by Nikki Ashton
My shout had him looking in my direction, but with a slight wobble to his step he then moved out of my eyeline.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I just need you to know that my little swimmers hit that spot and I put a bun in my Lollipop’s oven.”
As I looked down and wished the ground would swallow me up, a few people muttered congratulations amidst a smattering of applause, but I think generally everyone was as shocked as I was. Henry cursed, Melinda groaned, my mom gasped… and as for my dad well I’m pretty sure he growled like a grizzly. Carter though, never one to know when to shut his mouth kept on talking.
“So, Lollipop I want you to know, I’m ready for this. I’m ready to be a father and I vote we call our baby Blake, after the most beautiful woman I know.”
It was then for the second time in a matter of days that I threw my shoe at Carter’s head.
Dad paced up and down while Mom stared at me, just as she had been for the last half hour since we’d arrived home from the party.
“What about your business?” Dad asked, mid pace. “You’ve worked hard, Dayton Valley ladies were not known for their high grooming standards until you started up.”
“I’ve always kept myself tidy,” Mom chipped in, the first words she’d spoken since we’d walked through the door. “But Dad is right. What about the salon?”
I rolled my eyes. “Women can be mothers and businesswomen at the same time you know. I don’t have to be chained to the kitchen sink.”
“We know, honey,” Mum sighed. “But you have to understand this is a big shock to us. And to find out that way.”
“You’re not kidding,” Dad cried. “I’m not ready to even believe you’re out of your training bra yet.”
“Well, hate to break it to you, Dad, but I had a twenty-fifth birthday a week ago.”
And hadn’t that been as dull as Henry’s bone. Just a family dinner where I’d pretended to have a migraine as an excuse why I hadn’t gone out partying with Ellie.
“Doesn’t mean I’m ready for my baby to have a baby.” Dad threw his hands in the air and went back to pacing.
“Who’s having a baby?”
Austen, my little brother, appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, rubbing a hand through his dark blond bed hair. His pajama pants were halfway up his legs and his top was pulled tight across his chest. He’d filled out and shot up over the last couple of months and was growing out of his cute boyish features and looking more like our brother, Shaw; tall and handsome.
We all stared at him, no sound except for that of our breathing.
“What are you doing up, honey?” Mom asked, standing and going to him. “You were fast asleep when we got home.”
“Yeah, only because you made me have a sitter and do you know how boring Patty Donahue is? She bored me to sleep.” He pretended to yawn which made me laugh, but he was right, Patty Donahue was boring. She collected pencils for goodness sake.
“Well at least we know you weren’t doing anything you shouldn’t be,” Dad said with a grunt. “Unlike your sister.”
“Dad!”
He threw his arms up. “But you have.”
“No, I haven’t,” I protested. “Having sex is the most natural thing in the world. You and Mom have had sex.”
“Ugh,” Austen groaned. “Please don’t.”
“Honey, you know what sex is?” Mom asked, running a hand down my brother’s hair.
“Duh. I’m fifteen.”
“You’re fourteen, son,” Dad corrected.
“Fourteen, fifteen, it’s practically the same,” Austen said with a shoulder shrug. “But yes, Mom, I do know what sex is. We have sex ed at school and like I said, I’m fifteen.”
“Have you had sex?” Mom asked.
Austen slammed his hands over his face. “Oh my God, Mom. No, just don’t ask me that.”
“Austen,” Dad growled in a warning tone. “Please tell me that you’ve not done anything stupid.”
I started to giggle. “Really, does he look like he’d know what to do?”
The three of us stared at him in his Transformer pjs with his hot chocolate moustache.
“Yeah, you kind of have a point,” Dad sighed and turned to Mom. “I think we’re good with kid number three providing us with any surprises of the baby nature, Darce.”
Mom gave a sigh of relief. “Okay, honey. You need to get back to bed. We have to speak to Bronte about some things.”
“Have you had sex with Carter?” Austen asked, his eyes wide and his mouth gaping as he waited for my response. “Mom, has she had sex with Carter?”
