Something New & Unexpected

by Sarah Matthews

  “Besides, he knows that it's just a matter of time ‘til the shoe's on the other foot for one reason or another,” Jo continued, as she leaned down as best she could and finished adjusting my jacket.

  “Exactly,” I agreed, with a big smile. “Well, I think I'm set.”

  “Okay,” she said, then leaned in to hug me.

  “Thanks so much for listening.”

  “Oh, no problem. Anytime! And don't hesitate to call if you need to talk some more.”

  “I will, but I'll be fine. You just go relax and have fun,” I replied, leaning back in my chair.

  “I will.”

  “Please tell Jayce ‘hi’ for me and that I'm sorry,” I added, as she opened the door.

  “I will and don't worry about it.”

  “Okay.”

  “Have a great day, say ‘hi’ to everyone for me, and drive safe.”

  “I will. You too.”

  “Bye.”

  “Bye,” I said, heading to the truck.

  Once settled in, I took my phone and keys out of my purse, grabbed the Bluetooth from the middle compartment and stuck it on my ear, and then put my phone in my lap. After starting the truck, I called home and backed out of Jo’s driveway.

  “Hello.”

  “Yeah, Mom, I'm leaving Jo's and just wanted to know if you need anything from the store.”

  “Well, let me see. It looks like we are out of milk and tea.”

  “Okay. You can just pay me when I get back.”

  “That's fine.”

  “I'll be there in fifteen or twenty minutes.”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  Forty-five minutes later, I came into the dining room with the grocery bag on my lap.

  “Finally, we thought you got lost,” Mom said.

  “It was a complete madhouse! I've never seen anything like it. You would think it was 11:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve the way people were acting,” I replied, putting the bag on the table.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.” I unloaded the milk and tea and put them on the table. “It was like the Running of the Bulls in Spain.”

  “Wow.” She pulled out a chair and sat down.

  “There were people everywhere. It was worse in the aisles. I couldn't even get through, and when I said excuse me, they ignored me. Finally though, I found an employee and she helped me.”

  “That was nice.”

  “Yeah, no kidding. I think I would still be there if she didn't.”

  “It sounds like it.”

  “She even carried the bag out to the truck for me.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep.”

  “Well, that was nice of her.”

  “Yeah, it was... unnecessary, but nice.” After putting the milk and tea on the table, I put the plastic bag in one of the bottom cabinets near the sink, and sighed. “Do you need help with anything else?” I asked, closing the cabinet door.

  “No, I don't think so... at least not at the moment,” Mom answered.

  “Okay. I'll be in my room, so if you need anything just holler or come and get me.”

  “Okay.”

  I headed to my room, shutting the door behind me. Putting my keys on the desk, I took off my jacket. I removed my bracelet, so it wouldn’t break, and set it next to my earrings and watch on the bedside table before parking next to the bed. I transferred onto the bed, and got comfortable. After a few minutes, I fell asleep.

  “Beth. Beth,” I faintly heard.

  “What?” I asked, groggily, in response.

  “It's four... they'll be here in an hour,” Mom replied.

  “Okay,” I mumbled, half conscious.

  After lying there awhile, I opened my eyes and decided to get up. I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth again, and changed into something that was a little less wrinkled. I put on just a bit of makeup and fixed my hair then headed to the living room.

  When Leigh, Morgan and Sam arrived, I greeted them, taking Sam from Morgan. I tussled his too long hair and thought, I can’t wait till he’s one.

  Once we visited for a few minutes, we all went into the room where the hot tub used to be for dinner. Off to the left, in the center, was a huge Christmas tree, at least ten feet tall and at least fifteen to twenty feet wide. Off to the right, was a long rectangular table with a tablecloth and China on it that we only used on holidays and special occasions. As we all started to sit down, Mom brought in the green beans and corn. The turkey was already on the table, along with the other side dishes. She sat down and Matt said grace.

