumble with the strands of the bow and pull them.

Opening the lid of the box, I look down at the content of the box and my frown dissolves. There was a white cotton cloth with a small black and white polaroid.

Picking up the cloth in one hand and the polaroid in the other, my eyes go to Hailey who was observing me crucially and was still bitting on her fingers.

Unfolding the cloth, I read the letters print on it. My brain freezes yet it somehow functions so my eyes could fall on the polaroid and fuck me because it was not so normal polaroid.

Holy Shit!

Are you shitting me?

Is this.........

Fuck

Shock, I flip the polaroid and read it in my mind, 'Hey, Dad.'

The baby-sized white t-shirt read, 'little one.'

"Look, I thought there was something wrong with not having periods on time but I ignored it. But then I realized the last I got checked nothing was wrong with me plus I was nauseating all the damn time, even a bar of chocolate was making me want to gag out the food I ate priorly so I took a test which turned out positive so I straight away went for an ultrasound to get it confirmed before I could........"

I smash my lips to hers so she can be silent, though the kiss I was giving her was out of pure joy. The joy of us being parents, Hailey being a mother, and me being a father. She seemed to be stunned at first but a few seconds later I feel her kissing me back. This was ridiculously unbelievable that we were going to be parents.

We break apart from the kiss when I see a frown on Hailey's forehead. "What is it, Hailey?" She walks to the bed and sits on the edge with her head in her hands. I take a seat beside her, and wrap my hands around her wrists, forcing her to look at me. Her eyes were teary. I lower my voice and ask, "Hey, talk to me. What's wrong?"

"I am scared" -she sobs, little tears flowing down from her eyes- "I don't know how to be a mother. I don't think I know how to be one. What if I fail at that and our kids grow up hating me for not being a good mother to them? I don't think I'll be able to handle that. As much as I am happy that we are having a child the thoughts of failing at motherhood are terrifying me. It scares me to think that what if I had to go through the same fate my mother went through."