A Very Important Question

A week later and we had moved in, it had taken a little while to organise some furniture as well as having to move some of Maggie’s art gear from the old house. Grace in the end had got her way. When I failed to give her a direct answer she had gone behind my back and asked Maggie instead. So were now stuck with her. Unfortunately ever since we had moved in Maggie hadn’t been feeling the best.

After the sixth morning in a row of her losing her breakfast I finally asked her to go and see a doctor.

”Toby, I don’t need to” she informed me, ” I went yesterday”

”To the doctor?” I asked starting to panic

”Mmm” she murmured before suddenly bolting back into the bathroom. I followed her in to make sure she was okay. Wetting a washcloth and gently washing her face after she was finished and still a little shaky on her feet.

“Maggie?” I questioned, ”Are you okay? What did the doctor say?”

”Yeah, just give me  moment. Her arms came around my waist as she held on for support.

I had one hand helping her balance and the other stroked her back. I didn’t like seeing her sick, I told her this just as the phone rang and she rushed to answer it. After that I got to listen to a one-sided conversation that didn’t tell me anything other than the fact that it was the doctor’s office. “Okay”,  ”Mmhm”, ”I understand” and ”Really” are not the words that make you confidence grow when considering the health of the most important person in your life.

When she finally turned around she threw herself into my arms a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “You don’t like seeing me sick, huh? she asked, laying small kisses along the length of my throat stealing my concentration.

”No, I really don’t”, I informed her taking her small shoulders in my hands. ”Maggie whats wrong, I’m starting to freak out here…” She surprised me when she suddenly burst into tears, “Maggie?” I gently brushed the tears away with my thumbs watching a luminous smile spread across her face even as I tried to calm down.

Her tears continued to flow even while she smiled at me. ”I suggest you get used to me being sick in the morning for a while” she stated,  ”because Toby I’m pregnant, we’re pregnant”

”That’s incredible” I told her, hand reaching out to touch her face before pulling her into my arms. I held my family in my arms blown away by the love I felt already for this tiny unformed life that we had been gifted. I kissed Maggie only pulling away when I remembered. ”But I haven’t proposed yet!” I blurted out without thinking.

”You were planning to propose?” she asked.

”Wow, I said that out loud huh? I asked, she nodded, starting to laugh at me. ”Yeah, I was going to propose. I had it all planned out and everything too for our one year anniversary but if I leave it til then your going to be…” My eyes dropped to her stomach.

”Huge” she said, once again finishing my sentence for me.

”Wait there” I told her,  dropping a swift kiss on her forehead and pointing towards the nearest chair.

***

I was pregnant. I had sat down where Toby had indicated and was now contemplating the life that we had created together waiting for him to return. I hoped that I could be a better parent than my rather absentee ones, I wasn’t even sure where they were at the moment. Once I had graduated they had virtually disappeared, I hadn’t seen or heard from them in months. I had sent them a message to say that I was moving out and that I would make sure the house was secure but all I had received in return was a request from my father’s secretary to drop the key into the local real estate so that potential buyers could view the house. As role models they failed miserably, I considered that as I realised that I had managed to find far better ones all by myself. Toby’s parent were great and I was glad that my child would have at least one set of grandparents that cared.

I also thought  about what Toby had inadvertently revealed and a huge smile spread across my face. I wasn’t all that surprised after all it was the next logical step in our relationship and we were now living together. I really only had one answer to that question when he finally got around to asking. Afterall, being his wife had been a dream of mine for quite a while. He may have forgotten our playing acting as a child, I never had.

When he finally returned he pulled me out of the chair surprising me by picking me up and carrying me out to the backyard. Unfortunately the rocking  motion made me a little nauseous, I was relieved when he finally placed me on my feet giving my stomach a chance to settle. When he saw that I needed a moment he pulled me down onto his lap at the end of the tree house slide that was in the backyard. The baby was going to love it when he got old enough to use it.

“You are going to say yes right? he asked, as we waited for me to feel better. His finger stroking my arm in a soothing movement that did nothing to help with how I was feeling except to maybe distract me a litlle.

”I’m not sure” I teased, turning slightly to look at him. “It’s a important question that I may need some time to think about it”.

”That’s really not funny” he complained, his hand continuing to stroke my arm.

”I will tell you that I think you have a pretty good chance of the answer you want.” I informed him.

”That’s good to know” he laughed, “Feeling better?”

I nodded and the the next moment he was down on one knee in front to of me asking me that very important question.

”Margaret Lucille Campbell, will you marry me?”

***