THE SURPRISE
"Herr Gruber, you have received an urgent message from Frau Monica Gruber."
"Oh?" Hans sat up straight in his desk chair. He had - with a lot of hard work and attempts to prove that he had gone straight from his criminal days - secured a job working as an event planner for a local arena. High up enough to satisfy his need to be recognised, yet low-profile enough not to tempt him back into his criminal ways. Almost…
"She says she wishes to see you in private."
Hans raised an eyebrow, confused. Shortly after he'd secured the job as an event planner, he'd finally plucked up the courage to take Monica on a field trip into the mountains and put a ring on her finger. The wedding had been discrete and secretive, with only a few of Monica's family members attending. He had written to his brother a few weeks prior to the wedding, issuing him a wedding invitation, but he hadn't received anything back. Hans hoped Simon's reasoning for that was that he simply wasn't living at the same location - it was possible, people moved houses all the time. Yet, a niggling feeling told him that his relationship with his brother had officially died after all those years of separation.
Still, while Monica made no secret of the fact that she was very proud of her husband having finally turned his life around, she had never asked to see him at work before. It was, as they both agreed, his domain.
Snapping out of his reverie, Hans' breath caught in his throat as the woman he loved and married was right in front of him, pulling him into a fierce hug and cupping his face to kiss him on the lips.
"Honey, what's going on?" Hans asked once he felt her lips leave his.
"Oh darling," Monica whispered, beaming from ear to ear. "I'm pregnant."
He stared at her in shock. Pregnant? So soon after their marriage? Of course, considering the amount of times they'd been intimate, it shouldn't have been all that surprising, but like with most young men, the thought of having kids with Monica had never once crossed his mind.
"I don't know what to say, darling," he whispered. "We haven't had a chance to properly plan for this."
"I hadn't planned for this either," she said, disappointed at the lack of joy in his voice. "But this is good news… isn't it?" Her face fell at the look on Hans'.
"We'll talk about this at home," he said, avoiding her gaze. "I have to work."
The minute she was gone, Hans felt his heartbeat race until he was almost hyperventilating. He had no idea how to be a father, or any sort of parent for that matter. He didn't even want kids, to be honest. While he loved Monica - contrary to popular belief, he wasn't a sociopath (not yet, anyway) - he didn't think he could really love a kid, or shoulder that kind of responsibility. And how was he supposed to provide for that kid, anyway? Being a secretary wasn't exactly a terribly glamorous or well-paid job. That is, if he was able to function on maybe 2 hours of sleep at a time. He knew full well babies didn't care if their sleep patterns didn't fit his convenience.
Fuck. He was nowhere near ready for this. Rubbing his temples, Hans decided that maybe, he'd take the rest of the day off.