Wild About You  Chapter One  I had an odd feeling that my life was about to change, but I had no idea how drastic that change would be.
 It was Monday, March 7th, and I was headed home after a fun filled day of talking to an endless number of fools who had gotten drunk, done something stupid, and been arrested over the weekend. For the past five years it had been my job as a paralegal to listen and write down all the excuses and denials while meeting with our new clients. There seemed to be an infinite supply, as I worked for one of the busiest criminal defense attorneys in the state.
My boss, Jack Justice (not a joke, that's really his birth name) had offenders lining up all the way around our small office building in Charlotte, North Carolina, waiting for a chance to hire the best to represent them in whatever shenanigans they swear they didn’t do. Jack more than lived up to his reputation, and somehow worked more legitimate miracles in the criminal justice system than any attorney in state history. I liked working for him because he was one of the few honest and ethical attorneys around. He appreciated my quick wit, hard work, and enthusiasm in keeping up with his huge caseload, which was why he paid me twice as much as most paralegals.
I was watching the bumper of the red beamer in front of me like a hawk as I sat in five o’clock traffic. I turned up the radio to find out how much further I would have to creep up an inch at a time until I would get past today’s wreck. My little silver Honda was going to need new brakes again if the people in this town didn’t learn how to drive.
My husband Ben didn’t really understand why I made the long commute back and forth each day. If it was up to him I’d be a trophy wife whose only jobs consisted of shopping and gossiping with other wives all day.  I knew what I was getting into when my husband Ben and I bought our house in the suburbs just outside of the city a few months ago. Ben had recently opened a veterinary clinic in the area and we found a house nearby in a quiet neighborhood with several acres of land. Despite the commute, I honestly enjoyed my job and wasn’t planning on leaving it anytime soon. It wasn’t like there were any law firms out in farm country. But the daily bumper cars routine on I-85 was still a pain in my ass.Something other than traffic had been nagging me for the past few days, but I couldn't put my finger on it. If I didn’t write something down on a sticky note I would forget it. Without anything to do other than memorizing this guy’s license plate, I tried to think about what I had forgotten to do or what I might be missing. Not having any luck, I switched to the more pleasant task of daydreaming about my husband. I was a lucky girl. With Ben’s Captain America physique, stunning good looks, and Ph.D., he could’ve had any girl he wanted. Why he picked me with all my quirks, morbid sense of humor, and girlishly petite figure was beyond me. I’ll never forget our first kiss just three years ago. We met at my friend Lindsey and her husband Jason’s house. Since Ben and Jason were old high school buddies I’d seen him whenever Lindsey and Jason would invite friends over to watch football games or just hang out.It was impossible for any female not to notice Ben. He radiated sex appeal, and his intriguing and mysterious air made him even more desirable. He was at least six feet tall with cobalt blue eyes that blazed with intelligence, and short, usually messy, dirty blonde hair.Even though I had developed a crush on Ben the first time I seen him, and unsuccessfully flirted with him at every possible occasion, I was all but certain I was invisible to him. It turned out I had been absolutely wrong about that. One late Sunday night when we were both leaving Lindsey and Jason’s heading home I had quickly told Ben, “Well, um, have a good night,” as I turned away to try and find my car keys. That was when Ben surprised me by suddenly spinning me around and kissing me. I was so caught off guard that I couldn’t move even as he wrapped me in his arms. After a few seconds Ben noticed I was paralyzed and quickly dropped his hands. He took a step back saying, “Oh God! Emily, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. I just …sorry.” Embarrassed, he turned to walk away. I touched my lips and realized I hadn’t imagined his kiss. I came to my senses and told him not to leave and that it had been a nice kiss.  Ben had smiled in relief and then asked if he could take me to dinner the following night. I, of course, quickly accepted.Over the weeks as we got to know each other I was amazed by Ben’s kind and considerate personality, which was even better than his oh so yummy tanned muscles. His old school manners and ambition were also a big turn on. My dating history before Ben had consisted of a bad batch of losers who seemed to all have the work ethic of a sloth or the hygiene of a slug. With Ben’s chivalrous nature it took us weeks to move past first base, much to my disappointment. I couldn’t wait to get Ben undressed and see if what was underneath his clothes was just as nice as the rest of him. The first time he stripped down in front of me I actually hyperventilated.  Our relationship was actually more than just an overwhelming lustful passion, though. Ben shared my love of football. We were both huge fans of the Carolina Panthers, and the day I showed him my autographed Steve Smith jersey he told me he loved me. Of course his love went deeper than my great taste in professional athletes. Ben said he fell for me because I was sexy, smart and had a guy’s crude sense of humor. Within a few weeks we started spending all of our weekends together. When it became too difficult to leave each other on Sundays we decided to move in together. The only thing I found unusual about Ben was that Jason was his only real friend, and his parents seemed to keep to themselves as well. When he had told me that he had only dated “a few girls” before me, but none of them serious, I thought he was being modest. I had seen other women’s reactions to him, and, if I walked away from him for too long, they were throwing themselves at him.We said our vows this past January on a beautiful beach in Hawaii in front of our closest friends and family. I missed the beautiful views, relaxed atmosphere, and Ben and I having our own private bungalow away from the busy world for a few days. I still blushed when I thought of some of the more intimate moments we had together in that bungalow, and various other places around the island.  Since then it had been back to reality and our somewhat boring and busy lives. I hated that we both worked so much. Between my long days getting ready for trials, and his ever increasing on-call pet emergencies, we seemed to never have enough time together.
