by Magan Vernon
"I'm serious, baby. This all scares the shit out of me."
I squeezed his hand. "Yeah, I'm scared as hell too. But we have to be in this together. We both can't run and hide or nothing is going to get done."
He nodded. "Yeah, I guess I need to stop acting like a sissy and man up, ey? Our son is going to need that."
I smirked and opened the car door. "Or our daughter. I'm thinking we should go with a traditional name. Maybe Glimmer."
He got out of the car and followed me around to the front. "Like hell. If anything, she'll have a Southern belle name like Scarlett O'Hara Crabtree."
I put my arm around his waist and leaned my head on his shoulder. "At least you're getting used to the idea of a girl."
He put his arm around my shoulder and squeezed it before opening the glass door in front of us. "A girl who plays softball."
The waiting room looked more like someone's living room than any doctor's office I'd ever been in. The walls were painted a mint green color with different black and white portraits of families on the walls. Instead of uncomfortable waiting room chairs, there were plush, modern brown sofas with tables that looked like they were made out of pallets and flanked each side of the sofas.
The opposite side of the room had a large, brown desk with glass lighting pendants that dropped down just a few feet from the receptionist's heads.
Blaine and I approached the desk where two smiling ladies sat in pink scrubs. One was on a computer and the other one on the phone. I didn't know which one I was supposed to approach so I just stood there with my hands together until the woman on the phone looked at me.
"How can I help you, honey?" Her accent wasn't as thick as some other women in Louisiana but it still made me smile.
I stepped closer to the desk. "Hi, I'm Elizabeth Gentry and I have an appointment with Dr. Miller."
The woman looked over at her computer and typed a few things in. "Okay, I have you checked in but I'm just going to need you and your husband to fill out a few forms here."
Husband? Did she just really say that?
She grabbed a few papers and put them in a clipboard and handed it to me with a pen. "It's just some basic family history, HIPAA, and medical history. If you don't finish it all before you get called back, you can finish it in the room or just hand in what you have."
I was going to correct her on calling Blaine my husband, but instead I just smiled, took the clipboard, and took a seat on one of the couches. Blaine sat next to me and fidgeted every few seconds while I tried to fill out the form.
Finally I couldn't take it anymore. "Is everything okay? Are you upset because she called you my husband? Or is this still about our argument, because now isn't the time to bring it up," I whispered.
He laughed and shook his head, licking his lips. "No. I'm not upset about that at all...but..."
"But what?" I raised an eyebrow.
He lowered his voice. "This place is just a little weird is all. All the magazines have pregnant women on them and the pictures are of half-naked women. There isn't a Sports Illustrated or anything in sight."
I laughed. "Really? Did you think there would be?"
He shrugged. "Hey, a lot of guys come in here with their women. They need reading material too."
"I'll be sure to tell the doctor that."
As if the staff knew we were talking about them, the door near the front desk opened and a short, younger woman in pink scrubs called my name.
"Looks like you can tell him right now," Blaine said and nudged my side as we stood up.
"Smart ass," I muttered.
"Are you Mr. and Mrs. Gentry?" The woman asked as we approached the door.
"It's Miss Gentry, for now, this is my fiancé, Blaine Crabtree," I said.
She nodded, her smile fading a bit. "My apologies."
I knew there would be people that judged us for having a kid and not being married. I didn't expect it at a doctor's office, but I guess it did happen. Maybe it was better to get married before he or she was born...as long as we made it without too many more fights.
"It's no problem," I said.
"Okay, well, why don't you two follow me back to ultrasound?"
She shut the door behind Blaine and me and led us down a small hallway that had closed doors on each side.
"An ultrasound? Am I far enough along for that?" I asked.
The woman nodded and looked at her paperwork. "This helps the doctor get a better idea of how far a long you are and then we go from there assessing your due date and pre-natal care. After we get some pictures, then you'll meet with the doctor. Is that all right?"
I shrugged. "Do I have a choice?"
The woman laughed and opened a door to a dark room. In one corner, there was a computer screen with a chair that had large silver stirrups attached to it.
"Mr. Crabtree, you can sit on the chair next to the station there, and Miss Gentry, I'll have you hop up on this chair." The woman patted the chair with the stirrups.
"Okay." Blaine and I did as she asked before she took a seat on a wheeled stool and pulled up to the computer screen, typing a few things in on the keyboard.
"All right Miss Gentry, I'm going to have you lay back and scoot so that your butt is at the end of the seat, then roll up your shirt."
"Okay." I did so and she took some paper towels and put them on my lap, stuffing the tops into the waistband of my jeans.
"Now I'm going to use this warm gel and spread it across your stomach with this wand, then we'll be able to see your little peanut on the screen," she said, squirting the warm jelly on my stomach.
She typed a few things with the keyboard with one hand and then pressed the wand down on my stomach with the other. Within a few seconds, the speakers blared a swirling sound that sounded like treading water. On the screen popped a black image surrounded by shades of gray and in the middle of all the black was a small, lima bean shaped gray blob. My blob.
