Star-Crossed Lovers

Candace tried not to let the situation consume her, but that was easier said than done. There were too many things to think about. And when she did let her mind wander, it felt like her head would explode at the sheer amount of thoughts racing around it.

Sam texted her the next day and asked how she was feeling. She took it as a good sign. The thought of never seeing him again had occurred to her more than once. That thought alone was enough to nearly send her into hysterics.

Her mom had tried making plans with her, but she told her she was busy with work. Candace was nowhere near ready to have that conversation with her mother. Rather than completely lying to her, she decided to throw herself back into her work. She needed to make up appointments she had missed the weekend they spent in Gatlinburg and the weekend prior anyway. She also reasoned it would help take her mind off things.

Wednesday, she scheduled an appointment with her ob-gyn. They wouldn't see her until she was at least 8 weeks pregnant. Standard protocol, they said. That was still a good 3 weeks away, from Candace's calculations. She had finally looked at the calendar to see when her last period had started.

She got lucky later that day, though. Candace took her chances at the Minute Clinic. She explained her situation and was given anti-nausea medication. She was already feeling better by the time Sam texted her that evening, though that made her stomach do flips in other ways.

"Hey. Feeling any better?"

"Actually, I am. The gracious lady at the Minute Clinic today took pity on me and prescribed some anti-nausea medicine."

"That's good news. I've been worried about you."

Candace wasn't sure how to reply.

"You have?"

It took him a few minutes to answer back.

"Can we talk?"

Her fingers sent "sure", but her heart and brain didn't feel onboard 100%. Her phone started vibrating within a matter of seconds.

"Hi." Even she noticed her voice grow softer. She still didn't know whether Sam had figured out that

he

was her weakness.

"Hey, babe," he also spoke quietly. "Glad to hear the medicine they gave you is helping. I

have

been worried about you. I hate not being able to check on you in person."

There was an awkward silence.

"I want to apologize for not calling sooner. I'd like to say I was busy with work, but the truth is, I was being a chicken shit."

"It's ok. I've been trying to wrap my head around the whole thing too," Candace laughed nervously.

"Well, I don't feel ok about it," he paused.

"Are we ok?" she ventured.

"Yeh, of course. Does that mean you're not mad at me?"

A smile found its way to her lips. She thought it was cute when his accent came out thicker than normal.

"Why would I be mad at you? Because you didn't call right away? I love you more than that. It's a lot to take in." There was another pause in their conversation.

"I am mad at myself, though. But there's no going back now. You know that, right?" Candace let him infer the meaning of her words. She couldn't bring herself to say the word.

"Yes, of course. It never even crossed my mind. I would NEVER ask you to do that."

Candace's eyes started to water. She was growing tired of getting so emotional lately. She knew the hormones were partly to blame, but still.

"And please stop blaming yourself. Shit happens, Candace. This doesn't change anything between us, does it?" he asked hopefully.

"No. I hope not. I'm pretty sure this isn't what you had in mind when you said 'whatever's meant to be will happen', though," she laughed caustically. Oh, the irony of his words now.

"Candace..." he paused, sighing. "I think everything happens for a reason. Don't you?"

"I suppose...How did you get so laid back?" she smiled to herself.

"I'm an Aussie. It's in our blood," he laid on his thick accent again. They both laughed.

"So, did you call a doctor yet?"

"Ugh. Yes. They won't see me until the end of July. Something about having to be at least 8 weeks along. I guess there's less chance of a miscarriage by then. You know, as if I didn't have enough to worry about already."

"That's messed up."

"Yah, I thought so too."

"So what date? I want to come with you."

This caught Candace off-guard.

"You do?"

"Well, you didn't very well knock yourself up, now did you?" he chuckled.

"No, but I hadn't planned on asking you to come. It probably won't be a big deal anyway," she tried to play it off.

"I know you weren't. That's why I brought it up. I want to be there for you, Candace."

She appreciated his sentiment, of course, but she also remembered something he had told her several weeks ago.

"What about your visit with your parents?"

"Just give me the damn date," Sam laughed, but she knew he was getting flustered with her.

"July 27th," she sighed.

"There. Was that so hard?" he teased.

There was another pause before Candace spoke again.

"I'm really glad you called."

