At five o’clock sharp the next morning, the alarm clock’s incessant beeping jolted a weary Denise from a deep, yet unsatisfying sleep. She swatted the snooze button groggily, and rubbed her eyes in a vain attempt to revive herself. She rolled over and gently shook her husband.
“Mitch! Mitch, it’s five o’clock. You’ve got to get up or you’ll be late for work.”
Mitch shrugged her off, growling. He was worse in the morning than he was at night. Much worse. Denise shook him again, and then leaped out of bed. After three years of marriage, her reflexes were polished. She barely slipped out of reach when Mitch lunged at her.
“I heard you the first time! I’m up already!” he barked the words at her. “Where’s my coffee?”
“Mitch, I just got up myself!” Denise tried to be light and energetic, but her words came out in a soft whimper.
“Why are you whining at me? Just fix the friggin’ coffee, for crying out loud! Can’t I count on you for anything?” Mitch snarled.
Denise turned on her heel and flew out of the bedroom. She was a whirlwind in the kitchen – grinding coffee beans, filling the coffee maker, discarding the old grounds, fumbling for Mitch’s favorite coffee cup, and making sure he hadn’t used it as an ashtray recently. As the coffee brewed, she flew into the living room to locate the TV remote and place it on the coffee table where Mitch could easily find it. Next, she searched through his coat and pants pockets until she found his truck keys, and hung them on the key-hook by the front door, placing his wallet on the coffee table alongside the remote.
After that, while Mitch was in the bathroom, she flew back into the bedroom to find him clean clothes to wear to work, and laid these out on the couch. By this time, the coffee had finished brewing, and she darted back into the kitchen to pour Mitch a cup, and fix his travel mug, as well. Finally, she placed his morning cup on the coffee table in front of him, and set his travel mug on the end table by the front door, so he wouldn’t forget it as he left for work. Denise improved her timing for this morning routine by a minute or two each year. She hardly thought about it at all, anymore. It was ritual now. Nothing more.
Finally, Mitch left, leaving Denise to relax for an hour or so before getting ready for work herself. As she sipped leisurely at her own cup of coffee, she remembered the pregnancy test, and bolted off the couch. Thankfully, she’d been so preoccupied, she hadn’t relieved her bladder yet. Denise read the directions carefully, and followed them precisely. After three minutes, it was time to read the results. She gripped the phone in her hand, and pressed the speed dial button for Anne’s house.
“Hello?” Anne’s muffled voice was barely audible through the receiver. “Denise? Is that you?”
“Yeah, Anne,” Denise’s own voice was shaking now. “I’m sorry to wake you.”
“It’s okay, I’m up!” Anne snapped to attention. She now remembered why Denise was calling at such an odd hour. “Well? What’s it say?”
“It says I’m pregnant,” Denise choked back the fear welling up in her chest. “I’m pregnant, Anne! What am I going to do?” Denise sobbed uncontrollably. “Of all things! He’s going to kill me. Anne, I’m terrified!” Denise rambled on, “I can’t leave him now!” Her knees folded underneath her, and she collapsed into a sobbing heap on the bathroom floor.
“Denise!” Anne spoke sharply. “Pull yourself together, hun! C’mon. Relax. The first thing you are going to do,” Anne ordered, “is to call the doctor’s office and get an appointment to verify the test results.”
“They don’t open until nine!”
“Then call them from work, and take a long lunch if you have to. You need to make sure the test is right.” Anne paused. “Who knows, Denise, maybe this will shape him up. Stranger things have happened, right?”
“Maybe,” Denise replied, weary. “But I doubt it. This will probably just make him worse. He might really snap.”
“Don’t assume the worst, yet. Give it a chance.”
“I guess you’re right,” Denise breathed. “I hope you’re right.”
She was able to book an appointment as soon as the office opened, and she waited anxiously for the doctor to come back into the room. She sat on the examining table, swinging her feet in anticipation. It seemed like hours before Dr. Rose finally knocked and entered the room.
“Congratulations!” she beamed. “You are definitely going to be a mother!” Dr. Rose raised her eyebrows and a confused expression spread across her face when Denise burst into tears. “Is everything all right, dear?” she asked her patient softly.
“Yes, I’m sorry, Dr. Rose,” came the tearful response. “It’s just that my husband doesn’t know yet, and money’s been tight lately. I’m afraid he’s not going to be very happy to hear that now we have a baby on the way.”
“I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to hear he’s going to be a father,” Dr. Rose reassured her, gently squeezing her hand. “It will all work itself out. Don’t you worry.” The doctor’s gentleness was comforting. Aside from Anne, Denise really didn’t have anyone to turn to. She managed a weak smile.
“Thank you, Doctor. I’ll be okay.”
When she returned to work, she called Anne with the news right away. Her friend’s voice mail picked up, so Denise left a message. Within minutes, Anne returned her call.
“It’s confirmed,” Denise told her flatly. “I’m scared.”
“All things considered, I don’t blame you,” Anne replied. “So, what’s the plan?”
“I think I’m going to leave work early, and leave a note for Mitch at work. It’s not exactly how I imagined telling my husband we’re expecting, but with his temper, I think it’s best this way. What do you think?”
“I hate to say it, but I think you’re right.”
“Then that’s what I’ll do. Call me later, okay?”
“I will, hun, I promise.”
