“That’s awfully kind of you.”
“Is your Dad here?”
“He’s out in the crop fields at the moment. He should be back soon. He’s just checking on the guys. Feel free to wait inside if you’d like.”
“Thank you, dear. If you’d be so kind. This is my niece, Helen. She heard you had a newborn foal. Can she see him?”
“Of course, but only if you save me a piece of that pie,” Ashton jokes, but is almost serious about it. She signals for the young girl to follow her.
“So you like horses?”
“Yep. I’ve always wanted one. Daddy says they eat too much.”
“Well I eat too much, but they let me stay.”
“You’re funny.”
“Thanks.”
“What’s the baby’s name?”
Ashton was a little shocked at the question. She wondered if the girl was talking about her belly. She didn’t think she looked pregnant, but she was getting a little paranoid.
“Oh, I’m not pregnant just been having lots of food cravings.”
“Not you silly. The baby foal.”
“Oh, uh. Just kidding its Galaxy.”
“That’s neat. I like learning about space stuff in School. I love looking at all those stars up there.”
“Hmm. Me too Helen. Me too.” Ashton pulls back a lever releasing the lock on a fence near the horse stable. They pass a few horses in a nearby fence.
“What type of horses are those?”
“Those are geldings.”
“What’s a gelding?”
“Well, uh, that means their little boy parts are cut off. “
“Ouch!”
“Ouch Indeed.”
They walk to the fenced in horse yard holding Autumn and Galaxy. Galaxy is trotting near her mother.
“Awee. That’s Galaxy.”
“Yep.”
“How long was Autumn pregnant with her?”
“Over 350 days.”
“Wow, that’s a long time to be pregnant? How did you know she was pregnant?”
“Well, all the female animals show signs.”
“Like what?”
“Sometimes it’s as simple as a change in appetite,” Ashton says as she realizes there may have been many signs that she may be pregnant. She has a fleeting thought of all her eating. She has racing thoughts of her belly and constant tingling feeling. Her thoughts race. If she was pregnant, it couldn’t be from Bobby. It must be with her Alien Abductor. She’s thought about him every night. She’s even looked for any signs of him in the night skies with her new telescope. But to no avail. Just a few falling stars and planes.
Chapter Sixteen: The Doctor
She nervously sits in the front waiting area, flipping through a Field and Steam magazine. She glances around the musty room and notices the wallpaper decorated with ducks and birds of various types. A plastic mounted fish that sings and dances with the push of a button hangs on the wall next to medical diplomas that may be older than the town itself. She feels a quick pain in her belly and looks down at it. She places her hand over it, and the pain goes away.
An older lady with thick glasses and gaudy hat holds a cat in a waiting chair nearby. The cat kind of resembles her. She barely blinks as she waits. Then out of nowhere, she talks to Ashton.
“What are you here for?”
“Uhm just a checkup. You?”
“My pussy is a little under the weather.”
Ashton looks over at her cat and doesn’t know what to say in response.
“Now Doreen? What did I tell you?”
“You don’t take care of animals? I know I know? But she likes you way better than the vet.”
“Goodbye, Doreen. Come by when it’s you that needs a fixing okay.”
“Okay, doc.”
“Ashton, what brings you by?” asks a soft, raspy voice. A white jacket and stethoscope draped over the gray-haired doctor with a curved back. “Why, I remember delivering you and your sister to your lovely mother, God bless her soul.”
Ashton smiles.
“I remember one year when your sister got a nasty cut on that bike, and it seemed not too long after you fell off your horse and had to be checked out. Always competing with each other I guess. They say trouble always comes in twos. So speaking of troubles what brings you in today?”
“Just been having some symptoms I’d like you to check out.”
“You got the flu, maybe some nasal stuff. That’s been going around like wildfire. So has some other things that we shall not speak of, but a little penicillin will clear that right up.”
“I think I might be pregnant.”
“Oh well, that’s been goin’ around too. Well let’s get you all settled in the back, and we’ll find out for sure.”
Ashton gets undressed in the back, and the doctor’s assistant (his wife) gives her a medical gown to wear. Ashton makes her way to the medical table and lays on her back. She never liked sitting naked on these things, being poked and prodded while being asked to do random actions. “Stick out your tongue as far as you can and say, ‘Ahhhhhhh.' Good, now take a deep breath in and out for me.”
The doctor comes in with large glasses that make his eyes look even larger. “So, I’m guessing you’ve been sexually active, or you wouldn’t be coming here asking to see if you’re pregnant.”
The assistant watches on as if ready to judge.
“Yes.”
“How often?”
“Just once…weeks ago.”
“Well, it only takes just once. I’m guessin’ from this visit you weren’t using any protection?”
She shakes her head no. Each question made her feel more and more uncomfortable. She felt like she was talking to her grandfather about sex. This was almost as bad as her dad fumbling through his explanation of the birds and the bees. That talk ended with her dad explaining any boy coming near the house may be met with a shotgun and some threatening words.
Let’s check you out and see what we can figure out.”
Over about thirty minutes the doctor ran a few tests and pulled out an ultrasound. For some unknown reason, the ultrasound was blurry and fritzed out around the area of the baby, but he had no doubt she was pregnant. He congratulates her despite Ashton looking less than excited about the news.
Chapter Seventeen: Confession
Ashton woke up early, waiting for her father before his daily routine. He’d normally get up, have his toast with coffee and head out the gate at the end of the driveway to let the workers in. Then he’d go and check on the animals, one by one, and come back with a list of things, one by one, that Ashton needed to do. Her father would have gladly done it himself, but with his bad hand, he can’t lift too many things.
Ashton’s belly is filled with butterflies. She’s nervous and tired. The roosters weren’t even up this early. She looked around at the kitchen while she waits. The kitchen was yellow with wooden cupboards and shelves. Country and painted inspirational sayings were sprinkled throughout on random items. Dishes and cups laid drying next to the sink with a wadded up towel nearby. The kitchen was quiet, though Ashton’s mind wasn’t. She wasn’t going to be able to hide being pregnant forever. Besides, when she did give birth, people would probably wonder about the baby.
“What’s an alien baby gonna look like, anyway?” she wondered to herself.
Ashton stares at a quote on a painted piece of wood on the kitchen wall. “Home is where family is.” Kind of a basic, obvious quote she thought to herself. She never paid much attention to it. She’s grown up in this house. Her dad raised them by himself, mostly. She has slight memories of her mom, but they are memories based mostly on pictures. She thinks of countless mornings with her sister and her eating at this sturdy kitchen table…not being able to eat without saying grace. She still remembers her sister and her as kids running around the house, always full of energy. She looks over at the kitchen door that has marks showing how tall they grew each year. It became a competition between her and Faith.
/> A “click” and the hallway light turns on from her father’s area of the house. “He’s up,” she realizes as her stomach starts to knot up. She’s always been the good girl…the reliable one. Faith was always the one getting into trouble. Now she’s going to have to tell him she’s pregnant. In recent years she’s had to help him more and more since he hurt his hand, though she was starting to resent it a little. Faith got to do whatever she wanted she thought to herself.
“Hey pumpkin.”
“Hey Pops. The coffee is ready for you.”
“Thanks, honey,” says the weathered farmer in his overalls. He heads over and pours himself a cup with his good hand.
The silence in the room is more deafening than usual. Every step, every shift in the seat is amplified. The crickets seem to get louder and louder. Her father sits and reads a hymnal while drinking his steaming hot coffee. Even Ashton’s voices get louder in her head. “Do I tell him? Do I not? What will he think? Will he disown me? