Make It Back to Me

December 11th 2009
Evelyn let out a curse as a particular strong gust of winter wind moved past her, chilling her completely to the bone despite how many layers she had dressed in that morning. She brought a gloved hand to her forehead, pushing a piece of hair from her face, seeing her destination just a few blocks ahead. Maybe walking hadn’t been such a good idea, she thought as the snow continued to fall all around her. But she had just wanted to stretch her legs; she felt like she had been confined to she and Ben’s house for the last month. She had gotten even bigger, now entering her ninth month of pregnancy. Her whole body – not just her belly – felt swollen, and she hated it.

Letting out a final shiver, she flung herself into the building her doctor’s office was in, letting the warmth slowly heat up her freezing body. As she stood at the elevator, she stripped her gloves, hat, and scarf off, stuffing them into her oversized purse, something her husband always made fun of her for having, but he never complained when she would hold onto stuff for him. Laughing lightly at the thought, she signed herself in and took a seat, waiting for her name to be called.

The appointment was just like the others. The doctor told Evelyn everything was looking fine, and she was pleased to know she was still on schedule to give birth in three to four weeks. After everything was done, she went back to the main desk to take care of the payment and found herself smiling down at a woman she had never seen before.

“Oh!” she gasped. “You’re so young… Mrs. Eager; like a baby having a baby.”

Evelyn smiled lightly as she fought the urge to roll her eyes, knowing the woman didn’t mean anything by her comment. She had heard a lot of comments the past months about being so young and having a child. She was used to it; she knew she was ready, she knew Ben was ready, and that was all that mattered anyway.

“Yeah, I never expected to have a baby at twenty three, but he wasn’t really planned,” she admitted, putting a hand on her belly. She left the office with a ‘good luck’ and a ‘stay warm’ making her wish she hadn’t walked to the appointment, after all. Bundling herself back up as she made her way out of the building she decided she would hail a taxi to take her back to the house. She dialed Ben’s cell phone as she climbed into the back and brushed a strand of hair from her face.

“Hey, love,” he answered, breathing hard making Evelyn realize their morning skate must have just ended.

“Hey, I can call back later…” she started to say.

“No,” Ben cut her off. “I’m just resting and drinking some Gatorade before I shower. What’s up?”

“I just got out of a doctor’s appointment. He says everything is perfect and I’m still on schedule to give birth in three or four weeks. He said we could schedule the birth, and they can induce so we know for sure you can be there. I don’t want to go into labor without you.”

She heard Ben sigh on the other end, “I know, babe. We should do that, then. The team already knows that if you go into birth on a game day, I’ll miss the game. Being there for you is more important.”

“I love you,” she said as the taxi pulled up to the house. She handed the guy the money she owed him, plus a tip, and slammed the door shut behind her.

“Why did you take a cab? Is there something wrong with your car?”

“No,” she laughed. “I walked to the appointment, but I didn’t feel like walking back.”

“Lyn…”

“I was so bundled up, it was funny. Shut up. You know how stir crazy I’ve been being cooped up in the house; it’s worse when you’re on the road, like you are now.”

“I’ll be home tomorrow morning and have the rest of the day off. I’ll take you out to dinner.”

Evelyn grinned, smiling as they talked for a few more minutes before Ben decided he needed to shower and change. She was standing in the nursery, smiling as she looked around the room. Everything a baby and his parents could need was in there. The walls were a light green, the decorations and accents darker shades of green and a dark beige color. It was masculine enough for her little boy (and Ben, honestly) but cute enough for her. It was perfect.

She sat down in the rocking chair and began pushing herself back and forth lightly, her hands running over her stomach. “I hope you’re ready for a life of moving every few years,” she whispered. “Your daddy’s a hockey player, you know. He’ll be gone a lot, so it’ll be just me and you a lot, kid. You’re going to love your dad, though. He’ll take care of you even more than he takes care of me, and that is a lot.”

She laughed to herself as her cell phone buzzed on the table next to her, signaling she had a text. She flipped the screen open and laughed as she saw a picture message from Phoebe and Kita, holding boxes of chocolate and chick flicks.

“Looks like we’re having a girls night, baby,” Evelyn laughed, replying to the girls and telling them to come over.

- - -

Ben knew his priorities were changing when he was not as gutted about a loss as he would have been last season. Sure, he still wished they had gotten the win, but with his wife at home, only a few weeks away from giving birth to their child, he wasn’t about to dwell on a loss so much. He hoped she’d still be sleeping; it was just before ten in the morning, and he knew that his young wife needed all the rest she could get. Neither of them was going to get much once their son was born.

“Hey,” he heard as soon as he closed the front door behind himself.

He sighed, letting out a light laugh, “You should be sleeping, Lyn.”

“I fell asleep at eight last night; I didn’t even see the end of the game.”

Ben laughed and wrapped his arms around Evelyn, giving her a light kiss. She grinned and pulled him into the kitchen, the smell of breakfast immediately finding his nose. She watched and laughed as Ben immediately took a seat at the counter and dug into the pancakes, sausage links, and cut up pieces of fruit. She nibbled on her fruit as she read the daily news on her laptop, smiling when Ben’s left hand laced with her right one.

“Have you thought about a name?” Ben asked suddenly, putting his fork down and turning on the stool to face Evelyn.

She shrugged, “I have a couple names I like, but I feel like I won’t know until I see him.” Ben nodded, but didn’t say anything else. “Have you put any thought into names?” Ben shrugged, and Evelyn laughed, turning her body to look at him fully.

“I guess,” he started. “I really only started thinking about having kids once me and you had been together a while.” He paused, looking into Evelyn’s eyes. “My middle name is my dad’s name, right?” Evelyn nodded. “I always thought that my son would somehow be named after me.”

Evelyn stared at him, a small smile on her face. She could see he was slightly embarrassed about what he had admitted, but she honestly thought it was adorable, sweet, and perfect. She kissed him softly, smiling widely at him as she nodded her head. “I’d love that.”

- - -

Their ‘date’ had turned into another quiet evening spent at home with Chinese takeout. It seemed that as soon as they were ready to leave, a bout of sheer exhaustion came over Evelyn, something she found to happen often if she didn’t have a long, midday nap. She apologized to Ben, sorry she had ruined their plans, but just like all the times before, he was nothing but understanding and glad to stay in. Whatever made Evelyn feel most comfortable had become a new motto for him.

“So, our son can’t have the name of any of your teammates?” She asked, stuffing more fried rice into her mouth.

“No, he cannot – especially not Captain Serious.”

Evelyn frowned, “I really like the name Jonathan.”

“Too bad; besides 'Jonathan Benjamin' sounds stupid.”

"I guess you're right," she said, letting out a small sigh and continuing her clicking through baby name websites with her laptop as Ben did the same with his own laptop just next to her. She put the food down, her stomach feeling full as Ben closed both of their computers and placed them on the coffee table.

“I think I’m done looking at all these names tonight. It’s hard trying to find something that goes with Benjamin as a middle name.”

“Me too,” she agreed, letting Ben lift her off of the couch. After throwing the food containers into the fridge to save as leftovers, they made their way up the stairs and into their bedroom. Snuggling and watching a movie in bed seemed like the perfect way to fall asleep.

“I love you,” Evelyn whispered, letting her head fall onto Ben’s chest and her arms wrap around his waist, a small smile on her face as she thought of how she was Ben would no longer be a unit, but together with their son they would finally be a family.