Consider Yourself Lucky

Thirty-One

It's been three months since the whole kidnapping Grandma situation went down. My father has been sent to jail and everything has been going well. My mother has moved in with Grandma and I for the time being so that I can focus on work and my classes without having to worry too much about taking care of Grandma. Collin and I are in such a great spot together. I've decided to forgive him, and he's been doing everything he can to build the trust back. Now that I think about it, I'm not so mad anymore. I don't even think I'm really mad at my father. I understand where he was coming from, it must have been horrible coming home one day and everything you had was gone. Your girlfriend and your child. However, if he was a better person then maybe things wouldn't have gone down the way they did. He only has himself to blame.

Collin and I have talked about me moving into his apartment with him that way we have our own privacy. It's only about a ten-minute drive from Grandma's house and I certainly don't mind being able to do it wherever we want, whenever we want. Although, once the baby gets here, we do have a plan of finding a bigger place. He agreed to let me take Flake to the apartment, so I would still be able to wake up to a demanding meow every morning.

Today, Collin and I have another baby appointment. I am officially eighteen weeks, and my belly has already grown so much. I have a prenatal appointment and another ultrasound. I stayed at Grandma's last night so Collin is on his way to pick me up so we can grab some lunch before our appointment. I'm wearing the same outfit I wore the night Grandma, and I had a girl's night and Collin asked me on our first date. I love the way my bump pokes out. Not going to lie, finding a comfortable spot to sleep in when you have a big belly in the way is probably one of the hardest things I've had to do. I can't imagine for when I'm nine months along. The one thing I'm looking forward to not being pregnant again is sleeping on my stomach.

"Addy!" Collin yells up the stairs. I told him I would be ready by the time we got here but I got caught up trying to take a cute bump picture in my dress.

"Coming!" I open my door and see Collin waiting at the bottom of the stairs for me. Once he sees me, his eyes get wide, and he starts to blush.

"What? You act like you've never seen a pregnant woman before."

"I have. I've just never seen a pregnant woman as beautiful as MY pregnant woman." He pulls me closer to him with his hands on my waist and kisses me. Grandma and my mom are sitting at the kitchen table eating sandwiches.

"Oh! Is today the day you find out what you're having?" Collin squeezes my hand and grins.

"Possibly. Maybe I'll just tell them I want to wait until birth to know what the baby is."

"Hey, now that's not fair. You've been talking about this day since the last appointment you had."

"I know, I know." I grab my purse and Collin helps me put my shoes on. Still quite the gentleman. We say goodbye to Grandma and my mom and head out to his car. He opens the car door for me like he always does. Once we're settled in the car, I take my shoes back off. My feet are already getting a bit swollen so wearing shoes hurts.

"What does my beautiful girl want for lunch?" I think about this question long and hard and he refuses to leave the driveway until I figure it out. We have two hours before we have to be at our appointment, so I choose something quick.

"I want a pineapple pizza with a side of extra ranch."

"Sounds like a perfect lunch to me." We pull out of the driveway and make our way into town.

We get to the pizza joint, and the smell is heavenly. Pretty ironic considering the smell of pizza is what drove me to get sick and take a test only to find out it was positive. Such a crazy thing. Collin goes up to the front counter and orders for us while I find a booth to sit at. I choose a window seat because I love watching all the people and cars go by. Collin comes and sits across from me while he waits for our order. We sit and people watch until the pizza guy calls out to us saying our food was ready. Collin gets up and brings it to the table along with the three extra cups of ranch. My absolute favorite. I open the box and take the first slice out. Collin and I take our first bites at the same time.