by RJ Moore
I walk around the property more, coming upon some wooden garden beds. There is nothing growing in them except old weeds, but at least it’s a start. I start clearing away as many of the frozen weeds as I can and only finish part of one section before my hands are cramping and feel raw. I need garden gloves if I ever want to do that again.
I’m sitting on the edge of the garden bed, looking around some more when something catches my attention. A large oak tree, closer to the house, has a swing hanging down. I can’t believe it. I go over, sitting on the wooden seat, and give myself a big push off the ground. As I pump my legs to get higher and higher, I tilt my head back, closing my eyes. This is peace. I haven’t felt this carefree in so long. I keep swinging for a few more minutes before I feel as if my toes and fingers are going to fall off from frostbite, and then I make my way back inside. I can’t believe the sun is going down already.
I will probably fall asleep in the tub if I take a bath so I make the shower as hot as I can stand it. It takes a while of standing under the hot water before my fingers are warm enough to wash my hair. As soon as I’m clean, I dry off and dress in my pajamas with fuzzy slippers. I’m not sure if I’m more hungry or more tired at this point, but I know if I don’t eat before going to sleep, I’ll wake up in the middle of the night dying of starvation. I make a sandwich and scarf it down before going to the couch. I sink into the cushions as I close my eyes with a sigh. My last thought is how wonderful this couch is.
Oh no, this can’t be happening! What am I going to do? I stare at the test in my hands and I can’t stop the sob that bubbles out of my throat. How am I going to tell my parents? What will they think? What will they do? What will my friends say? How am I going to finish college? My back hits the bathroom counter as I slide down to the floor, sobbing to myself. Never in a million years did I ever think something like this would happen to me. I put my head between my knees to try to calm my breathing when I feel another wave of nausea come over me. As my stomach settles a little more, I slowly but surely get to my feet and walk out of the bathroom. I go into the family room where my mother and father are sitting in their chairs reading the newspaper. My mom is the first to look up at my tear-streaked face and she gasps. “Evelyn Rose, what’s the mater?!” My father stands up from his chair and makes his way toward me, asking, “Evelyn, what happened?”
I take a deep breath, raising my hand out to show them the test. They both look down at it for a few beats before my mother’s hand covers her mouth, her eyes wide as she looks sharply back at me. My father just stands there, rooted to his spot like a statue.
“Evelyn, how could you let this happen? Do you have any idea how this will make us look?” She looks over to my father, who is still standing frozen, his face completely void of any emotion. She slowly shakes her head, facing me again. “You know you can’t keep it. I’ll make an appointment now and then it will be as if nothing ever happened.”
I thought I would be relieved, but instead I feel disgusted. How could they do this to their own flesh and blood? I can’t let them do this. I watch my mother go to the phone to make an appointment and in my head I’m screaming, No, no, no!
I sit up so fast that my head is spinning…no, throbbing. Holy crap, this really hurts. I cup my forehead right as I hear groaning below me. I turn over to see a large figure lying on the floor by the couch. I scream, scrambling off of the couch. I am getting ready to run to the bedroom when a large hand clamps down on my bicep.
“Eve, it’s just me!” I whip around at the sound of that deep voice and come face to face with Ian. The lower part of his face is covered in blood, which is still steadily running out of his nose. He lets go of my arm, cupping his nose. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Your door wasn’t locked and when I heard you screaming, I just rushed in without even thinking. I’m sorry.”
My head is still throbbing but all I can think about is that Ian is standing in my house. Oh my gosh, I broke his nose!
“Ian, I broke your nose! Shit, what do I do, what do I do?” I turn toward the bathroom to grab a towel then stop. “We need to call for an ambulance. You need to go to the hospital!” I go to change directions toward the kitchen where I keep my phone when Ian grabs me by my wrist.
“Eve calm down, my nose is not broken. It bleeds easy and you head-butted me pretty good. I’ve had a broken nose before and trust me, I’m fine.” He lets go of his nose, showing me the bleeding has slowed down. “Can I use your bathroom to clean up a bit?”
