by Leigh Lennon
“Speaking of being prepared, when are you going to tell your mom about our decision to move to Pendleton?”
“I know I have put it off. I’m glad we are taking our time. Since we are taking our time and we don’t plan to move there for at least a year, I guess I'm in no hurry,” I say, crawling into bed as Brody adjusts, making room for my huge stomach.
“She might take it easier if you tell her while you’re pregnant. Who can get mad at a pregnant woman?”
I shift my weight as I look at him, “Oh, good idea. You're smart, future husband of mine.” It's odd, as I look at this sexy man, I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to have him with me for my entire life. I’m still looking at him as he slowly moves his finger down to my panty line. Feeling as if life could never get any better, he starts to circle my clit and I realize with Brody, my life will always be an adventure.
The familiar knock breaks my deep concentration as I’m re-reading the last chapter in What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Spending the day with my mom is what I need, especially when I decided last night to tell her about our move to Oregon.
Opening the door, my mom gasps. “Good Lord, child, I really didn’t think someone’s skin could stretch like that.”
“Thanks, Mom! It’s what every pregnant woman wants to hear.”
“Oh, Rose honey, that is what you’re supposed to look like a week before having a baby. When I had your brother, it was much worse. I gained fifty pounds with you. Plus, you were a cesarean section.”
I shudder at the thought. It scares me shitless. “That is the last thing I want.”
“I know, but all that matters is that this baby is safe. I can’t wait to meet Lorel.”
“You’re so convinced it's a girl.”
“Yes, I’m.”
“Why? The odds are against you, you know. Everyone else, except for you, Hildy and Jane, think it's a boy.”
My mom’s face turns to a bright smile as she answers, “First of all, I’m hopeful it is a girl. We need another Lorelei in this family. I terribly miss her and know this little one will be just as spunky as our Lorelei was. Also, let’s just look at the group. It is all men and people without any sort of maternal instinct. Hildy and Jane are as maternal as they come. Jane was born to be a mother. I'm surprised they haven’t started trying yet.”
“They sure have sex enough to be pounding one out.”
My mom, not surprised by this revelation, says, “Really? I knew they were pretty affectionate.”
I can’t help but laugh, “You know Lila and Jane’s twin thing, right? They tell each other everything and then Lila tells me everything, and I mean everything. Kai and Jane always have sex in the morning. They wake up thirty minutes early and take their time. Then they do some fun stuff as soon as they get home, apparently role-play and stuff like that. I will spare you the details.”
“What, like the naughty nurse thing?”
“Yes, something like that and then they have done some things before bed, more, well, you get the clue.”
“Good for my son. Sex is fun and it makes you close to the person you love. I’m glad they are waiting but I know Jane is meant to be a mom.”
My mom surveys the house, “You have been nesting, haven’t you?”
“Yes, and I have fifteen freezer meals made, too.”
“Can I help you with anything before we head out?” Mom asks.
“Actually, yes, I made a pot of coffee.”
My mom’s lips turn up as she gives me a quizzical look. “Oh, we are having one of those talks, aren’t we?”
“I just need your advice to make sure I’m going in the right direction with a small obstacle Brody and I are having an issue with.”
I take the next ten minutes to fully explain the scope of the problem with Jones. Mom is surprised to hear how serious Lila and Jones’ relationship has become. She listens intently as I explain how Brody feels Jones’ actions are underhanded.
My mom begins, “Brody never fully told you how he felt about you sleeping with Jones until he knew it was a possibility that Jones would still be a part of your life, now that he’s involved with your best friend?” I nod. “I totally get where he’s coming from and I think he’s justified to proceed only when he’s ready. Certainly, this needs to be a talk you and Lila have about her respecting Brody’s feelings on this. I know how pushy she can be. But I do have some perspective on this, just only because of Hildy, but this was an issue that Lorelei and Ryan had in regards to me. I know what it's like to feel at odds with your best friend’s spouse. Ryan probably could give him some advice, too. The main thing though this is for you to feel you don’t have to choose and for now, that might mean Lila will have to sacrifice some of her time with Jones. Brody is right, you were all over the place and though you have some weight to bear, he thought he and Jones had an understanding. I understand you had to know whether the spark was still there but it still hurts, believe me, I know. But I think you’re doing the right thing, giving him space.”
“Thanks, Mom. I love him, you know. Very much. I have one more thing to tell you and we still have half a pot.”
“Oh, I don’t think I like the sound of this.”
“Well, there is no easy way to tell you this but I want you to know before the baby comes and maybe you will take it easy on your pregnant daughter.”
“Okay, hit me, I'm ready.” She says with a concerned pain on her face.
“Brody has a house down in Pendleton, on his parents’ land. They are going to deed it to him along with five acres. We are going to remodel it with the trust money that his grandparents gave him and the plan is to move down there in one to two years, depending on our savings, construction, future babies and job opportunities. When I go back now, I’m working three ten-hour shifts and working from home the rest of the time. The baby will only be with Hildy. My goal is to cut to twenty hours a week and contract my services from home. That will happen after we marry and get on Brody’s insurance. We will have no mortgage, or very little depending on any snags we acquire in the building process. That will make it possible to stay at home with this baby in the near future and any others we may have. This all depends on Brody’s ability to get a job down there, of course, but he sees no issue in that.”
