"Why does he cry when I hold him, Evie?" Alexander asked, completely baffled.
"Because you barely spend time with him. To him, you're like a stranger. Of course he cries!" Evelyn replied.
Alexander frowned. "He used to laugh when I held him as a baby."
"As a baby? Is he old now?"
"I mean when he was one or two months old!"
"Back then, he didn't know how to tell people apart. Anyone could hold him. He wasn't scared of strangers!"
"Don't be so harsh, Evie," Alexander muttered.
He then tried everything to make his son smile.
After a long cry, the boy finally stopped. He stared at the funny man with wide eyes.
From that day on, Alexander came home from work, showered first, then held his wife and son.
He called it bonding.
Sometimes he came home late. His son was already asleep. He'd still pick him up, hold him for a few minutes, then put him back in the crib. The boy would continue sleeping without waking.
Evelyn was completely speechless at this stubborn man.
Time flew. Their son turned one.
He could already say a few words.
He could call everyone in the family. But he couldn't say "Daddy" properly.
It came out as "Poo-poo!"
Every time Evelyn heard her son call Alexander "Poo-poo," she couldn't help laughing.
Alexander was frustrated but patient. He kept correcting his son's pronunciation.
"Son, it's Daddy, not Poo-poo!"
"Poo-poo!"
"Daddy," Alexander stressed.
"Poo-poo!"
After several rounds, Alexander gave up.
He had said "Daddy" a hundred times. His son still insisted on "Poo-poo!"
Finally, Alexander stared at his son and asked in defeat, "I'm so smart. How did I end up with such a silly son?"
"Are you saying my IQ is low?" Evelyn turned around and shot back.
"Of course not, Evie. Your IQ is three hundred!"
"Yours is two hundred and fifty!" Evelyn said with a smile, then went back to her work.
She left the father-son battle for them to sort out.
One day, Evelyn checked the date. Her period was supposed to come on the twenty-fifth. Today was the first. Nothing had happened. Could she be pregnant again?
So she took a pregnancy test. The result was positive.
Evelyn thought about telling Alexander the good news. But she decided to wait until she went to the hospital for a blood test to confirm.
That night, as she was about to sleep, Evelyn changed her mind. She wanted to tell him now.
Alexander was already pestering her.
Evelyn covered his mouth. "I have something to tell you."
"Later," he said playfully.
"No, it's important!" she protested.
"Fine." Alexander stopped and looked at her, waiting.
"I'm pregnant," Evelyn said shyly.
"What?" Alexander didn't react at first.
"I said I'm pregnant!" Evelyn repeated, a little annoyed.
Alexander froze. He seemed unable to process the news.
"What's that look? Are you scared?" Evelyn asked, confused.
"No. I mean, we weren't planning for a second child yet," Alexander said, coming back to his senses.
"Yes, but we weren't using protection either," Evelyn replied.
"Didn't the doctor say it would be hard for you to get pregnant again?" Alexander blurted out.
That's why he hadn't bothered with protection. He didn't want another baby so soon. It would take away from his time with Evelyn.
"What did you say?" Evelyn froze. She sat up, turned on the light, and stared at him.
Alexander realized he had slipped up. He sat up too and explained, "When you gave birth to Evan, you lost a lot of blood. The doctor said it might be difficult for you to conceive again. I always thought we'd only have Evan."
"No one told me!" Evelyn said, shocked.
"We didn't want you to worry. That's why we kept it from you," Alexander replied.
He felt like kicking himself.
"So what now? Is the test wrong?" Evelyn asked, looking at him.
"It shouldn't be. This is good news. It means the doctor was wrong. There's nothing wrong with you," Alexander quickly reassured her.
"No, let's go to the hospital now. I want a blood test," Evelyn said, still uneasy.
She wasn't worried about anything else. Just the test being wrong. As Alexander said, it was supposed to be hard for her to get pregnant again.
"Honey, it's midnight. The doctors are off duty. The ER doesn't do this kind of test. Let's go tomorrow morning," Alexander coaxed.
Evelyn looked at him. After a moment, she nodded.
It was late. Even though she was anxious, she had to wait.
She barely slept all night. Alexander stayed awake with her.
Evelyn was worried she might never have a second child.
Alexander was worried that if the test was wrong, Evelyn wouldn't be able to handle the disappointment.
They both had different thoughts. They both stayed awake until dawn.
When they got up, they didn't say much. But there was an unspoken understanding between them.
Alexander walked into the bathroom. He saw Evelyn standing in front of the sink. She looked a little lonely.
He came over, wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
"Evelyn, even if we never have a second child, my heart will always belong to you."
"But you've always wanted more children. You wanted a lively home," Evelyn said, a little down.
"I do like children. I do want a lively home. But none of that matters compared to you," Alexander replied.
Evelyn looked at him. She didn't say anything.
The hospital test confirmed it. Evelyn was really pregnant.
The doctor had only said it would be difficult for her to conceive again. He never said it was impossible.
So they were just lucky.
Outside the hospital, Evelyn smiled. But tears still welled up in her eyes.
"Silly girl, I told you not to worry," Alexander said, hugging her shoulders.
"But I like children too!" Evelyn retorted.
"Aren't I enough for you?" Alexander grumbled, already jealous of the child who would compete for her attention.