A strange, old woman just stopped me to say, “In five minutes you will fall in love.” My wife and I looked at each other and shared an uncomfortable chuckle. I looked back at the old woman and replied, “I’m already in love, but thanks for the laugh anyway.” She softy shook her head and repeated her prognostication. My wife leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Maybe she’s trying to get some money.” I reached in my pocket and pulled out my wallet. I fished out a ten and handed it to the old woman. She just smiled at me and said, “Oh no my dear, that’s not necessary. Plus, you two are gonna need that more than me.” By this point, I was completely confused but I put the money back in my pocket. The old woman gave us another warm smile and walked away. My wife and I stood there for a few more moments, trying to make sense of what happened. Finally, we just shrugged it off and kept walking.

As we walked past the various storefronts in the mall, we made small talk about a number of different topics. But the whole time, I couldn’t shake what the old woman had said to me. I tried my hardest to not make eye contact with anyone, including the young guy in Foot Locker that helped me. After buying me and my wife matching pairs of Air Max, she finally addressed the “elephant in the room.” Without breaking her gaze from what was in front of us, she asked if I was still thinking about what the old woman said. I stopped dead in my tracks. “Yes!” I exclaimed emphatically. She turned to face me and squeezed my hand. “You’re worried about nothing.” Hearing her say that made me feel a little bit better. We smiled at each other and kept walking.

As we walked past a children’s clothing store, I noticed my wife staring at the women inside. “You wanna go in?” I asked. She hesitated for a moment then softly nodded her head. I put her hand to my mouth and placed gentle kisses on each of her knuckles. “After you my dear.” A warm smile unfolded on her face as she walked in the store. I followed behind her as she perused the clothes on the racks.

After a few moments, we were approached by a saleswoman. She greeted both of us and asked if we were looking for anything in particular. We both shook our heads and said we were just looking. The young lady informed of us the sales and pointed out the new inventory. We thanked her for her help and she gave us a kind smile in return. But before she walked away, she focused in on my wife, as if she were examining her. “So when are you due? Do you know what you’re having yet?” The questions caught me completely off guard and I burst into a small fit of hysterical laughter. When I regained my senses, I noticed that my wife wasn’t laughing. Quite the contrary, she was standing there with a look of utter amazement on her face. “Honey?” My wife didn’t respond, she just let my hand go and held her stomach. “I’m 13 weeks. How did you know?!” The saleswoman just smiled and rubbed her own pregnant belly.

Hearing those words come out of my wife’s mouth sent my jaw crashing towards the floor. We had been trying to have a child almost the entire length of our marriage, obviously with no success. “This is your first child, right?” My wife nodded while I just stood there in shock. I tried to regain my composure while the saleswoman imparted some advice onto my wife. Then she walked away. My wife turned to face me just as my jaw found it’s way back to its normal position. “This isn’t how I wanted to tell you.” I didn’t respond, I just stared at my wife as if I were seeing her for the first time. In a way, I guess I was. “Say something babe.” Instead, I remained speechless, dropped down to my knees and rested my head against her stomach. Tears began to form in my eyes. “I don’t know you yet,” I whispered, “But I’m already in love with you.”