Meant for Me (Take Me Now)

by Sullivan, Faith

  “This isn’t about the baby,” I sigh.

  “It sure as hell is about the baby,” she corrects me, already starting to get defensive. “Eric, you know how I want us to always be honest with each other, so I’m just going to lay it all out on the table. If you can’t accept the fact that I’m having this baby—” She halts, blinking back tears as my heart drops. “Then I don’t think I can marry you.”

  “Ivy, you can’t be serious.” I turn in my seat to face her, but the damn milkshake gets in the way. “I love you, and I’m not going to have you risk your life over something that can be fixed.”

  “You make it sound like it’s so easy, but it’s not!” she fires back.

  “Ivy, don’t make this difficult when it doesn’t have to be.” I don’t understand why she’s being so ridiculously stubborn and taking such an unnecessary risk. Doesn’t she know what she’s doing to me by going through with this pregnancy? “We’re young. We can try again. This isn’t the only shot we’ll have at being parents. It just didn’t work out this time. The circumstances are beyond our control. You have to see that I only want what’s best for you. I’m not trying to be the big bad guy who goes around forcing the woman he loves to terminate a pregnancy, but it has to be done. Didn’t you hear what Dr. P. said? The baby is going to continue to grow, and it’s only a matter of time before that flap rips off and it’s all over.”

  “Yeah, I heard everything Dr. P. said, not just what I selectively chose to hear,” she huffs, shoving the bag onto the floor by her feet. “He’s never seen anything like this before. He doesn’t know for sure what’s going to happen. He’s willing to give it a chance even if you’re not.”

  “I’m not putting your life on the line. I refuse to do it.” I press my shoulders against the door, wishing we weren’t in such a confined space. “It’s not worth it.”

  “Not worth it? How can you say that about your own child?” She shakes her head, gazing at me with a grief-stricken expression.

  “You come first,” I respond, feeling like I just crossed some invisible line.

  “So you’re making me choose between you and the baby?” she asks incredulously. “We shouldn’t be on two different sides on this. We should be on the same team, or else how are we ever going to be a family?”

  My eyes widen, realizing the full impact of what she is saying.

  “I can’t marry someone who is going to make me divide my heart like that. I just can’t, Eric. I can’t love you more than the baby and vice versa. I don’t know how to love that way.” She reaches for the ring box, handing it back to me. “If you want me to love you more than our child—or any of the children we may have someday—I can’t do it. Not after knowing what it’s like to be a mother, no matter how fleeting it may be.”

  Her words are cutting me deep, right to the bone. I don’t even know what to say to that. It’s not like she’s twisting my words. She is the first priority in my life. Everything else comes second. That’s not going to change.

  “I can’t believe you’re turning me down.” I take the ring and shove it back into my pocket. Aggravated, I grab the bag and start tossing the food back inside. Flicking the wipers, I scan the parking lot before getting out of the truck.

  “What are you doing?” Ivy calls out, but I don’t respond. I have to get away from her for a minute. I angrily stomp toward a garbage can, hurling our uneaten meal through the opening. The milkshakes splatter against the rim, staining the cuffs of my jacket, but I don’t even care. Everything’s ruined now anyway.

  I glance back over my shoulder and see Ivy sitting there, staring at me through the half-open door of the truck. The wind is whipping the snow across my trail of footprints. I pick up my collar, at odds over what to do. I don’t want to be around Ivy right now, but I have to take her home. I foolishly trashed our lunch, and there’s nothing left in our fridge to eat. I’m going to have to stop for some groceries.

  I clamber back in and act like nothing happened. I can feel her eyes on me as I throw the truck into reverse and back onto the road. We sit in silence as I make a right and turn into the nearby shopping complex. I roam the lot, but there’s nowhere to park. As usual, everyone is running for milk and eggs the minute the first snowflake hits the ground. I’m going to be in for quite a hike.

