by Maine, Miley
I hear my cell phone blasting out before I get into the office which causes me to pick up the pace. I move even faster when I see Aisha’s name on the screen. She doesn’t normally call me when I am working which has me worried.
“Hello? Is everything okay?” I gasp out, sounding more out of breath than I am.
“Marc, are you busy? Are you still in an interview?” Her panicked voice makes my blood run cold. “I’m at the doctor’s office. Is there any chance you can come and see me?”
The idea of her at the doctor’s office makes me feel sick to my stomach. I didn’t even know that she was sick. I thought that we were beyond keeping things from each other now, I assumed that we had learned our lesson, but now it seems like I have been kept in the dark once more.
“I’m coming,” I snap immediately. “Don’t worry, I’m on the way. I will be there in a moment. I’m just…” I scramble for my car keys and nearly drop them the second I wrap my fingers around them. “I will be there as soon as I can. I’m getting in the car now.”
In my blind panic, I hang up the phone without saying goodbye to her and I rush out of the office. I don’t even speak to anyone as I go, I don’t tell anyone what I’m doing, but I’m sure that they must be able to see from the expression on my face that this is serious. I can explain later on anyway. Right now, I only have one person on my mind and it’s Aisha.
“This probably won’t be Travis,” I whisper to myself as I bring the car to life. “He’s at school. I think… I think that this is related to Aisha instead.”
My brain does that horribly unhelpful thing of coming up with the worst possible explanations as to what could be going on with Aisha. Even though I know that I have an airtight legal contract with Ronnie, ensuring that he can’t come anywhere near us, I still fear that he will burn through the million dollars and come after us again. I don’t think of it a lot, but at times like this, I can’t help but worry about him.
I get myself all worked up. By the time I park up the car outside of the doctor’s office, my brain is all over the place. My head is everywhere. I can hardly breathe. I’m a damn mess. My lungs are ragged and achy, my stomach churns with sickness, my entire body is trembling. I don’t know how I make it inside the building, it all happens in a bit of a blur, but as soon as I see Aisha’s face I calm down. Everything slows and I start to become the hero that I have always been to her. I know when she needs me, and I know when I need to be strong.
“What’s happening?” I grab on to her arms and stare into her eyes. “Are you okay? What’s going on? I didn’t know that you were sick. You should have told me. I’ve been worried…”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.” She smiles, but I can see tears dancing behind her eyes. I don’t know what emotion comes with these tears. I didn’t want to tell you on the phone.”
“Tell me what?” There is a thick ball of fear lodged in my throat and I can’t swallow it down. “Oh God, Aisha, I’m sorry. Whatever is happening…”
She pulls my lips to hers and kisses me, silencing me before I can end up in the middle of this panicky rant. I practically melt into her and take some relief from this. Up until this point, I might have always been the hero to her, but right now she is the one saving me. She’s calming me down just at the moment I might explode. I guess this is just another sign that we both really balance one another out. We can be there for one another when we fall.
“I didn’t want to tell you until I was sure,” she declares with her forehead rested against mine, staring deeply into my eyes to keep me in this much calmer position. “But I have been feeling a little bit funny recently. I’ve been sick and dizzy.”
“Oh God.” I grip on to the sides of her tee shirt, fearing the worst. “Oh no.”
“So, I wanted to come today to find out for sure. And now I know…” She sucks in a breath and smiles. “I just found out that I am pregnant. Marc, we’re having a baby.”
“What?” It takes a couple of moments to sink in. I have been so prepared for the worst that hearing this incredible news shakes me to the damn core. “Pregnant, are you?”
“I am.” She lets out the most delightfully musical laugh that shoots all the way through me. “I’m having a baby. Can you believe it? We’re going to have a child.”
“Do you know when?” I gush, feeling a brand-new wetness to my cheeks. “When the baby will be born? Oh my God, I am so happy. I can’t believe this is happening at last.”
I know that we discussed it, I remember talking about it a few times with Aisha, but I guess I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon. Although hearing this news right now just makes me even more convinced that she and I are meant to be. We have to be destiny, right?
“A Christmas baby,” she half weeps back. “That’s what they think. I’m not very far along at all, so there is a chance that we will have a baby a year after we met.”
“Oh my God,” Just before last Christmas, I was planning to spend time alone. I was thinking sadly about how awful it was to be away from my family, to have them in England. I was also sad that I was helplessly in love with the woman next door and she didn’t want to give me a chance back. The only thing that I really had going for me was my business…
This year, I have in my house the woman that I love and her son, who these days feels more like our son, and another child on the way. By Christmas day we will have another baby with us. A baby boy or girl that is half me and half Aisha. I can’t believe it.
“Do you need to go back to work?” Aisha asks me. “Or can we go out to celebrate somewhere? Get some lunch, maybe. I’m pretty starving. Especially since I am eating for two.”
I burst out laughing and nod encouragingly. “Sure, we can go out. And then we can go and meet Travis from the school bus and share the good news with him as well.”
“Oh God!” Her eyes nearly pop out of her head. “Yes, Travis… what is he going to say?”
