Better Together

There’s only two weeks until graduation and I’m terrified of the future. March had gotten me a gold medalist for a boyfriend, April brought an A on my senior thesis, and now May came with a missed period. I realized the last part two days ago, but haven’t gotten the guts to tell Jake. He is going into the draft in June and he’s already asked me to move to whatever city he gets drafted to. I agreed, but it was messy because we didn’t know where he’d go, so I couldn’t apply for a full-time job just yet.
But now I’m pregnant on top of everything else we have going on. And I don’t know how to approach the subject. We haven’t talked about it because it has only been three months since we became a couple.
Therefore, I invited Jake to join me for dinner off-campus to try and tell him. We were only going to a small restaurant in Pittsburgh and so I wore a nice blouse with a flowing skirt and a spring jacket. When Jake knocked on my door, I noticed he wore jeans and a dress shirt, not overly fancy or too simple. It actually made him look sexy. Maybe it was my increased hormones saying that, but it was what crossed my mind.
“You look beautiful, Dani,” he said to me as he leaned in to kiss my cheek.
“Thanks, Jake, let’s get going,” I took his hand and tugged on it until he followed.
“What’s the rush, Dan? It’s only four thirty. We will hit rush hour if we hurry too much. I don’t want to sit in traffic,” he whined.
“Please Jake? I want to use the time to talk,” he finally agreed and opened my door and closed it once I was in.
“What should we need to talk about?” he asked as he pulled away from the curb.
“We can start with what team you think you will get drafted by? Or rather what’s your ranking in the prospects?” he smiled a bit in pleasure that I was willing to talk about this kind of stuff. Other girls would only want to know what kind of money he could make, not where he thinks he is rated in the prospects.
“They think I’ll go in the first round, not pick one like my dad, but round one for sure. With that being said, I won’t go to Pittsburgh or Philly. Philly traded their only first round pick and Pitts has the number one pick. The Peoria Pistons have shown interest, though.” He brought up the team that replaced the New York Islanders a few years ago. New York couldn’t handle two teams and the Devils, so they moved the less successful New York team to Peoria, a budding city in Illinois.
“That’s middle of nowhere, Illinois, right?”
“Basically, there aren’t as many suburbs as Chicago.”
“Okay, who else?” he quickly glanced in my direction and smiled. I took his hand that was on the arm rest and entwined our fingers.
“The Caps have called my Dad. But they have the last first round pick.”
“I would love D.C., but where you go, I go. Okay, a deeper question. Where do you want to go?”
“The West Coast, doesn’t even matter what team. I just want to be that far from Nova Scotia and my parents.” He paused and looked at me. “Which city do you want to live in?”
“I never really thought about the city, just the team. I’ve always thought that the Preds have a good organization, but than so do the Jets. They aren’t as far as you want though.”
“I know you are hiding something else about where you want to go, so spill.” I sighed and then let it out.
“I guess I have thought about cities subconsciously. And it might be a little forward, but Boston and Raleigh have good schools.”
“Good school, eh. Thinking of having a baby, Dani?”
“What are your thoughts on a baby? We never really talked about that.” I said to him and then looked out the window to avoid looking at him. Our hands were still together, but I didn’t want to see his face right now.
“I think I’d love to have a family with you one day, Dani. Maybe in five or six years after I have some money saved. We should probably get married first, so maybe a wedding in five years or so and a baby sometime after that? Am I sounding about right, Dan?”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking you would say,” I kept my eyes on our passing scenery as we entered Pittsburgh. When we pulled up to the restaurant, I quickly opened my door and got out. Jake quickly caught up and opened the door for me. We were seated in the back and sat across from each other in a booth. It was really hard to not look at him now.
“Did I say something wrong back there, Dani?” he asked after our hostess left the table. I shook my head.
“Of course not, you are entitled to your opinion as to when and how to start a family.”
“Then why are you upset? You don’t agree? I don’t believe I’m mature enough to start a life with a baby. I know I don’t have enough money yet to support a family right now either. So what’s wrong and don’t lie!” he was getting slightly angry at me. I wasn’t trying to be rude or anything, but I was hoping his reaction wouldn’t be like this. I just hoped that we could keep this quiet so the entire world didn’t have to know so soon.
“We aren’t going to be able to wait five or six years, hell, we won’t even be married before welcoming a child into the world. I’m pregnant,” I looked into his eyes as I said it in a hushed tone so that we still had our privacy. I saw surprise when I looked into his eyes and a bunch of emotion rushed in after that so I couldn’t tell what he was feeling now. “We weren’t exactly protected the first couple of times.”
“I thought you were on the pill?” he questioned like a pissed off interrogator.
“No, I didn’t go on it until after that first weekend. I never had a reason for it before, Jake.”
“We are only 21 years old, Dani. We just became legal to drink in the States. Do you think we will be able to raise a child?”
“I don’t think it really matters if we are ready or not. Its happening and we are going to go with it. Now, I am going to get up and walk out of the restaurant before either one of us says something stupid. I do not want you to come after me tonight. I will find my way back to campus just fine. You are welcome to see me in the morning, but not until then. Goodnight, Jacob.” I calmly stood and let myself out. I headed towards downtown and let the tears slip out.