"Sorry again I didn't call sooner. I wish I could visit sooner."

"I know. Me too. Maybe I'll come visit you when work calms down in a couple of months."

"Yeh?" Sam's voice tilted up.

"Yah," Candace smiled to herself. "I usually get a little break at the end of August between senior pictures and fall photos."

"I would like that."

"You just have to promise me one thing."

"What's that?" she imagined his smile on the other end.

"You have to take me to the beach at least once."

Sam laughed. "I think I can manage that."

"We can talk about it more when you come next month."

"So you're going to let me come?"

"I can't stop you, can I?" she smirked. "Hey," she suddenly had an idea. "Can you try to get out of the Stone Age, Mr.Caveman, and get Zoom or Facebook so we can do a face-to-face chat next time? I don't think I can go weeks without seeing your face." She was probably asking a lot. She knew he hated social media. And he was like an old man when it came to using his phone or the internet.

Sam laughed. "For you, anything. I love you, baby. Take care of yourself, and that little peanut."

Candace walked around the airport terminal anxiously, waiting for Sam to get off his plane. She was too nervous to sit. Her apprehension had been growing all week, ever-present in the back of her mind.

What if things are different between us now?

she couldn't help but wonder.

They had gotten back to normal over their phone calls quickly after they had both come to terms with the whole baby situation. Candace had even been able to talk Sam into doing Zoom calls with her. They chatted every few days and still texted each other the days they didn't. She would never admit it to her mother, but hers and Sam's relationship felt more real, in a way, after he left. Still, that lingering pit of worry grew inside of her.

She knew Sam would be walking through the exit she waiting near any minute. The board said his plane had arrived 15 minutes ago. Candace tried not to pace near the huge windows overlooking the runways without much success. A few minutes later, a horde of travelers started streaming through the door. Sam was one of the first few out.

She watched him a moment, searching for her in the small crowd. She could already feel the smile growing on her face. His was the biggest grin she had ever seen when he locked eyes with her. He rushed over to her and lifted her feet off the floor in a big hug. Candace cried out, caught off-guard.

"Sorry. Did I hurt you?" he set her down, his happy smile replaced with a look of concern.

"No," she giggled. "Just startled me, is all."

Sam leaned in again and grabbed the back of her head, kissing her hard. She kissed him back, touching the side of his face, the face she had missed so much for the past month. It wasn't long before she felt his tongue in her mouth and her heart racing.

"We should probably continue this at home," Candace finally broke away, breathing harder than normal.

"Sorry. I missed you so much," he leaned his forehead against hers.

"I missed you too," she spoke quietly.

Sam took her hand in his.

"Lead the way."

"Don't you need to get your luggage?"

He nodded towards the backpack slung over his shoulder.

"I'm a man. I travel light," he winked.

Candace shook her head, but headed in the direction she had parked, leading him along.

"So, how have you been?" he ventured a hand over her abdomen.

Candace smiled and squeezed his hand.

What had she been worried about? Everything really was going to be ok.

They had a quick lunch at a deli on their way back to Candace's house. Sam had a hard time keeping his hands to himself there too, rubbing her thigh under the table. She raised an eyebrow at him, but smiled. Once they got home, though, all discretion went out the window.

It was almost like the night he had dropped her off from their first real date. Articles of clothing were flying everywhere once the front door was closed. Sam couldn't keep his hands off of her. Not that Candace minded. She had missed the feel of his skin on hers as much as he had evidently missed hers.

They were already naked by the time they reached her bed. It was a matter of minutes before they reached a fevered climax together. Sam rolled off of her panting, laying a hand over his chest and taking one of her hands in his other.

"I'm sorry," he breathed.

"For what?" Candace laughed a little.

"For not being very...romantic."

"Perhaps not, but it's still a turn-on that you missed me so much that you couldn't control yourself," she rolled towards him and smiled.

"Besides, I told you. I like it when you fuck me hard sometimes," she whispered in his ear. Sam jerked his head toward her, eyes wide.

"What?" Candace asked playfully.

"I don't think I've ever heard you use the 'f' word before."

"Probably not. I don't use it very often," she kissed his bare chest.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Sam's eyes got that puppy dog look of sadness.

"Did it sound like you were hurting me?" she smirked.

