"It never gets old, does it?" Helen murmured, resting her head against my chest as we looked up at the fireworks. It was one of our rare peaceful moments in our royally social lives.
"Tonight is perfect," I whispered in her ear, giving her a kiss on the top of her head.
We were out on the balcony of my room, well over fifty feet up. There was a celebration going on in our kingdom, the day to honor the first day of spring. It has been an annual tradition for the past few centuries. Our people were finishing off the night with a fireworks display in front of the castle, and Helen and I wanted to watch. We were sitting on the cold cement, and the railing blocked anyone from noticing we were there.
Helen sighed. "What's the matter?" I asked her a few moments later when she hadn't said anything.
"It's nothing," she said in the way that clearly implied it was anything but nothing.
I adjusted myself so that we were snuggled against each other even closer. "You can tell me anything, Helen."
"I know," she responded. She was still watching the fireworks but from just one look in her eyes told me she had lost her fascination. "I just want to enjoy this moment." She patted my cheek.
Trying to be patient, I waited until the firework showcase was over before saying, "I'll be right back, Helen."
I quickly snatched a blanket and an envelope. I wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and pulled her on my lap on a rocking chair that was already on the balcony.
Helen smiled lovingly at me. "Thank you."
I handed her the envelope. "Here. It's for you."
"Hmm." She delicately pulled out the letter from the flap. She read aloud: "To my beautiful Helen. From, your one and only." She flicked her pointer finger on the tip of my nose teasingly. "You're so cheesy."
I laughed. "Just read it." She was about to unfold the letter when I added, "I know it's a little early, but this was for our first anniversary." Our anniversary was tomorrow.
Helen's dark brown eyes slowly moved left to right, left to right as she took in all the words in the letter. I had written how incredibly happy I was to have her as my wife, how special she is, and how I'm eager to start a family with her whenever she felt ready. When Helen finished reading, she took a deep breath and looked at me with tears in her eyes.
"I love you so much," she whispered, leaning in to give me a kiss on the lips.
"I love you more. You have no idea," I responded, cupping her face in my hands.
For a foreign amount of time, we simple stared into each other's eyes. After a while, Helen sighed for the second time and looked away.
"Helen, what is it?" I said, concerned. I pulled her into an embrace. It would've been a perfect moment, except for Helen's unusual intriguing manner.
She turned back around to look at me. "I really wanted to wait a little longer to give you the news, Haakon, but I've been holding it in too long." She rubbed my cheeks with her thumbs. "But after your letter..."
"Was there something offensive in the letter?" I said loudly, hurriedly scanning the words engraved in my mind. I had tried to express my feelings but maybe something had sounded wrong.
"No, no, no, Haakon. The letter was absolutely perfect. Really," Helen assured me. She planted a kiss on my cheek. "There was a section where you mentioned you wanted to start a family whenever I was ready... whenever we're ready... how ready are you?"
"Helen, why...?" Suddenly it was crystal clear. "Are you pregnant?" I yelped.
Helen placed one of my hands on her abdomen. I could have sworn it was slightly bulging. She smiled nervously. "Our baby is right here, Haakon."
At first I was so shocked that I didn't move or speak. Poor Helen looked terrified. When I got back to my senses, I grinned and picked Helen up, spinning around. "Helen, of course I'm ready! We're having a baby!" I cried out gloriously. My face must have been glowing from joy.
Helen giggled, wrapping her arms around my neck. "We're having a baby," she confirmed.
"It's not even the day of our anniversary yet and it's already the best." I put Helen down. She smiled up at me as the clocks struck twelve.
"Happy anniversary, Haakon."
