The Consequences of Forever (Lainey)

by Kaitlyn Oruska

  “He proposed to me with the blue prints to this house instead of a ring,” Julia added with a laugh. “It sounds strange, but it was the most romantic moment of my life.”

  “That’s definitely different,” I agreed.

  I stayed in the kitchen for a while longer, talking to Paul even after Julia left to entertain the rest of her guests. We found a box of double chocolate chip cookies stored away in one of the cabinets, and feasted on them for a bit while we talked about random things.

  “So, are you excited to have a baby?” Paul asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “It still doesn’t feel real, if that makes any sense.”

  “It does,” Paul agreed. “I felt the same way with both of my kids. But then, I didn’t exactly have to go through the pregnancy and labor so I’m sure that makes a difference.”

  “Where do they live?” I asked. “Julia said they weren’t here in North Carolina.”

  “Florida,” he said. “Their mother, my ex-wife, got a job offer she couldn’t refuse a few years after we split up. It’s been hard, but worth it. They’re happy there, and we try to be as fair with custody as we can, given the circumstances. They were here last Christmas, and they’ll be here next year.”

  “My parents broke up when I was really little,” I told him. “Before I turned one, actually. My dad and I stayed near her until I was two, but then we moved away and I haven’t seen my mom much since.”

  “That’s rough.”

  “You get used to it, I guess.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. I think you’ll turn out alright, though. Julia will make sure of that. If there’s one person in the world I have complete faith in, it’s my sister.”

  “She’s been great,” I agreed. “I don’t think I’d be so calm and okay throughout all of this without her.”

  Paul was about to respond, but a commotion in the next room distracted both of us. It sounded like a loud bang, followed by shouts. My eyes widened.

  “That sounds like Adam,” I said.

  Paul looked grim. “And Greg.”

  We got up from our seats at the breakfast bar, leaving the half-empty package of cookies behind, and made our way into the living room. Sure enough, Adam and Greg were facing off, their chests heaving and their eyes focused only on each other.

  “Don’t you ever say anything like that again,” Adam said through clenched teeth.

  Greg smirked. “Maybe it wouldn’t bother you so much if you had some confidence it wasn’t true, little brother,” he replied.

  “Take it back,” Adam insisted.

  Greg laughed and shook his head. “Nope.”

  I started to walk towards Adam, my instincts telling me to calm him down before things escalated, but Paul grabbed my arm and kept me back. “Just let them handle it,” he said quietly. “Whatever is going on between them has obviously been going on for a while; just let them get it out of their systems.”

  “You son of a bitch,” I heard Adam say in a low voice, which only seemed to amuse Greg more. “You can’t stand the fact that I have someone and I’m happy, can you?”

  “Whatever makes you sleep better at night, little brother. You’re getting dumber as you get older, do you know that? It seems clear to me and everyone else here what’s really going on, but not to you.”

  “Don’t say it,” Adam warned. Greg opened his mouth, clearly about to say whatever Adam didn’t want him to say, but before he could speak a single word, Adam’s fist went flying. I felt my mouth drop open and a small sound of surprise escape as Adam’s fist made contact with the side of Greg’s face.

  Greg slumped slightly but didn’t fall over. He put a hand instinctively over his injured face and glared at Adam. “You’re going to regret that,” he warned, and stormed off to the back of the house. I broke away from Paul and hurried towards Adam.

  “What are you doing?” I exclaimed. Adam stared straight ahead, avoiding my eyes, and shook his head. He tore past me and headed up the stairs, and I followed him into his bedroom, closing the door behind me.

  “What was going on down there?” I demanded. Adam shook his head and sat on his bed, burying his face in his hands. I sat down next to him.

  “Adam, talk to me.”

  “You don’t need to know,” he insisted.

  “I want to. Did he say something about us? About me?”

  Adam lifted his head and stared at the ceiling. “He said the baby probably wasn’t mine, and you were just saying that to leech off of mom and dad’s money.”

