“You might be left with my hair, but you’ll have your mother’s eyes. I’ll hold your body in my hands, be as gentle as I can, now you’re a scan of my unmade plans…”


Marie ran through the front door, dropped her bags in the kitchen, and bolted for the bedroom as quickly as she could. Marco wasn’t yet home from his three game road trip, but she knew he would be soon. And that’s why she was moving so fast. The entire day had been spent researching and running errands. Phone calls had been made and questions had been asked and all she could do now was wait.

But the waiting was the worst part. Marie had spent the first weeks of December waiting, and now she just wanted answers. But finding out those answers was just as nerve-wracking as the waiting. For the past few weeks, Marco had enjoyed life in the way he was used to living it. He liked to get all dressed up and go out; spend time with his friends and not have to worry about anything other than his average time on the ice.

And Marie enjoyed that too because it took a lot of the pressure off their relationship. Marco’s constantly changing schedule kept them from arguing about most things. Marie knew the conditions of dating him; knew that if she wanted to be with him, she’d be forced to accept his schedule. It also enabled them to cut a lot of the bullshit that surrounded other couples their age.

Amidst the start of a worrisome December, today called for some happiness. Today was the day that Marie would be able to officially declare herself an adult rather than a teenager. Twenty was hardly an important birthday in America though. It was still too young to legally drink, but should her country call upon her, she was eligible for the draft. Ultimately, she felt she’d be a hindrance to her country’s military, and they’d probably be better off without her in it. Either way today marked the closing of the age gap between her and Marco. They were still four years apart, and come February, they’d be five years apart again, but at least for awhile they could minimize the difference.

It’d still be a few hours before Marco would walk through the door. And all that time just gave Marie more of a chance to think about what would happen between them. He’d only be in town for three games before heading back on the road, and it was frightening to think what could happen after tonight.

Now on winter break, Marie was preparing for starting next semester at the University of Minnesota. Her classes had been picked and paid for, which nearly broke her checking account. Marco had offered to pay for it, but while he was out of town, she fronted the money and saw her account balance diminish considerably.

She must’ve fallen asleep. It was the only explanation for the reason she jolted upright in bed when she heard Marco calling for her. She ran out to find him in the kitchen, a bouquet of roses in one hand and an oversized cupcake in the other. A quick chuckle escaped her and she padded up to him to give him a tight hug and deep kiss.

“Happy birthday pretty mama,”

“Thank you,” she took the roses from his hand and buried her nose in them. One of few the items she had brought over from her apartment was a vase, and she took it out, placing the bouquet in it and then filled it halfway up with water.

Marco set the cupcake on the counter and opened up the plastic for Marie. She pulled two forks out of a drawer and handed one to him before she dug into the chocolate frosting. After she took the first bite, he took a piece too. “Looks like you went shopping today,”

Marie looked at the countertop, which was practically covered with bags from various stores. He looked through a few of the bags, curious as to what was in them. All the while Marie stayed pretty enthralled and consumed with her cupcake. It was the perfect way to end a pretty stressful day.

“Marie,”

She looked up and felt her heart drop into her stomach. Marco was looking in the least glamorous of all the bags. It was from a convenient store in Minneapolis and as soon as she noticed he was looking through it, she wanted to just about die.

“Is there something you want to tell me?”

Marie peeked past her eyelids which she had subconsciously squeezed shut. When she looked at Marco, he was already holding up the three different home pregnancy tests she’d bought today.

“I’m two weeks late…”

Marco dropped the tests on the counter and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath simultaneously. He pressed his hands up to his eyes and paused to compose himself. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier,”

She shrugged and chewed on her bottom lip. There was no right answer to that question. No matter what she said, it’d sound like an excuse.

“Guess you should take these then, and we’ll figure out what to do from there,”

“Sorry,” she whispered, reaching forward to pick up the bag.

“You shouldn’t be the one apologizing…”

Marie looked up at him and pursed her lips. She didn’t know what else to say, so she just skulked off to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Out of all the ways she imagined spending her twentieth birthday, this wasn’t one of them. She never could’ve anticipated being locked in the bathroom and peeing onto plastic sticks.

After tearing open the first box, Marie looked down at the device. It was simple enough, nothing too intensive. So she peed on the first one, and then the second, and then the third. She placed each one in a row on the sink and figured in three to five minutes, she’d know if she was “with child”.

She pulled open the bathroom door and felt a small smile creep across her lips at what she saw across the room. Marco was sat up against the wall, his dress shirt now untucked from his slacks, his tie loosened around his neck, and his hair skewed in different directions. The sight was almost too much for her, and she tiptoed up to him and sunk down at his side. He lifted his arm and Marie worked herself beneath it and curled into his side.

“Are you as scared as I am?” Marie whispered, burying her face into the base of his neck.

Marco pressed his lips to the side of her head, “will it comfort you if I say yes?” He pulled away and looked down at her as she shook her head, “then no, not afraid at all.”

Marie laughed quietly and peeked up at him. He looked like a total mess, but it meant so much that he was still here. He could’ve bolted the moment he found the tests, but instead as disheveled as he looked, he was still there.

“Whatever those tests say, we’ll figure it out. Together,”

“This is not what I thought I’d be doing on my birthday. I thought I’d be having fun with you and eating delicious food…”

“The cupcake was delicious…” he blurted out.

“I thought I’d be drinking. I thought I’d have years to drink. I thought bringing a child into this world and making it have to deal with my crazy ass family was an awful idea. And I still think that.”