Smiling she says, “Well, honey, you’re only three hours from us. You have to make your own life. I will have many three or four-day strings of off days, so I will be down there often. Three hours is nothing. I'm going to have to travel to see Kai’s babies anyway. And I plan on being an involved grandparent, regardless of the distance.”
“Thanks for taking it so well, Mom.”
“I just want you happy.” My mom pours the last of the pot into her coffee cup. “Okay, so I have one more cup of coffee, tell me about the house. I want to hear everything.”
Brody slams the door a second after he opens it. Throwing down his keys, I know right away that he’s pissed off. Stomping loudly up the stairs; I’ve learned enough about Brody to leave him the hell alone when he gets into one of his moods. I continue with dinner. An hour goes by and when he has not appeared, I go upstairs to the doorway of our room. I see him in the chair in the corner, staring straight ahead.
“Honey, you want to talk about it?” I ask as he doesn’t even look at me.
“Not yet, Toots.”
I just sigh. “All right, well, dinner's ready. You want to come eat?”
“I'll be down in a couple of minutes.”
“Okay.” As I leave, I turn around to say, “Honey, I love you.”
That softens his features as he stands to take me in a hug. “I'm sorry, Toots. I will be down in a second.”
Downstairs, I hear the ping of my cell. Looking at my phone, my heart sinks when I see the news Lila delivers.
Lila: Hey, I’m just hearing wind of this. Jones called Brody today and it didn’t go over well.
“Great, that explains it,” I say out loud. I don’t respond.
During dinner, we ma
ke small talk until he finally brings up one of the reasons for his shitty mood. “I rehabbed a guy today who still thinks he has a shot at the pros but he doesn’t.” I see a tick in his jaw that shows a little bit of pain. “It's tough knowing the way the healing process is going to take place but the athlete doesn’t know and is so hopeful, but in my opinion, his career is over. Everyone knows it except for him. He had hopes of playing in the NBA one day, too.”
When he opens up about this, he begins to say, “I know from experience the grieving process he will go through.”
I grab his hands, “I'm sorry. I've never heard you talk like this before.”
“I became a physical therapist to help people, to let them have a chance, unlike myself.”
When he’s ready to talk, I wait for him to open up. “What do you mean?” I finally ask.
“I was the quarterback, recruited by Oregon State, where I always wanted to go. I tore my ACL on the final game of the season. I was told the pros were in future. I lost my scholarship to OSU and decided I couldn’t go there if I wasn’t able to play football. That is when I looked into Sac State then USC-Davis.”
“The kid you worked with today brought you back to that time, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he sure did. I lost everything that I’d worked for. Then, well, let’s just say it wasn’t a good day to bombard me with other things, too.”
I waiver as to whether to tell Brody that Lila texted me about his other issue today. “I’m sorry, honey. Do you want to tell me what else happened?”
Putting down his fork, he looks straight at me, he says, “I bet you know.”
“I'm sorry, I do but I just found out and had no idea.”
“I know. I guess the two times in my life I have been so scared just haunted me today. I didn’t handle Jones that well.”
“I don’t know what happened. Here's the thing. I'm going to talk to Lila. I don’t want to choose between you and her and I hope I don’t have to. I hope she understands when I tell her that for now, if she wants to spend time with me that it will have to be just the two of us. Maybe one day you will be over the hurt.”
“Rose, I’m not a jealous person. But you have to understand, I thought I lost you. In that moment, after Jones, I could see only small little windows into my kid’s life.” He pulls a chair near me when he takes my face to his, “All I want to concentrate on for the next week is you. You and only you. I took tomorrow off. We are going to spend one last day together before we go from a family of two to three.”
“That sounds like a piece of heaven to me.”
The day is great, and I’m the only person in Brody’s life today. Everything he does for me is based around me. First, he takes me to downtown Spokane to my favorite bookstore. I fiddle in the science section for an hour, trying to pick books that will challenge my brain.
I look up to see Brody watching me. “I knew you loved to read those mushy romance novels but I didn’t know how much you love science.”
“Hey, here is a book for you,” I tease, handing him a little joke, “Maybe you would understand my love for statistics if you read this.”
Looking at the book and laughing uncontrollably, he playfully smacks me. “Now you think you’re funny, don’t you? Statistics for Dummies, ha-ha. What made you pick statistics as a major? I mean, that is not on most dream job sites,” he teases.
“I dabbled with a couple of different degree ideas, settling on statistical research after my public health degree.”
“Why didn’t you want to be a doctor?”
“I was more into the research idea. I thought about pathology but knew my internship would send me in various areas. I just never saw myself as a medical doctor. Though, one day, I would like to get my doctorate. Plus, I wanted a family.”
Brody casually nods his head. “I feel we are still getting to know one another. There is so much left to learn about you.”
