"The Surprise"
Luka guides Abby up the stairs and leads her towards the nursery..... He has spent the last 3 weeks completely decorating it in readiness for Jonah's homecoming.
Abby has been travelling back and forth between home and the hospital and she is completely clueless that as to what Luka has been doing.....the thought of Jonah coming home soon completely terrifies her and her nerves are still very raw.
"When can I open my eyes Luka....... ? Do you know how frustrating it is to climb stairs while you are blinfolded.?
Luka encourages her.. "Just a few more steps and I will take off the blindfold...trust me ...you are going to love it..."
Abby imagines that Luka has done something goofy like put a banner above their bed that says "Will you marry me " and rose petals spread eveywhere... afterall she still hasn't answered that all important question and she knows he wants her to answer it.
Luka puts his hands on her shoulders and and massages her gently ..."We are here.... now you can take the blindfold off."
Abby removes the blindfold and and finds herself in the doorway of the nursery.
"Luka... it's unbelievable.... you did all this for me..?
Luka hugs her from behind and the feeling of his arms draped around her is warm and safe and instantly her heart starts racing with exitement.
"I can't believe all of this..... it's wonderful... I love you for doing this.. I have been so absorbed with Jonah that I completely forgot about this room and getting it ready."
Luka smiled... finally she was laughing.... he had been so worried about her lately and she had seemed so depressed and he was worried that she might not snap out of it.
'I started out just painting it blue and then I found myself decorating it with clouds and teddy bears ... these stick up things or decals .. whatever you call them are great and if you don't like them you can just peel them off and move them.... I set the cot up and the mobile hanging over it and then the rocking chair and the drawers....." Abby walks over to the draws and opens them and her mouth drops when she sees that they are neatly packed with clothes.
"Oh my god ... there is little singlets and socks in here and mittens and hats ......!' Abby looks over at Luka and her eyes are misty and she shakes her head.
"When did you do all this Luka..?" Abby opens the next drawer and pulls out a jumpsuit and hold it up .
"This is gorgeous Luka... how did you know to do all this..?
Luka bends over and points to the change table shelf.
"I got all these baby lotions and powders and stuff from some of the gift baskets we got and your mother helped buy some of the other stuff...you probably didn't notice what we were doing because you have been so focused on Jonah."
Luka came back and put his arms around her....."I kind of felt like you shut me out a little bit and I didn't know how to help you... so your mother said I should just get everything ready at home for when you and the baby come home.... so I have.. and as soon as we get the all clear .... we will bring our son home and we will be a family." Abby closes her eyes and buries her head in Luka's chest and he hugs her tight.
"I guess you want me to give you an answer to you marriage proposal ..... I am not sure if I can at the moment..........everything is so surreal at the moment and while I know in my heart that I truly love you and I want us to be a family......... I'm just not sure if I want to get married."
Luka pulls away from the embrace and tilts her head up to look him in the eye.... "I want to marry you ... not for the sake of getting married ...but for the fact that I am in love with you Abby and I want to spend the rest of my life with you..."
Abby searches his eyes for a moment... the deep dark green pools that she has looked into for so many years and found so much comfort in..........he was baring his soul to her.....he was declaring his love for her again and still she hesitates.
" I want to love you Luka..... I mean I do love you but I am so scared of making a mistake again ...."
Abby turns her head away and he pulls it back swiftly and scoops her up into his arms and carries her across the hall to their bed and she can't believe he is doing this.
"Luka there is no way I am having sex with you..." her voice trails off and she notices the rose petals all over the bed and the candles burning brightly.
"What are you up to Luka..?'
Luka places her gently on the bed and pulls out a piece of paper and clears his throat.
"Abby ... if you won't marry me in the eyes of god... or in any other conventional way then I will marry you with the reciting of these vows and I will make my committment to you and pledge my love to you in the sanctity of our bedroom... the very place that our son was conceived and where the birth of our union came about..."
Abby is stunned.
"Are you for real..
"
to be continued..