40. Consequences
I hug her again and ask her, "What is wrong with you? Please tell me, I promise I will help you." She does not respond to my attempts to talk to her. Instead, she stares blankly at the wall. The look on her face frightens me. There must be something very wrong with her. And I have to find out what it is if I want to help her.

She starts crying again and there is no way for me to talk to her. I rub her back and pull her close to me. I really hope this will help calm her down. My girl is in bad shape and I have to help her, I want to help her. Now we are sitting in her living room for half an hour and I still do not know what is wrong with her.

Not knowing what is wrong with her is a terrible experience. I have never been so worried in my whole life, it is a terrible feeling and I have to fight back my own tears. The thought, "What's wrong with her?" hammers through my head. My hand is shaking slightly and I feel so lonely and hopeless.

My focus goes back to Tamara, she needs to calm down. And she also needs to tell me what is wrong with her. I still hold her in my arms and try to find a solution. But so far the best idea I have is to hold her in my arms. I really hope that helps her.

She calms down very slowly in my arms and I try to dry her tears. I am sure she will soon tell me what is wrong with her, but I have to be patient. Finally she looks at me, ready to talk, and with a broken voice she says, "I am pregnant.” Boom, this is a big surprise. I expected a lot of things, but her being pregnant was not on the list.

At least now I know what upsets her. I understand that this must be shocking news for such a young girl. And the reality is slowly sinking in that if she is pregnant, then I must be the father of the child. This is also quite shocking news for me. It will take a while for me to accept this, but I love children and so I think I will like being a father. The only thing is that this came as a big surprise.

Tamara is still very upset about her pregnancy and has not said anything since her three words "I am pregnant". I have to get her into a state where she is ready to talk to me. We need to talk about her child, my child. There are so many things to talk about. And I want her to accept her pregnancy. She is going to be a great mother. I have to tell her that, but first she has to cool down.

I kiss her on the lips, at first she is a little reluctant to my kiss. But then she accepts it. Feeling her soft lips again is amazing and I let her touch my braces with her tongue, which seems to help her. Her tongue slowly explores my braces and starts to play with my rubber bands. It is a good sign that her interest in braces is back. I think she is slowly recovering from the shock of her pregnancy.

She has calmed down further but is still crying. We sit on the couch and talk. I say to her, "Baby, we are in this together. I am not going to leave you alone with this." She looks at me and manages to say two words, "Thank you". It does not feel good to see her in this state. I want to see her beautiful smile with the braces she loves so much.

We are still on her couch and I have my arm around her. I put my arm around her even tighter, giving her the time she needs. Still in a whiny voice she tells me, "I don't know how this happened. I'm on the pill and this shouldn't have happened. I must have done something wrong.” Again she bursts into tears.

Of course, she cannot be blamed for this, I have contributed to it as well. I look her straight in the eye, "Baby, it is not your fault. Please do not blame yourself for something natural. You are such a strong girl. I am sure you can handle this."

She doesn't say anything for a while, but I can see her brain working. Then she asks me, "You're not angry with me?" Of course I am not, "No, I am not angry with you. Why would I be angry with you?" She replies, "Well, you know, we are both very young and we have not been together very long. And we have never talked about having a baby."

I have to admit that the idea of becoming a father is also very new to me. Of course, one of my goals is to have a girl and have children together, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon. The part with the children was more of a future plan and nothing for the present. But again, I like kids, so it actually feels okay to me.

I tell her, "Come on, smile for me. We are going to have a baby and you are going to be a fantastic mother to our child.” She smiles for the first time, "Are you really taking this so lightly? I thought you were going to run away, or I don't know. I am confused. I don't know what to think. I was really afraid that you would blame me. Oh, I am so confused. This is so overwhelming for me. I am scared and happy at the same time. And I don't know what to do.”

I stop her flood of words with a passionate kiss. The kiss lasts a long time and is perhaps the best kiss we have ever had. She is so passionate in this moment and I cannot believe that she was crying just a few minutes ago. After the kiss, we look into each other's eyes without saying a word. She seems to be thinking about the seriousness of my commitment to her and the baby.