  We still haven’t said anything to each other. She’s obviously furious, and I’m upset. Neither of us wants to give way, since we both think we’ve been wronged. She rejected my marriage proposal, and I’m making her choose between me and the baby. We have a lot of issues we need to resolve, but not now, not here.

  “I’ll be right back,” I say in an attempt to break the ice. I’d like nothing more than to return to the daily grind and forget about things like engagement rings and transvaginal ultrasounds. I just want us to be normal and forget this day ever happened. “Do you need anything?” I ask, because she always does. Usually it’s something like half a pound of roasted turkey from the deli or a loaf of the rye bread she likes from the bakery. But she just shakes her head, gazing forlornly out the window at the falling snow.

  I better make this quick. I jog through the automatic door, dragging a shopping cart along with me. The store is crowded and it takes me longer to get through the aisles than I anticipated. The lines at the check-out are insane, but I bide my time. I plan on making it up to her as I load the ingredients for the pasta dish she’s been craving onto the conveyor belt. I once again reach for my credit card and swipe it through the machine before hightailing it out of there.

  As I get closer to the truck, I notice that the engine’s no longer running. Now why would Ivy turn off the heat? It’s freezing out here as I try to navigate the cart through the drifting snow. The back window is covered as I start tossing the bags into the cab. Too bad I left the scraper in the glove compartment. Using my sleeve, I wipe away some of the snow to let Ivy know that I’m back, but she’s not in the truck.

  Shit! Where did she go?

  The door is unlocked and my keys are dangling in the ignition. I look around for a note, but there isn’t one. Maybe she had to use the restroom or something. Should I wait here until she gets back and warm up the truck? Or should I start searching all of the shops in the plaza? I glance frantically around unsure of what to do and worried that she’s wandering around in this storm as the wind shakes the frame of the truck.

  I fumble for my phone with my semi-frozen fingers to call her cell, but relief washes through me when I see that I have a text from Ivy.

  I need some time to myself for a while to think things through. I’m fine. I’m safe. Don’t worry about me. If you change your mind about what you said, I’ll see you at next week’s doctor’s appointment. I’ll text you the date and time. I love you, Eric. I just wish you could learn to love this baby as much as I do.

  Damn it! Where can she possibly be? I have to find her. She’s in no condition to be walking the streets in this kind of weather, although I know she’s foolish enough to try. I start having flashbacks of her crawling up the embankment behind the pizzeria and walking barefoot down my dirt road. With Ivy, who knows what she’d do?

  For a moment, I’m undecided. Should I see if she called my dad for help? But he wouldn’t go behind my back like that. Would she have reached out to Will? But he doesn’t have a car. Would she have contacted Ben? But she can’t stand the guy and I doubt she even has his number.

  There’s that friend of hers from school. What’s her name? Sophia? Sophie? But when the semester started, Ivy sort of lost touch with her. And there’s really nobody else Ivy knows in town, at least not well enough that they’d take her in for an extended period of time. There’s only one hotel near the college, but she doesn’t have the money for that. There’s nowhere else she can go.

  I have to get home and regroup. Try to figure this out with everyone’s help. We can split up and cover more ground. She has to be around here somewhere. She wouldn’t leave the area, no matter how much she hates my guts right now. She wouldn
’t disobey Dr. P.’s orders.

  Then my phone rings, displaying a familiar number I usually take great pains to avoid, and I feel like I’m going to throw up.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Lauren

  The holiday season was supposed to lift the Gazette out of the red and into the black. But it seems like these cheapskate mom-and-pop stores are actually cutting their advertising budgets instead of increasing them. If I hear one more person tell me to check back with them after New Year’s, I’m going to scream. Don’t they know that the fourth quarter is when people do most of their spending? Forget about next year. There won’t be a next year.

  I slam the phone back onto its cradle and stare stonily at the snow rattling the windowpane. I have to get out of this godforsaken town and join my uncle in L.A. Enough is enough. Who am I kidding? Eric’s little bun in the oven is safe and warm inside Ivy’s big ol’ belly. She nearly miscarried twice in my presence, but that speck of a tadpole is still hanging on. I haven’t been pestering her about returning to work on the script because Eric would probably have me brought up on involuntary manslaughter charges for trying to kill a fetus. He looked insane when he came after me in his driveway. Who knows what he’s capable of at this point?