I show him to the bathroom then head to the kitchen to busy myself with something to do. I figure I’ll try to make coffee, but staring at the coffee pot in front of me, I know it’s futile. I don’t think I’ve even seen coffee made. Maybe I should YouTube “how to make coffee”. Geez, I’m so pathetic. I can’t even do the most basic of things.
Footsteps bring me out of my thoughts and I turn around to Ian walking into the kitchen with two huge globs of toilet paper up his nostrils. I burst out laughing before I can stop myself.
“Yeah, I know. It’s a pretty hot look.” One side of his face goes up in a smile and my laughter dies down.
“You do look hot.” God, I can’t believe I just said that. Okay Eve, just play it cool. “You know, for a guy with toilet paper shoved up his nose.” I chuckle nervously, trying to think of how to change the subject. “So, why are you here so early this morning?”
I’m not sure why I feel so nervous with him here, but not wanting to embarrass myself further, I spin around to get a glass of water. “Do you want something to drink?” As soon as I grab a glass out of the cupboard, I promptly set it on the counter, rushing out of the kitchen toward the bathroom.
“Eve, are you okay?” Ian follows me in and holds my hair while I’m busy hovering over the toilet. He continues holding my hair for another minute until I’m finished. Standing up, I wash my mouth out before slowly turning to face Ian. His intense green eyes are studying me with concern. “Are you sick?”
Having only told my parents so far, I feel so vulnerable. My hands come to rest on my stomach as I take a deep breath. I don’t know why I should even feel this way; I hardly know Ian, but I really don’t want him to judge me badly.
“I’m all right, just a little bit of morning sickness.”
Ian’s eyes never leave mine and his brows furrow. “You’re pregnant?”
I nod my head. “Yup, around nine weeks along.” He keeps staring at me without saying anything. Starting to get mad, I snap out, “It’s not a disease or anything. It’s not like you can catch it. You don’t need to keep staring at me like that.” I know I’m probably overreacting, but it’s not like I’ve had practice telling people I’m pregnant.
“You’re pregnant and you’re here all alone? Where are your parents? Your husband…or boyfriend? Heck, anybody?” His brows are still furrowed with a concerned frown on his face.
“Look, it’s a long story, but there is no husband or boyfriend and my parents can just stay where they are.” I can’t keep looking at him so I look down at my feet while I speak. “My parents don’t really support my decision to have this baby.”
Ian stays still for a while before he finally says, “Okay Eve, I’m not judging you; I’m only concerned, that’s all.” He scratches the back of his neck. “And to answer your earlier question, I am here delivering the firewood you ordered. I’ll go unload everything right now.” He turns around, walking out slowly. At least this time, telling someone about my pregnancy went somewhat smoothly.
I brush my teeth, splashing some water on my face before I go change out of my pajamas. Heading to the kitchen to make something to eat, I grab the box of cream of wheat. After I fill a pot with some water, I’m in the process of walking over to the stove when I feel something run across my foot. Out of the corner of my eye, a mouse appears, and I start screaming bloody murder, throwing the pot as I leap onto the table while still yelling.
I hear a loud bang then Ian comes running into the kitchen. “What—” As soon as
he starts talking, he slips on the water that is all over the linoleum floor from the pot I threw. It happens so fast, like something most people only see in a movie. His feet go into the air but his body doesn’t slow when he hits the floor. He keeps sliding all way across the kitchen until his boot hits the wall, making a hole where his foot rests.
I stop screaming as I sit on top of the table with my mouth hanging open. There is a long trail of mud from where Ian fell and slid into the wall. I’m speechless and a little dumbfounded, so I continue to sit there, gaping like a fish out of water. I finally find my voice and ask, “Are…are you okay Ian?”
“Me, yeah. Your wall, not so much.” He’s still on the floor when he looks back at me on top of the table. “Are you okay? What was all that screaming about?”
