You all have @pepperonyscience to thank for this tooth rotting fluff.
There was an understated luxury to lying in bed when you normally should have gotten up an hour ago. Stretching his limbs out and rearranging the comforter to better cover him from head to toe, Thom sighed and melted into the mattress.
While his work schedule had changed, there was still a delicious, forbidden feel because his sleep schedule hadn’t yet caught up, assuming he still needed to be awake at 4:30 every morning. But no, he could sleep in, lie in, the whole day. Glorious.
Was this how most people felt about weekends? He’d worked them nearly his entire adult life, so he couldn’t be sure. All he knew was that he felt good.
He sighed again as he found a fresh cool spot on his pillow and rubbed his face against it, relishing in the chill.
Maybe he’d even go back to sleep. He could. No need for actual clothes or to deal with people or his boss demanding more of him. The whole day was his.
A heavy weight launched itself onto his back, but he didn’t dare move.
“Mrew.” Little paws kneaded his sleep shirt, claws digging in to keep balanced as he breathed. “Mrew!”
“Hey, stupid,” he mumbled, half into the pillow. “If you wanna get fed, you got to let me up.”
“Mrew.”
That was not a concern, apparently, because Ringo, purring up a storm, settled himself between Thom’s shoulder blades.
You know what? He knew going into this cat owning thing that this might happen. Warmth on his back, a small head resting against his neck, Thom slipped back under the pull of unconsciousness.
——
Ten minutes didn’t last too long on paper. It was a few songs. A moderate mile run time. A hard boiled egg.
An at home pregnancy test.
As Dale paced the length of the bathroom and bounced his leg and heaved yet another sigh, he realized ten minutes was indeed a very long time.
“You’d think you were the one about to carry this thing,” Maddie quipped from the toilet. Her fingers twisted together betrayed her light tone, a faint trembling as she fought a more obvious sign of her own emotions.
Scrubbing his anxiety from his face, he ran his hands through his hair to fix the stray hairs. Then, he knelt down before her, between her legs, and took her hands in his, gently prying her fingers apart.
She shut her eyes and leaned her head back. He kissed her hand before pressing it to his face.
“Is it done yet?” Maddie demanded.
A glance to his watch said no. “Just a few more minutes.”
“You said that an hour ago.”
Despite her tone, she was smiling, her beautiful lips caught in her teeth as she fought her own amusement.
A minute of silence dragged itself across chill linoleum. He wanted to check his watch again. The desire itched and scratched at him.
In his peripheral vision, he saw her reach for the pregnancy test on the counter.
“I love you,” she said abruptly. “There’s no one else I’d rather pee on a stick for...”
His breathing hitched.
“‘Daddy.’”
Barking laughter escaped in a rush. Dizzying, exhilarating, all encompassing. Breathlessly he threw his head back and let his joy spring free. “Oh, honey,” he whispered, before he leaped forward and scooped her off the toilet, whirling her around the bathroom.
“Let me down, you daft fool!” she giggled, but her legs wrapped tighter around his waist and she brought their foreheads together.
“As you wish, ‘mommy’.”
——
Today kind of really blowed so far, all things considered. She’d woken up with cramps and tenderness, a surefire sign her uterus was about to throw a tantrum, her favorite socks had a hole in them, she tried to make pancakes for her mom and dad before they went to work and instead made crispy discs of half baked batter, and her boyfriend was oh so supportive and responded to her rant with a stupid pun about wells and vacuums. As much as she appreciated a good pun, there was a time and a place, and she’d been hoping for something more empathetic.
So when the phone rang while she scrubbed the charcoal remains of her culinary failure, she sulked and calmed herself by pretending she was interrogating the pan. It finally went to voicemail and she tuned it out handily with another jet of soapy water.
“Who sent you to sabotage Project Pancake?” She hissed, “What do you know?”
As she heard keys turning in the front door, she hastily stopped her vigorous interrogation and wiped down the worst of the spilled water.
And to top the day off, she had put off folding her laundry so her clothes, delicates and all, were still in a pile on the couch.
“Sorry! I lost track of time!” With still wet hands she hastily gathered them up and sped them into her room, chucking them on her bed. She buried her face in her hands. This day sucked.
To wait out her humiliation over her father seeing her underthings, she folded and hung up her clothes until she didn’t feel her ears burning.
Finally, she could leave her room.
Her mom and dad were standing in the living room in that very distinct “we are about to have a Discussion” pose. Oh no.
She tried to think of anything she’d done wrong that could justify it. Did they know she hadn’t broken up with Liam? No. She’d been careful, he’d been careful. She was up to date on her rent and she hadn’t missed a phone or car payment. And other than Liam, she was a good daughter and good roommate.
“Why don’t you take a seat,” her mom suggested.
Her dad moved over to the answering machine and hit play.
“Hello, Miss Summer Ramirez, we are calling to inform you we have accepted your application to Pepperdine University—”
She tackled her father first, then half dragged him closer to her mother, shrieking the whole time.
“Pepperdine! I’m going to Pepperdine!”
“I’m so proud of you, sunshine!”
She had to pack. She had to buy things for her dorm. She had to get a loan. Sobering quickly, she stopped shaking and dragging her parents around the room. “Mom. I need your help.”
Her mom’s laugh, the quirks of her brow, were hers, even if there was no blood, and seeing her own expression mirrored was proof enough. “Not laughing at my binders and planners now, are we?”
“You can color-coordinate my underwear!” she promised. “I’m going to Pepperdine!”
