Glide With The Breeze

Cassie brought her phone to her ear and waited while the call connected. She watched as Alex did the same and smiled at him, earning her one in return. His excitement was obvious, like he'd just received the best news in the world, though she was sure he would have been excited with whatever the ultrasound had told them.

The line had only started to ring in her ear when it was picked up like the person on the other end had been waiting for the phone to ring. The voice excitedly demanded of her, "So, is it a boy or a girl?"

"Hello to you too, Mommy," she said. "I'm doing great, thank you for asking."

"Don't be cute with me right now, Cassie. I'm just excited. I've been waiting all day for your phone call because I knew today was the big day. And I want to know if I'm going to be a grandma or a grandpa," Tina said.

Cassie couldn't contain the laughter that erupted from her deep in her stomach if she wanted to, so she didn't even bother trying. Her mother excitedly yelled things through the phone at her but it took her a good minute to calm herself.

"I'm pretty sure you're going to be a grandma either way," she said finally. Giggles escaped her following the rather obvious statement.

"Oh, you know what I mean," her mother said quickly and impatiently.

Alex, on the phone with his own mother, was shooting her a confused look. Taking in a deep breath, Cassie managed to compose herself enough to be ready to give her mother the answer she was waiting.

"It's a girl," she said.

The happy scream that followed forced her to pull the phone away from her ear and was loud enough that Alex snapped his head in her direction once again. She laughed softly at her mom's reaction and shrugged at Alex. He took a few steps away from her and turned his back so he could talk to his mom in peace.

"I would have been happy either way," she heard her mom say as she brought the phone back to her ear, "But a baby girl. I couldn't be more happy for you. I know this is what you wanted," she said.

"Alex and I just want the baby to be healthy, that's all" she said.

"Well, of course you do, Sweetheart. That's what any expectant parent wants," Tina said. "I just meant that I know after you lost Sierra, you really wanted a daughter. And I'm so happy you're in a healthy relationship and you're finally having that baby girl with a wonderful young man who loves you the way you've always deserved to be loved."

Tears sprung to Cassie's eyes. "Thank you, Mama," she said, blinking the tears away. There were times she almost forgot how well her mother knew her, even being thousands of miles away for so long.

They talked for a few minutes before saying their goodbyes. Just as Cassie was sliding her phone into her pocket, Alex pulled his from the side of his face and ended his call. He raised his eyebrows at her and walked back over to her and toward the car.

They had made is as far as the parking lot before Cassie insisted they call their parents at that moment. He didn't argue, being just as excited, if not more, about the outcome of their visit. They walked in silence to the car and just as the reached the passenger side, Alex grabbed Cassie's hand.

She stopped next to the car and turned toward him, an expectant look on her face. But he said nothing to her. Instead, he let go of her and she started to turn away. Before she could, he brought his hands to either side of her face, gently placing them on her cheeks just above her jawbone. He leaned down the six or so inches their height differed and pressed his lips to hers. Her hands loosely took hold of his forearms as she completely disregarded her own dislike of PDA and responded to the sweet, yet passion filled kiss.

They stood there for a few minutes, lost in each other, in their own world until he finally pulled back slowly. He placed a soft, short kiss on her lips before dropping his hands from her face. She let go of his arms as they fell and he stepped to the side of her, pulling open the car door for her.

The drive home was silent. Words seemed unnecessary but contact felt important. They held hands the entire trip. Occasionally, his thumb would stroke her hand and she would glance over at him. Even from his profile, his eyes hinted at a smile while the rest of his face showed contentment.

"Did you talk to Matt?" she asked as he pulled the car into the driveway. He shook his head. "He's still here, you know?" she said.

Alex turned off the car and nodded. "I know. But I thought about what you said and you were right. It's not a big deal. I wasn't thinking straight. It was stupid. I just freaked out," he said and fell silent. Cassie didn't say anything or make a move to get out of the car. It was obvious he wasn't finished. So she waited patiently until he finally continued. "I guess I'm still a little scared of losing you."

Unbuckling her seat belt, she turned in her seat to face him, reaching for his hand. "Alex, I love you," she said. He looked down at their hands and remained quiet. "Do you hear me?" she asked. "I love you. Do you remember how long I didn't say that for and how hard it was for me to get over my fear of that stupid little word? Do you remember what a big deal that was? How it changed everything?" she asked. "It's still a big deal. And yet, somehow, it completely pales in comparison to the feeling I get when you walk into a room," she said. He reluctantly started to lift his eyes as she spoke. "When you look at me," she continued. "When you smile. When you hold my hand, play with my hair, hug me, lay next to me in bed, kiss me. There isn't a word or phrase in the English language that could describe that feeling. Trust me, I've searched for hours on end trying to find one," she said.

