RUBY.
"I wish I didn't have to leave," Sapphire said. She was packing her clothes that were hung in the closet in the guest bedroom into her socket while I just sat and watched.
"Well, you have to," I said matter-of-factly.
"I don't leave for another week, mum wants me home and she doesn't understand that you need me more," Sapphire whined.
"She wants to spend quality time with her daughter at home, and I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."
"I feel like I should just ditch the whole study abroad program and stay with you."
"No, you won't because you'll regret it if you don't go. So you'll go to Europe and have the time of your life, by the time you get back you'll be an Auntie with many stories to tell."
"You're right it's just who would take care of you, definitely not Toby. You should announce the pregnancy, I don't know why you're against it."
"And if I announce the pregnancy who would take care of me, no offence but would it be Lola or Clara."
"It might just be Aiden," she said. She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. I scoffed.
"He must be running for the hills now." After he asked me what I was doing at the hospital, I told him I came for a checkup and ran off with Sapphire.
"Don't be so sure about that, just come clean to him and see. That man is so into you," she said.
"He must have figured it out by now," I said sadly.
"I know you've been rejecting his call, you should talk to him. What are you so afraid of?
"I don't know," I said with a shrug.
"Talk to him, I'm very sure he is not going anywhere," she stressed. "Team Toby was a bust so I'm rooting for Aiden now." She finished packing in no time and then I escorted her to the car where we exchanged teary goodbyes.
I took Sapphire's advice and picked up Aiden's call so we planned to meet later that evening at his place for privacy. I took my time getting dressed in a comfy flannel dress shirt and white sneakers. I styled my hair and did a minimal make-up look then headed for the door.
"Good evening my lady, you look ravishing tonight," he said, giving a dramatic bow and then straightening to peck me on both cheeks.
"Good evening and thank you. You don't look too bad yourself," I said, entering his apartment. "This place smells divine." I settled on the couch and watched him in the kitchen as he hovered over the pots and pans that were lined up on the stove.
"Dinner would be ready in a few minutes mademoiselle," he said in a funny accent.
"Is that supposed to be an Italian or a French accent," I laughed?
"Whichever the lady prefers," he said with a wink.
Dinner continues like that even after he serves me the most exquisite spaghetti and meatballs. The atmosphere is light and airy punctuated with his jokes and my embarrassing laughter that has a few snorts thrown in. I see his eyes take note of my untouched glass of wine but he doesn't say a thing and only takes one glass.
"Are you ready to tell me what the problem is?" He finally asked.
"I'm pregnant," I blurt.
"Congratulations are in order then, that's not a problem," he said. I try to gauge what he feels but his congratulations seem genuine.
"Well, Toby doesn't seem to think the same. To him, it's a problem that can be solved with a quick fix," I scoffed.
"He wants you to get an abortion?" He clenched his hand that was on the table when I nodded.
"What do you want?" He asked softly.
"I want to be the best mother ever," I answered.
"You'll have your wish and I'm here to support you all the way."
Aiden has remained true to his words and has been very supportive of me in the weeks that have followed. I'm very close to my twelfth-week ultrasound appointment and Aiden has been trying to convince me to get the all-clear to travel from my doctor.
"Just ask him if you can travel, you should be able to but it says here that it's different for every pregnancy," he said to me over the phone." If he says you can then ask him how far along you'd be able to travel."
"I haven't agreed to anything yet Mr," I said as I strolled into the hospital.
"Just ask, I'd have been there to ask myself but somebody bounced me."
"It would just be suspicious having you here, "I said. I felt guilty turning him down but it was for the best.
"I'm your husband's cousin, I don't think so."
"Maybe next time."
"Yh, I'll talk to you later. There's something that needs my attention right now."
"Okay, bye." I can hear his secretary's voice and papers shuffling before the line goes dead.
In the car on my way back home after a successful appointment, I'm fiddling with my phone when a message drops from Aiden.
"How's our little bean doing," I read.
"He's doing fine," I replied. My phone starts ringing almost immediately and I picked it up.
"He? Is that what the doctor said?" He asked.
"Nope, it's just my hunch."
"What did he say about our travel plans?"
"What travel plans?" I asked because the last time I checked we hadn't made any plans yet.
"You know what I mean, can you travel?"
"Yes, from now to up to thirty-six weeks but he advised that it would be best if I travelled at about fourteen to thirty weeks."
"Just hear me out then, I'll send you some links to various locations, take your pick and we'll be there in two weeks."
"This is crazy," I said with a wide grin forming on my face.
"You deserve this, please let me give you a treat. If you are scared of us having a scandal on our hands I promise to make it as discreet as possible."
"Let's see," I said but at this point, I was halfway convinced.
The moment I cut the call, messages began to pop up. I got down from the car with a wide smile on my face as I went through the messages. Among the suggestions were local and international destinations. I cheesed hard because he was so sweet, each destination was specifically chosen to suit me.
The smile got wiped off my face so fast when I stepped into our apartment to find Toby lounging on the sofa. He looked stressed, his jacket had been discarded along with his tie and his hair looked like he'd been running his hands through it for days.
"Can we talk?" He asked.