Page 29 of A Layperry's Heart
Aldo holds out his hand and I realize he’s waiting for the translator. Shit. It’s in my apartment. I barely give Aldo time to grab his keys before I’m tugging him outside and towards my apartment door.
Once inside, I quickly find the translator and hand it over. Then I pull both of us over to the couch in order to sit down.
“Sorry,” I say, rubbing my fingers over Aldo’s hand which is in my lap, my other hand still clutching my bag of grapes. “I just really needed to speak with you.”
“That’s okay. Is everything alright? Whatever is going on seems really sudden and has you on edge.”
“I’m not on edge. I amexcited!”
Aldo’s shoulders relax and he breathes out in a way that makes me realize he was nervous. I guess I could have gone about this in a less stressful way but now that I know what’s going on, I can’t contain it. I need Aldo to know.
“Well then, don’t leave me in suspense. What’s going on, Gendry?”
“I have some news that I need to tell you. Don’t worry, it’s good news. The best news. I hope you’ll agree.”
Aldo pulls my hand towards his face, kissing my knuckles. “I’m listening.”
There’s no better way to break news than to be swift and to the point. No holding back. No mincing words. “Aldo. I am pregnant.”
I watch Aldo’s face, my stomach clenching as his entire body seems to lock up with shock. This whole time, all I’ve been feeling is joy but now I’m realizing that maybe this joy isn’t shared. We never talked about this. By the Ancestors, we haven’t even fully talked about whether Aldo would like to join me on my journey back to Deltourah.
Have I completely blundered this moment?
Aldo stares at our hands for a long time, processing the news. Finally, he blows out a long breath through his nose, his brown eyes darting up to meet mine.
“This isn’t something I even thought was possible,” he says, his voice achingly soft. “I think I’m in shock.”
“Oh, Aldo. I am sorry to have sprung this on you this way. I was so excited that I didn’t think about how this must be for a human. I have always known I was capable of carrying my young, every Layperry is.”
“Right,” he says, nodding his head. “You sort of told me that when you talked about being intersex. I just didn’t realize. I just didn’t think. Shit, okay. Yup. This is totally happening. For sure, for sure,” Aldo begins to mumble, his free hand coming up to rub at his eyes.
“This is a lot,” I whisper. “Maybe this is too much?”
Aldo shakes his head. “It’s not. I’m just trying to wrap my head around this. I never thought about having children, especially because two cis gay men can’t have biological children together. I just assumed I would always be the kickass gay uncle to all my nieces and nephews.” He squeezes my hand.
“Are you okay?”
“I think so. At the very least, Iwillbe okay. I guess this is how my mom always feels when I throw her plans for my life out the window and do my own thing,” he says with an amused snort.
I wrap my other arm around his shoulders, tugging him towards me. He wraps his arm around my middle, putting his head against my chest. He listens to my heartbeat and I wonder if he knows that it beats for him, for our baby.
Tentatively, Aldo’s hand moves lower, resting against my stomach.
“I can feel them,” I say softly. “Already I can feel their lifeforce, feel some of their newfound emotions and I love them so much, Aldo.”
“I can’t believe we’re having a baby together. Will they be purple?” Aldo’s voice is barely above a whisper but I can hear the way his emotions have changed. He’s no longer surprised, instead he sounds like he’s in wonder at the idea of starting a family with me. It’s enough to bring tears to my eyes that I quickly do my best to blink away.
“I don’t know,” I say with a wet chuckle. “I can’t seem to get them to reach back to me telepathically so I have a feeling they’re not fullyLayperry. Maybe human or a hybrid. Hybrids can come in colors, the same wayLayperry’sdo. If they’re human, I have a feeling they’ll be this beautiful shade of brown that you are.”
“I’ll have to learn more about theLayperry,” Aldo says, his hand rubbing little circles against my stomach. “I want to know everything so I can be a good dad to them. You’ll teach me, right?”
“Yes,” I say right away, emotions welling up inside of me. “I’ll teach you everything you need to know.” A single tear slides down my cheek, landing on Aldo’s head.
Aldo pulls away in order to look at me. He makes a soothing noise and cups my cheeks in his palms. “Hey, you’re okay. What are these tears for?”
“I’m just so happy,” I tell him. “I am happy that I met you, Aldo. I’m happy that we are together. I am overwhelmed by how happy I am for our baby.”
“Oh, Gendry,” Aldo breathes out, pulling me close so he can kiss the tears from my cheeks. Then he kisses my lips achingly gently. “Gendry, I’m happy too. I still need a little time to take this news in, but I promise you, I amveryhappy. I’m not going anywhere.”
