A Designed Affair

by Cheryl Barton

  Loren’s father thanked both doctors for the update then walked out with them and Jake. That left everyone else thankful for the news that Loren would be okay and stunned by the fact that Loren was pregnant.

  Mike sat down in the nearest chair, overwhelmed by the news that he was going to be a father.

  “My baby is having a baby? Well isn’t this some revelation. Thank God she’s going to be alright and that the baby is fine too,” Ms. Barbara said.

  Mike continued to be in a daze at the news. Loren was pregnant with his child and he was going to be a father. He wondered if she knew when she stopped in to see him at the condo earlier when she ran into Shelly leaving. He wondered if she was coming to tell him about the baby. He was happy about the baby, but he was even more ecstatic that Loren was going to pull through okay. She was still in some danger due to the head injury, but he had faith that she would pull through okay with that as well.

  “I need to see my baby,” Ms. Barbara said. “I just need to lay my hands on her so that I know she’s okay.”

  “Okay, mom, come on. I’ll go in to see her with you,” Duron said. He turned to his wife before leaving.

  “Taija, baby, are you okay? Maybe you should sit down. You look a little pale yourself,” he said.

  “I’m fine Duron. You go ahead. I just needed to sit down. I know it’s not morning, but this baby has no sense of time,” she replied.

  “I’ll have a nurse bring you some soda and crackers. Mike, Brian, look after her while I’m gone,” Duron said before walking out with his mother.

  “I got you bro. I’ll go get her soda and crackers. You go ahead and take mom in to see Loren,” Brian said before leaving the room.

  After everyone had left, Mike and Taija were in the room alone, both taking in all that had transpired.

  “I’m glad Loren is going to be okay,” Taija said.

  “I’m definitely breathing better hearing that she’ll be okay. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if anything had happened to her. I need her to be okay. She is everything to me and I mean everything. I never thought I would love anyone as much as I love her. I’ve dated a lot of women, but none have ever meant as much to me as Loren does.”

  “You know she loves you too, Mike. I still remember back in our college days when I would tease her about the crush she had on you. It didn’t mean that much back then, but now I see that she meant it back then just as much as she means it now. You and Loren were meant to be. That baby she’s carrying is a symbol of the love you two share. Congratulations on the baby.”

  “I just love her so much Taija. Yesterday, I went to the jewelry store and bought an engagement ring. I was planning to ask her to marry me today. She was going to tell her parents about us today and I was going to contact her father later to ask his permission to marry her. I still have the ring in my pocket. Today just went so wrong.”

  “I know Mike, but you can’t blame yourself.”

  “I hear you, but that doesn’t lessen the burden I feel for this situation. Shelly showing up at the condo today, right before Loren got there was poor timing. I didn’t get a chance to explain to Loren what was going on with Shelly being at my place. I had invited her up to talk because I didn’t want her making a scene in the lobby. I couldn’t tell by Loren’s facial expression if she was angry when she saw Shelly there. I felt sick when Shelly ran her car into that crowd. I still feel sick.”

  Taija got up to console Mike who was clearly shaken up by the events.

  “Mike, there was no way for you to predict what Shelly would do. Loren shouted for you to look out because she loves you and didn’t want to see you hurt. You couldn’t know what Shelly was planning to do. I’m just hoping Shelly gets the help she needs. The police officer said that Shelly said she just snapped. All she could think of when she was in her car was the anger at knowing that she could never get you to fall in love with her and that she knew how much you loved Loren and she just didn’t want anyone to have you.”

  “You’re right. I’m hoping she gets the help she needs as well. I never, ever led her on, but I also didn’t take notice of how deep her feelings were for me,” he said.

  Duron and his mother came back into the room where Mike and Taija were waiting.

  “Mike, go ahead and see Loren. Go out this door, make a right and she in the glass room at the end on the right.”

  Mike, nodded and went to visit the love of his life.

  He entered her room and his heart took a nose dive when he saw her laying in the bed helpless. The doctors were right, she had a lot of swelling. He walked over to her and kissed her just in case she knew he was in the room.

  “Loren, baby, I’m here. I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere. I need you to get better. I need you and our baby needs you. I’m sorry about all of this,” he whispered.

  He pulled a chair close to the bed, sat down, grabbed the hand that wasn’t in a cast and prayed.

  Chapter 20

  Loren had been in the hospital for two days and in that time Mike only left briefly to run home to shower and to pick his mother up at the airport. When he called to tell her what happened to Loren, she could hear the hurt and loneliness in his voice and immediately booked a flight to be with him. He loved his mother and since she was his only child, he always got all of her attention. She loved hearing that he was in love and he knew that she was appreciative of how her family had always considered him a part of them since he and Duron had first become friends.

  His father had died when he was a young boy and though his mother could never replace his father, she made sure he always felt loved.

  After returning to the hospital with his mother in tow, Loren’s mother decided to take a break from sitting in Loren’s room and went with Mike’s mother to the hospital cafeteria to get something to eat. He couldn’t eat because he was too about Loren. He was thankful that the hospital had let him stay in the room with her beyond the normal fifteen minutes allowed with patients in intensive care. He wanted to be by her side as much as possible, just in case she woke up. He talked to her non-stop just in case she could hear him. He needed her to know that he was here, he loved her and would not leave her.

