Pat

A new life

For her birthday I took her to the highlands.

There was a small hotel I had read about and thought it would be perfect for a getaway. It had a beautiful scenery and the ambience was tranquil. However, it was cold at that time of the year so we stayed indoors for the better part of the weekend.

“When is the next time I’ll make love to you like this?”

“A month, give or take depending on how fast I’ll recover,”

“I can’t go that long,”

“You went about three months after the accident,”

“Fair enough but you remember how I was after that, don't you?,”

“This is different, plus, it’ll take about the same amount of time after I deliver,”

“What? No way. I’m not a man I can’t get you pregnant so forget about taking that long,”

“You sound like some sex crazed maniac about to go to rehab,”

“Maybe I am. You would be too if your wife was as delicious as mine,"

"Oh my gosh, you're finally losing it," I said laughing. She pulled me closer and showered me with kisses.

"I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something,” she said a few minutes later.

“What’s that?”

“The lease to our house is almost expiring. Should I renew it or look for a bigger place?”

“Baby, the house is more than enough for the four of us,”

“You said four,”

“When Chance comes over to visit we’ll still fit,”

“Why can’t he just move in with us?”

“Because he’s too attached to my parents and it’s the same for them. I can’t imagine taking him from them,”

“But is he going to grow up away from his parents and sibling?”

“Okay, we’ll revisit this conversation after the baby is born and put all considerations on the table,”

---

The night to the surgery, we were lying in bed in silence when a thought crossed my mind.

“Baby,” I called her.

“Yes my love,”

“I need you to promise me something,”

“What’s that?”

“If something should happen to me-

“Nothing will happen to you,” she cut me short. I sat up and she followed suit.

“If anything should happen to me I need you to promise me that you’ll always have Chance’s back,”

“Like I said, nothing is going to happen to you,”

“Please promise me. I need to know that my son will be okay if things should go wrong,”

“I will not promise you that. I refuse to promise you that and you know why? Because if I do I’ll be giving you permission to leave us and I’ll be damned if I did such a thing. If you leave so will I and Chance will be left alone with just your siblings and parents. We both know there’s nothing more tragic than losing both parents at the same time.”

Here she was supposed to console me but I was doing the consoling. I hugged her and started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.