Seeing as how I caused all this crazy mess over a little mouse, I hesitate to tell him. “Um, well, um…” I stutter. “You see, I was carrying a pot of water when something ran across my foot. I saw a mouse and…”
“Wait, wait, wait—are you telling me all this happened over an itty bitty mouse?” He stands up carefully so he doesn’t slip and fall again. He rubs his backside while shaking his head, chuckling. “You know they can’t hurt you, right?”
“Yes I know that,” I snap out, “but it came out of nowhere and ran across my bare foot. It touched me! I think any normal person would have responded the same.”
He lifts his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. Calm down. You’re right. I don’t think I’ve seen a woman who didn’t scream when seeing a mouse.” He grins at me for a second and then sighs. “Well before all this happened”—he gestures toward the wall—“I was coming in here to tell you it’s raining pretty hard out there. When I tried backing up the trailer to dump the wood, my pickup got stuck so far in the mud that I’m going to have to have someone come pull me out.”
My stomach lets out a loud growl, interrupting the conversation. “Well since you’re stuck here for a while, how about we eat something?”
“That sounds good. I’ll even cook us up something since I did put a hole through your wall.”
“Oh thank God! I can’t cook to save my life.” I watch him for a moment while he goes to work finding all the proper bowls and other cooking utensils before I move to clean up all the mud and water. By the time I finish cleaning, Ian has gathered up everything that is needed.
“Don’t mind me, I’m just going to watch you. Maybe I’ll learn a thing or two.” Leaning my hip against the counter, I study him closely. “I met the bookstore lady, Helen, the day I moved here. She said she would give me some recipes, but I seem to not be able to cook even with directions.”
“My mom actually puts on some cooking classes once a week in town. You should go. She’s a great teacher.” I watch very closely as he mixes everything together.
“Is that where you learned to cook?” I can’t believe how relaxed I am now when only an hour ago, I was so nervous to be around him.
“Yeah, my mom made us all learn a few tricks in the kitchen.” He smiles as his voice takes on a higher pitch. “I’m not always going to be here to cook your dinner Ian, so you better pay attention! I was never that interested in cooking like my sisters were, but when my mom gives an order, you better darn well listen.”
Seeing his biceps bulge while he whips the ingredients together, I have to focus on the conversation. I clear my throat. “So you have siblings?”
“Two sisters; Scarlett is my older sister by five years and Lacey is younger than me by eighteen months. My dad and I are outnumbered.”
I always hated being an only child. There were only so many games you could play by yourself before you became bored and lonely. “That’s awesome. I always wished growing up that I had a brother or sister to play with.”
The delicious smell hits my nostrils, making my stomach start growling again. Ian grabs two plates, filling them with fresh warm waffles. I take a bite and groan. “Okay, if your mom is half as good as you are at cooking, I’m definitely going to her classes!”
Ian smiles as he watches me pile waffles in my mouth. “That’s great. I’ll let her know you’ll be coming.”
He takes a couple bites and we eat in a comfortable silence. I guess after two counts of injury to property (me hitting his gate and him putting a hole through my wall) plus one count of battery (me almost breaking his nose), it all kind of broke the ice. Gone is the awkwardness, and it seems like an easy friendship is starting.
“So Ian, what do you do for work?” I gather our plates to put them in the sink.
“My family owns a local construction company. My dad had a stroke a few years back and he can’t do what he used to do, so I help run the majority of it.”
I remember his gorgeous house. “Well it must do well from the look of your house. It is amazing!”
He gives me a warm smile. “Thank you, but that’s my parents’ house. I actually moved into the guesthouse for a while to help my mom and dad out. It was just easier that way with my dad’s stroke and all. In the winter, the construction slows down a little around here, so it gives me time to finish little projects that need to be done. Eventually, I built my own house on a section of their property. My parents own a lot of land and they gifted us each with huge portions of it.