  “Loren, it’s day two baby and you still haven’t woken up.”

  Mike slid his chair closer to the bed so that he could sit while still holding her hand. He wanted her to feel his warmth.

  “I love you baby. I love you so much. I need you to wake up though. We have a baby that’s two days older than when you first got here and we both need you. Did I mention that I hope the baby is a girl. I want her to be as beautiful inside and out just like her mommy is. Even with these bruises on your face, you are still the most beautiful woman in the world.”

  He stroked her cheek and her skin felt warm under this touch. He wanted her to wake up so that they could start their life together. He continued talking to her, hoping that she was able to hear everything he was saying. He looked from her face, down to her stomach where their child was growing inside of her. He was excited that in just short of eight months, he was going to be father. The news was unexpected, but welcomed. He leaned down and decided to have a conversation with his soon to be son or daughter.

  He laid his head down on Loren stomach to talk directly to the baby growing there.

  “Hey in there, it’s your daddy. I’m glad you’re going to be okay. Before yesterday, I didn’t even know you were in there, but I’m glad I know today. I can’t wait to meet you. You just continue to stay healthy and stay in there. You still have a long way to go before it’s time for you to make your arrival and as much as we are all looking forward to meeting you, we want you to stay in your mommy’s tummy until it’s time for you to come out, so no early appearances because it’s way too soon. Now, I want you to get use to my voice because you’re going to be hearing it a lot. This is your daddy and I love you and I love your mommy very, very much.”

  As Mike leaned over to place a soft kiss on Loren’s stomach, he felt he
r hand in his hair moving.

  “Mommy loves daddy very much too,” she whispered.

  Mike raised up slowly to be sure he didn’t startle her. Her eyes were still closed, but she was awake. He leaned closer to her face.

  “Hi baby. I love you.”

  Loren slowly opened her eyes and looked right into his eyes.

  “I love you too. I love you so much.”

  He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips, ecstatic that she was awake. He needed to get the doctor.

  “Baby, I’m coming right back. I’m going to go let everyone know that you’re awake and get the doctor in here. We have all been waiting for you to wake up.”

  Before leaving the room, he placed a few soft kisses around her face.

  “I’m glad you’re back baby. You had us all so worried.”

  He turned to leave the room when he heard Loren say his name. Going back to the bed, he waited to hear what she needed.

  “I’m here baby,” he said.

  “Mike, is the baby okay? Please tell me the baby is okay?”

  Loren started to cry and Mike didn’t want that. He knew she needed to remain calm.

  “Loren, the baby is fine. The doctor said there was no damage done to the baby and it’s still healthy. The baby is just fine so don’t worry.”

