I was deep in thought at my desk when the office delivery guy walked in with a bright pink bakery box. I was interested in the surprise gift, but nothing could have prepared me for the surprise that was about to happen.
Inside the box was a cake that said, “I am divorcing you.” in a scary font. There was a positive pregnancy test next to it. It broke my heart.
Jake, my husband, found the test I forgot to hide. He thought I had cheated on him, so this was his response: a cake telling me we were getting a divorce.
Jake was wrong, though. I had the positive test, but he had the baby. We’d been trying to have a baby for years, and I wanted to make sure the news was true with our doctor before telling him.
When Jake told us he couldn’t have children, it hurt our bond. He thought his condition made him not good enough, and the stress of trying to get pregnant had made our marriage weak.
As I hurried home to talk to Jake, I knew I had to let him know the truth. We had the baby, and our dreams of becoming parents were finally coming true.
Jake’s anger and pain were clear when I got home. As I told him what was going on, though, his face went from angry to confused to happy tears.
Jake had oligospermia, which means his sperm count was low but not impossible. The doctors were wrong. It had been hard for us to try for years, but this surprise baby was our second chance.
I watched with a heavy heart as Jake broke down. He made snap judgments and thought the worst, but I knew what he was going through.
Jake said, “I’m so sorry,” each time feeling bad about what he had done.
I saw hope in his eyes at that very moment. We were given a gift: a child and a future.
The first time in a long time, our arms were around each other, hanging on to the hope of a new start. “We’ll figure it out,” I whispered.