Ben was just a little more than four years older than me and his big 3-0 birthday was coming up on March 18th. It would be awesome if we could take off on a weekend beach getaway. That only left me with 11 days to find a reservation, but the North Carolina coast shouldn't be very crowded this time of year. Hold on, stop the car!
I screeched to a halt a millimeter away from Mr. Beamer’s bumper, and miraculously avoided losing my own rear end to Ms. Minivan who was talking on her cell phone.
Back to the important question of: what is today’s date? March 7th? I’d been so busy that I’d completely lost track of time and missed the first of March, which is when the dreaded Aunt Flo had never failed to make an appearance. Ever.
I pulled out my iPhone from my purse and with a shaking finger, opened up the calendar app. Okay, so today is definitely the 7th, and going back to February 1st and counting forward means I am 6 days late. That can’t be right. I counted the weeks again only to get the same outcome.
Well, it looked like I’d be taking a detour to a local pharmacy before heading home. At what seemed like a snail’s pace I went along with the stop and go traffic until I found an exit with a chain pharmacy’s red and white sign shinning like a beacon on the top of the hill.
I put on my turn signal and whipped my little car onto the exit ramp, speeding through the light of the intersection into the pharmacy parking lot. There had be some other explanation to this time of the month delay, and I needed confirmation as fast as possible that I wasn’t late because I was pre-, preg-, nope I couldn’t even say that word.
I parked my car in two spaces, and ran, with some difficulty in my heels and stiff grey business skirt suit, into the store, almost before the sliding glass doors had actually opened. I stretched my neck as I scanned the isles looking for the "Family Planning" section.
When I finally found the place where condoms and tests ironically intersect, I was overwhelmed by my choices, and whoa, these things are not cheap! I decided to go with the more expensive box that provided a digital result with the word I couldn’t bring myself to say, "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant". I figured you couldn't get any more precise than that.
It took a great deal of restraint to not take the test right then and there in the unsanitary public restroom. Instead, I made my way up to the empty checkout line and laid the test on the counter.
While I fumbled through my purse looking for some cash or my debit card I noticed that the slightly round middle aged clerk, with a short brown pixie haircut, was chomping loudly on her gum and looking like she was dying to comment on my purchase.
I was less than friendly when she finally said, "I guess congratulations is in order, huh?"
“You too! When are you due?” I asked with the same amount of enthusiasm, giving her a sarcastic smile as she silently looked away to ring up the test.
As I watched her smile turn upside down I felt a little bad for my petty comment, but she needed a quick lesson in “Mind-Your-Own-Damn-Business 101”.
After I slid my debit card and used the keypad to go through 100 questions to pay for my $20 purchase, the cashier threw my receipt in the bag and I was out the door.
The drive home was a dangerous blur. I don't remember any street signs, traffic lights or if there were other cars on the busy road. It’s probably a good thing cops avoid rush hour traffic. I was too busy thinking about my two possible outcomes, "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant" to worry about traffic laws.
Sure, I've always wanted kids, several would even be nice. Eventually. I was an only child and always wished I would’ve had someone other than my imaginary friends to play with growing up. The problem was that Ben and I had only been married for two months, and we both had very time consuming jobs.
Even worse, the only time Ben and I had ever discussed the possibility of us having kids, it ended with him telling me that because of some unknown “medical condition” he was born with, he didn’t know if he could ever have a baby with me, and he didn’t really want to try because of “the potential for birth defects.”
I thought he was being too pessimistic on the issue or just making excuses for not wanting kids, which of course was strange because he was so sweet and caring as he tried to save everyone's family pet. I just couldn't figure out his quick dismissal of the idea of children. I had hoped that eventually I’d be able to talk him into trying in a few years when I felt that I was ready to have kids. I had no idea that conversation would be this soon.  Click to buy now at Amazon!