  “What? That’s ridiculous.”

  “I know it’s ridiculous! That’s why I flipped out.”

  “Where did he even come up with that?” I asked.

  “Who knows? It’s Greg. He’s been an ass since the day he was born.”

  I sighed and ran my hands through Adam’s hair, hoping to comfort him. “Well, it doesn’t matter,” I pointed out. “You know it isn’t true and I know it isn’t true, and if it helps Greg to think that, then just let him. It doesn’t matter, okay?”

  “It does matter,” he insisted. “I’m not going to let anyone, especially my own brother, talk to you or about you that way.”

  “You don’t need to be my hero, Adam,” I reminded him, smoothing his hair back. “Greg’s opinion doesn’t matter in the least to me.”

  “It shouldn’t matter to me, either, but I don’t know. It just does.”

  “I know what you mean. Maybe he and Nora should join forces.” That was a scary thought, but an amusing one, all the same.

  Adam cracked a small smile. “Yeah, maybe.” He put his arm around me, pulling me closer. “Let’s just stay up here for a while, okay? I don’t feel like going down there and facing everyone.”

  “Okay,” I agreed. “Merry Christmas,” I added with a laugh.

  He kissed my forehead. “Merry Christmas.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “As of today, you are officially sixteen weeks,” Thea announced, spinning her chair to face me. “How does that feel?”

  “The same as fifteen weeks,” I admitted with a nervous laugh.

  “Yeah, I know. But the good news is, if you want to try for an ultrasound today, we might be able to determine gender.”

  I glanced over at Julia and Hannah. “I don’t think so,” I decided. “I kind of want Adam to be here for that.”

  After the events on Christmas, Ned had insisted on having a guy’s day out with both of his sons. Adam had protested all of Thursday about it, but Ned wasn’t hearing it. It was one appointment, he kept insisting, pointing out that he hadn’t been to every one of Julia’s appointments during both pregnancies. This had led to an argument between Adam and Ned, which left me feeling even guiltier, and in the end Adam agreed to go. Julia decided to make a day of it, inviting Hannah with the intention of going out to lunch and maybe doing some shopping after.

  “Come on,” Hannah pleaded. “Just let her do it, Lainey. If you don’t want to know, she can tell me and I promise I won’t say a word.”

  “That’s the most blatant lie that’s ever come out of your mouth.”

  Hannah grinned, unable to argue with that. “Aren’t you excited to find out, though? Just a little bit?”

  I shook my head, realizing I actually wasn’t. Knowing the gender would make everything just a little too real; more real than I wanted it to be.

  “Unless it’s a boy, chances are we wouldn’t be able to tell for sure this early, anyway,” Thea spoke up. “Boys are easier to detect earlier on than girls, for obvious reasons.”

  Hannah giggled. “It’s going to be a girl anyway,” she predicted. “I’ve already decided that.”

  “She bought me an infant-sized ballerina outfit for Christmas,” I added. “That’s how confident she is.”

  Thea laughed. “Well, if you don’t want an ultrasound there’s not much more for me to do today than give you a quick exam and answer any questions. All the results from your blood test ca
me back positive, so you’re good to go. Are you still focused on a natural birth?”

  I nodded. “As long as you don’t think there will be any difficulties.”

  Thea shook her head. “Sometimes you won’t know until the day comes, but up until now, everything seems great. I have to ask, though, now that your living situation has changed, do you think you want to try a home birth, or still come here?”

  I considered it for a moment. “Come here,” I decided. “I think that would feel safer to me.”

  Thea nodded. “A lot of women I’ve delivered felt that way. I’m giving you an estimated due date of June twelfth, so I’m going to make sure there’s a room available for the week before and after.”

  “June twelfth?” I repeated.

  “Yeah. Technically you’ll reach forty weeks on the thirteenth, but I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about a Friday the thirteenth baby. What’s wrong?”

  “My brother is getting married on the fourteenth.”

