Charlotte grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia with none other than Atlanta Braves rookie, Dansby Swanson. They remained close through college despite heading separate ways and now they are both back in Atlanta, Dansby with the Braves and Char...
"So, how did it go?" Lucy asked me later that night. We were both whispering on the phone like we had in middle school, except this time it was so we didn't wake the boys, not our parents.
"Well....it could have gone better, could have gone worse." I flipped over in the empty bed trying to get comfortable. It was like my body knew Ender was home and did not want to sleep in a bed without him. "He's in the guest bedroom right now."
After I had told Ender my news, he had turned ghostly pale and left the room. It honestly was the reaction I expected, as it was pretty much the reaction I had when the doctor told me. We had not planned on this, for sure.
"Well you have to talk sometime," Lucy said.
"I know, but I'm not pushing it tonight. It's a shock. Believe me, I almost fell off the exam table when the doctor told me. I thought I had the flu. On another note, I think we had a breakthrough about why he was so upset this last week."
"Oh yeah? Wait hold on...." I heard her whisper to Dans to go back to sleep. It was still so weird to think of them together but I was seriously happy for them. "Ok, sorry. Woke sleeping beaut up over here."
"Heaven forbid the princess doesn't get enough beauty sleep!" I laughed. "But yeah, the poor guy is just insecure. He really hasn't done this dating thing much in the last few years and I think he's just unsure of himself."
Lucy and I talked for a few more minutes before yawns began to take over for both of us. I promised her I would keep her updated on how Ender was taking the news and reminded her to not tell Dansby yet before falling into a restless sleep.
—
I woke up some time later in the night after I felt the bed shift beside me and a warm hand sneak it's way under my shirt to rest on my stomach. Ender rested his hand there for a minute before pulling my shirt up to expose my stomach and leaned down and placed a soft kiss there. I stayed quiet, not sure if he could tell I was awake or not but not wanting to ruin this moment.
"Hola, little one." He laid his head down on the bed beside my stomach and whispered so quietly I could barely hear him. "It's your dad here. I love you. I don't even know you and I love you, how is that possible? I'm kind of a mess. I don't know what I'm doing most of the time but what I do know is that you have the absolute best mom. I hope you turn out just like her. She loves me unconditionally and I know she will love you the same. She's gonna be my wife one day. And you, bug, you're gonna be the best thing we have ever done together."
I couldn't hold my sniffles in any longer. This man. This man was surely the greatest thing to happen to me. It was overwhelming the amount of love I could feel radiating from him.
"Hey baby," he smiled up at me once I caught his attention with a sniffle. "I'm so sorry. I should not have walked out like that. It was so much to process and I shouldn't have left you alone with this."
I shook my head to stop him and held my arms open for him, pulling him into a hug and letting the tears flow.
"It's okay. I promise it's okay. I'm sorry I don't know how this happened. I know we aren't ready."
"Shhhh...." he pulled back and kissed my lips before kissing away a tear on each cheek. "This will never be a mistake. You know that, right? We may not have planned this but it's not a mistake, do you understand me?"
I shook my head that I understood. I laid back down against the pillows and let Ender lift my shirt up again.
"Our baby is in there." He pointed at my stomach before leaning down to kiss it again. "We made a baby. And our little love bug is going to be so loved."
"You're taking this better than I did," I laughed through my tears. "But I love our little love bug so much. And I've only known for a day."
"Tell me about it, I want to know everything since I wasn't here."
"Well, I hadn't been feeling great, I guess. And when you know who showed up at the coffee shop I jumped up on my chair to tell him to leave me alone and got really dizzy. I just thought I had stood up too quickly. That night I was up throwing up all night. I figured I had the stomach flu or something but when I went to the doctor and he asked when my last period was, it all came together. He did a test and sure enough it was positive."
"I am so sorry you had to go through that alone," he said, rubbing my stomach lightly.
"I'll be 10 weeks tomorrow. I have an appointment with my OB tomorrow, if you want to come. I think what we have here is a little All Star game baby."
I didn't think Ender's smile could get any bigger in that moment. His little All Star.
"I'm going to be here for as many things as I can, Lettie. I did a lot of thinking when I walked out after you told me. I'm in. I don't want you to ever think I'm not."
I nodded and ran my fingers through his hair.
"Talk to Bug some more," I told him, adopting the little nickname he had used earlier.
"Ok, Bug. Let me tell you about your Momma. You can't see her yet. But wow. She is the most beautiful thing ever. She loves taking care of people. That's her job, she's a nurse. But she loves to take care of people even when she's not working. She's the best at it. When you get sick, she knows exactly what you need. And she plays the piano. I'm going to have to buy her a piano so she can play for you. The very first night I met your Momma she was playing the piano. It was Christmastime and she looked like straight magic sitting at the piano with the Christmas tree lit up behind her. I'll show you the picture one day. She's my biggest cheerleader and I know she will be yours too, bug. You and I are lucky."
Ender looked up at me and smiled.
"I love you, Lettie. Momma.....that sounds good."
"You're going to be the absolute best dad in the world."
Ender scooted up so that he was on his pillow beside me now. He placed his hands on either side of my face and kissed me, a long slow kiss.
"This dad has never been more attracted to his baby momma than he is right now."
I laughed and hit his chest. I stopped laughing though when I saw the look on his face.
"Can we?" He asked. "It's not gonna hurt anything will it?"
I rolled my eyes. Only a guy would think something like that.
"Baby, I don't know these things! Don't roll your eyes at me. It was a serious question!"
"Less talk, Inciarte. More action."
"Ohh....you don't have to tell me twice."
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