  But it’s already been a week since our last showdown. I should really start putting the pressure back on. I told Ivy I wanted this screenplay completed before the end of the year, and so far she has nothing to show me. Will better get his ass in gear too. I’m not fooling around about this. I’m taking this project seriously, and so should they. I’ve already put some feelers out. The interest is definitely there and I intend to capitalize on it.

  I drain the last of the herbal tea out of my mug and slide it to the edge of the desk with the others. That new intern really has to do a better job of clearing them off and placing them in the dishwasher. She’s definitely not as good as Ivy was in that department. Every morning I’d come in to a neat and organized desk after walking away from a clusterfuck the night before. I never had to clean up after myself, so why start now? That’s what maids—or college bimbos—are for.

  I still have Eric’s number on speed dial. All I’d have to do is push one little button and I’ll hear his voice. He probably won’t put Ivy on the phone, but it’s worth a try. I really don’t have anything to lose if he hangs up on me. Besides, I’m curious to know how he’s dealing with the whole Cassidy bombshell. Was it convincing enough to sew a seed of doubt in his mind? I surely hope so.

  My fingernail is hovering over the button, when my intercom buzzes. Ugh, what now?

  “Yes?” I say briskly.

  “Ms. Price, you have a call on line one.”

  I’m going to strangle this new intern. No wonder I can’t even bother to remember her name.

  “Who is it?” I snap.

  “Ivy Thompson,” she replies hurriedly. “I’m sorry, Miss Price. I know you already spoke to me about—”

  But I don’t even listen, cutting her off by punching line one. Excuses, excuses—always excuses. But I got the catch I was looking for—albeit unexpectedly—and now I intend to reel it in.

  “Ivy, dear. How are you?” The false sincerity is literally dripping off my tongue.

  “Lauren, let me cut to the chase and save us both a lot of trouble.” Her aggressiveness assaults my ear. It’s so not like her. “I’m ready to write the script you want, but you’re going to have to do something for me in return.”

  “Ivy, you’re in no position to—” I start in on her.

  “Let me finish,” she interrupts, and I see red. “I’ll write whatever you tell me to about Cassidy, but I’m going to need a place to stay and a car and some money for living expenses. And I need someone to pick me up outside the Valu-Mart in the next fifteen minutes or the deal’s off.”

  “Running away, are we?” I mock her.

  “It’s none of your concern. Do you want me to write it or not?” She sounds nervous. “I don’t have time to play games with you. It has to happen now.”

  “Hold on,” I say, placing her on hold before she can respond.

  Thinking quickly, I hit another button, strumming my fingers on the desktop.

  “Ryan, where are you?” I snarl into the receiver as soon as he picks up.

  “They’re letting us out of school early because of the snow. I just got in my Jeep. Why?” he responds, and I can tell he’s not in the greatest of moods.

  “I have an errand I need you to run. It’s important and it has to be done now,” I command, waiting for the inevitable blowback.

  “Lauren, I really don’t feel like driving all over town in this shit,” he complains.

  “I think you will when you find out who’s waiting for you,” I reply, tempting him.

  He breathes heavily on the other end. “Who?”

  “It’s Ivy. She needs you to pick her up in the parking lot of the Valu-Mart, but she says you have to hurry. She has to be out of there within the next ten minutes or so. Can you do it?” I ask, watching the clock.

  “And where am I supposed to take her?” he asks, already revving his engine.

  “I don’t know. I’ll call you back when I figure it out. Just go get her,” I implore.

  “I’m on it,” he says, hanging up before I can say goodbye.

  I lean forward in my chair and hit the hold button.

  “Ivy, are you still there?” I ask, hoping I didn’t dilly-dally too long with Ryan.

  “Yes,” she says anxiously. “So do we have a deal?”