“I want to have kids with you, Marie.” He could tell it caught her a little off guard and he felt that if he stopped talking now, he wouldn’t be able to pick it back up again. “I want to be a parent. I’ve been thinking about it since your sister brought it up. And I love you, and we’re serious,”

“But I’m only twenty… barely,” she choked back a breath. “I can’t have kids yet. I hardly know what I’m doing with myself. And you and me… there’s no social contract binding us. You could leave and…”

He squeezed her shoulders and brought her closer to his chest, “I’m not planning on leaving. Listen, whatever those tests say, I’m gonna be right here. And I’m not going anywhere. You’re going to have to deal with me,”

Marie reached up and cupped his cheeks, getting closer in order to kiss him softly. She wiggled out of his arms and stood up, gulping down her nerves as she walked back to the bathroom. Marco stayed put, trying to gauge her reaction, but she stayed pretty stoic as she looked at the results and carried one test back to him.

She sat back down and handed the test to him, breaking out into quiet sobs. He kissed the side of her head again, trying to be reassuring and then looked down at the plastic device, “and the other ones?”

“Three out of three,” she murmured, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck.

---

It took a stronger person than Marie to resist a hockey game where her boyfriend played the team she grew up supporting. Of course it also took a stronger person than Marie to forego seeing her boyfriend when he played just one city over.

Ultimately Marco and the Wild lost to the Bruins in overtime, which was a particularly hard pill to swallow. While they didn’t have a extraordinarily intense rivalry, not many teams around the league could say they liked the Bruins. And so losing to them on home ice was like being punched when they were already down.

She waited for him in the hallway, as per their usual routine. They’d only have a few brief minutes with each other before the team was called in for a meeting. But after that, they’d be able to go home together before whole cycle started back up again.

“Hey pretty mama,” he uttered after having just exited the locker room.

“Hey daddy,” she replied, holding her arms out to hug him. While they embraced, she ran her hand up and down his back, trying to soothe him through the tough loss. When they parted, Marie noticed how tired he looked. Between the traveling and the fact that neither of them had gotten much sleep after finding out she was pregnant, Marco looked like he needed a good thirty-six hour nap. “You played well,”

“You have to say that… I impregnated you,” he smiled and buried his face into her neck, taking a deep breath in. “Yeo’s freaking out. Anymore bad games and I think he’s gonna snap,”

“Scandy!”

Marie looked to the left as Marco pulled away from her. Poking his head out of the locker room was Coach Yeo, and Marie instantly felt sorry for Marco, who’d have to retreat into the madness. “I love you,” she whispered, getting on her tiptoes to peck his lips quickly before allowing him to take the wrath of his coach.

It wasn’t until she heard Mike Yeo’s voice from inside the room, screaming as loud as he possibly could, that she realized the severity of the situation. She figured the guys would need time to collect themselves before talking to anyone, and so she headed towards Marco’s car. It was probably the safest place she could be. Anywhere closer to Yeo, and he might lash out at her too.

She leaned against the car door with her arms folded and watched as people filed to their cars after the long night of working at the arena. Finally she saw Zach, but instead of making any indication he’d seen her, he walked with his head hanging and quietly slipped into his car.

As more of the team retreated to their cars, Marie could tell they all looked like they’d just gotten their asses handed to them. Marco was no exception, and he walked to his car with his hands stuffed in his pockets, just keeping to himself. When he spotted Marie, his expression lightened a little bit but she could tell he was equally frustrated.

He cleared his throat and walked around to open the car door for her. Within a few moments, Marie realized they weren’t heading in the direction of his condo and she waited patiently to see where they were going. Wherever it was, she’d have to break the news to him that she’d be flying to Connecticut for Christmas.

Marco eventually pulled up to a coffee shop tucked in between a bookstore and a high-end clothing store. Marie followed him in, partially surprised to see the shop was pretty empty. Although it was later in the night, she expected at least a few other people to be sitting around.

But with an abundance of space, she moseyed over to a table and sat down as Marco ordered their coffee. He came to the table clutching a ceramic mug in either hand and groaned as he sat down as if his bones were aching him. She wasn’t really sure what to say, as she wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk about hockey just to get things off his chest.

“Christmas is coming up…” he took a sip of his coffee and flicked his eyes up to meet hers. She was caught off guard by his comment and took a moment to process it. “You going to see your mom?”

“Yeah I haven’t told her I’m carrying her grandchild yet… I thought it might be a good time. You know, Christmas cheer and all.” Marie took a sip of her coffee, “I checked your schedule… you have a few days off for the holiday. I was hoping you’d meet me in New Haven.”

“Your mom’s already not a huge fan of mine. I don’t think she’d appreciate me now being your baby daddy. Maybe you should just go alone,”

“Marco,” she reached across the table and held onto his hand. “I want to spend Christmas with you,”

“But I wanted to go to church…”

“There’s churches in Connecticut,” Marie jutted out her bottom lip to pout. “Please baby,”

He took a deep breath and squeezed her fingers gently. When their eyes met again, Marie knew she had him. He’d grant her wishes and join her for the holidays. As scared as she was about breaking the news to her mom, she knew that with Marco by her side, it’d make everything a little bit easier.

Notes

"Small Bump" by Ed Sheeran.

Hooray for summer! I have a bunch of chapters for this story on reserve, so you can expect a chapter every couple days instead of every week! :)