"A writer before anything else," he said, a small smile breaking across his lips.

"But when I find something, I'll let you know," she said and he laughed softly. "If you haven't gotten it yet, what I'm saying is that I'm not going anywhere. When you ask me, properly, to marry you, I'm going to say yes," she said.

He leaned over and kissed her softly. When he pulled back, he was still smiling, looking confident again. And without another word, he pushed open his door as he unbuckled his own seat belt.

Matt was passing the front the door on his way back to the living room from the bathroom when they got inside. He stopped in his tracks when he saw them. "So, what's the news?" he asked as Cassie, per usual, kicked her shoes off just inside the door.

"You're going to be an uncle!" she replied excitedly.

"I know! But what I don't know if I'm going to be an uncle to a niece or a nephew!" he said just as excitedly.

"Does it matter?" Cassie asked a laugh. "You know, my mom was so excited she asked me if she was going to be a grandma or a grandpa," she said.

Matt chuckled. "Dude, I love your mom. Did she even realize what she said?" he asked.

She shook her head and, taking hold of Alex's hand, began to head toward the living room. "We're going to tell you what it is, but we-" Alex shot her a look that said to leave him out of it. "Okay, fine, I feel like we should tell Angie and Rian first. I know it's probably silly, but it's just one of those things," she explained. And when they reached the living room, she was greeted by four faces she wasn't expecting. "Oh, or I'll just tell everyone all together," she said, looking from Rian and Angie to Chelley and Jack, all with expectant looks on their faces. "How did I not see your cars outside?" she asked and turned to Alex. "Did you see their cars?"

He nodded and dropped her hand as he fell into the chair. After a moment, he adjusted until he found a more comfortable position and reached for her hand again and pulled her onto his lap.

"Girl," Alex said. "We're having a little Alexandra," he told them. "Which is not only the feminine form of my name, but also our names put together. It's perfect," he said.

"What it is," Cassie said, "Is not happening. We will be coming up with a different name."

"We'll be discussing it more," he said, determined to not be defeated.

Cassie rolled her eyes and shook her head a little but otherwise dropped the subject for the time being. They spent the rest of the afternoon and into the evening hanging out and getting caught up on all the things they'd missed due to life's circumstances. By ten, everyone, including Matt at Alex's polite request, had left.

Cassie and Alex had settled onto the couch and turned on the History channel. He was laying on his side against the back of the couch and she was on her side with her back against him. He was propped up on one elbow and his other arm was slung over her side, his hand on top of hers, resting on her stomach.

"I still can't believe you asked Matt to leave," she said, shifting from her side to her back when the show cut to commercial.

"It's not like I was rude about it. I just asked if he could stay with Rian or Jack for a couple days," he said. "I think it's really important that you and I have some 'us' time."

Before she could respond, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She responded without hesitation, bringing her hand to the back of his head and tangling her fingers in his hair. Neither noticed when the commercial break ended and the show resumed. They were too lost in each other.

After nearly half an hour, they turned off the TV and headed for their room. Alex kept his arms around Cassie's waist, his hands on her stomach, and remembered the feeling of the baby kicking on the plane.

When they got to their room, Cassie reattached her lips to Alex's. Her hands slid down his sides and found the waistband of his jeans. She was about to unbutton them when he gently took hold of her hands and pulled them away from his pants.

"What's wrong?" she asked, a concerned look on her face as they parted.

"Nothing," he replied. "I'm just kind of tired. Can we do this another time?" he asked.

"Tired?" she repeated and he nodded. "Um, yeah, alright. Another time," she said and turned away from him.

She changed into her pajamas and then went into the bathroom to wash her face, wondering what had caused him to change his mind so quickly. She knew it wasn't because he was tired. Part of her wanted to ask him what was going on and not let it go until he gave her an answer, but she didn't want to start a fight. So she decided to let it go.

He was already in bed when she returned from the bathroom. She laid down next to him and he immediately wrapped his arms around her, getting as close to her as he could. A quiet sigh escaped her but she remained silent otherwise.

Just as she was beginning to drift off to sleep, he whispered in her ear. "I love you."