The Ultimate Ending

Chapter 5

The next few months were great for Kimber and I. She started going back to school during the day some days and also at night. She said that when I proposed to her, it made her realize she was more important and would make a great counselor. She had first hand knowledge of so many things and made it through it. Watching her work so hard for her goals and dreams made me want to be a better person. I'd worked at the local fisherman's market for the last four years and I had asked my boss a few months ago for more responsibility. If Kimber was going to push herself to better herself and us, then I could too. As I made my way into work today, my boss stopped me on the way to my locker. "Hey, Brandon. How are you?" He wasn't a happy, smiling kind of man but he was sporting a grin a mile wide. "I'm doing ok sir, how are you?" We made small talk for a few minutes and then I noticed him start to fidget around. "So Brandon, upper management and I have been keeping tabs on people. You know that Cal Daniels is retiring and we'd been looking for a replacement. Well, we have been talking, trying to pick the best fit and Brandon, we want to offer you the position. I know it's not glamorous and you wouldn't get your hands as dirty as you do now but we think you show great leadership skills and you have such great work ethic. It's a significant increase in pay and your hours will be more regular. I'm pretty much giving you the worst news ever right? So, will you take the job?" I didn't have to be asked twice. "Yes, sir. Thank you so much for even considering me." We shook hands and he told me I needed to go into the office before my shift ended to fill out and sign some papers, but starting Monday, I was moving into my new position.

I bought some flowers on my way home and a expensive bottle of wine. I wanted to celebrate with Kimber. She'd done this for us. She pushed me to be a better man and because of it, I was going to be able to give her more. Jesus, we could buy a house, buy a car and start taking vacations every year. We were going to finally have stable and normal lives. I parked my car out front and ran up the three flights of stairs, loving the fact that we were going to be able to give notice soon and find a place with an elevator. I unlocked the front door to the apartment and walked inside. I knew Kimber was home because I could smell dinner cooking. I looked around and didn't see her. "Baby? Are you home?" I walked into our bedroom and didn't see her there, so I walked back into the living room. As soon as I walked into the living room, she walked out of the bathroom with a look I couldn't understand. She looked scared and I instantly made my way to her, wrapping my arms around her. "Honey, your scaring me. Are you ok? What's going on?" She didn't say anything but she wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed me beyond tight to her. "Brandon, do you love me?" Her question shocked me and I pushed her away slightly so I could see her face. "Kimber, you know I love you more than anything. What's going on?"

The last few days I'd been having weird dreams and having to use the restroom a lot. I was at school earlier and I had to leave class early because I got sick. When I realized my period was a few days late, I left school to find the nearest drug store that carried pregnancy tests and bought three of them. I rushed home and took all three tests. I sat on the toilet seat in shock, waiting for the results. I was so scared because what if this was too much for Brandon to take? What if he left me alone with a baby? I was hyperventilating, trying to think of how this would effect my future, our future when I realized I haden't even looked at the results yet. I stood up quickly and stared down at the three tests in front of me.. all showing a positive result. I heard Brandon come home and ask for me. I finally stumbled out of the bathroom, into his arms. I was shocked and I didn't know what to do. "Brandon, do you love me? Will you promise that no matter what, you will never leave me?" He pushed me away from his embrace, placing his hands on the sides of my face to look me in the eye. "I'll love you always, no matter what. Please, what's going on. You're scaring me baby." I wrapped my arms around his neck and molded myself to his embrace. "Brand, I'm pregnant."

I heard what she said and pulled her to me. Today was such a better day than it started out to be. I was going to be a father. I was going to have a baby with the woman of my dreams and I couldn't contain my excitement anymore. I picked her up and spun her around. "I love you so much baby. We are going to have a baby, honestly?" I set her down, kissed her lips over and over. I couldn't shake the huge grin on my face but she wasn't as happy as I was and that made me stop smiling. "Are you upset about the baby?" Her eyes snapped to mine and she looked hurt. "You're so happy. I was so sure you'd be upset about this. I mean it's not exactly the best timing baby. I'm in school, this apartment isn't big enough for us and a baby. You need more hours at work for us to be able to pay for this and how am I going to work, go to school and take care of a baby?" She was worried about all the wrong things, in fact there was nothing she needed to worry about. "Why don't you sit down?" I pulled her to the couch and we sat down. I placed her hands in mine because her's were shaking. "When I got to work this morning, my boss told me that one of the other managers was going to retire. They've been watching people the last few weeks I guess and guess what?" Kimber's eyes looked to mine and she smiled. "You got the job?" I squeezed her hands in mine and flashed her my brilliant smile. "Starting Monday, I've been promoted. It's a huge raise, my hours will be more stable and I'll even get vacation time. Baby, we can move, we could buy a house, we can buy a new car and we can start having stability. You can stop working if you want to or keep working until you have the baby. We will have money saved when the baby comes and you'll be ok to take time off work. This is great news, please don't worry about the small stuff." Kimber's eyes relaxed and she smiled beautifully at me. "How are you sure you're pregnant baby?" I was curious how long she'd suspected she was pregnant. "Go look in the bathroom honey, the tests are on the counter." I kissed her lips and hopped up off the couch, moving quickly to the bathroom. I opened the door and saw the tests on the counter. They all had bright pink plus signs and my heart skipped a beat. I moved back into the living room and placed myself on the floor at her feet and took her face in my hands. "Marry me tomorrow. We don't have any family. There's no one we need to have a huge wedding for. It's Friday and tomorrow we could run away for a few days and get married. There's no reason to wait."

"Let's leave now!"