She scrunched up her face but then she melted against me. "I love you."
AnnMarie
I left the office early. The knowing looks from Stephen, my assistant, and Noah, my business partner, drove me away after our meeting with two newly minted tech millionaires. We explained why Freedom Funds was the best hedge fund in the business. We were small but dynamic and had outperformed the S&P 500 every year since we opened our doors six years ago. We were closing in on a half billion dollars of investments, in part due to Bo's seed money matched by Noah's earnings from various franchises he had bought and sold while he had fought professionally as an MMA fighter.
Noah's past status as a Marine and a fighter had impressed the techies but ultimately I hoped they went with us because we were so damn good at what we did.
When I got home to our Lakeshore drive condo, I saw that Bo had picked up our sweet thing, Charlotte. When I had gotten pregnant in grad school, I was ecstatic and devastated at the same time. I wanted Bo's child so much but I was scared that all my plans were going to be disrupted. Bo spent a half hour coaxing me out of the bathroom after the stick I'd peed on was positive.
"Are we ready for this, Bo? I'm in my first semester of grad school. We've just moved in together. I'm terrified."
"Sunshine, are you kidding? We got this." He hugged me tight. "Goddamn I'm so excited. Let's call everyone."
"No! We can't! Not until after the first trimester," I cried.
"Why not?"
"Because a lot of women lose their babies during their first pregnancy and I don't want to have to explain it if I do." I held a fist to my stomach and teared up again. I was scared of having the baby but now that I knew I had the tangible evidence of Bo and my life inside of me, I'd do anything to keep him or her.
This cautionary statement threw Bo into action. He lifted me into his arms and carried me straight to bed. When I reached for him, he batted my hands away and tucked me inside the covers until I was like a burrito.
"Bo, what are you doing?"
"We can't have you losing the baby," Bo replied, smoothing down the covers. He disappeared into the bathroom and I struggled to unwind myself from the straight jacket he had made for me.
"What are you doing? Stop moving." He had come back with a washrag but dropped it when he saw that I was about to sit up. Rushing to me, he pushed me back against the pillows and we engaged in a comical slapfight as I tried to sit up and he kept trying to force me down.
"Bo, if activity is bad for me, do you think we can't have sex?"
This froze him. The wild panicked look on his face would have been funny if the thought of not having sex with Bo wanted to make me cry too. Everything was making me cry today.
"You have to see a doctor today." Bo sat up. "We need to know if you should stand up, work, have sex. Did I mention have sex?"
I nodded. "I'm pretty sure I can stand and work, Bo. There are a lot of women who are pregnant and hold down jobs. I even saw a pregnant woman at the gym the other day."
The look of horror on Bo's face made me giggle and then I thought about what having a baby meant and sobered up immediately. "Should I quit grad school? You just started a new construction business here and I just started classes. Maybe it makes sense to have one of us at home?"
Bo slid down on the bed beside me. He rolled me over on my side and tucked me into him. His knees pushed up against mine and he wrapped a long arm around my waist, pulling me snug against him.
"We're going to be just fine, Sunshine. You finish your degree up. We've got nine months to hit it hard then we'll get some help around here when the baby comes."
"It's more like seven months."
"It'll be great." Bo's hand smoothed over my belly. "Our baby is in here." His voice was hushed, awed.
I placed my hand over his, twining our fingers. "I know."
The next day I told my advisor. She steepled her fingers and peered at me with disappointment. "There are options, you know."
My hackles rose. "I thought feminism was about having it all."
"Your focus will change with a child. You won't be as hungry. You won't want it as bad." She leaned over the desk. "You can quit now if you'd like."
"You don't know me." I stood up and shouldered my bag. "I don't quit. Ever."
I thought my mother would be thrilled to be a grandmother but even she seemed to be unhappy. "You and Bo aren't even married, honey. Are you sure you're ready for this?"
By the end of the day, I was overwhelmed and spent an hour in the bathroom crying. I'd turned on the faucets so that Bo wouldn't hear me if he walked in before I had my act together. When he walked in, my eyes were dry and I had a smile on my face.