Something Forever(60)

“Becca, say something.” Matthew looked worried.

“Yes,” I whispered. I cleared my throat because I was pretty sure Matthew hadn’t heard me. In fact, I wasn’t sure if I’d answered out loud. “Yes!” I said, a little bit louder.

Matthew jumped up. “She said yes,” he bellowed, and swung me around. There was so much happiness in Matthew’s tone and in his kisses.

“But we can’t get married. I mean...let’s wait. I mean …” Oh God! I was messing this up. I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. “I want to marry you, but I don’t want to rush this.”

“Whatever you want. We can get married before or after the baby is born. Even if something happens, I still want to marry you, Becca. I’ve known I wanted to marry you from the moment you told me that you wouldn’t date me if I was the last man in the universe.”

I let out a laugh. “I already knew I couldn’t live without you when you asked me if I was going to stand there and undress the rest of you with my eyes, or if I was going to help you wash off the Chinese food on your sweater.” I paused to let him recall. “I had already undressed you in my mind and we had already fucked.”

“Holy Jesus, Becca. Be careful what you say. I might just rip off your clothes right on this bridge and let everyone watch us.” Matthew shook his head as if to get rid of the thought. “Here. Let’s do this together.” He showed me the lock again, but this time he pointed out to me the part that had the writing on it.



The lock read:



Becky & Matthew

Forever



After I signed the back, Matthew did the same. “I want ours to be the first one.” Matthew placed it on the gate and locked it. It was an extra large lock that no one could miss from the surrounding ones. “Toss the keys into the river.”

“What? Why? We’ll never be able to open it.” I glanced at the key, wondering where he was going with this.

“Exactly. I never want us to ever have to unlock or break this lock. Throwing the key into the river is symbolic of our love for each other. That whatever we will have to face in the future, we are unbreakable. I picked out the silver because silver stands for forever,” Matthew explained.

“Matthew, it’s perfect.” I wrapped my arms around him and embraced him with all of me. What I really meant to say was that he was perfect. “Seal it with a kiss,” I said. I held out my hand with the key on my palm. After Matthew kissed it, I did the same. With one last look, I tossed it as far as I could.

The old Becca would’ve said no to the proposal, because I would have been insecure and thought he had only done it because I was pregnant, but I knew better now. Matthew had shown me time and time again that he loved me. And no matter what my insecurities were, no matter what my mistakes were, he was in it forever.



Jenna was so relieved to see me home that she decided to spend the night at our place instead of with Max.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were pregnant. Is that the reason why you happened to have the home pregnancy test?” Jenna shifted on the sofa to face me.

“Yes, but you were going through so much that I didn’t want to add to your stress. Actually, the test came out negative. I took it again after two weeks,” I sighed, and handed her a cup of tea.

“Thanks.” She paused. “What’s going to happen?”

“Matthew and I saw my doctor and he explained all of the possibilities to us. We’re going to pray that the baby will survive in my uterus.” I gazed at my stomach.

“Your health comes first, Becky,” Jenna said, looking concerned.

“I know. Matthew reminds me of that every day. I want this so bad, Jenna. I want to give Matthew a child. A child created by us. If I could just have this one baby, then we can talk about adopting if we want more.”

“When would you know if you’re out of danger?” Jenna asked. She hadn’t taken a sip yet. I didn’t think she was even breathing. She was so focused on me.

“I won’t be in the clear until...the baby is born.”

“Whaaat?”

“I know, I know, but I’ve been okay so far. My kidney function is under control. Things are looking great.”

“Okay, but just make sure to tell your doctor everything.”

“Don’t worry. Matthew is on me twenty-four, seven. He’s going to make an appointment with another doctor to ensure that we have the best care.”

“I’m sure he will.” Jenna finally took a sip. “You’re so lucky. I mean... you never had morning sickness, did you?”