Months passed peacefully until the morning when I woke with a strange wave of nausea that returned again and again during the following week. I bought three pregnancy tests from a pharmacy in Springfield because I wanted certainty before saying anything. When all three showed the same result my hands trembled while I walked across the yard to Harold’s house and knocked on the door.
“I need to tell you something,” I said once he opened the door and invited me inside.
He watched my expression carefully before asking with concern, “What happened.”
“I am pregnant,” I replied quietly.
The room fell silent for several seconds before Harold suddenly burst into a laugh that echoed through the kitchen walls like a joyful thunderclap.
“At eighty years old and I can still surprise the world,” he said proudly while shaking his head in disbelief.