Dos Oruguitas (Camilo Madrigal)

Veronica Tells Camilo Sheʼs Pregnant (Short Story)

It was the best thing that happened in this world when Veronica found out she's pregnant. And with Camilo's kid. Who would have imagined a few years ago that this would happen?

But Camilo wasn't the first one to know. It was her mother, of course. Veronica excitedly went back to her old house and found her mother, then told her the great news, and she was just as excited as Veronica was, which was a lot. She couldn't believe she would have a grandchild. She got all excited and started making plans about her grandchild and when it would be born but Veronica told her she should calm down.

Next to know was Bruno, of course. He was like a father to Veronica, and she couldn't help but tell him. Plus, she really needed his advice about how she was going to tell Camilo. For some reason, she was really nervous and she didn't know why. She knew -or hoped, more likely- that he would be just as excited as she was, but she wasn't that sure because they hadn't talked about having a kid yet.

"Come on, kid, it's all gonna be fine! I know he will be really glad to know that! Gosh, I can't believe I'm getting another nephew! This is so awesome, I can't wait! I bet it's gonna be a little girl and she will look just like you guys! And she will be so pretty and-"

"Bruno!" Veronica interrupted his rambling, "These predictions aren't really giving me a solution right now... I'm still kind of nervous to tell him... What if he won't be happy at all?"

"Hey, he will! I have never lied to you kid, and I'm not lying now! Come here, give me a hug!" Bruno opened his arms for her and Veronica gave him a hug.

After a while Veronica pulled away and smiled at him. "Thanks, I needed that."

Before Bruno could answer Camilo came out in the backyard where they were sitting, looking kind of concerned.

"There you are, Vero! Where have you been all day? I've been looking for you everywhere!" he told her as he approached her and gave her a hug.

The truth was, Veronica left quickly in the morning to go see her mother before Camilo had even woken up and hadn't seen him all day after that, so it was normal for him to be concerned. But at that point all she could think about when looking at him was how she was going to tell him that she was pregnant.

"Well, Camilo, I think Veronica here wants to tell you something, so, uh... I'll just head out!" he stood up, not minding Veronica's eyes begging for him to stay. She didn't think she could do this alone, but Bruno believed in her.

"What is he talking about, mi amor?" Camilo asked as he sat down next to her, his hands taking hers.

"Uh, well, there is in fact something I want to tell you..." Veronica sighed. This was truly hard for her.

"Just tell me, what is it?" he asked, kind of concerned.

The truth was, Camilo and Veronica didn't really ever have any problems with communication throughout their relationship, so Camilo was confused this time.

"Look, it's just..." she sighed once again, but decided to just go for it with a smile. "I'm pregnant..."

Camilo paused for a second. There was no expression on his face at that point but he was clearly thinking, trying to process what he just heard. Veronica couldn't look through his eyes, and it was the first time. But that scared her.

"Camilo? Mi amor? Are you... are you okay?" she said, tightening her grip on his hands.

Before saying any words, Camilo's first move was to hug Veronica, tighter than he ever had before. It was the only thing he could do right now. But that still didn't say much for Veronica. Still, she hugged him back, even though confused.

His brain was empty at that point. No thoughts, just that hug. Veronica just told him she was pregnant. It had only been one year since they got married, were they mature enough for this?

Well, according to him, Veronica definitely was. She was always mature.

But what about him? He was never really mature, and getting married didn't change anything. He was not any bit mature when he got married either. Instead of acting like a grown-up, he went and crashed Veronica's wedding, and asked her to marry him instead. This was not a mature move, and he was pretty sure nothing had changed since then, as, if he had the chance, he would do this again with no second thoughts. Was he really ready to be a father?

Veronica pulled away a few seconds later. This was already stressful to her, and his reaction wasn't making it any better.

"Camilo, say something, please. This is stressing me out..." she sighed, looking him deep in the eyes.

"Mi amor, this is amazing!" he finally replied, not really knowing if he meant it or not.

"Are you sure? It just... doesn't seem that you took it this well..." she said, her gaze leaving his.

"No! Are you kidding me? Of course I took it well, it's awesome!" he said, and gave her a kiss.

"Camilo, if there's something wrong, just tell me, okay? I don't want you overthinking anything. You can just share your thoughts with me, you know that?"

"I know, I know, it just feels weird, that's all... I mean, who could have thought, right?"

Veronica tilted her head to the side. She knew what was going on, she knew him better than he knew himself. She gave him a knowing smile.

"You don't think you are ready for this, do you?"

Well, Camilo definitely couldn't hide from her, that was for sure. "Well, not exactly... I just think I'm not mature enough yet... It will be like a kid raising a kid!"

Veronica chuckled a bit at what he said.

"You think this is funny?" he protested.

"No, I don't! But what I do think is that it's not true! I mean, we two have come way too far for you to think you are not mature enough for this!"

That put Camilo into thought. What if she was right and he was just doubting himself? But when did Camilo even doubt himself?

"I have loved you since the day I met you, when you were just six years old! You can't tell me you were more mature then than you are now! Besides, you will be the best, funniest dad ever!" she smiled at him.

That really made him feel better. She was being very sweet to him, and it always lit up his mood. Why was he even scared in the first place? He wouldn't mind traveling all around the world if it meant being with her. He knew they could do it, just needed a little faith, that was all.

With that, he gave her a smile, a hug, then a little kiss. Every day she made him understand how lucky he was to have her.

When the rest of the family found out, they were all extremely excited for them. A new member was about to be added to the Madrigal family, which made them all equally excited.

~~~~~~~
Hello guys! Well, it's definitely been some time since I last posted here and I'm really sorry about that! Please, find it in you heart to forgive me and tell me what you think of this short story? (Oh, and please, give me some suggestions for other short stories you might want to see). Bye! :)