Mchapter2

His mind wandered again. He remembered back to one month after prom night. Christi had called him on a Saturday night, sounding panicked.

�Uh, Josh?� she�d said.

�Yes, sweetie? Are you ok? What�s wrong?� Josh questioned as he wondered if she was all right.

�Um, well, I think I might be pregnant, Josh,� Christi choked out.

�What? Woah. Are you sure? How do you know?� Josh asked, sounding panicked too.

�Well, my period never came this month and I never miss it. And, Josh, we didn�t use any protection that night,� Christi reminded him.

�Shit,� was all Josh could say. They�d only made love once - on prom night. After that, they�d fooled around a little, but hadn�t had sex again. So prom night was the only possibility.

�Josh? Are you still there?� she asked.

�Yeah, I�m here. We should go to the doctor to make sure you really are pregnant, right?� Josh asked, trying to think clearly.

�Um, I do have a sample of a pregnancy test somewhere around here. But I want you with me when I find out,� she whispered, her voice wavering.

�Ok, I�ll be right over, sweetheart,� Josh assured her, �is anyone home?�

�Uh, Chris is, but he had some friends over,� she told him.

�Ok, I�ll be there in a minute,� Josh said, waiting until she said goodbye to hang up and rush to his car.

****

Josh was again brought out of his thoughts. This time it was the phone.

�Hello?� Josh said.

�Hey Josh, what�s up?� his best friend Joey greeted him happily. Joey had been his only friend before he�d met Christi. He�d stayed by Josh through everything.

�I just sent my daughter off to the prom with Justin,� Josh answered, sighing.

�Timberlake? I hear he�s a great kid. And don�t worry, Josh. I�m sure they will be careful,� Joey assured him, reading his mind.

�How�d you know?� Josh asked

�Well, I just assumed you�d be worried about Leah getting pregnant� you know�� Joey said.

�Yeah, I am, I mean I was, but I talked to Justin and he�ll be careful,� Josh said, trying to convince himself of that.

�You talked to him? What�d you said? What�d he do?� Joey asked, laughing. Josh proceeded to tell Joey about his conversation with Justin and how embarrassed Justin had been when he was done. Joey had laughed some more and asked him to meet him the next day to hang out before they hung up the phone. Josh wondered what crazy plan Joey would come up with for their day tomorrow before shifting his thoughts back to the past. He was sure that whatever it was, it would be a lot of fun.

****

The night Josh had gotten the panicked phone call from Christi had been another of the best nights in his life. He�d gone over to her house after hanging up and she met him at the door with a sweet kiss. She thanked him for coming as she pulled him inside. They went into the large bathroom off of her bedroom. Josh paced while Christi just stood there and watched, amused.

�Nervous?� she asked, her eyes sparkling, although she was very nervous herself.

�You think?� he joked, but then looked into her eyes and said in a much softer tone, �more nervous than I�ve ever been in my entire life.�

�Me too,� she agreed, �ok, let�s do this.� Josh left the room while she took the test, not wanting to make her even more nervous with his pacing.

�Ok, Josh, come here,� Christi said, peaking her head into her room where Josh had frozen in mid-pace. �It�s ready.� He walked slowly over to her with the question in his eyes. �I haven�t looked at it yet,� she said, pointing to where it sat on the counter. When he gave her a confused look, she explained, �I wanted us to find out at the same time.�

They joined hands and walked over to the counter. It was upside down. �Blue means yes, red means no,� she said before flipping it over.

Blue.

Tears filled Josh�s eyes as he realized what it meant. He was going to be a father. Christi looked over to see how Josh was reacting and her heart exploded when she saw the smile and joyful tears on his face.

�I love you,� he mouthed, pulling her close and kissing her. He�d then promised to be there for her through everything. And he had.

****

He heard a knock at the door and jolted in surprise. He noticed that he�d been sitting thinking for two hours since Leah had left. He wondered how she was doing, but then realized that someone was at the door when they knocked again. He opened the door to see Joey behind it.

�Um, hi. What�s up, Joe?� Josh asked, wondering why he was there since they�d just made plans for tomorrow.

�Hey, I brought a movie. I hope that�s ok. I was bored out of my mind and I figured that you�d be sulking without Leah here. Or do you have a hot date here?� Josh joked, pretending to look around to see if Josh had company.

�Haha, very funny,� Josh said, �a movie sounds good. It�s too quiet in here without Leah.�

�Yeah, I knew it. It�s not like she�s gone forever. Justin will take care of her, now stop worrying. She�s such a great girl, Josh, you�ve done an awesome job,� Joey said sincerely.

�Thanks, Joey,� Josh replied, sinking down into his comfy couch, readying himself to watch the movie. But even as it started, he buried himself in his thoughts once again.

****

Josh remembered how many times he�d had to do things for Christi during her pregnancy. Not that he minded, though. He�d brought her to all her doctors� appointments, soothed her when she was so tired from morning sickness, and went out to buy whatever she craved. Christi�s parents had even bought them an apartment to live in together, and Josh had decorated the baby�s room to surprise Christi.

He remembered the day he�d shown it to her. He�d worked on it, taking time off from his job. He�d obviously graduated from high school soon after prom and wasn�t planning to go off to college until Christi graduated the next year. He�d spent hours in the baby�s room, making it just right. He�d gone shopping with Christi, having her point out her favorite crib, other furniture, toys, and outfits. Then he�d gone back out without her and bought them. He�d had so much fun doing the job and even more fun showing it to her.

****

�Josh? Um, hello? Are you in there?� Joey asked, wondering what was up with his friend as he waved his hand in front of Josh�s face.

�What?� Josh said finally, shaking the thoughts from his head and focusing his eyes on Joey�s confused but curious gaze.

�Woah, man, what�s that deal? You ok?� Joey questioned, trying to get Josh to explain.

�Uh, yeah. I�m fine. Just thinking,� Josh said, dismissing the question with a wave of his hand. Joey gave him a doubtful look.

�Thinking? What about? It must have been heavy. That was some daze you had going,� Joey replied, his voice obviously holding worry as he spoke.

Josh sighed. Joey would press and bug him until he told. He�d learned early on to just give in and tell Joey. Unless he wanted to argue for a few hours. And he wasn�t in the mood to argue with Joey. But he also wasn�t sure he wanted to discuss Christi with Joey right then.

�I�m really ok. I just don�t want to talk about it right now, Joey,� Josh responded, trying to get his friend to drop the conversation.

But Joey, staying true to his ways, kept bugging. Just as Josh was to the point where he�d ask Joey to leave, Joey asked softly, �it�s about Christi, isn�t it?�

�Yeah, actually it is. How�d you know?� Josh asked, hoping the sulking he was doing on the inside wasn�t too obvious on the outside.

�You forget, my man, that I�ve known you since you came to this town, how many years ago? Well, that doesn�t matter. You�ve had moments like this before. And we�ve always gotten through it together, right?� Joey explained.

�Yeah, I know. Is the hurt ever going to go away, Joe?� Josh asked, suddenly feeling like he was going to cry.

�It will eventually. Just give it some more time, C. It�s ok,� Joey said soothingly as he noticed how close to tears Josh was. Joey grabbed Josh and pulled him into his arms in a tight, comforting hug.

Josh loved receiving hugs from Joey; they always made him feel better� and loved.

Joey looked down a few minutes later. Josh was still in his arms, but he�d fallen asleep. He looked so angelic. His newly grown mane of hair was sticking in every direction. Joey brushed a few strands out of Josh�s face and sighed. It would be a long night.