“He is going to be very excited,” I reassure her. “You know what Travis is going to be like… oh, and we should invite your parents around as well. Make it a big family event. I can even get my father up on a video call so we can all share in the celebration.”
Knowing how important family is to Aisha after she has spent such a long time with no one has made it more important to me as well. I have always tried to keep in touch with my father, but I haven’t been as good as I should have been. Now, I think that I would make my mother proud with how much I call him. I’m sure she would be happy about it.
Oh God, I’m sure she would be so happy about this as well. Mom might have died when I was young, but what I can remember of her she would get on so well with Aisha. They would have been the best of friends and I know she would have loved Travis as well, treating him as her own. Then to have another grandchild… well, that would just be even better for her.
“That sounds incredible.” Aisha already has an incredible glow around her. I can’t believe that I didn’t know what was going on sooner. How did I not see this pregnancy glow? “To have everyone around. It’s going to be amazing. Do you think they will be happy for us? I don’t know if you’re aware, but I don’t have the best track record with pregnancy announcements.”
I burst into laughter and wrap my arms lovingly around Aisha. “I really don’t think that you are going to have any trouble this time around. And certainly not from me. I am no Ronnie.”
“Thank God.” She rolls her eyes. “I wouldn’t ever want to have a secretive low life again.” She kisses me softly, but for longer this time around. “At least I know everything about you. And you are good. You are my superhero. My knight in shining armor.”
“No.” I shake my head. “No, I’m not.” I liked her seeing me that way before, but now I want her to view me differently. “We hold one another up. We are equal when it comes to saving one another. You have saved me just as much as I have saved you. We are there for one another.”
That’s just how a relationship should be as well. Equa
l, and that’s how we are. I bring things to the table and so does Aisha. Money certainly isn’t everything.
“I love you so much,” she whispers to me. “I can’t wait to have a baby with you.”
“And I love you too.” I kiss her again. “We are going to have the best future together. Next Christmas is going to be one of the best times of our lives…”
I can hardly contain myself thinking about it. It looks like I’m getting my ‘happy ever after’ after all…
28
Aisha
December 15th
“You look good,” Mom tells me with a smile as she watches me across the restaurant table. She’s staring at me as if she hasn’t seen me for months, although we have been seeing each other on a much more regular basis. At least twice a month. “Nine months of pregnancy suits you.”
I guess she didn’t see me the last time that I was this big, so this must be a shock to her. Then again, the last time I was this pregnant I definitely didn’t look good. I was living in a tiny gritty apartment above a Chinese take-out, which smelt like food all the time and had a neon light right outside of the window. The scent of food didn’t help because I couldn’t afford to eat much, so it was like torture, and much as I hated the neon light, there were times when it was the only light I had when the electricity was out because I hadn’t paid it.
I was pallid and sickly, about to be homeless as well. Nothing like what my life is now. I’m settled now and well looked after by Marc which is probably why I look good.
“It might suit me,” I joke. “But it doesn’t feel good. I think this little baby treats my bladder like a soccer ball. I must be about to give birth to a footballer.”
I rub my belly as the baby kicks again. He or she is so big now, about ready to come I think, and driving me mad. Being pregnant is fun at first, but the end part is hard. My body feels about ready to burst. I’m starving but I can hardly eat any of the incredible food because my stomach is so constricted.
“Are you okay?” Dad furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “You look in pain.”
“I am.” I nearly double over in agony. “It hurts all the time.”
“It isn’t contractions, is it? Because the baby is due in a couple of days…”
“No, I don’t think so.” I don’t want anyone to worry, least of all me. I can’t have this baby today anyway. I’m not ready, I don’t even have my hospital bag with me, it’s at home. “No, I’m pretty sure this is just Braxton Hicks. I got that a lot before Travis was born.”
My parents are silent for a moment and I can’t help but wonder if they are suffering guilt because they weren’t there then. Much as I tell them not to worry about what happened in the past because we have moved beyond that now, but they still do from time to time.
“I think we need to get to the hospital.” Oh, right. No, they are thinking about right now instead. “I think that this might be more than Braxton Hicks. I’m pretty sure that this pain is due to contractions, and you might be about to have a baby right now. We need to go right away.”
“Mom, I don’t think so,” I reply weakly. “I want to stay and have dinner…”
This is a place that my father suggested, and I know that it isn’t cheap. The last thing that I want to do is waste the chance of a good meal while I can. Plus, I don’t want to ruin this nice time with my parents. I always appreciate every single moment that I get with them.
“Dinner doesn’t matter.” Mom reaches out and holds my hand. “Don’t worry.”
“It’s not that I’m worried…” Ooh, the air has been stripped from my lungs. What the hell is going on. “I just… I don’t need to leave… I’m okay…”
But as she says those words, my resolve starts to weaken. Perhaps she might be right. I don’t want to think about having my baby right now because it isn’t convenient, but when is it ever? This child isn’t going to wait until I am ready. Plus, it might be nice to go through this with my parents here rather than being completely alone. To have them a part of all of this.
