Laws of Attraction
baby
Jack is upside down, hanging over the side of the bed he shares with Alex every night. His arms are held high above his head as he squints at the piece of paper in his hands. He’s smiling, even though he’s nothing but frustrated. Because somewhere in the picture on the paper is his baby. It would be nice if he could actually see it. But, whatever. The doctor said it’s there. She pointed at it on the ultrasound screen and congratulated them. They’re having a baby. He and Alex. A baby.
Normal people would probably be scared and terrified and unsure of how exactly they’re going to successfully raise a family. But not Jack. Because he’s got Alex and Alex has him and the baby has both Alex and Jack so…By Jack’s standards, the baby’s already off to a pretty good start. As far as money and all that other stuff is concerned…they’ll be okay. Jack has his job at the Best Buy across town, working there Monday thru Friday from nine to three at the Geek Squad desk. He’s not quite qualified yet to actually do repairs on computers but he’s getting there – taking night classes at the community college. He’s working towards a degree and one day, he’ll be able to support his family on his paycheck alone and Alex won’t need to work at that shoe store in the mall anymore.
Concentrating again on the ultrasound in his hands, Jack brings it closer to his face so that it’s practically touching his nose. He thinks that the baby might be on the left side, but he’s not sure. How the hell did Alex see it so quickly? Does he have super-vision, or something? Does Jack not being able to see it mean that he’s not going to be a good dad? Fuck, if that’s the case-
“Jack what are you doing?”
Startled by Alex’s voice, Jack has to let go of the picture and use both hands to grip onto the bedspread so that he doesn’t slide all the way off and hit his head on the ground. The photo flutters down to the ground, landing at the shoes that are now in Jack’s sight.
“I’m trying to find the baby.”
Alex scoffs and gets down on his knees, picking the paper up and nudging at Jack’s head with his elbow. The younger boy looks up, a light blush painting his cheeks. “Were you listening at all? The doctor said you can’t really see it yet but that it’s right about…” He leans forward, bringing the picture back into Jack’s line of sight and pointing to the upper middle part, “here.”
Jack’s mouth forms an ‘o’ and he takes the picture back, his blush only deepening. “Gotcha.” He pulls himself back up onto the bed and kneels, the picture held gently between his fingers. “I thought that I just couldn’t see it and that meant I was going to be a bad father and-”
“You’re going to be the best father on the planet,” Alex assures him, getting up from the floor and leaning in, gripping Jack’s chin with his fingers. “And the best looking.”
Alex kisses him and Jack smiles into it and lets his hands grip onto Alex’s hips. His thumbs press lightly on his lower stomach and yeah. He’s not quite as nervous as he was a few minutes ago.
Normal people would probably be scared and terrified and unsure of how exactly they’re going to successfully raise a family. But not Jack. Because he’s got Alex and Alex has him and the baby has both Alex and Jack so…By Jack’s standards, the baby’s already off to a pretty good start. As far as money and all that other stuff is concerned…they’ll be okay. Jack has his job at the Best Buy across town, working there Monday thru Friday from nine to three at the Geek Squad desk. He’s not quite qualified yet to actually do repairs on computers but he’s getting there – taking night classes at the community college. He’s working towards a degree and one day, he’ll be able to support his family on his paycheck alone and Alex won’t need to work at that shoe store in the mall anymore.
Concentrating again on the ultrasound in his hands, Jack brings it closer to his face so that it’s practically touching his nose. He thinks that the baby might be on the left side, but he’s not sure. How the hell did Alex see it so quickly? Does he have super-vision, or something? Does Jack not being able to see it mean that he’s not going to be a good dad? Fuck, if that’s the case-
“Jack what are you doing?”
Startled by Alex’s voice, Jack has to let go of the picture and use both hands to grip onto the bedspread so that he doesn’t slide all the way off and hit his head on the ground. The photo flutters down to the ground, landing at the shoes that are now in Jack’s sight.
“I’m trying to find the baby.”
Alex scoffs and gets down on his knees, picking the paper up and nudging at Jack’s head with his elbow. The younger boy looks up, a light blush painting his cheeks. “Were you listening at all? The doctor said you can’t really see it yet but that it’s right about…” He leans forward, bringing the picture back into Jack’s line of sight and pointing to the upper middle part, “here.”
Jack’s mouth forms an ‘o’ and he takes the picture back, his blush only deepening. “Gotcha.” He pulls himself back up onto the bed and kneels, the picture held gently between his fingers. “I thought that I just couldn’t see it and that meant I was going to be a bad father and-”
“You’re going to be the best father on the planet,” Alex assures him, getting up from the floor and leaning in, gripping Jack’s chin with his fingers. “And the best looking.”
Alex kisses him and Jack smiles into it and lets his hands grip onto Alex’s hips. His thumbs press lightly on his lower stomach and yeah. He’s not quite as nervous as he was a few minutes ago.
♠ ♠ ♠
Follow my writing blog for updates.