  After grace, everyone reached for the spoons in the bowls filled with food, but I just handed my plate to Mom.

  “I only want mashed potatoes, noodles, and a little piece of turkey. Oh yeah, and I don't want my noodles on top of my mashed potatoes.”

  “Okay.”

  While she fixed my plate, I talked to Sam.

  “Are you hungry, buddy?” I asked.

  He immediately, excitedly, nodded his head yes.

  “What's Daddy fixing you, huh?”

  “Say ‘a little mashed potatoes and a little bit of noodles’,” Morgan answered, as he set Sam's plate in front of him.

  “Yummy, Sam; that sounds good!”

  After he got Sam all set up, and Mom put my plate in front of me, I said, “I can’t believe he’s already eating regular food.”

  “I just started trying a few foods, like noodles,” Morgan replied.

  “Oh, okay.” I leaned down, taking a bite of noodles.

  “I figured we should try something like noodles first because they're still soft and easy to chew.”

  “Yep.”

  “Unfortunately, though, he's not too fond of them,” he continued, taking a bite of food.

  “Really?” I asked, a bit stunned.

  “Yeah, but I think it's just a texture thing. He's not big on foods with too much texture right now.”

  “Oh, okay.” I took another bite.

  After eating most of what was on my plate, I decided to get a roll and gave the rest of my turkey to Will. Sitting there eating my roll, I looked over at Sam. He’d almost finished all of his mashed potatoes, but hardly touched his noodles.

  “Looks like he didn't care too much for the noodles,” I said to Morgan.

  “Yeah,” he shrugged, “I didn't think he would.”

  “Look at it this way, at least he ate a few and ate all his mashed potatoes.”

  “Yeah, I knew he would probably eat the mashed potatoes. He loves them, I think because they are so soft and easy for him to eat,” he replied, wiping Sam’s mouth off, taking him out of his chair, and putting him on his lap.

  After I finished the roll, I said, “Everything was really good.”

  “It really was,” Leigh and Morgan agreed.

  After we all finished eating, we moved into the living room and sat in front of the fire to see what we had in our stockings. For the most part, seeing what we had was redundant because the only person who had something new in his stocking was Sam. The rest of us got the same thing every year—something chocolate, a small gift, and socks. Everyone got socks no matter what.

  After seeing what everyone got in their stockings, we returned to the “hot tub” room to open presents. We decided to let Sam open presents first. He got a St. Louis Cardinals onesie from me. It was a little big because we all figured by the time summer came around, it would fit him perfectly. My parents got him a little car that when you lifted the seat it became somewhat of a handle so he could support himself when he walked. He also ended up with a couple new outfits from my sister.

  As for the rest of us, our gifts were not too exciting because for the most part we already knew what we were getting. The only gift I was surprised by was the umbrella doll from my dad.

  After Sam helped everyone finish opening their presents, we all could tell he was getting sleepy. So, while Leigh and I started
to pick up the wrapping paper, Morgan fixed Sam a bottle and my parents went to their bedroom. While he sat with Sam in the recliner, trying to get him to sleep, Mom came back in.

  “Girls, come with me.” She looked at Morgan. “Morgan why don’t you lay Sam in the guest room, then you can come too.”

  Leigh and I wondered what she wanted us to see, but when we got into the room we realized that they wanted to show us an old tape, and right then we looked at each other hoping it wasn’t about us.

  A few minutes later, Morgan came in and Mom said, “Just take a seat on the bed.”

  He did, hesitantly. After he sat down, Mom shut the bedroom door, leaving it open a crack and Matt turned on the tape. It didn’t even take us a second to realize what it was, and we all started to laugh hysterically, well most of us anyway.

  It was the tape of my brother and his friends in the school variety show when they were in eighth grade. That year Morgan and four of his friends dressed up as the Spice Girls. That was when they were really popular. I would never forget that night as long as I lived.