I smile at her, making sure she sees my braces. However, she does not comment on the changes in my braces. She must still be very confused if she cannot see the power chains.

She massages my back with her hand and seems to be thinking about all this. It feels so good when she touches me. And I am happy that she has calmed down and is ready to accept the new reality of being a mother. At least I hope she is ready.

I tell her again, "We are going to get through this together. I will be by your side and I will always support you. It is normal to be confused when something big like this happens. It is normal and I love you so much."

Tamara has calmed down now, but I can still see the remnants of shock on her face. I hope I did not look like that when she told me the news. I think of myself as a father and her as a mother. She will be a perfect mother, I am sure. Yes, my child will have the best mother in the world. The best mother who is still in a kind of shocked state.

I know I have to distract her from this shock. So I smile at her and show her all my braces and ask her, "Did you see what I got today?" She realizes she hasn't looked at me properly, "Sorry Tim, I was so confused. I see you have power chains. Let me see them."

I let her explore every detail of my mouth. She is suddenly a different person, eager to discover everything I have. She tells me, "Oh, I love the color. The blue suits you very well. It is so cool that you can have colors now. The silver of these self-ligating brackets has started to get a little boring. Oh, and I hope you are not in pain."

I was so focused on our baby that I didn't think much about my braces. Now, as we talk about them, I can feel the pull of the power chain, this is going to hurt a lot soon. I do not want to bother her with my pain, so I tell her, "I have more. Lynn added thicker wires to my braces. I also have stronger rubber bands in a triangle pattern.”

"Oh, yes, I can see that. The triangle is actually a brilliant idea of Lynn's. She really knows her job. This will correct a problem with your bite caused by your braces. You know, sometimes braces move the teeth, but not immediately in the right direction. We say it has to get worse before it gets better. Addressing this now will save you a lot of treatment time. That is such a good thing. Most orthodontists will not catch this problem this early," she tells me.

I didn't realize this triangle pattern was so important. It was just another change in my treatment, which had already undergone many changes. Now that I can feel the pain, I decide to take a pain killer. I hope it is not too late. Tamara watches me closely as I take the painkiller.

Then she gives me a quick kiss on the cheek, "Tim, I will help you deal with the pain. Don't worry, I know it will hurt, but I'm sure it will be worth it in the end.” She smiles at me again and shows me her pink braces, looking so much happier than before.

Soon after, she runs her finger over my brackets with the power chain. She really enjoys this and I am happy that my braces distract her from the news that she is pregnant. Shortly thereafter, we repeat what caused her pregnancy. We are very gentle with each other, but it is still very passionate.

41. Important Topics
When our relaxation is over, we return to the subject of the baby. Tamara is very worried about her studies, "Tim, I am still studying. I do not know how I can continue my studies with the baby. I tell her, "Tamara, I think you will finish your studies before the baby comes. Or am I wrong?" She seems to be calculating, "Tim, you are right. I will graduate before the baby comes. Maybe we can work this out together.

"Tamara, we will work this out together. Trust me, I will help you and we will get through this," I tell her, trying to look as relaxed as possible. She looks at me, "Thank you Tim, I trust you and I hope everything is as easy as you think it will be." I reply, "It will not be easy, but we can handle it. We are a good couple and I know you are a very strong girl."

For some reason I decide to put on my face mask. I don't know if it's because Tamara likes me to wear it or if it's just because I've barely kept up with my wear time this past week. At least Tamara likes it when I wear my face mask. So I attach the rubber bands to the hooks on my TPA and then attach them to my face mask.

When I put the mask on, I expect her to react positively to me wearing the mask. But there is no such reaction from her. Hmm, something is still wrong with her, "Tamara, there is something that is bothering you, please tell me what it is.” She is quiet for a moment, but I gesture for her to tell me. I can see her brain working and she seems unsure if she wants to tell me. At least she accepts my kiss on her cheek.

Finally, she is ready to tell, "I cannot believe how easy you are taking this. It was my job to do the birth control and I totally screwed it up. I am going to be a doctor soon and I cannot even take a simple pill correctly. I am such an idiot and you have every reason to be angry with me."