“I’m twenty-five, Austin. What do you think?”
He grinned. “Damn, you’re in trouble now.”
“Austen,” Mom chastised. “Don’t say damn.”
“Son.” Dad sighed. “Just go back to bed.” He leaned forward and kissed Austen’s hair before turning him and pushing him back toward his bedroom.
“Hey, Dad,” he said pulling on Dad’s arm. “Are you staying here tonight?”
Dad took a deep breath. “No, I’m going to get an Uber back to my apartment. Now, go to bed.”
“I’m always sent to bed,” Austen complained as he dragged his feet. “I never get to hear the good stuff. Like when Shaw got caught feeling up Patty Donahue. I was just sent to bed that night too.”
“No way,” I cried, making a grab for Austen’s arm. “Stop, tell me all about it.”
Austen turned and started to laugh. “Last summer when Mom and Dad got Patty to sit, Shaw came home a day early and when I went to bed, he and Patty got down and dirty.”
“Austen,” Dad yelled. “Bed. Now.”
“What, that’s what happened?” he remonstrated, allowing Dad to turn him toward his room again.
“Why did I not know this?” I asked.
“Because,” Dad said, throwing Austen a warning glare. “It wasn’t important.”
“So, he was just feeling her up?” I called.
Austen continued walking. “One hand up her shirt the other down her pants,” he called without turning around. “On Mom’s new sofa.”
I burst out laughing and watched my little brother wander back to bed, leaving my parents to deal with their other errant child – the one who’d got herself knocked up.
“Okay.” I sighed and flopped down onto the sofa that now felt kind of dirty. “Go for it. Tell me what a disappointment I am and how I’ve ruined my life.”
Mom sat next to me and placed a cool hand on my forearm. “We don’t think either of those things, honey. It’s just such a shock. I mean you and Carter being together in itself is huge, but having a baby together, well…”
“Mom’s right, sweetheart,” Dad said, starting to pace again. “A few short months ago you hated each other. Now you’re bringing a new life into the world; together.”
I nodded, understanding their worry. Carter and I seemed like a real bad idea on paper. We didn’t have a great track record of even being amicable with each other and now we were having a child.
“I understand how it must look,” I replied. “But I swear, we do love each other, and I won’t let this change what I want to do with my life.”
“So, if you love each other, why aren’t you still a couple?” Mom asked. “You’ve barely been together a few months and have already parted. Doesn’t look like you have this figured out so well, does it?”
She was right, it wasn’t a good sign for our future. “Lots of kids have parents who are apart. Look at us.”
Dad narrowed his eyes on me. “Your mom and I are sorting through things and we’ve been married twenty-five years.”
“Twenty-six, Jim,” Mom corrected.
Dad winced and rubbed a hand down his face. “Twenty-six, sorry. You’ve already fallen at the first hurdle, sweetheart.”
“I just want to be sure me and a baby are what he wants,” I replied.
I also needed to be sure I wasn’t going to end up like my mom; crying about my man leaving one day.
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br /> “You know what he’s like; a big stupid idiot,” I stated.
He really was, but the thought of the big stupid idiot still made me smile.
“I know he thinks he wants this,” I continued. “But I want him to be sure about it, because if he changes his mind after a few months or even a year, that would be so much worse.”
Mom’s bright grey eyes shone with understanding because she knew exactly how that felt, the thought of losing the man you loved after you’d built a life together.
“Okay, honey,” she replied, giving my hand a squeeze. “Whatever happens we’re here for you.” She looked up at Dad who was watching her carefully. The look on his face so soft and gentle it stole my breath. “Right, Jim?’
Dad nodded. “Yeah. Always. Whether Carter comes along for the ride or not, you’ve always got our support.”
He engulfed me and Mom in his arms and I knew everything would be okay, one way or another.
There aren’t many things that I regretted in my life but getting drunk on whisky without any food in my belly, is one of my biggest.
