stood in the open doorway. Thea hadn’t made the bed that morning, and the sight of the rumpled sheets brought a slam of regret to his stomach as powerful as a sucker punch. The last time he’d been in their bed had been that night. One of the most amazing moments of his life, followed almost immediately by the worst.
“What are you doing?” Thea said behind him. He turned around. He hadn’t heard the bathroom door open, but his daughters now stood in the hallway with matching towels wrapped around them.
“Nothing,” he said. “I just—I’ll help get them into their pajamas.”
Silence reigned as he and Thea worked together to dry the girls off and thread their arms and legs into matching unicorn pajamas. Thea stood then, collected the wet towels, and told them to pick out a book while she changed her clothes.
The girls settled on a story about a raccoon who gets lost on his way to his grandma’s house for Christmas. They had just settled on Amelia’s bed when Thea walked back in. She had changed into a pair of sweatpants and his old Huntsville Rockets minor league sweatshirt, the one she’d claimed shortly after they started dating. He’d lost all coherent thought the first time he saw her in it. Something regressively possessive stole over him, as if he’d claimed her. Officially. With a sweatshirt.
Still today, there was something about the sight of his petite wife swimming in his massive clothes that always turned him on. She probably only chose it tonight because it was easy, clean, and familiar. But for him, it held meaning and memory. She’d been wearing that very sweatshirt when she told him she was pregnant. He hadn’t been able to reach her for three days. She ignored all his calls and texts, and her coworkers at the coffee shop said she’d been calling in sick. When he finally went to her apartment and convinced her to at least open the door, he was prepared for anything. Or so he thought.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, hugging herself, hands hidden by the cuffs of his sweatshirt.
Gavin braced his hands on either side of the doorframe, his practiced speech replaced by panicked bumbling the instant he saw her face. “Just talk to me. OK? W-wh-whatever it is, just say it.”
She stared with empty eyes for a moment and then turned without a word. He watched from the doorway as she disappeared into her bathroom. Moments later, she returned, a white stick in her hands.
Every nerve in Gavin’s body erupted as if he’d been struck by lightning. “Wh-what is that?”
She stopped halfway across the small living room. Gavin walked in, shut the door, and crossed to where she stood. She held out the stick. He glanced down and saw a single blue plus sign.
“You’re pregnant?” he breathed, dots of light dancing before his eyes.
She snatched the stick back and resumed her cross-armed pose. “I’m pregnant,” she said, her voice firm, challenging, determined.
She’d barely finished the sentence before he kissed her.
“Are you ready to read?” Thea asked, interrupting the memory.
“Make room for Mommy,” Gavin said. Amelia scooted closer to his side, and Thea squeezed into a tiny bit of space between the girls and the wall. There was more than enough room next to him, but pointing that out probably wouldn’t go over well.
Gavin read as the girls snuggled against him, and every few lines he glanced at Thea. She obstinately refused to meet his gaze. When he finally finished a few minutes later, Thea sat up so fast that the bed shook. She told the girls to give her a kiss and that Daddy would tuck them in.
Ava was the hardest to get to sleep. She only wanted Thea and needed several stuffed animals piled around her to settle down. Amelia was easier. When he tucked her in and told her everything was going to be OK, she believed him. She looked at him with trusting, hopeful eyes, curled her tiny hand into his, and whispered, “I love you, Daddy,” before falling asleep. He could barely pry himself up to leave the room.
He closed their door with a quiet click, sucked in a steadying breath, and then walked back downstairs. He found Thea in the kitchen, writing something on her massive whiteboard.
She tensed when he came up behind her. “Are they asleep?”
He had to clear his throat to speak. “Yeah. They were tired.”
“So am I.”
He watched her re-cap her marker and replace it in