  “Well, that is quite the scheduling conflict,” she remarked. “But there’s not much you can do about it except hope. And you never know. It’s all up to this baby. They could come days or weeks early, or stick around days or weeks after their due date.”

  “How long after?” I asked nervously.

  Thea smiled. “Not too long. If it gets to be too much we could induce, but we’ll worry about that if and when the time comes, okay? I guess there’s probably no chance of convincing your brother to change his wedding date?”

  “No, probably not.”

  “It’ll all work out,” she promised. I hoped she was right. I didn’t think the wedding would be this important to me, considering Mason and I hadn’t grown up together and weren’t close, but for some reason, I just didn’t want to miss it.

  Thea gave me a quick exam, measuring my stomach and taking my weight, among a few other things. I still wasn’t crazy about having to come to an appointment at least once a month for the foreseeable future, but I felt more comfortable with her than I ever had with a doctor before, maybe because I knew she really understood what I was going through.

  “Everything looks good,” she said when she was done. “I’m still concerned about your weight gain, but it is a first pregnancy, and it’s normal to not start showing too early.” She showed me her chart, tapping on a number with her pen. “That’s what I want you to weigh next time you come in, okay? Can you try to reach that number?”

  I nodded and slid off the table. Paul and I hadn’t finished off that box of cookies from Christmas, so gaining extra weight shouldn’t be too much of a feat.

  “Do you have any questions?”

  I shook my head, but Julia spoke up. “Do you have a limit of how many people are allowed in the room when she gives birth?”

  “Not really, we try to leave that up to the woman doing the birthing as much as possible. Obviously we don’t want a whole room full, but I don’t think anyone would request that, anyway. And there’s always the waiting room, for the people who want to be present but not necessarily in the center of all the action.”

  “Alright, good. Lainey, are you sure you don’t have any questions?” Julia asked me.

  “No, none that I can think of,” I replied.

  “Okay then, you know the drill. Call if you decide you have any, and make sure to schedule an appointment for week twenty. Should we plan an ultrasound then, find out if we’re having a little Lainey or a little Adam?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, next time should work out okay.”

  Thea smiled and extended her hand to me. “Good, I look forward to it.”

  We left the birthing center, with me leading the way. I’d had a late afternoon appointment, with breakfast having been hours ago, and I was anxious to get to the restaurant Julia had picked out for lunch. By the time I got to the car, Julia and Hannah were still a few feet away.

  “Geeze, hold your horses, Lainey,” Hannah complained when they finally caught up to me.

  “I’m hungry,” I admitted sheepishly.

  “Baby wants to eat,” Julia said with a grin. We all piled in the car and were soon on our way.

  “Do you feel it yet?” Hannah asked suddenly.

  “Feel what?”

  “The baby. Like, inside of you, can you feel anything?”

  I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “How do you not know?”

  “It’s hard to tell this early on,” Julia spoke up. “It’s not very strong at first, because the baby isn’t very big yet.”

  “I can’t wait,” Hannah decided. “I don’t think I ever want kids, but I can’t wait for yours to get here.”

  “Why wouldn’t you want kids?” Julia asked.

  “I don’t know, they seem like such a huge responsibility. Plus, I don’t want to turn into my mom. That’s my biggest fear.”

  “Me too,” I agreed softly. Hannah didn’t appear to hear me, but Julia did. She glanced over at me and offered a small, reassuring smile.

  “You’ll change your mind,” she told Hannah. “Just wait and see. Having kids is one of the best experiences possible. We’re lucky to be women so we can experience it.”

  “Yeah, experience getting fat and pushing another human being out of your body while the guy who did it to you lounges around and watches TV,” Hannah complained. “I’ll pass.”

  “Well, that’s certainly one way to look at it,” Julia said with a chuckle. We got to the restaurant and all piled out of the car, heading for the entrance. It was nearly empty, as per usual in Haven during late December.

