AUTHOR'S NOTE-

This is another favorite of mine. Please leave feedback!

The Confusing Tragedy

A light dusting of snow had fallen upon the city, a prelude of the major storm that was scheduled to hit us later. Tonight's blizzard did have good timing though as it was the beginning of the weekend and all my husband and I planned on doing was cuddling up by the fire with popcorn and my favorite sherpa blanket. But I had to endure the twenty-degree weather for thirty seconds as I rushed inside.

"Honey, I'm home!" I tugged off my peacoat and boots and hung it on the coat rack by the door. Instead of a voice greeting me, it was a speaker loudly playing rap music and Adam rapping along.

The smell of garlic lured me into the kitchen and saw him cooking dinner. Garlic bread was in the oven, a pot of pasta was boiling alongside a separate pot of cooking marinara sauce.

I snuck up behind, my steps soft and quiet and I grabbed his shoulders and shouted into his ear. Adam - who always laughs whenever he jumps-scares me and makes fun of me for being scared so easily - screamed like a little girl.

His muscles relaxed when he noticed it was just me and not a serial killer who found their way into the house. He dramatically grabbed his chest as he was trying to catch his breath.

"Hey, thanks for that heart attack. I really appreciate it."

I responded with a one-shoulder, nonchalant shrug. "Anytime."

The corners of his lips tilted upward as he held me closer. Our foreheads were touching and he captured my lips in a kiss, his hands traveling down dangerously close to my butt. "Welcome home, Sexy Ginge." Sexy Ginger. That had been my nickname since college when we first started dating. I was insecure about my red hair, but he thought it was the sexiest part of me. "Put a movie on for us?" He asked in a low voice.

"What kind of movie are you in the mood for?"

Adam's hands reached further down and cupped my ass. "Surprise me." With a wink, he turned back around and proceeded to prepare my favorite dinner. I couldn't wipe the growing smile off my face. I'd been keeping this news from him for a week and there was no way I could keep from him any longer.

"I'm pregnant."

The wooden spoon that he was using to stir the pasta dropped into the pot, his muscles visibly tensed and he, slowly, turned around to face me. We'd been trying to have a baby pretty much since our wedding night.

He has a big family, four younger brothers and one sister and so do I, two younger brothers and one older sister. Having big families made us want to have a big family of our own, but a fertility issue was an obstacle.

Adam and I had been to doctor appointments and I'd been taking medication. I'd been pregnant before and miscarried within the first four months. We considered adoption. Saving a kid from growing up in foster care sounded appealing to us, but we wanted a baby with our own DNA. Our hope started wavering.

Until now.

"I've known for a week, but I wanted to go to the doctor to confirm it wasn't a false positive before I told you. That's where I actually went. Not my sister's."

He remained silent. There was a ninety-nine percent chance that the noodles were over cooked by now.

"Our prayers have been answered, baby. And if we keep praying, perhaps we'll get to hold him or her in-" I was cut off by Adam holding me with a bone-crushing grip.

Tears started to pool up in my eyes when I heard him sniffle and felt his shoulders shake. His body was now racked with sobs. He pulled away, but only to kiss me hard, like our little world would shatter if he let go. We stayed in this position for what felt like an eternity, listening to our sniffles and just holding each other in our arms.

"Is this real?" Adam finally found his words to say. I held onto him a little tighter, tight enough that I was cutting off his air circulation. He didn't seem to mind.

"This is real, Adam. We're finally getting a baby."

"If we lose this one-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there. Don't put any bad juju into the universe." All I was doing was setting us up for disappointment. Being too optimistic and keeping our hopes high, but I didn't want to think like that. Everyone experiences, at least, one miracle in their lives. This one was ours. "We just gotta keep praying that this is the baby that makes it through."

I felt him nod before he pulled away. "You're right. I'm sorry. I just-"

"I get it. I get it." Our fingers intertwined. We heard nothing but the refrigerator running and the pot of noodles boiling. Which reminded me. "Honey?"

"Yes, love?"

"Not to ruin the moment or anything, but uh... you do realize the noodles are still cooking, right?"

"Oh fuck!"

I giggled into my hands as he refocused his attention on the dinner, mumbling to himself that he was going to have to start over. The garlic bread that even I forgot was in the oven was burnt and the burned smell lingered in the air before leaving through the windows that Adam just opened.

"I'll pick out that movie."

"Don't pick out anything depressing!" Adam yelled out to me as I was on my way to the living room.

"I would never!"

"Excuse me? You made me rewatch A Walk To Remember last time. We both cried ourselves to sleep!"

"Your point being?" Our bickering was cut short when the doorbell rang. Adam and I exchanged confused glances because neither of us were expecting anyone to come over.

Regardless, I answered the door to find two police officers standing on my front porch.

Even though I didn't do anything wrong, I still felt a twinge in my stomach. It was like the feeling you got when you get pulled over and your mind was going a million miles per minute. Were you speeding? Did you run a stoplight? Stop sign? Did you run over someone and didn't realize it and they considered it a hit and run? Did a child sneak into my car? Did they think I kidnapped them?

I covered up my nerves by clearing my throat. "Good evening, officers. Can I help you?" My distress was too noticeable.

"You didn't do anything wrong, ma'am."

I breathed out a sigh of relief. "Okay. What seems to be the problem?"

One of them, the taller one, took off his hat and hid his hands behind his back. "Ma'am, we hate to be the ones to tell you this but uh... your husband passed away."

Now I knew this was a prank. A neighbor called a relative of theirs that was a cop and paid them to be a part of this elaborate prank. It was a stupid one, but it was elaborate. The neighbor should take their money back. "Very funny, officers. But, with all due respect, shouldn't you be out there catching criminals, thieves, serial killers and rapists instead of wasting your time with these pranks?"

The shorter, mustached cop furrowed his brows at his partner who also looked puzzled. "Ma'am, unfortunately, this isn't a prank."

"Yes, it is. Because my husband is inside cooking dinner." I gestured my thumb toward the kitchen where Adam was pouring a new batch of noodles into the pot of boiling water and smearing garlic spread onto a second pan of bread.

"Who is it, love?"

Both of the cops widened their eyes and muttered curse words under their breath.