"Is that the baby?" Blaine asked, staring over my shoulder.
The woman nodded. "That would be the future little Crabtree."
The woman pressed a few more buttons on her keyboard and then pointed at the screen. "You can see the head and formation of the spine and even some little buds for arms." She pointed at the screen and enlarged it.
"He looks like a little tadpole," Blaine said.
"Did you just refer to our daughter as an amphibian?" I asked, staring up at him.
Blaine looked down at me and smiled before placing a chaste kiss on my lips. "Nope. Just stating that she gets her looks from her daddy."
He grabbed my hand and squeezed it before looking back at the screen. "It's really real. All of this. We're having a baby."
I nodded, biting my bottom lip to keep myself steady and not try and have an emotional outburst of happy tears. "Yes. We really are."
The woman typed a few more things on the keyboard and some lines appeared near the baby. "And it looks like we're measuring around eight weeks, so that would put your due date at the end of September. I hope the Saints have a bye that weekend."
Blaine laughed. "Even if they don't, I'm sure our baby would like to be introduced to the world with the Saints playing in the background."
The woman laughed and printed out some small prints of the ultrasound and handed them to me. "I'm sure the doctors would like that too."
I stared down at the prints. The first portraits of the little thing that had been giving me hell for weeks and now it was real. Really real. And in September, I'd be holding that baby in my arms with Blaine by my side as my husband.
When I left Illinois, I never thought any of this would ever happen and now that it was, I knew it was exactly where I was supposed to be.
***
After meeting the doctor and discussing pre-natal care, Blaine and I went back out to the car with a load of vitamin samples, brochures, and magazines to read through. It was going to be a long thirty-two weeks.
When I got in the car, I finally pulled out my
phone and saw that I had three missed calls from my mom.
"Hey, baby, do you mind if I call my mom?" I asked Blaine as he got into the car.
He shook his head. "No, that's fine. I should probably call my mama, too, or we can stop by there before I drop you off at home."
"Yeah. That sounds great."
I dialed back my mom's cell phone and she answered on the second ring. "Libby! Where have you been?"
"Sorry, I was at a doctor's appointment. Your grandbaby should be here at the end of September."
"Oh good! That will definitely give us time for the opening at the country club next June. The priest said you two could meet with him when you come here in March, but he's basically already said we could have that date."
Shit. This is what Blaine and I had talked about. I needed to tell my mom that we wanted to get married here and in a few months. I'd been putting it off for too long. But I guess it was now or never.
"Actually...Mom...Blaine and I have been talking and we were kind of thinking of getting married this June...you know...before the baby is born."
"In three months? I don't know if I'd be able to get the church then. You know these things book up years in advance."
I sighed and looked at Blaine who smiled at me, trying to give me some sort of courage. "Actually, we've already talked to the priest here. We want to get married in Elsbury."
Mom was silent for a few moments before she spoke again. "You don't want to get married in your hometown? What about everyone that will have to travel?"
I ran my fingers through my hair, twirling the ends. "It's just...this is where I feel the most comfortable. It's where I've gone to church every Sunday these past nine months. It's where my child will be raised."
My parents and I still hadn't discussed what would happen after the baby was born. I think they knew there was no way I was moving back to Illinois, especially with marrying Blaine, but now it was all out there in the open.
"Okay, well, I'll make some calls then, but I have to run to a meeting. I'll talk to you soon." Before I could get in another word edgewise, Mom hung up.
I let out a deep breath and tossed my phone in my purse.
"Went that well, ey?" Blaine said, squeezing my hand.
"Well, she didn't say no," I said.
Blaine shook his head. "She really couldn't. We are adults and this is what we both want."
"Yeah, but my parents have done everything for me. I mean they're paying for my school right now and they've supported everything."
"Yeah, but that's going to change. You and I both know that, and we both have to do what's best for our little family and what we want. If I have to work any more hours, I can do that. We'll make it work." He patted my stomach.
"You're probably right, but that doesn't make it suck any less when I hear her disappointment."
"She'll come around, baby. Don't worry. And if she doesn't, well then I guess I get to add another guest to my side of the guest list."
I glared at him. "Don't start with the guest list."
He laughed. "Okay, how about with what you're putting on my grooms' cake? I'm thinking an LSU crawfish theme."
I shoved his shoulder. "You're lucky I love you."
He smiled and kissed my cheek. "And I'll never stop."
Chapter 8
I loved my car. Loved it.
A red BMW convertible was what I'd dreamed about since I was a little girl. My dad okayed it since it was a reliable car and I had decent grade in high school. Now, four years later, I wasn't living with my parents or in Chicago. I was about to have a baby, so a two door convertible was not the best car for me.
I had to give it up.
I'd been looking online for a few days, but nothing really caught my eye. Okay, so maybe the Mercedes SUV that my sister had was really calling to me, but I wasn't exactly sure that I could spend that much on a car.
Blaine and I planned to spend the day on Saturday car shopping, so I picked him up at his place where he was already on the front porch waiting.
"You know this would be a lot easier if we were living at the same place," I said as he got into the passenger seat.