  “Three,” Julia said to the host, and we were led to a table. Hannah and I sat down beside each other, Julia across from us, and began looking through the menu. A few pages in, I felt Hannah jab my side sharply with her elbow.

  “Ouch!” I exclaimed. “Hannah, what are you doing?”

  “Look who’s here,” she hissed, motioning a few tables over. I followed her gaze and spotted Maggie Whittingham sitting at a table with a few of her friends.

  “So?”

  “So? You’re supposed to hate her.”

  “Who?” Julia asked, turning around and then turning back to us, looking confused. “Who is that?”

  “Maggie,” Hannah informed her. “Your son used to date her?”

  Julia looked even more confused. “Which one?”

  “The one with all the curly dark hair.”

  Julia looked over her shoulder again and shook her head. “She doesn’t look familiar.”

  “He was probably ashamed of her,” Hannah agreed.

  “Hannah!” I exclaimed.

  “What?” She demanded. “It’s true. She’s such a snob. And she glares at me all the time, like I’m the one who stole her precious Adam away. No offense,” she added, glancing at Julia.

  Julia smiled, looking amused. “None taken.”

  “She gives me looks too, but I ignore her,” I said. “Girls like that just want attention. The more you give in to them, the more they’ll try for it.”

  “Lainey’s right,” Julia agreed. “Just ignore her, Hannah. What are you planning on ordering?”

  Twenty minutes later our orders had arrived, and we began digging in. I’d overcome my sudden fixation on red meat, and the chicken wrap with a double order of fries hit the spot. It was going to take more than one order of fries every once in a while to get up to the weight Thea wanted me at in a month, but it was a challenge I was willing to accept.

  I had just taken a long sip of water when I was aware of someone standing next to me. Expecting the waiter, I glanced up, surprised to find Maggie standing there instead.

  “Hi,” she said, her arms crossed over her chest.

  “Hi,” I replied, confused. As much as Maggie might glare at me from time to time at school, she’d never attempted trying to talk to me before.

  “So is it true?”

  “Is what true?”

  “The rumors about you being pregnant.”

  I blinked, caught o
ff guard. Hannah was quick to jump to my defense. “So what if they are?” She demanded. “Is that a problem?”

  Maggie smirked. “Not for me.”

  She turned to leave, but after a few steps she turned back to us. “Do me a favor, okay? Tell Adam to give me a call when he’s tired of playing house.” A few of her friends snickered, and they disappeared out the door. I felt my face grow pale, but beside me, Hannah’s was turning increasingly red.

  “What a b-”

  “That was rude,” Julia cut her off. “Lainey, are you alright?”

  I forced myself to nod, even though I felt a little shaken up. I hated conflict, especially coming from people I barely knew. “Yeah, I’m fine. They’re not worth it, right?”

  Julia smiled encouragingly. “Right.”

  Then why was it I couldn’t get the image of Maggie’s smug face out of my mind for the rest of the day?

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “What are you working on?” Adam asked, leaning against the doorframe of the guest bedroom. I was laying on my stomach, typing on the laptop Julia was letting me use to finish up the assignment.

  “Ms. Freeman’s winter break assignment,” I replied. I’d gotten sidetracked in the days since Christmas, but I was determined to get it finished so I could spend the rest of break relaxing.

  “Oh, yeah.” Adam entered the room and hopped onto the bed, resting his head on my shoulder and watching as I typed. “I need to get started on that.”

  “Good idea,” I said, only half paying attention to him. I’d read a biography on Harper Lee the day before, and wanted to get the paper done while the information was still fresh in my mind. I hated leaving assignments to the last minute, and with New Year’s Eve the next day, this was the closest I’d cut it in a long time, maybe ever.

  “I picked Clark Gable,” he continued. “The guy who was in Gone with the Wind?”

  I nodded. We’d watched Gone with the Wind earlier in the month, before I’d moved in. It was on cable and we’d spent an entire rainy day watching it. I’d always enjoyed old movies, but I remembered being surprised at how much Adam seemed to like it.