Jennifer

We had been together for a month. I have always been in tune with my body, so when something felt off, I took a test. I sat in my apartment crying, trying to figure out how to tell this relatively new man in my life that I was pregnant.

“He told me he would support me no matter what.”

The decision to me was a no-brainer. But what if he felt differently? Would he even stay? I have always been extremely independent, I knew I didn’t need him to. But I wanted him to.

After a much-needed pep talk from my mother, who lives on the opposite side of the country, I called him over to talk. As I cried I explained to him that I had already been to the doctor, the pregnancy was confirmed, and that I was not ready, that we were not ready, to have a child.

After a few deep breaths he held my hand and softly told me to stop crying. He told me everything was going to be okay, that we were okay, and that he would support me no matter what.

He continued to hold my hand through the entire process. He took off work to come to doctors appointments, he sat with me while I took the pills, and lay there with me rubbing my back while I sobbed in pain.

He didn’t have to stay. I didn’t need him to stay. But he did. Fast forward almost a year later, as he prepares to move in with me, I look forward to our future together. And the possibility that one day he will again be holding my hand because we were given the time we needed to grow, and we are ready.