"Tamara, please stop. This is not your fault. Things like this can happen, and I am glad it happened to you and me. You are the one I want to have a baby with. I am so happy that this happened with you and not with some other girl. Please do not feel guilty, you have done nothing wrong," I assure her.

She begins to cry, but they are happy tears, "Tim, thank you for your kind words. Are you really not mad at me?" I reply, "Not angry at all. In fact, I am happy. I love the idea of being a dad. And you are going to be a fantastic mother to my child." She just smiles at me and gives me a good look at her pink braces.

Speaking of braces, there is something I would like to know, "Tamara, this may be a stupid question, but is it possible to be pregnant with braces?" First she gives me a short answer, "I am pregnant and I have braces. So yes, it is possible."

I laugh at her joke and she says, "But I am sure you want to know if there is any risk to me or the baby?" I nod and she continues, "There is absolutely no problem wearing braces while pregnant. The only thing is that I have to be extra careful with my oral hygiene and the risk of oral infections is slightly increased. It is nothing to worry about. And I think I am pretty good at cleaning my braces."

She is absolutely right about her oral hygiene. I've never seen anyone brush their teeth so well. She is almost perfect at it, and since she got braces, she is even better. She can clean her teeth at an impressive speed with an even more impressive accuracy. So her pregnancy should not be a problem for her oral hygiene.

I notice that she wants to kiss me, but with the mask it is almost impossible. We can only kiss each other on the cheek and my lips barely make it to her cheek. It is almost impossible to initiate a proper kiss while wearing the mask. The kiss we share is just some lame excuses for a real kiss.

I haven't worn my face mask during the day for this long in a long time. It is still strange to wear this device as an adult. But in this safe space, together with Tamara, it is no big deal. Maybe it is even easier than wearing it at night. At night it prevents me from sleeping on my side or stomach. But now I can do everything in Tamara's apartment except kiss. And I cannot leave her apartment because I do not want to wear the mask in public.

I remember our trip to the other city, where we both wore headgear. She had really enjoyed that day, but it was too much of a thrill for me. And I definitely do not want to wear a face mask in my hometown. I feel humiliated just thinking about it. So I think wearing my face mask at night is the better option.

There are more important issues we need to discuss. She will have no income when the baby comes. At the moment she gets a student loan from the government, but that will not be the case when her studies are over. Will she be able to finance her apartment? And is this even necessary?

I am thinking about my apartment. It is quite big for a single person and there is enough room for Tamara. There is even room for her and the baby. Should I ask her to move into my apartment? I think I have to ask her and it would be great to live with her.

I ask her, "Tamara, would you like to move into my apartment? We can save a lot of money if we live together and my apartment is big enough for us and the baby.” She thinks for a moment and says, "That's a good idea. I want to live with you. We will be so much closer and save a lot of money.” She pauses for a moment, ”And I have a good relationship with my landlord. As soon as I find a replacement, I can leave the apartment. And finding someone will be very easy, I think."

I am really happy that she wants to move into my apartment and tell her, "I love you and living with you will be absolutely fantastic.” As an afterthought, I add, "And I'm going to talk to my boss about having to work closer to home when the baby comes. I have to help you with that and I want to help you.”

And I want to kiss her properly to celebrate her decision to move in. So I take off my face mask and put it on the table next to the couch. Tamara knows immediately why I take the mask off and as soon as the mask is on the table, she kisses me. It is wonderful to be free of the mask and to be able to kiss. And the kiss lasts quite a while.

Then we talk about her studies again. If everything goes as planned, she will have her degree before the baby comes. We just hope that her pregnancy will not interfere too much with her studies. Tamara is a good student, so I am not worried at all. She will manage her studies and graduate with good honors.

The situation is still a bit surreal, but I am confident that we will get through this together. Our discussion continues for a while, but eventually we fall asleep on the couch.

This has been a great story! I've really enjoyed it and I love the ending.

I agree, this is a lovely story and it even got a happy end.