"I miss you, honey, when are you coming back?"

Your husband, Simon, had been deployed for a few weeks. You knew he was fine, but his absence made you feel the distance more than ever.

The answer came a few minutes later. "And I miss you too, dear. I'm sorry, I have to stay away for a few more weeks."

You sighed sadly, sent a 'be careful' and put your phone down. Just a few more weeks...

But suddenly a wave of nausea hit you and you jumped off the couch and ran to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, you were sitting on the tile floor, trying to make sense of it all. There were many possibilities, but the first thing you checked was your cycle app. Delay.

You and Simon had always dreamed of having a baby. But for some reason it never happened. Every time you took a test, all you saw was a "-".

This went on for years. You knew how much Simon wanted to be a father, you could see it in his eyes. But lately, it's like the subject has been dropped. As if you'd both come to terms with it.

Of course, you'd chalk it up to stress or the cold... but something inside you was screaming for a test. At least not to feed your hopes, right?

And so you sat on the edge of the bathroom, nervously counting the minutes that seemed like years. Your knee trembled uncontrollably, even though you whispered to yourself, "Don't get upset, don't get upset..."

When the time was up, you held the electronic test in your trembling hands. You took a deep breath, opened your eyes, and your heart stopped. "+".

You are pregnant.

For a few minutes you sat in shock, trying to process whether you had imagined it. No, it was real. The test was positive.

But the sound of the key turning in the lock left no time to think. Simon said he'd be back in a couple of weeks...

You rushed to the door and froze when you saw your tired but happy husband holding a bouquet of flowers.

"A little surprise for you, darling."

Right. And you had a surprise for him as well.