“Oh God…” Nope, I can’t put this off any longer. My waters have broken, I can feel the spot between my thighs soaking. “Yep, we need to go to the hospital right now.”
Mom rises me up from my seat and takes control of my body for me. Thank God because I don’t know if I have any control over myself at all. My father takes care of the restaurant bill, presumably with a big tip since my waters broke on their chair, and we get into the car.
All the drive towards the hospital, the pain grips me even harder than before. I don’t quite remember it being this bad before. I don’t remember the pain being this awful with Travis…
“I’m going to call Marc,” Mom suddenly says, reminding me that I am even less alone this time around. I won’t be that sad young girl in the hospital bed alone watching everyone else have their families visit. I will be one of the lucky people with everyone. “He needs to be here.”
I just about hear Mom contact Marc and it sounds like he is about to rush to the hospital to meet us there with Travis with him. He’s going to pull Travis out of school for this day… thank goodness. Because there is no way anyone can tell how long this will take.
“Thank you,” I burst out in between the agony, as soon as I have a chance to speak. “Thank you everyone for being around. For being with me. I prefer this to being alone.”
Mom turns to smile at me, letting me know that it would always be this way from here on out which is good. I wasn’t sure at first, I knew that life was going to be a test for me and my parents to keep in touch, but we have all made an effort to not let things get bad again and it seems like it will always be this way…
* * *
“Oh my God, she is beautiful,” Marc gasps with tears in his eyes. “She is perfect. Don’t you think that she is perfect?” He stares at me and grins. “She is just wonderful. I love her so much.”
He might be gushing, but I know exactly what he means. There is a real rush when a child is born, and it makes any parent know that they would do anything in the world for their new baby. Literally anything. Which is why I don’t get Ronnie. I will never be able to understand how he could sign over his parental rights like he did… although I am grateful that he did.
I felt that way with Travis, like it was the two of us against the world and I just knew I wouldn’t let anything happen to him. I mostly have stuck to that promise, aside from the whole arrest and the CPS nightmare. And even though we aren’t alone, I feel this way about my daughter as well. Whatever that girl needs from me, I am there for her.
“So, what are we going to call her?” I ask Marc. “Since we never discovered the gender of our baby, we didn’t discuss names, did we? Do you have any ideas?”
“I actually do.” I notice a pinkness staining his cheeks which makes me curious as to what the hell he’s going to say next. “I thought that we could call her Ami.”
“Ami?” I cock my head to one side and look at my baby girl. “I love it. I think that it suits her well too. Where did you come up with the name? Have you been thinking about it?”
“Well, actually…” He sucks in a nervous sounding breath. “I have been living in my childhood home as a way to cling on to my mother’s memory, because I haven’t wanted to forget her since she passed away. I know that might be silly, but I want to keep her close to me always.” I have never thought that was silly about Marc. It’s one of the sweetest things about him. “But I think now we might need somewhere bigger. Maybe not a mansion like my father is always telling me to get, but somewhere where the four of us can live comfortably. So, as a way of honoring my mother, I would like to call my daughter her name.”
“Ami was your mother’s name? Wow, that’s amazing. I like it so much.”
I don’t just like it because of the story that he has just told me, I don’t even think that we necessarily need to move home, although I suppose we might have to if the house starts to feel too cramped. But I love the name anyway, I think it’s perfec
t.
“Yes, I like it.” I nod slowly and smile at him. “I like it a lot. I think that it suits her.”
Marc tries to lean down to kiss me gratefully, but he can’t quite manage it because he has Ami in his arms. Luckily, that’s the exact moment my parents come in the room with Travis to meet his brand-new little sister. They take Ami from him and we finally manage to kiss.
“Thank you so much,” he whispers to me as he tucks a stray strand of my hair behind my ear. “I love you so much. I can’t believe how happy you have made me.”
“I love you too. But do we really have to move home? I like our place.”
He tosses his head back and laughs. “You really aren’t bothered about spending money, are you? I do think that eventually we are going to need to move though because we’ll need the room. A nursery, a bigger bedroom for Travis… you know, all of it. But not quite yet. I definitely think that we need to have at least one more Christmas in our place.”
I don’t know if only one more Christmas will be enough for me, but I nod and agree with him anyway. Perhaps I will start thinking the same way once we get back as well.
“Plus,” Marc cocks a knowing eyebrow at me. “We really need to have some room for guests to come, don’t we? Your parents… plus. I really think that my father and his family might want to come around now that we have a baby. He might want to come from the UK.”
Yeah, he’s right about that. They probably will. “Okay, you are slightly changing my mind here. But I will have a think about it… although not yet.”
“No, of course not. You need plenty of time to recover.”
I stare over Marc’s shoulder then to see Travis absolutely enthralled by his sister. I’m sure that it might change over time, and that there will be days where he gets totally annoyed with her, but this moment is perfect. So perfect that I grab my cell phone and snap a picture of them both. This is an image that I am going to want to hang on the walls wherever we live in the future. It’s going to be one of those amazing brother sister moments that lasts through the ages.