"No, but," he nodded his head towards her stomach.

"Oh my God," Candace rolled her eyes, rolling onto her back. "You're not going to ask me that every single time we have sex, are you? I'm pregnant, Sam, not handicapped or something."

"Well, I don't know anything about pregnancy," he rolled over and propped his upper body above hers.

"Neither do I!" she laughed. Candace took his face in her hands.

"I promise I will tell you if anything is wrong, ok?"

Sam nodded and leaned down to kiss her.

They made love all afternoon, stopping briefly to take breaks to eat and use the bathroom. It was more than Candace could have hoped for for his first visit since he went back home. She tried not to dwell on the fact that he would only be staying for a few days. He was lying in bed next to her now, and that was good enough for her.

"You know, as much as I would love to stay up longer, we should really probably go to bed soon," Candace implied her appointment that was in the morning.

"Besides, you wore me out," she smiled tiredly before kissing him.

"Sleep? It's only 7:30 my time," Sam laughed.

"Well YOU stay up as long as you want, but I'm going to sleep," she pulled the comforter over her as she rolled away from him. She felt Sam snuggle up against her outside of the blanket and began slowly running his fingers through her hair.

"You forgot something," he spoke quietly.

"What's that?"

"I love you," he kissed her neck.

"I love you too," Candace fought a yawn as he continued running his fingers through her hair.

"Ready?" Sam asked as Candace walked into the living room the next morning.

"As I'll ever be," she smiled nervously.

Evidently her apprehension was more obvious than she thought.

"Everything will be ok," Sam squeezed her hand and led her out the door.

Candace felt weird waiting with a guy at the gynecologist. She thought having Sam there would ease her nerves more than it did. She hoped it wasn't too noticeable. She didn't want him to think she didn't want him there. She did, she really did. The whole situation just seemed surreal, though. At the same time, it was like the reality of the situation was finally sinking in. She was sitting next to the man she loved more than anyone in the world. And she was going to have his baby. Well, maybe. She would find that out for sure soon enough.

"Candace?" a nurse opened the door and called her name, jarring her from her thoughts.

Candace stood up silently, Sam following close behind.

She hadn't noticed how nervous-looking Sam was until after the nurse took all of her vitals and information and left the room.

"You ok?"

"Yeh," he answered a little too enthusiastically.

Candace stifled a laugh.

"You know, I'm the one sitting up here in nothing but an ill-fitting hospital gown," she tried to lighten the mood for both of them.

"I know, I know...Is it obvious?" he grimaced.

"I wouldn't have asked otherwise," she said with a small smile.

There was a knock at the door. The doctor let himself in.

"Hey, folks. How we doin' today?" Dr.Stevens asked.

Candace had always liked him because of his bedside manner. It was hard to find any doctor with a good one nowadays. He was always so laid back, but professional at the same time. He was funny too, which helped calm her nerves.

"So I'm a little confused here. Last time you came in, we did a refill of birth control, correct? Yet here you are saying you think you're pregnant?" he teased.

"As it turns out, I picked the wrong day to forget to take a pill," Candace shrugged and laughed a little. Sam had a small smile plastered on his face, but she could tell he was struggling. The whole thing was awkward for him.

"I guess so," Dr.Stevens chuckled. "It seems like you guys are taking it well, though. Neither of you look like you're about to attend a funeral, so that's always good," he joked as he went about setting things up around the room.

"So here's what we're going to do: I'm gonna take a peek in there and confirm this baby business, ok? Now, at this stage, you can't really get a good view with traditional ultrasound machines. So I'm going to use this weird-looking thing here."

The doctor held up what could only be described as a very plain-looking dildo.

"It works just like you probably imagine it does. It has a little camera on the end. Believe it or not, it does work a lot better when those fetuses are itty bitty. I need you to scoot on down a little bit. Dad, you can come over too. Don't be scared. I don't bite."

Dr.Stevens' sense of humor seemed to finally work on Sam too. He let out a quiet laugh as he came to Candace's side.

"Alright, you're going to feel some pressure, but nothing should hurt, so let me know if it does," the doctor inserted the dildo-looking device inside of her and panned around for a few minutes while they all looked at the screen. Neither Sam nor Candace knew what they were looking for, but they looked anyway. Finally, the doctor spoke again as a small, out-of-place blob appeared on the screen.

