Beyond the Sun

“Well, look at you,” said Vengeance cheerfully, leading Gina inside, and I greeted him with a warm hug, kissing his cheek. “You look good. Did you get a nice tan in Venice or something? Your skin seems so different.” He glanced at Brian, raising his eyebrow and walking toward the living room with Gina and I as Brian went to fetch the deck of cards. “ Are you two hiding something? An awkward Italian child that you smuggled in with your luggage?”

I shook my head. “Nope. No awkward Italian child, I promise.” He sighed, resigning to the couch, pulling Gina to his side, and I settled onto the loveseat, smiling as Brian came into the room, deck of cards in hand, and sat down beside me. “Though we do need to tell you guys something.” Brian gently took my hand, and I closed my other hand around his, letting him tug me a little closer. “Something that should probably wait until everyone else gets here.”

“Everyone else?” Gina questioned, her eyebrow lifting as well.

I nodded. “Yeah. The guys and their girlfriends…because it’s kind of big.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Brian kissed the side of my head, and I smiled, leaning into him slightly, closing my eyes and absorbing the warmth of his smooth lips on my skin. Gina said something to Vengeance, her voice quiet, and he murmured something back to her, and then the room fell silent for a few minutes before rough knuckles knocked on the front door.

Brian rose to open it, and then the gang filed in, gathering around the living room, their attention focused on Brian and I. I bit my lip, and he took my hand once more, giving my fingers a slight squeeze, smiling supportively. “So it’s a little short notice, calling you guys over here, but… we have some important news for you guys.”

I looked up at him, and he gently touched his lips to mine, his was of urging me on. I glanced back at the guys and their girlfriends, and they all smiled a little in my direction. “Most people don’t really mention it before the third month, but considering we’ve had a few late night drinks and I obviously can’t do that for a while, I just thought you guys should know…we’re going to be having a baby.”

Jimmy blinked, his face immediately lighting up. “You’re finally pregnant?” he exclaimed, and when I nodded, he came over to me, hugging me tightly, I hugged him back, and he held me closer. I could feel his smile on the top of my head as he kissed my hair, and he grinned at me as he released me. “Congrats, girl. I’m sure your kid is gonna be a stellar stud, especially with the genes it’ll be getting.”

“Thanks, Jimmy,” I said, and then I was pulled into a hug by about six more people- Matt, Val, Johnny, Vengeance, Gina, and Johnny’s girlfriend all wrapped their arms around me, whispering their congratulations to me. Gina was in tears when I looked back at her, and she tried a half-smile before she let me pull her into a second hug.

“It’s going to be so different,” she whispered.

I shook my head. “No it’s not. We’ll have so many people to look after the baby once it’s old enough, and you and I can go shopping again, Val and Johnny’s girl in tow.” She laughed shortly into my shoulder. “What? In about three more months, I’m going to need a new wardrobe.” She laughed again, and then she pulled away, sniffing and wiping her eyes. “It’s all going to be great, Gina, I promise.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I know, but…two years ago, we were irresponsible college kids, and here you are. Months away from your degree, married to an impressively perfect man that also happens to be a rock star, and now you’re going to be starting a family.” She smiled. “I’m just so proud of you, sis.” She tried another smile, nuzzling into Vengeance’s arms, and I smiled back at her.

“Love you too, Gina.” I looked back at the rest of the gang- all waiting for something to happen, brought over here for ten seconds of news, unsure how to spend the rest of the time. “So…I can’t exactly drink, but there is some wine, so if anyone wants to have a little celebration, the house is open.”

Jimmy smiled. Johnny smiled. Val smiled. Matt was practically grinning. Gina smiled past her tears, her head on Vengeance’s shoulder, and by God, he was smiling too.

Then the party began. Johnny brought out the wine, pouring a glass for everyone (Brian quietly brought me a glass of orange juice) and someone turned on the music. I turned to Brian, glass in hand, taking a sip, and he smiled down at me, touching my face. “You’re glowing,” he said, and then he bent his head to tenderly rest his lips on mine.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, being careful not to tip the glass so that I wouldn’t spill my orange juice down his back, and he smiled against my lips, drawing me closer and starting us in on a sort of slow dance- the song playing (something by The Used) provided for it- and I kind of blocked out the rest of my surroundings.

I was so used to being caught up in him that I couldn’t really absorb myself in anything else while he kissed me like this. Our friends chatted and sipped wine all around us, but while our lips rested together, I couldn’t discern what they were saying. It didn’t matter. They weren’t speaking to us. And even though they were our friends, they understood that we needed to have a moment of victory- we’d told our family and friends our big news, and that was almost enough, because not everyone needed to know right away.

They couldn’t- and I wasn’t going to stress out about worrying who to tell next. I knew that things would work out as they had to, and the next thirty-something weeks would pass with little trouble. It wouldn’t be difficult to pull this off, and I knew that because we had such great friends, and Brian was so…he just seemed so ready, no matter how nervous either of us had been about the subject.

We were really going to be doing this.

We were doing this.

I was thrilled.

My head moved to his chest, and I slid my hands beneath his arms, resting them on his shoulder blades, holding him close to me, reveling in the warmth of his body.

“You know I’m thrilled, right? I’m not just pretending so that you can be excited and happy. You know I could never lie with my feelings like that, don’t you?” I nodded against his chest, and he held me tighter, his lips gently kissing the top of my head. “It’s the greatest gift that you can ever give me, it truly is.”

I smiled, kissing his chest, letting his words sink in, choosing not to ruin the flow with my own, simply letting him enjoy the moment.

“I can’t wait for that moment.” He smiled against my hair. “I can’t wait to say, ‘Oh she’s so beautiful’ or ‘He’s going to be a heartbreaker’…but I can’t wait for that gleam in your eyes and that smile on your face…” He sighed lightly. “I’m just not sure I’ll be good enough.”

“Stop that,” I murmured. “You will be good enough. Now shush. I love this song, and I just want to dance with you.” He obliged, keeping me close, and we could, for the most part, blot out the comments made by our friends. Yes, they were our company, but…

“I love you, Heather,” he whispered, and his hand ran gently up and down my back.

“I love you too, Brian,” I mumbled in response, and I relaxed even more against him. “I love you too.”

Minutes later, the song changed, and then the atmosphere shifted. Suddenly, it wasn’t about romance. It was about celebrating the life we had created, celebrating our decision to begin our family, and it was about Brian and I preparing to be good parents instead of a loving husband and wife- we were a year into our marriage, so that was no longer an issue. It was on to bigger and better things, and this pregnancy was another step up the ladder that had become our life together.

Gina seemed to like being at my side, glancing over at me and smiling whenever I looked over at her or glanced up at Brian, squeezing his hand to get his attention, and she watched us as we interacted with everyone else, seeing the way everyone hugged me and the way they spoke softly to me and the way my hand drifted to my torso to promise myself that it was all really happening and the way everyone seemed to make note of this, especially Brian.

No one seemed to be bothered by going to quickly refill my orange juice when they went to pour themselves another glass of wine, and none of them seemed troubled by the way the conversation centered around me- even though I didn’t mind the attention, I knew that it would eventually become troublesome, so I enjoyed indulging them with their questions and helping Brian tell quirky little stories about our honeymoon, casually sipping at my orange juice all the while.

Four weeks in, and it already felt so real.