"One step at a time, baby. One step at a time."
I groaned, but didn't want to argue at that moment. We'd had the discussion a million times before, but now it was getting serious. I didn't exactly want to live out of my Aunt Dee's guest room or in his parent's attic while we were married and had a kid. But he seemed to think there was a lot of other stuff we had to get situated first. Like a car.
"Turn up here, baby," Blaine said, pointing out the front window.
"Aren't we going into New Orleans?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Not yet. Bubba called me this morning and said he has a friend that's been trying to sell his car for a while and thinks we might be interested."
I scoffed and shook my head. "I don't want to buy some random dude we don't even know's car. What if he smoked in it? What if it has a million miles on it? What would we do with my car? Just keep it for our Sunday drive care and use our little savings to buy some hunk of junk?"
Blaine sighed. "Baby. Just look at it. Bubba says it's nice and if we like it, we could put your car up for sale on the lot near Sam's Drive-In."
"Really? Just sell my car to someone on the street for a few grand? Why don't we take it to the dealership and see what they'll give us for a trade-in?"
Blaine groaned. "Because the dealership is going to rape us. They'll give us a few grand for this and then try and sell us some overpriced foreign SUV and you'll probably jump on it."
"And what if that's what I want?"
"Is your daddy going to pay for it like he has for everything else? Because I sure as hell don't want to keep working overtime forever to keep you in luxuries," Blaine snapped.
I slammed on my brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. Luckily there were no cars because I was pretty sure I left some marks in the road from moving so fast. "What the hell?"
Blaine rubbed the back of his neck and looked at me. "I'm just saying, you're used to your parents paying for things and now that we have to do it on our own, I think we should just be a little smarter with our money. If we could get a good price for your car and get a cheaper, but reliable car for you, we'd have some money for our other expenses."
It could have been a reasonable argument if I wasn't so hormonal and if the way he said the words didn't sound so judgmental. "So, you think because I'm some spoiled little rich girl that now I have to give up everything, when I've already given up a lot including my body, to make sure everything fits into how you want it?"
He held up his hands. "Now, baby, I didn't say that."
"Then what are you saying?"
He sighed and shook his head. "Let's just forget about it. We can go see Bubba another day. Let's go to New Orleans and see what they have for you at the dealership."
I shook my head. "No. I don't want to go."
"Baby, please don't be like this," he pleaded.
I held back the tears. I was always a crier, but now it was worse. I felt like I could cry over spilled milk. "I'm not ready to do this right now. Let's forget about it and I'll take you back home."
"Baby..."
I put the car back in drive and did a U-turn, heading back toward his parents'. "Not now, Blaine. We can talk about this later. Talk about everything later."
He opened his mouth to speak and then shut it again. "Okay, Libby. If that's what you want."
Then he didn't say another word the whole way to his house and only kissed my cheek before getting out of the car.
Part of me wanted to yell at him to get back in, but the other part of me knew that I needed some space before I went on another hormonal rage.
***
Sawyer had texted me earlier in the day. He was one of the few friends I'd made at school and we planned our semester around each other's so we could study together. I figured if I wasn't going car shopping with Blaine, then I could meet
him at the coffee shop near campus to study for our history midterm.
"You sure you should be drinking that?" Sawyer asked, raising his eyebrows as I took the seat across from him with my steaming mug.
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Sawyer. I can have one cup a day. Geez, are you my mother now?"
"Well, when one of my best girls texts me and tells me she's knocked up by her man candy, I figure she needs to learn some Southern manners."
I pouted. "Sorry. Should I have sent you a telegram? Is that how all the belles do it?"
He shook his head and took a sip out of his own cup. "Not that I know of, but next time you tell me in person, okay?"
I sighed and pulled my notebook out of my bag. "If there will ever be a next time. This first time is already killing me."
"Lady troubles?"
I shook my head. "I wish. More like man troubles. Blaine just doesn't get things and with everything moving so fast. Sometimes I feel like I can't catch my breath, and I'm looking for him to help but he's drowning just as bad as I am."
"Then maybe you should try and slow it down."
I sighed. "I wish. Wedding in June, which my mother still is refusing to talk to me about, baby due in September, and I've got this semester to finish plus I still have a full schedule of classes this summer."
He nodded, raising his eyebrows. "Well, that is a lot."
"That's not even the half of it. We had our doctor's appointment and he is freaking late because he's working overtime. I had to drive across town to pick him up and he was just standing there on the site, shooting the shit with his crew. Then, we tried to go car shopping today, because obviously that's more important than us finding a place to live together, and he wanted me to get some junker from Bubba Sinclair. It's like, he just does what he wants and forgets that I'm in this too. Hell, I'm the one carrying the baby."
Sawyer raised his eyebrows. "Do you think that's how he feels?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. It sure as hell seems like it."
Sawyer put his hand on mine. "Honey, I say this because I love you, but you know that Blaine is just a good ol' Southern boy. He's just doing what he's always known. You know he's just as scared as you are so he's doing the best he can and trying to figure it out alongside you. Cut him a little bit of slack."
