"I'm trying out a new spaghetti sauce recipe."
"What's wrong?" Bo said, dropping his stuff by the hall closet.
"Nothing's wrong," I chirped. "Why would you say that?"
I'd put foundation on and made sure I looked perfect. No signs of distress. I didn't want Bo to think for a minute that I wasn't thrilled about having our baby. I was thrilled. I just wished every one else was.
"Because you have make up on and a fake smile." Bo wrapped both arms behind me and nuzzled my hair. "You're bad at faking."
"I didn't want to worry you," I mumbled.
"How long have we been together, AnnMarie?" His mouth was tracing the veins in my neck and I tipped my head to the side to give him better access.
"Almost four years," I said.
"And in the four years we've been together have you ever once not wanted to know what was bothering me?"
"No." I exhaled and rested the spoon on the side of the pan. Turning, I wound my arms around Bo's neck.
His mouth came down and the tender love he had for me passed between our lips, soothing the wounds of the day. His tongue traced my lips and stroked the interior recesses of my mouth. I let him make love to me with just his mouth. Without breaking our connection, he reached down with his hands and pulled me against him, wrapping my legs around his waist. This wasn't exactly a sexual act or a prelude to love making. This was Bo's way of telling me that no matter what happened outside, our world was filled with endless love.
He carried me into the living room and sat down in the big leather chair that was big enough to fit two people. His mouth broke away from mine and kissed my neck, my shoulder. Large hands smoothed my front, caressing my breasts over the button down. He made no effort to take this any further.
"I told my advisor and she suggested that it wasn't a good time for me to be pregnant." I placed my cheek against his chest and listened to the steady thumping of his heart. "Then I called my mom and she said that we weren't married. She's not married and still had me."
"I thought we weren't telling anyone?" Bo said.
"A few people. Not our friends though."
I could feel Bo shake his head. "I'm telling my mom then."
"Sure." At this point, I didn't care. Bo was silent for a long time.
"Let's go to bed, AnnMarie," he said. "There's nothing in there but us."
"Okay, Bo."
Bo carried me into the bedroom and spent what seemed like hours loving every inch of my body. It was dark when I woke up. I had drifted off after he'd brought me to my third release. I grabbed my smartphone and clicked the on button to check the time. It was eleven thirty. Bo's side of the bed was empty. I ran a hand over the sheets and the space was cold, suggesting that he had been gone for a while.
As I laid there I began to hear music drifting out of the living room. It was a slow, sultry music heavy on the saxaphone. Something that Bo ordinarily would not listen to. I wondered if we had company. I got up and pulled on one of Bo's old Central College t-shirts. Rummaging around, I found a pair of boxers with lipstick marks that I'd bought Bo as a joke. He preferred to go commando. I rolled the waistband several times and then stepped out of the bedroom. Lights flickered on the floor and at first I thought the place was on fire. Then I realized that there were hundreds of tea lights lining the small hallway from the bedroom leading into the living area. In between the tea lights was a carpet of red rose petals. I felt like I was walking on silk. The roses' fragrance was heady. As if I had dropped into another world, I moved gingerly down the hall. At the end of the hall, I saw more candles on every surface and more roses. Bo had covered our small table in a white cloth and he was sitting there in a tux that he'd bought to wear to Noah and Grace's wedding.
When he saw me, he dropped to his knee and held out a blue-green box with a white bow.
I covered my mouth with my hands and dropped to my knees in front of him.
"No, no," Bo said, "you're supposed to stand up for this."
He pushed me upward but I was so unsteady on my legs that I had to lean into him. Tears were forming and I couldn't hold them back.
"Why are you crying, Sunshine?"
"I'm so happy, I guess." I didn't really know why I was crying ,only that there was so much emotion inside me that I felt I would burst if I didn't let it out.
Bo shook his head. "I think I loved you from the moment I saw you in class."
"Biology?"
"No, Advanced Economic Theory."
"But we never talked in that class."
"AnnMarie," Bo said with exaggerated patience.
"What?"
"This is my show. You need to stop asking me questions."