  So there we were just getting seated in the auditorium, when a family friend came up and gave us programs and told us that Morgan and the guys were on last and that it was great and we would love it. Considering they were last, I figured it was pretty good. Though I was preparing myself for the last act, nothing, I mean absolutely nothing, could’ve prepared us for what we saw.

  When they announced the final performance of the evening, I started to get really excited. However, when they moved the curtains back and the music started playing, I felt my jaw drop and I remembered thinking, “What the heck?” Instead of seeing five guys in regular clothes, I saw five guys in tight dresses or outfits, high heels, and wigs, with big balloons as boobs. Morgan was Posh. He wore a tight, dark green sequent dress, with black platform heels and a very short dark brown wig. The guys made pretty ugly women, except for Morgan.

  I recalled saying at the time, “Morgan makes a very pretty girl! If things don’t work out for him the way he’s hoping, he has something to fall back on.” I had laughed, but then caught my mom’s look and said, “I'm kidding... I'm kidding!”

  After the shock wore off and I picked my jaw up, I couldn’t stop laughing hysterically. I laughed so hard and so long that I slobbered all over myself. They definitely saved the best for last and it was definitely worth the wait!

  Watching it now after almost nine years, I couldn’t believe how down right hilarious it still was, and I began to laugh. I laughed so hard that I started slobbering on myself again. After gaining my composure, I looked over at Morgan and he was shaking his head and had a look on his face like “You guys are unbelievable! I can't believe you are doing this!”, and that made me, Matt, Mom, and Leigh, laugh even more and harder.

  About a minute later, Sam started to cry in the guest room.

  “Saved by the crying baby.” Morgan smirked, gratefully, and walked out.

  When he left, Matt took the videotape out of the VCR, put it back in the case, and put it away for ‘safe keeping’, while Leigh opened the door and we headed back to the living room. By the time we reached the living room, Morgan and Sam were in there.

  “Oh, hi, buddy. Did you wake up?” I asked, in a bit of a baby voice.

  “Say ‘yep’,” Morgan said, looking down at Sam, who was on his hip rubbing his eye with the back of his hand. “Hey, Mom, do you mind taking him for a minute? I've got to go to the bathroom.”

  “No problem. Come here to Gamma.” Mom smiled, reaching out and taking Sam out of Morgan's arms.

  “Thanks,” he replied, and headed back down the hall toward my parents’ bedroom. “Sorry, Mom, but we have to get going... it's already 8:30,” he said, when he came back into the living room.

  “Is it really?” she asked, getting up out of the recliner with Sam in her arms.

  “Yep, it is.”

  “Wow, it sure doesn't seem like it.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Well, Matt can help you carry things out to the car, while I get Sam ready to go and Leigh puts some food in the to-go containers you brought. He's in the other room with your sisters.”

  “We'll be right there!” I yelled, before she could say or do anything else.

  As Mom and I put Sam's coat on, he fought us. We could tell all he wanted was to be left alone and go to sleep. While we struggled with Sam, Leigh just plugged away over at the table trying to fill the containers as full as she could possibly get them, and Morgan and Matt finished loading the car.

  “Make sure you leave me some,” I said to Leigh, when I saw how full the containers were.

  “Don't worry, there's plenty left,” she assured me, a bit sarcastically, then smiled.

  As Morgan and Matt came back in, Mom and I finally got everything on Sam.

  “You ready, buddy?” Morgan asked, as he walked toward us.

  “Say ‘yes’,” I answered, with a little relief in my voice. “It took us a while, but we got it.”

  Mom, Matt, and I said, “Bye! Merry Christmas,” one more time and gave him hugs and kisses. We did the same to Leigh and Morgan. “Be careful on the way back.”

  After they pulled out of the driveway, I hugged Mom and Matt, thanked them for my gifts, and said, “Goodnight.”