“I know how you feel, I had no idea you had a scholarship to OSU.”
“Painful areas are hard to open up about, I just suppress them, sort of like the picture of my mom pregnant with Bethany. I don’t intentionally keep them from you, they are just so agonizing, I try to forget.”
“That is why you never told me about Jones until you knew he would still be a part of my life, because you moved past it and suppressed it.”
“Exactly, Toots, you’re getting me.” We are learning so much about one another in the Science section and it makes me laugh.
“My love for science is something so farfetched to most people. It's like you trying to explain a first down to me. To most people, the deep science that I understand makes about as much sense to others, as a first down makes to me. But I will tell you that I know you love football, obviously, so I will learn about it if it’s important to you.”
“See, that's the thing, I don’t follow it anymore. That's why you had no idea I loved it at one time. I still follow sports, just not football.”
“I really think we need more time like this. We will be busy with the baby, but we can’t forget about ourselves.”
“That will give your mom an excuse to spoil this baby,” he adds.
After the bookstore, we go to miniature golf. “Are you crazy? You want to see me wobble?”
“Oh, this is good for you.”
“Honey, I can’t believe you have me out here.” My belly protrudes into my swinging area. “This is just not fair,” I say, as I crack up over how I swing.
“You’re having fun, that's all that matters.”
“Oh, you're right about that!”
Lunch is at my favorite little place, Fast Eddies. “Good Lord, it's going to take me at least a year to get this weight off of me.”
“Oh, I don’t care. I love you just the way you are.”
“Are you telling me you think I will be fat?”
“Oh, goodness, I’m not having this conversation with you.” He winks at me. “Listen, Toots, I don’t think you will have a problem losing that weight. It is clearly all baby, all I'm saying is that I love you regardless. And our sex life, I'll tell you what, if you think it is healthy now, just wait.”
After lunch, we head to River Front Park. “You know, this is where the World’s Fair was. I love this park. I have been here so often. I must have a picture of myself at every age in front of that fountain. There used to be a science center here and my dad would bring me to it every year on my birthday. He knew at an early age how much I loved science. That was our thing to do together. The ice skating rink was Hildy’s thing. You know, I wanted to hate her, but you just can’t hate Hildy. She taught me to ice skate, both Kai and myself. My mom brought me to the IMAX movies here, now they play normal movies but back in the day, it was more scientific documentaries. Every time a new one came out, she made it a priority.”
“All memories you can make with our kids. Even if we don’t live in Spokane, we will be visiting enough to make this a place of many memories like you have.”
On the way home from our day together, Brody says, “Toots, I don’t want you to cook tonight and I know I would rather just hang out in front of the fire, spending our last couple of nights alone. Why don’t we pick up a pizza?”
“That's fine. Can you drop me off first? I'm really tired and would like to lie down for a while.”
“Sure.” He calls in to order a pizza as he drops me off at our front door. “I will see you in thirty minutes, okay?”
Kissing him, I say, “I'm so tired, I just want to sleep for thirty minutes.”
Just as I open up the door, I feel a release of pressure in my stomach and a gigantic burst of fluids. “Ah, shit! Really?” Looking down, I realize my water has broken. I read in one of my many birthing books that fewer than eight percent of women’s water breaks before contractions. How could I be in such a minority in those statistics?
I'm expecting contractions to start any minute. However, first order of business is to clean up my floor, plus there was the whole issue with Brod
y. I don’t want him to panic and drive like a lunatic to get to me.
My hospital bag is in the closet, packed and ready to grab at a moment’s notice. I change clothes into comfortable sweatpants. My first contraction has just started and I grab my watch to time it. “Whoa, son of a bitch, this hurts!” I yell, leaning over my bed to give myself a little relief.
Grabbing my phone, I call my doctor. “Gladys, my water broke.”
“Rose, contractions?”
“I just had my first and hell, that hurts.”
“Well, it is childbirth, dear, not Pilates. How far apart are they?”
“I just had my first one and I’m timing in between them. Brody went to get a pizza. I don’t want him driving crazy to get to me.”
“Your water broke, you need to get to the hospital regardless of contractions. As soon as he gets home, get your ass to Deaconess, you hear?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I'll be waiting, okay?”
I hear the keys jangle as I scream, “Son of a bitch!” And that is all he needs to hear before Brody comes barreling up the stairs. At eight minutes between, contractions aren’t the issue, though it hurts like hell. Knowing my water has broken, we need to get to the hospital.
He walks in, watching me squirm in pain. “Toots?”
“This baby is coming tonight. My water broke.” The most recent contraction is now subsiding, finally allowing me to speak clearly.
38
Brody
I don’t remember driving to the hospital. Autopilot must have overtaken me. It's surreal that this time tomorrow, I'm going to be a dad. I can’t stop shaking and all Rose has to do is calm me with her touch. “Brody, honey, women have babies every day. I'll be fine. Anyway, we have the best doctor in the world taking care of me and the baby.” Rose continues to breathe through a hard contraction as I wheel her to the registration desk at the hospital.