In the three days since my drunk-ass announcement Bronte had refused to speak to me even when I returned her shoe; she just snatched it from me and then slammed the door in my face.
Sighing at my own stupidity, I walked out into the waiting room to call for my next patient. We were real busy, it seemed nearly every pet in Dayton Valley had an ailment of some kind.
“Ariana Grande,” I called out and when Dulcie Rogers stood up with her mother and a cute looking puppy, I mentally high-fived myself.
The staff and I had a monthly sweepstake on the names of the new puppies and kittens that we would see. They were usually named after popstars or film stars and I’d chosen Ariana as my monthly pick. If no one else’s choice came up in the last three days of the month, I’d bagged myself a six-pack of beer as the prize. Okay, so it was a shit prize if three of you won and had to share, but we had fun with it.
“Okay, Dulcie, so we’re giving Ariana her puppy injections today, right?” I asked as Dulcie and her mom Vivien closed the door of my consulting room behind them.
“It’s actually Ariana Grande,” Dulcie informed me as she placed the French Bulldog on the examination table.”
“My bad,” I replied and grinned at Vivien.
If I’d expected her to laugh along with me about her daughter’s fussiness over her dog’s name, I’d have been mistaken. Her face was sour enough to curdle milk. Schooling my features back into something more professional, I set about getting everything ready. As I went about my job and soothed the puppy before sticking a needle into her, Vivien tsked real loud and followed it up with a sigh. I might have ignored it had she not muttered, “A total embarrassment,” under her breath loud enough for me to hear.
“Okay,” I said brightly and turned to Dulcie. “All done. If you want to take her to see Louisa on the reception desk, I’m sure she’s got a treat Ariana Grande can have.”
Dulcie gave me a huge smile and carefully picked up the puppy, cradling it like a baby. Vivien went to follow Dulcie, but I stopped her by calling her name.
“Yes,” she said, narrowing her eyes on me.
“Have you got a problem, Vivien? Because if you have, I’d rather you tell me.”
“Do I have a problem?” she asked, folding her arms over her ample chest. “Of course, I have a problem; you. Embarrassing poor Bronte like that.”
I groaned and rubbed a hand down my face. It was bad enough Bronte and her folks being at outs with me, but the rest of the town as well?
“I’m not proud of myself, Vivien. I had too much to drink and let my mouth run away with me. I’ve apologized to Bronte along with her mom and dad, there’s not much more I can do.”
Vivien arched a brow and made a move toward the door. “Maybe grow up and show her you’re ready to be a father.”
“I don’t think—”
She didn’t hear what else I had to say, because she walked away and pulled the door closed behind her.
“Fuck,” I groaned and threw my pen across the room.
Vivien was right, I had to prove to Bronte that I was ready to be a dad. First thing I needed to do in my mission, was to speak to Lance. Going through the door at the back of my consulting room, I strode off to find him. As expected, he was in the office doing paperwork.
“You put an invoice in for your time at Wickerson’s last week?”
“Afternoon to you too, Lance. And yes, I did it yesterday.”
He looked up and grunted something before bending his head back to his desk and continuing to write in his big ledger.
“Lance, I’ve told you, I can get all of that put onto the computer.”
“And I told you, ain’t nothing wrong with a good old-fashioned pen and ledger,” he replied, still not looking up at me. “Now have you just come in here to drag me into the twenty-first century, or was there something else?”
Taking a deep breath, I pulled the guest chair out from his desk and sat down. We’d had many versions of the conversation to come, but the time had arrived for me to give him an ultimatum.
“I guess you heard that me and Bronte are having a baby.”
“Yup.”
I still got no eye contact but carried on regardless.
“That means I need to think a bit more about my future. I need to be sure my family are well taken care of.”
“From what I heard you’ll be lucky if Bronte ever talks to you again, never mind want to set up a family situation with you.”
“Yeah, she’s mad.” I sighed, frustrated that he was still writing damn numbers down. “Hopefully, she’ll forgive me.”
