Paint It Black

Frank's POV

Again, Sunny was straddling me. Her mind was at ease, she was relaxed, and her sickness was under control. She was dressed in her underwear and a loose tank top, leaning down every so often to kiss me. 

The last time she leaned down, she rested her head on my bare chest, and planted a kiss on my collar bone.

"I have my first ultra sound tomorrow," she told me quietly, "we get to see our baby."

I smiled, rolling my hand up her shirt and down her back, "Yeah...I can't wait."

Her breathing was slowing again, and her body grew comfortably on me. Moments like these made me the happiest guy alive. I looked down at her, her eyes were still open, the string lights let me see. I began to think back to when she was talking with her friends, and how much she had changed.

"Sometimes I feel like I don't know you," I told her.

She looked up at me, "What do you mean?" she asked softly.

"You've changed...a lot since we broke up. When you talk to your friends, I feel like you're not the Sunny I knew." I explained.

She sat up on me again, "What's changed about me?"

"You're more artistic, you changed your music taste," I listed to her, "it's hard to explain, but you're a whole new Sunny while being the old Sunny."

She looked down, tweaking her lips, "All those things appeal to me, Frank. They're stuff that helped me heal, like the music and painting; it helps me deal with reality."

"I know, and I'm not judging you...I just want to get to know who you are now," she looked up at me.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything; your likes, dislikes, your favorite things."

She gave me a curious look, and opened her mouth, "I still love the Ramones and Green Day. The rain is much more beautiful to me. I dislike December," she shuddered, "I like the feeling of being tattooed. I love listening to Butcher sing, and hanging out with him," she gave me a soft smile, "he really helped me through a lot, Frank."

I nodded, "And I'm grateful for that."

"My dreams are slowly coming back, but they aren't vivid enough to remember," she continued, "I still have a lot of the stuff you guys gave me."

I raised my brow, "Like what?"

"The iPod, the bracelet, the pictures, picks, and notes."

I smiled at her, "You kept all that stuff?"

She nodded, "Yeah," she got up from the bed, "hold on."

I watched her go to her dresser and open the bottom drawer. She rummaged around until she pulled out a small box. She held it in one hand and closed the dresser drawer with the other. She jogged back to the bed and sat between my legs.

"I still have it all," she popped open the lid on the box and the first thing that came up was our film strip. 

"Wow," I chuckled, "I still have mine, too."

She looked up at me, "You do?"

"Yeah, it's on my desk at home. It's really worn from being in my wallet so long."

"How long?" she asked, picking up the strip.

"I barely took it out in March...I wanted to look at it everyday." I told her truthfully.

She smiled, "This was one of the best days ever," she recalled softly, "even though you had that mob around you."

I chuckled remembering, "Yeah...but the best part is when we went to that deserted part of town."

She bit her lip, finally looking up at me, "The best part?"

I nodded, "Yep."

"We've had better sex in other places," she retorted.

"Sex in your car is the best," she slugged me in the chest, "I'm telling the truth!"

She shook her head and closed the box. I watched her get back up and put the box on her nightstand, and then walk over to her full length mirror. She pulled down a yellow sticky note, that had been up there for some time, crumple it up an place our film strip in it's place. She turned back to me, tossed the crumple note into the waste basket and got back into bed with me.
-

I drove Sunny to her appointment the next morning. She hummed along to the music playing, Green Day's American Idiot. I kept my eyes on the road, but every so often I could glance at her, singing along, and bobbing her head. 

When we arrived, Sunny took my hand and led me inside. These kind of little gestures made me all weird inside for her. It was love, of course, and it grew stronger, each time she touched me.

We waited out in the waiting room, along with a few other expectant mothers. One, who obviously knew who I was, kept smiling and giggling at me; her boyfriend, or husband, was seated beside her, hissing at her to stop staring. Sunny hadn't noticed, she was busy playing with my hand, oddly enough. I smiled down as she kissed my knuckle.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

Her lips pressed to the skin near my earlobe, "I want you."

I shut my eyes for a moment, and chuckled, "Hormones?"

She nodded, "They're running wild."

"Be patient," I kissed her cheek.

"I am."

Within 15 minutes, we were called back into the exam room. The doctor, Dr. Roberts, who was a small woman with a loud voice, didn't take long, and looked over Sunny's vitals and checked how the baby was doing. We finally began the ultra sound, which I was excited about.

The technician, Barbie, who was a plump, older woman with short blond hair, put some blue gel on Sunny's small bump. She held my hand and squeezed gently and smiled at me.

"The screen should show a small, peanut sized baby," Barbie smiled at us as she pressed the scanner to Sunny's lower abdomen. 

We watched the screen and saw a small grey, mass bubble back and forth. I smiled widely, taking the sight in, "Wow," was all I could utter.

"That's your baby," Barbie told us.

"It looks like a peanut, alright," Sunny giggled.

"When do we find out the sex?" I asked.

"In about 2 to 3 months from now," Barbie continued to scan over Sunny's belly, "would you like a print?"

"Yes, please," Sunny spoke up, "my mom is gonna freak out."
-

"Oh my God, look at it!" Sunny's mom held her mouth as she looked over the ultra sound photo, "It's so tiny!"

"It's barely 3 months old," Sunny said.

"It's so cute," her mom continued to coo, "I can't wait to show Chris."

Sunny looked over at me, "Did you tell your parents?"

I shook my head, "I will soon, though."
-

Sunny was sleeping beside me, peacefully. I pulled the comforter closer around her, and sat up from my lying position. I grabbed my phone, eyeing the time; it was 8. I decided to call my mom, to tell her the news. I'm pretty sure she ought to know. 

I put the phone to my eat and listened to it ring. On the 3rd ring she picked up; "Hello?"

"Hey, mom, it's me."

"Frankie? Hey, what's going on?"

"Everything is good, I just called to tell you...um, remember when I told you that Sunny and I were working everything out?"

She hummed, "Yes."

"Well, uh, she's pregnant."

There was a short silence, then a soft sigh, "So soon?"

"Yeah...well it happened back in June," I explained.

"Oh," my mom hummed again, "What do you guys plan on doing?"

I scratched the back of my head, "Sunny's gonna stay in Chicago until the baby is at least a few months old, then she's gonna move to Jersey with me."

"That's good. It seems that you all have it together."

I looked over at Sunny's sleeping form, "Thanks to Sunny."

"Take care of her, Frankie," mom murmured softly.

"I am, mom."

"This girl is really special to you, make sure she knows it."

"I'm doing everything she ask."

"Good."