When We Were

“Oh”

For a few long seconds, Lionel allowed the single syllable to linger in the air, not quite sure how he ought to follow it up, before Jordi’s voice snipped into his ears, causing him to blink, refocusing the phone which he had just about been able to keep his grasp on. He had thought that he had heard her wrong, with Emilia’s voice having been quiet and slightly muffled, he had assumed that the words that had caused his heart to race had been misheard, but the longer that the silence had dragged on, the surer he got that he had heard her correctly. Emilia was pregnant, and for a moment, it’d left him entirely speechless.

“You’re on speaker now, Leo” Jordi announced “Emmy kind of dropped the phone” he added, letting out a laugh.

Lionel smiled weakly to himself, his hand rubbing his jaw gently. “I almost did the same thing” he noted “Jordi, did I hear her right?” he breathed.

There was a brief conversation on the other end of the line, Lionel could hear Jordi offering the phone to Emilia, insisting that she be the one who spoke to him, but it wasn’t long before he sighed, speaking again. “Yeah, you did” he confirmed gently “Emmy is...she’s pregnant, hombre” he added warmly.

Lionel shifted his weight in his seat, glancing off at the other side of his living room as he tried to get his head around the words, before he let out a slightly shaky laugh. “Will you say it one more time?” he prodded “I mean, I am like ninety-nine percent sure that I am hearing you right, but...just one more time, please?” he added.

Jordi laughed gently. “Your girlfriend is pregnant, Leo” he reiterated.

Again, Lionel felt quiet for a second, allowing the words to hang in the air, before he shook his head, unable to stop the smile which itched to spread across his face. “Is she still with you, Jordi?” he asked.

“Looking at me like she kind of wants to kill me, yeah” Jordi replied impishly “Say something, Emmy” he prodded.

The line was quiet for a second before Emilia’s voice came along it, quiet and uncertain. “I’m sorry” she whispered “I...I found out a little while ago and I told Jordi instead of you. I just...I don’t know. I don’t think I believed it for a second, and when I did, I just got a little...overwhelmed. If it weren’t for Jordi...”

“Emmy” Lionel interrupted gently “It’s alright. I understand” he added.

Emilia let out a shaky laugh. “You can’t see him, but Jordi’s just smirking at me” she noted “He’s giving me his best ‘I told you so’ look” she added.

“I’m familiar with it” Lionel chirped, smiling to himself as he heard the tone of her voice relax a little “And whilst I am glad that he’s badgered you into telling me, I think I need to ask him to give you a little privacy. I think we need to talk, no?” he added.

“I was about to suggest the same thing” Jordi’s voice chimed in “But don’t take all day. She’s using my phone and I did have other things planned for the day. I don’t particularly want to spend it all here” he added impishly.

Emilia snorted. “I didn’t invite you over, Jordi” she pointed out “You came over and let yourself in” she added.

Lionel could hear Jordi’s reply, but it was quieter, letting him know that he had walked out of the room. Hesitating for a second, he waited to see if Emilia would speak first, but when she didn’t, he smiled a little, shaking his head to himself. “You’re already thinking about all of the problems, aren’t you?” he prodded.

“Tell me they weren’t the first things that jumped into your mind” Emilia replied gently.

Lionel smiled, picturing her fussing nervously with the ends of her hair, something she always did when she was uncertain. “They weren’t the first things which jumped into my mind” he replied “I mean, when I could actually formulate some kind of thought. When you said it for the first time, I was pretty sure I was hearing things” he added with a bashful laugh.

“Leo...”

“I know, Ok?” Lionel interrupted, hearing the familiar anxious tone of her voice “I know that there are a lot of things to think about, to worry about, but we don’t have to do that right now, Emmy. I know that you hate me being so short-sighted sometimes, but can’t we just take a moment to focus on the fact that you’re pregnant? We can worry later, but right now...right now can I just gush, please?” he prodded.

“Gush?” Emilia poked.

“How could I do anything but?” Lionel replied “We’re having a baby, Em. That’s...it’s crazy and brilliant and terrifying all at the same time and right now I just...I just want to fuss over it, not worry about the practicalities. Have you seen a midwife yet?” he asked as he stood up, pacing the length of the room.

“Yesterday” Emilia replied “It was just the preliminary appointment. She’s got me booked in for my first scan in a few weeks” she added.

“You went in on a Saturday?” Lionel prodded.

“I had to” Emilia replied “I didn’t want Luca to worry about me having to go the hospital and, it’s the one day a week I can go there and know I won’t run into Isaac. I hadn’t told you, and I didn’t want him to know first” she added.

Lionel shook his head, not particularly wanting to ruin the moment by thinking about Isaac. “The midwife” he prodded “Did you like her?” he asked.

“She’s lovely” Emilia confirmed “Though, she did think Jordi was the papa” she added brightly.

Lionel laughed. “You took Jordi with you?” he asked.

“He insisted” Emilia noted “You’re going to find out very quickly, but after what happened with Isaac when I was pregnant with Luca, Jordi is very protective. He’ll want to stick his nose into everything” she added.

Lionel nodded. “That’s a good” he noted “I mean, someone will need to be there for everything and I trust your brother. If I can’t be there, then Jordi’s my first choice stand in, maybe my mother if he can’t make it” he added thoughtfully.

There was no getting away from it, despite his plea that they take a moment to just bask in the news before they started to think about the logistics, he couldn’t avoid the thought that he would be missing out and wanted to ensure that someone was with Emilia when he couldn’t be, even if it wasn’t going to be anywhere near the same as him being there himself. Knowing that someone would be with Emilia, holding her hand and offering her comfort was a small comfort for him.

Emilia sighed. “Leo...”

“I’m so happy, Emmy” Lionel interrupted, sensing her train of thought “I mean, surprised, and a little dazed, but thrilled and that’s what I want to focus on right now, OK? So tell me about it. Are you having morning sickness? How far along do you think you are? What did the midwife say when you went to see her? Talk me through it” he insisted as he plopped back down onto his couch, pushing hair out of his face slightly.

Cradling the phone against his ear, he listened as Emilia started to speak, her worry fading out of her words the more she said, before he closed his eyes, allowing a pent up grin to split across his features. He knew that there were things to talk about, things that would probably dent his joy when they did discuss them, but for a moment, he didn’t want to think about them. He didn’t want to worry about the distance, the logistics that he and Emilia had always had a little trouble with, he just wanted to listen to her as spoke, gushing timidly about the baby that was due to come along and join them in a matter of months.