Book III: The Father
Chapter 105: High Tech
Of course, when you are waiting with baited breath, there’s
also something to be said for high tech.
Friday morning, Halloween, Abby said, “Why would they wrap
them up like this?” She pulled at the plastic wrap on the box, trying to find
an edge to slip her fingernail into.
“Here.” Tim took it from her, whipped the knife he kept on
his keychain out, and slit through the plastic and the box under it. He gave it
a yank, harder than he intended, he’s a bit excited, ripping it open and
flipping two six-inch-long wands and an instruction/information pamphlet out.
He bent down to pick one of the wands off the bathroom floor.
They only need one right now, and it’s not like this is rocket science, so he’s
not feeling a need to read the directions.
“Rule number nine always comes in handy,” Tim said as he cut
the pregnancy test out of its protective covering. He handed it to Abby, and
stood there waiting, expectantly.
She looked at it in her hand, and then stared at him. “Shoo,
McGee.”
“What?”
“I’m not peeing in front of you. Out of the bathroom, now.”
She gestured to the door.
He walked out, shut the door, and stood back to it, staring
blankly at the boxes in front of him. Night before last they got the bedroom
fully unpacked, but the boxes were still piled in the corner. “I’ve seen you do
almost everything else.”
“And this is one thing that gets to stay in the mystery
category.”
“You’ve seen me pee.”
“And when you take the pregnancy test, that’ll matter.”
“Fine.”
A very slow minute goes by. “Are you going to keep calling
me McGee?” She didn’t do it nearly as much as she used to, but, especially at
work, he’s still McGee.
“Huh?”
“As of tomorrow, it’ll be your name, too.”
“Hadn’t thought about that.”
He heard the toilet flush, and waited another minute for her
to open the door.
She did, and he looked expectantly at her. “Well?”
“I haven’t looked. I wanted us to see it together.” He saw
it sitting on the back of the toilet, readout side down. He took two steps and reached
for it, but she grabbed his hand before he can pick it up. “It might not be
able to tell, yet. The box said as early as seven days before your period. Today
is the first day it could possibly tell.”
“If it’s negative, we can do this tomorrow.”
“Or the day after. We might be busy tomorrow.”
He smiled. “Yeah, we might.” But he was sure that no matter
how busy they might be tomorrow, if need be, they’ll find the time to do this
again. “You ready to see?”
“Yeah, I am.”
He flipped it over, and felt electric joy arcing through
him, making his knees go weak, and a dopey grin spread across his face. She was
squeezing his hand hard as they just stared at the tiny gray on gray readout:
Pregnant.
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