“And how do you propose to get her to do that?” he asked, finally lifting his head.
I leaned forward, resting my forearms on my thighs, wanting Lance to see the desire in my eyes.
“I want partner,” I replied, my voice strong and steady. “I have the money and I think I’m ready. You’re not going to retire and let me run the business any time soon, so I figure I should buy in. It’s a win, win situation.”
“And how do you work that out?” Lance put his pen into the crease of the ledger pages and sat back, waiting for the sales pitch that he would have no choice but to accept.
“I get the responsibility I want, while you get some cash but still get to carry on working.”
He never said much but I knew the big old house he lived in on the outskirts of town ate up a lot of his money. He’d told me once he wanted to sell it, but his wife wouldn’t hear of it. Their son Martin had been born there and as he’d been killed in Iraq, the house held a lot of memories for Dorothy and now she couldn’t stand to leave it.
Lance’s eyes narrowed and he let out a slow breath. I’d definitely piqued his interest.
“Let me think about it,” he replied. “Chat to Dorothy.”
I wanted to do a little jig in my seat because if he was talking to Dorothy, he was serious about it.
“Appreciate it, Lance. I really -.”
“Vet required urgently. We have a cat that has been involved in an RTA.”
The speaker system blasted out, making us both jump in our seats. I was on my feet first.
“I’ll go.”
Rushing into the reception the last person I expected to see was Bronte, cradling Roderick against her. Jim was with her and had his arm around her shoulders.
“Carter,” Bronte cried and ran straight to me. “A car hit him and drove off. He got up but was dragging his leg.”
“Shit. Okay, quick follow me.”
When we got into my consulting room, I got Bronte to lay Roderick on the table, while I pushed a button to call one of the nurses to come and help.
“Is he going to be okay?” Bronte cried as she watched me feel around her cat.
“Don’t worry, Lollipop, he’s in the best place now.”
Jessica, one of our nurses stepped inside and gasped when she saw Bronte.
“Oh God,
what happened?”
“RTA,” I explained. “Can you hold him while I check his back legs.”
Over the next couple of minutes, Jessica and I did what we needed to be done while Bronte and Jim watched on in shocked silence. When I was finally happy with my examination, I gave Roderick a sedative and asked Jessica to take him for an x-ray.
“Okay,” I said as Jessica left the room. “I’m confident nothing is broken, but we’ll soon find out for sure. Even so, he’s real lucky. You see who hit him?” I asked. “It wasn’t Ellie was it, you know trying to get us to talk?”
I laughed loudly at my own joke but was faced with two blank faces.
“Okay, too soon,” I muttered, remembering when my sister had given the damn cat laxatives to try and get me and Bronte together—even though secretly we already were. “So, I’ll get him x-rayed and then let you know what the situation is. If he hasn’t got any broken bones, I’m still going to keep him in.”
“Why?” Bronte asked, her bottom lip quivering.
Running a hand down her arm, I gave her what I hoped was a comforting smile. “I just want to observe him, check his bladder and bowels are working okay and that the impact hasn’t damaged them.”
When Bronte whimpered, Jim pulled her into his side. “Hey come on now. Like Carter said, he’s in the best place.”
“You sure you think he’ll be okay?”
“Lollipop, I wouldn’t lie to you.”
As my eyes met hers, I felt the usual electricity between us. How her existence in the same air space as me, made my heart thud and the blood rush in my ears. She was so damn beautiful with her blue hair in little buns either side of her head adding cute to the sexiness. It was difficult to believe I used to hate the sight of her until one night in Stars & Stripes we’d had a drunken kiss.
We must have been looking at each other pretty intensely because when Jim cleared his throat, we both jumped.
“I’ll go and erm…” He pointed to the door. “I’ll wait outside for you, sweetheart.”
Neither of us spoke until we heard the door click shut behind him.
“I’m sorry,” I burst out. “I was a drunken idiot and I’ll never forgive myself.”
