Day by Day

Chapter 25: Can't Be True

Jay had just gotten home after coaching another tourney game. "Lonnie?" he called. "Lonnie? Are you home?" Jay stayed silent to see if he could hear something. When he finally heard sound, it sounded like...crying?

Jay rushed to the bathroom to find Lonnie crying in front of the counter. "Lonnie?" he asked. Lonnie's head snapped up and she placed her hand behind her back. Jay had just gotten a glimpse of the object that was in Lonnie's hand. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Lonnie wiped the tears from under her eyes, not wanting Jay to see her like this. "I-I'm fine," Lonnie said, obviously lying.

"No, you're not," Jay said. "Something is obviously bothering you. You can tell me." Lonnie stayed silent, not wanting to talk about it. "Is it about Jacey? It's okay to cry about it once in awhile. I know it's already been a few months, but this is something that we may never fully get over. She was our only daughter after all."

"That's part of it," Lonnie said, "but...there's a little more to it this time around."

"What are you talking about?" Jay questioned, now more confused on top of being confused. Lonnie moved the object in her hand to in front of her, but she covered quickly with her other hand, so Jay wasn't able to see what it was right away. "What is that?" Jay asked. When Jay looked to the bathroom counter, he spotted something that was very familiar to him: a pregnancy test box. "Lonnie," he began, "did you take it?" Lonnie nodded slowly. "Well?"

Lonnie slowly unraveled her hands to reveal the test. On it, there was a plus sign. "Jay," she began, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Without even speaking, Jay pulled Lonnie into a tight hug. Lonnie began sobbing. "It can't be true," she said. "It just can't be true. I'm not ready to go through giving up another kid. I just can't."

"Hey," Jay began, "Relax. This was just a test. We'll go to the doctor to see what's up. If you really are pregnant, I promise that we'll get through this. Plus, Evie and Doug are already going to be going through this as well. We'll have each other to support one another."

Lonnie nodded, trying to stop crying. "Y-you're right," Lonnie said. "But still. Giving up Jacey was already so hard. I can't imagine going through the same thing with another child."

Later that week, Lonnie and Jay went to the doctor to check on Lonnie. They had yet to tell their friends because they wanted to know for sure. Lonnie was called to the room, and Jay stayed behind in the waiting area. Jay bounced his leg up and down as nervousness began to build up in him. What if Lonnie really is pregnant? He asked himself. How will we do this again?

"First kid?" a man next to Jay asked.

"Huh?" Jay said as he was snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh no," he replied. "This isn't our first. In fact, we're just here to see if the positive test was accurate."

"How are you doing with your first?" the man asked. "Son or Daughter? How old are they now?"

"We had a daughter. She's be about five months or so. As for how is she, I'm not exactly sure. I hope she's doing well."

"You mean to tell me you don't know how your daughter, who should be in your care, is doing?" the man questioned.

"Our family is in a rather dangerous situation right now," Jay explained. "Due to this, we had to give her up for adoption. We had her with us for only her first three weeks. It has been about four months or so now. If my wife really is pregnant, we'd have to give up that child. A couple of our family friends are going through the same thing that we are, and they are for sure pregnant with their first. They both wanted kids badly, and we cannot imagine what it'll be like for them to give up their kid once he or she is born."

"Wow," the man said. "I'm so very sorry. I hope things work out for you. All of you."

Jay nodded in response. "What about you?" Jay asked. "Is this your first kid?"

The man shook his head. "Fifth kid. Got this baby thing pretty much down." Jay chuckled in response.

Suddenly, Lonnie walked out of the office and into the waiting area. Jay stood up and walked to Lonnie. "So?"

Lonnie let out a sigh of relief. "It was a false positive. They took blood tests and even an ultrasound. I'm not pregnant."

Jay let out a sigh of relief as well. They left the doctor's office. In the car, it was rather silent between the two. Lonnie sighed. "What's wrong?" Jay asked. "I thought it was a good thing that you weren't pregnant."

"I know," Lonnie replied. "It's just....even though we'd have to give it up, it would've been nice for Jacey to have a little brother or sister be with her."

"Hey, she will never be alone," Jay said. "She has Brelyn and, when he or she is born, Evie and Doug's kid. Jacey is going to be alright."

Lonnie smiled. "Thanks Jay. I really needed to hear that."

"Hey, you wanna pick up food?" Jay asked.

Lonnie laughed as the two drove off to get some dinner.