  Heading to my room, I stopped at the recliner that Will was sleeping in and leaned down to pet and kiss him on the top of his head. “Goodnight, baby, I love you.” Once in my room, the first thing I did was go to the bathroom because I’d not gone all evening. I took off my makeup and brushed my teeth, and finally put on my pajamas. As I climbed into bed, I looked at the clock and realized it was only twenty after nine. While I didn’t usually go to bed until 10:30 or 11, I was extremely exhausted so I just pulled the covers all around me and went to sleep.

  Chapter 9

  The next morning I woke up and went to see if there was any coffee made yet. After coming back to my room with my coffee, I shut the door behind me, going over to my computer to turn it on. Taking a sip of coffee, waiting for the computer to start up fully, it suddenly dawned on me: Steve! He didn't call last night... or did he and I just didn't hear my phone ring?

  After looking everywhere in the house for my phone, I stopped. Think Beth! Where else can it be? After a few seconds, it hit me. You idiot! You left it in the truck! Getting my jacket on, I grabbed my keys off the desk and went out to the truck.

  As I came back in, I immediately got a cold chill, and shut the door behind me. I pulled my phone out and looked at it. I had one new voicemail. So, after making sure my phone wouldn’t die on me, I listened to the message:

  “Hey Elle, it's Steve. Your family must still be there. I just called to see how you are and to see how everything went tonight. Well, sweet dreams and I'll call you tomorrow. Bye.”

  When the message ended, I deleted it and hung up. I plugged my phone in so it could charge. After finishing my cup of coffee, I decided to take a nice long hot shower and relax, so I took my empty coffee cup back in the kitchen. While I was in the shower, though I was very relaxed with the water falling all over me, I couldn’t stop myself from wishing I was in a bathtub instead. Nothing compared to sitting in a tub with hot bubbles hugging your entire body in the candlelight. That was the most relaxing thing there was. The other thing I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about was Steve. Thinking about him made me even more relaxed and happy, but it also made me wonder when I was going to see him again. I wanted to see him before I got my wisdom teeth out, but I didn’t know if it would happen.

  As I was wrapping the towel around myself, my phone started to ring. I got the Bluetooth in my ear and answered it just before it went to voicemail.

  “Hello?” I was glad I didn’t wash my hair because it was already up and out of my way.

  “Hey, Elle,” Steve said.

  “Oh, hey, Steve.” I grunted, slightly, trying to secure the towel. “How are you?”

  “I
'm good. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  “No,” I lied.

  “Oh, okay. I just thought I heard a grunt or something.”

  “Oh. I ran into my desk trying to answer my phone before your call went to voicemail. No big deal, though.” I didn’t run into the desk, but he didn’t need to know that.

  “Oh, okay,” he said, then teased, “but maybe you should go back to driving school.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I replied a bit sarcastically, and he laughed.

  I went over to my dresser and got some clothes and my bra hanging on one of the drawer knobs, then put them on the bed. I returned to the bathroom and grabbed the lotions for my morning skin routine and took them over to my desk.

  “Anyway, how was your day yesterday? Did you have a good time with your family?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “Yeah, we had a great time last night, but that was the highlight of my day.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “Well, let’s see, I got up, got a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal, got ready, and went to see how my friend Jo was feeling, being pregnant and all,” I answered, rubbing the lotion on my face, my upper chest near my neck, and my upper back.

  “Oh, when is she due?”

  “The first week of June.”

  “So I take it she's just barely starting to show?”

  “Well, actually, she's only 5’1” so she's been showing for at least a month or a month and a half. She actually looks like she's six or seven months, poor thing.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Is this her first?”

  “Yep.”

  “Does she know what she's having?”

  “No, not yet, but she can find out at her next checkup.”

  “Does she want to?”

  “I’m not sure. She and her husband are still discussing it. One minute, they say that they do, the next minute, they say that they don't. So, who knows?” I chuckled, putting on the last lotion.

  “Oh,” he replied. “Sorry for interrupting you. Please continue.”

  “Oh, it's okay,” I assured him, taking the lotions back to the bathroom. “That was about it anyway. The only other thing I did before they got here was take a nap.”