  Loren just nodded and closed her eyes.

  ~~~

  Loren was more than ready to go home after being in the hospital over a week. Her doctors said she was coming along wonderfully with her recovery. The swelling had gone down and the bruising on her face was even clearing up. Her leg was still in its cast and it would be for a few more weeks. She was happiest knowing that the baby would be fine.

  This wasn’t exactly the circumstance by which she wanted Mike to find out that he was going to be a father, but she was glad he did know and that he was just as happy about the baby as she was when she first discovered she was pregnant. She was totally shocked when she took a home pregnancy test after missing her period.

  Once her doctor had confirmed only a few days ago, she was overjoyed with the news of her baby’s impending birth. She was more shocked knowing that they had always used condoms, but of course, even those are not one hundred percent effective.

  She was happy to wake up to Mike in her room every day. He had been with her the entire week at the hospital, barely leaving her side. Her family and his mother had to threaten him with bodily harm in order to get him to leave to change clothes and to eat. He did pacify them as far as changing, but most of his meals he ate with her, in her hospital room. She smiled at the thought that he was at this very moment on his way to get her some chocolate, her favorite treat. The doctor finally said it was okay for her to have something other than hospital food and she wasn’t sure if it was the baby or just the awful hospital food, but she craved chocolate like never before. She was thinking about how badly she wanted something chocolate when her parents entered the room after knocking to announce their presence.

  “Hey baby girl!” her father said as they entered the room.

  “Hi dad, hi mom.”

  “How are you feeling today?” her mother asked.

  “Like I want to go home.”

  “I know dear, but not until the doctor gives the all clear.”

  “I know mom and I won’t push it. I just miss my own bed and my own food. Dad, I don’t know how you eat this hospital food every day. I need something fried and smothered in gravy!”

  They laughed at pint sized Loren who ate everything in sight and never gained an ounce.

  “For now Loren, just go with it and do exactly what Dr. Morgan says. You’ll be out of here in no time.”

  There was silence before Loren’s mother brought up the subject of the baby. They had not talked about the fact that she was pregnant all week because they wanted to be sure she was getting her strength up.

  “So you and Mike are going to be parents, huh? Congratulations baby. I know we haven’t talked about it, but if you’re happy, we are happy for you.”

  “Yes, I’m very happy mom. I have to admit, I was shocked. It wasn’t planned of course, but I’m just as happy as if it had been planned. I never really thought much about having children. Of course I always thought I’d be married first, but married or not, I can’t wait to meet him or her.”

  “I’m excited too, Loren. You know how much I love Lyric and Milo. I love being a grandmother and there is something extra special when that grandchild is from a daughter. I will love all of my grandchildren the same, but there is something very, very special when your daughter is having a baby. I already know Michael is excited. You should have seen him the day the doctor revealed to us that you were pregnant. I thought he was going to pass out,” her mother said and laughed.

  Loren’s dad could see that they were going to have an extensive conversation about the baby so he decided to give them some privacy and go check on some hospital business.

  “I came by to check on you, but I’m going to go and get some work done. I’ll be by later to check on you again before I go home.”

  After he left, she watched as her mother pulled a chair closer to the bed so that they could really talk.

  “Why did you keep your relationship with Michael a secret for so long? Normally you can tell me anything. What happened that made you think you couldn’t share this with me?”

  Loren felt bad realizing the impact the secret has had on everyone.

  “Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t really want to keep it from you at all. You know I like to tell you everything. I was planning to tell you the day of the accident. I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with Mike. I thought that he and I would just keep it between the two of us, at least for a while. That while turned out to be longer than I thought and it was because I still wanted to keep it a secret. Mike was ready to tell everyone from the start. I didn’t want there to be any animosity between him and Duron. I thought it would come and go and we would have had our time and it would be over with. It didn’t happen that way. I didn’t do it to distance the family. Duron recently found out about Mike and me and when they were able to talk through it, it was okay. I didn’t find out about the baby until a few days before the accident. Mike and I were planning to have dinner later that night and I was going to tell him then. I wanted to tell Mike first and well you see how that turned out. Everything just turned so wrong. I’m so sorry for keeping my relationship from you. I didn’t know how everyone would feel about us being together.”

  “Loren, I love Michael as if he was one of my sons. I think he is good for you and I think you make a perfect couple. I love you and as long as you are happy, I am happy.”

  Loren began to cry. She was blessed to have a mother as caring as she was.

  “Thank you mom. I love him very much. He’s my universe.”

  “I know baby girl. I can see that he feels the same way. You get some reset. I’ll be back in a little later. I’m going to let others come in to visit with you.”

  Mike returned to Loren’s room with chocolate in hand just as her mother was preparing to leave for the evening.

  “Michael, don’t you give the hospital staff trouble tonight with you trying to stay too late. Remember they have rules for a reason.”

  Mike nodded and accepted her hug.

  “Bye mom. See you tomorrow.”

  “I see my knight in shining blue jeans and pull-over sweater has arrived with some chocolate.”

  “I have been waiting on this all day long. Apparently your child is a chocolate lover,” Loren said as she shoved one piece of candy after the other in her mouth.

  “So I assume, everything you eat during this pregnancy will be blamed on the baby?” he said as he laughed and sat on the bed next to her.

  “Pregnant women can eat whatever they want and no one can say anything about it,” she replied.

  “You will get no argument out of me. I will get you anything you want. So Ms. Knight, I’ve been told to not give anyone a hassle about
staying longer than I should tonight so I’m not going to stay long. I do want to talk before I leave.”

  He turned so that he and Loren were face to face.

  “I’m sorry for all of this.”

  He saw Loren try to interrupt him, but he cut her off.

  “Wait before you speak and interrupt me. I’m so sorry that all of this has happened. It doesn’t matter how much everyone tells me that this is not my fault, I know that it is. I know I told you some of my dating history and a little about Shelly, but I want to explain more. Let me do that without interrupting, okay?”

  Loren just nodded her agreement.

  “Thank you. I met Shelly a few years ago and we had a friends with benefits situation going on, something I did tell you about. We always knew the score and we were both in full agreement. We saw each other when we had time and we made no promises. We were able to see other people and again, neither of us had an issue with that. I decided before we started our affair that I wasn’t going to continue anything with her and I did let her know that and I told you I had no interest in any other woman and I didn’t. I promise you nothing happened with Shelly and I after you and I slept together and I know how bad things looked in the elevator, but nothing happened. I wouldn’t do that to you and I hope you believe that.”

  “Of course I do. I was shocked, but I didn’t believe for one minute that you’d slept with her even though she insinuated that you did on the elevator ride down. I could see that she was upset and embarrassed and she wanted to hurt you and me.”

  “I’m glad to know you still have faith in my love for you. What I didn’t take into consideration with all of this is that Shelly may not have been okay with me walking away. I believe she felt that if I were to ever decide that I was ready to commit to someone and settle down that it would be with her. When that didn’t happen, her feelings for me overwhelmed her mental faculties and she snapped. She didn’t want to believe that I was in love with someone that wasn’t her. I never took her feelings for me serious even though the signs were there. I ignored them and did what a player would do. I brushed it off as something she would get over and she didn’t. I didn’t handle things well with her and because I didn’t the end result was a lot of people being hurt by a woman with serious mental issues. For that I am sorry.”