"It definitely looks like there's a little guy or gal in there. That circle there is the gestational sac," Dr. Stevens pointed at the screen with the tip of his pen.

"And you can't make out many features yet, but that there is your fetus. There's his little head and body and you can barely see his little arms and legs sticking out," he continued pointing. Sam and Candace's eyes were glued to the screen.

The doctor manipulated some more things on the screen, which looked like he was taking a measurement.

"I'd say you're about spot on for the gestational age. I'd guess about 8 weeks, 3 days. If everything goes according to plan, you should be due around the end of January, early February. Congratulations, you two. You're going to be parents."

They finally looked at each other at the mention of the word "parents". It was like the depth and realness of the word finally hit home for both of them. They stared at each other in awe, perhaps even shock, before goofy grins broke out on their faces.

"Is this real?" Candace whispered to him, feeling silly knowing Dr.Stevens could hear her.

"Looks pretty real to me," Sam chuckled.

"He does speak!" the doctor interrupted. "I was starting to wonder," he winked at Sam.

"I'll get some pictures made up for you guys and be on my way. Be sure to stop by the desk on your way out to set up your next appointment in a month."

"Thank you," Candace replied before turning her attention back to Sam. There were so many things she wanted to say, but in private. She hoped the look she gave him conveyed at least some meaning as she mouthed the words "I love you".

"Can you believe we made this?" Candace finally allowed herself to gush as they sat on her couch together, looking at the ultrasound pictures.

"Yes and no," he answered simply and kissed her temple.

"I mean, it's weird, right?" she looked to him, waiting for a sincere answer.

"Weird that it happened or weird that we're going to be parents?" he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Either. Both. I don't know. The whole thing just still seems crazy to me," she shook her head slowly, still looking down at the images.

"I mean, I never gave much thought to having kids. I figured it would just happen when it happened," she paused. "I guess that is kind of how it happened," she laughed. "I never obsessed over it like some people do, though, ya know?"

Sam nodded pensively, waiting for her to continue.

"Now that it

has

happened, though, I can't wait. It's going to drive me crazy enough wondering whether it's a boy or a girl over the next few months," she turned to Sam again.

He was elsewhere, though. His thoughts had started drifting farther into the future than hers. He couldn't help but imagine having a son. He saw them playing in the backyard. Taking him to T-ball practice. Teaching him how to ride a bike.

"Sam?" Candace looked at him with a twinge of sadness in her eyes.

"What?" he shook his head to clear it. "I'm sorry."

"Am I overwhelming you?" she asked quietly. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I'm sorry. I'm talking a lot," she looked away from him.

"No," Sam drew out, taking her chin and pointing her face at his again. "I was just thinking about the future. That's all. I love that you're excited. I'm excited, I just have a funny way of showing it right now. My inner introvert is kind of taking over today. That's all," he patted her knee. "Just keep getting lost in my head, promise," he reassured her. Sam pulled her into his side. She leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Wanna take a nap before we go to your parents?" he asked.

"Ugh. Do we have to go?" she whined.

"Candace..."

"I know, I know," she grumbled.

It hadn't been fun, to say the least, spilling the beans to her mom the weekend after Sam left. She couldn't exactly avoid her forever. If she didn't go visit her, her mom would just stop by sooner or later.

She told her parents after dinner at their house that Saturday. Her mom knew her too well and started suspecting something before they'd even finished. Sure, the meds kept Candace from puking constantly, but she was still queasy from time to time and didn't eat much. It was one of her favorites too: Chicken fettucini alfredo with her dad's famous garlic bread. She barely ate half of her helping.

At first, her mother was shocked. But that was quickly replaced by, "I knew something was up with you!" After that came the sigh and look of disappointment.

Lucy, her mom, still didn't approve of her and Sam's relationship. Or didn't realize how serious they had gotten. Either way, Candace throwing the baby bomb on top of it all didn't help things.

To her dad's credit, all he said on the matter was "congratulations" and gave her a hug before she left. Still. She had avoided seeing or talking to her parents much since then. She already felt silly enough for getting pregnant from missing one damn pill. Candace didn't need the guilt and shame from her mom too.