He wets his lips and my eyes instantly go straight to his mouth. His bottom lip is fuller than his top and I can only think how perfect they look. After a moment, his mouth turns into a little knowing smirk.
Busted!
“How about you, Evie?” The way he says my name gives me little butterflies in my stomach. “What’s your story?”
Great, now it’s my turn. I guess it is only fair to tell my side. “Well, I wanted a new life, one different than the one I was living. My parents have a lot of money, and with that came being in the spotlight—not like movie stars or anything, more like being in the spotlight of other wealthy families. We always had to be perfect—perfect hair, perfect clothes, perfect everything.” Ian continues to sit there listening, so I keep going. “Life was about showing off how much money you had. I hated it, even though I was raised that way. I couldn’t stand it. I let my parents push me around and went along with what my friends did. They are exactly like younger versions of my parents, or I guess their own; they’re all the same really.”
This is the part I am dreading, telling the story I’ve only somewhat told my mom and dad.
“In college, the people there were just like the ones I grew up with. We were constantly going to frat parties, and at one party, I was wasted and ended up in bed with some guy I’d never met. To this day I don’t even know his name. Around six or so weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. I told my parents. I had barely gotten the words out of my mouth before my mom was on the phone setting up an appointment to terminate. I just couldn’t do it. I may be scared shitless, but it’s a part of me, you know? So now I’m here, away from people like the ones I grew up with.”
“Wow. Well your story definitely trumps mine.” He starts chuckling, and soon we’re both laughing.
I wake up feeling refreshed and for once, I’m not rushing to the bathroom to empty the contents of my stomach. Yesterday was so nice having Ian here. We shared stories, laughing a lot. He is so down to earth and easy to talk with. Even though I haven’t known him long, I find myself opening up to him in ways I never have with anyone else before. We had to wait for the rain to stop before Ian’s ride could make it down the driveway so they didn’t become stuck as well. That wait turned into hours, and our conversation turned into telling each other funny stories. Remembering one of his stories instantly makes me smile.
I’m finally able to take a breath after laughing so hard. I still have a cheesy grin on my face when I ask, “So what was your first kiss like?”
His cheeks become a little pink as he smirks. “Well I don’t exactly remember my first kiss, but I do remember my most embarrassing kiss. It was around the time I got my license. My dad had bought me my very own car, so I
picked up my date and we went into town. We were walking down the sidewalk holding hands when we stopped before crossing the street. I turned toward her to kiss her, however, I didn’t pay any attention to what building we were standing in front of. Well, it turned out it was my mom’s really good friend’s coffee shop and my older sister, Scarlett, was inside. She loves to torment me so she walked out in the middle of our little make-out session to interrupt us—or should I say, embarrass me. She started asking me if I was kissing her the way she’d shown me, then asked my date how I rated on a scale of one to ten. Needless to say, the rest of the date was extremely awkward. She never went out with me again.”
Knowing I have Ian as a new friend definitely helps with the fact that I’m all alone in a new place, completely out of my element. After listening to Ian’s funny stories, I realize how empty my life was before. His family likes to tease and joke around with one another, but they actually love each other. Ian talked about his sisters, how they would “torture” him, but I could hear the warmth and affection in his voice. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that. Sure my parents probably love me, but they sure don’t show it the way Ian describes his family doing.
My new life is going to be different. My baby will know nothing but love and happiness. Just thinking on how my new life will be gives me the motivation I need to get up and get started on the day.
It’s so cold in the house that I get goose bumps when I get out of bed. I turn on a small space heater before grabbing my phone. I start looking on YouTube for “how to make a fire”, hoping I can actually do this without burning down the whole house. I put on the boots and jeans I wore yesterday, heading for the woodpile that is in the back of Ian’s trailer.
I’m nearing the trailer when midstride, my boots sink down in the mud and I feel like I’m stuck in cement. Losing my balance, I fall forward, trying to catch myself with my hands. They immediately sink until I’m up to my elbows in mud.