Denise finished some of her work and left the office early. She wrote Mitch a brief note explaining the circumstances, and drove to the landscaping company where he worked. She stuck the note under the windshield wiper of the truck, and turned back toward her vehicle. She waved to some of Mitch’s co-workers who were in the parking lot, loading up the work trucks for their next account. She climbed back into the car, and rode home deep in thought.
Denise planned a special, romantic dinner setting for that evening. She prepared baked rosemary chicken, garnished with a delicately flavored white wine sauce, and fresh steamed vegetables. A bottle of sparkling apple cider chilled in the ice bucket, and freshly cut flowers permeated the house with their tantalizing fragrance. The stage was set. Now, all that remained was Mitch’s entrance. Denise paced the dining room floor anxiously. The shrill ring of the telephone broke the silence, and caused her to jump slightly.
“Hello?”
“Hi, it’s me. Is he home yet? Have you heard from him, at all?” Anne’s anxiety was almost as bad as her own. “Well, what’s happening?”
“Slow down, slow down,” Denise chuckled nervously. “He’s not home, no, I haven’t heard from him at all, and nothing is happening at this very moment,” she replied. “I cooked a romantic dinner to sort of punctuate this whole thing, and he’s not even here. Oh, hold on, I’m getting beeped.” Denise clicked over for the call waiting.
“Hello?”
“Denise!” Mitch breathed. “I’m so glad I caught you, sweetheart. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you dropped off your note.”
“That’s okay, Mitch, I know how busy you are.”
“Did you get this confirmed at the doctor’s? Is it really true?” He actually sounded happy and excited! Denise could barely believe her ears.
“Yes, I took a test this morning, and I didn’t want to worry you in case it was nothing, but the test was positive. I went to the doctor’s this morning to confirm it, and it’s real.” She paused, not daring to breathe. “Are you happy, Mitch?”
“Of course I’m happy, darling!” Mitch cooed. “We’re going to have a baby. That’s the best news I’ve heard all day! I’m at the shop, now, but I’ll be home in about twenty minutes. Do you want to go out to celebrate?” Denise tried to keep a straight face.
“Why don’t we talk about it when you get home?”
“Okay, honey. I love you.” Denise clicked the phone again, unsure if Anne was still holding.
“Anne? Are you still there?”
“Yes, of course I am. Was it Mitch?”
“Um, well… I think it was Mitch.”
“What do you mean ‘you think it was Mitch’? Was it, or wasn’t it?” Anne’s confusion was apparent in her tone of voice. “What the hell happened?”
“He said he was happy, and he’s excited that we’re having a baby. He said it’s the best news he’s heard all day.” There was a brief pause before Anne replied.
“I see what you mean. It couldn’t have been Mitch.” Denise and Anne chuckled together. “How are you doing?”
“I’m actually doing better, now that he didn’t blow his stack at me,” Denise replied. “I don’t dare let my guard down, though. Not yet.”
“Understandable. But maybe this is just what the two of you needed to save your marriage. You think?” Anne queried.
“It’s possible,” Denise sighed. “I’ll believe it when I see it though. Sometimes he’s different on the phone than he is when he’s home. I mean, the guys were probably standing right there, being nosey. What’s he supposed to do? Insult me and verbally abuse me in front of them like he does when he’s here with me?” She shuddered. “I’m not out of the woods on this one, yet. I’ll let you know how it goes. If not tonight, then I’ll call tomorrow from work.”
“Deal. Later.”
“Later, Anne. Thanks for being there for me.”
“Don’t mention it. That’s what friends are for.”
Denise paced the living room floor now, waiting for Mitch to arrive. She heard the truck pull into the driveway, and took a deep breath, letting it out very slowly. “Here goes nothing,” she muttered nervously.
Mitch threw the front door open, took Denise around the waist and hugged her tightly to his chest as he picked her up and swung her around. Denise was flabbergasted! This wasn’t at all like him. She truly expected him to burst into the house and begin screaming and throwing things at her, as was customary for his fits of anger. Maybe Anne was right, she thought incredulously. Maybe this is exactly what our relationship needed, after all.
“We’re having a baby!” Mitch sang the words. “I’m so happy! Are you happy, hun?” he glanced at his wife with genuine concern in his eyes. “You seem sad. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, sweetheart,” she replied timidly. “I was worried at first that you might not be happy, but I can see I was wrong,” Denise’s eyes glowed for the first time in years. “So, now I’m not worried at all. I’m ecstatic!” She beamed at her husband. Mitch paused, sniffing the aroma that wafted from the kitchen.
“Mmm… What smells so good?” his eyes actually twinkled, something they rarely did. “What have you done to make this place smell so luscious?” Denise took his hand gently and led him into the kitchen to see the romantic spread she had labored over to celebrate the occasion.
“I hope you don’t mind,” she stammered, still unsure of this unusual reaction from Mitch. “It never crossed my mind that you might want to go out.”
“You sweet, sweet woman!” Mitch’s face lit up at the scene. “I’m such a lucky man to have married such a wonderful woman!” He kissed her cheek softly. “I don’t mind at all. We’ll go out tomorrow night, instead, if you feel up to it. Now, you relax on the couch while I get cleaned up, and I will serve this beautiful meal to my even more beautiful wife.”
Denise still couldn’t believe the change in her husband. She felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders and thought to herself, maybe everything will really be okay now. Maybe this is a sign that our marriage only needed another chance. I’ll just have to try harder now to keep it going smoothly. Perhaps there’s still a chance for us, yet! Happily, she sank back onto the couch to relax until Mitch was ready to begin eating.
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