  “We do, and I’m going to hold you to it. You’re not bailing out of this. I don’t care if Eric comes begging and crawling on his knees. I’m going to have my lawyer draw up the necessary documents and you will agree in writing that you will complete this project the way I want it done. Are we clear on that?” I press the phone against my chin.

  “We’re clear,” she responds, her voice clipped.

  “Good, because you’re not wiggling your way out of this,” I warn, relishing this stroke of luck. “You can’t walk away from me this time. I own your ass.”

  I hear her gulp, but she doesn’t fight it. “I’ll sign whatever you need. You have my word.”

  “Someone’s on their way to get you, so just sit tight. It won’t be long. Stay on the line until they get there,” I order, remembering how good it feels to boss her around.

  “How will I know who they are?” she asks, confused.

  “Oh, you’ll know.” I smile, wishing I could be there to witness the look on her face when she sees who it is.

  “Where are you taking me?” There is a slight tremor in her voice.

  “I haven’t decided yet.” It’s going to be fun having this much power over her.

  “I can’t leave the area, Lauren. I have to make my weekly doctor’s appointment. That’s non-negotiable.” Already she’s throwing a monkey wrench in my plans. She’s going to have to learn how to obey.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” I reply, stringing her along.

  “That’s not acceptable. You either agree or—” She stops abruptly. She’s getting all worked up over nothing. I wasn’t planning on transporting her out of town. I’m just not sure where I’m going to put her yet.

  “All right, fine. I agree,” I groan. When she doesn’t say anything, I start to get annoyed. “What is it?”

  “You sent Ryan?” she asks, her voice trembling.

  Not this drama again. This girl needs to get a hold of herself. She claims Ryan attacked her the night of the gala, but I don’t buy it. Ryan told me what really happened when he came back to the theater, beaten to a pulp thanks to Eric. He related how she’d led him on for years and then tried to seduce him on the way to the film festival. I was so mad I could barely see straight. Ryan said that Ivy told Eric that he’d tried to rape her, and Eric went ballistic. I was livid that Ivy’s vicious lie was enough to convince Eric to defend her. I knew Ryan was just coming off of a bad break-up and that it was in no way connected to his supposed f
eelings for Ivy. I did spot a pair of women’s panties in the inside pocket of his jacket when I was cleaning him up, but I decided to ignore them, thinking it was probably another one of his fetishes that I’d rather not know about. If he wants to wear girly underwear, that’s his business.

  I thought Ivy might provide a good smokescreen for him while she was at the Gazette, but no such luck. At least not once she got involved with Eric. I tried to dangle Ryan in front of her like a piece of forbidden fruit, but she didn’t bite. She couldn’t even play the role of Ryan’s beard properly. She is so clueless sometimes. I mean, it wouldn’t have been hard. He’s a good-looking kid. He got her the internship. It was the least she could do to pay him back and show some appreciation. But no, she had to screw the two of us over and get knocked up by the only guy in town worth a second look.

  But now she’s going to pay. She’s going to earn her keep—and like it. So what if I sent Ryan to pick her up? She should be kissing my feet that I got someone there that fast. What does she think I am—a freaking taxicab company? She’d better wise up. I’m the one running the show from now on, not her.

  “Just get in the damn Jeep, Ivy,” I reply without an ounce of pity.

  “Send someone else,” she pleads, practically begging.

  “There isn’t time. You’re either doing this or you’re not. I can’t stay on the phone all day waiting for you to decide. Are you in or are you out?” I sling the ultimatum at her, forcing her hand.

  “I’m in,” she says as I hear a car door slam.

  “Excellent.” I finally have her right where I want her. I almost can’t believe it. I never in a million years expected this twist of fate. I’m only glad I was at my desk when this golden opportunity fell into my lap. And to think I was ready to pack it up and head to L.A. Who says life doesn’t give second chances?

  “Ivy, tell Ryan—” But I don’t get to finish, as the call disconnects. Ah, no bother. Ryan will take care of it from here.

  Now I just have to figure out where I’m going to put her.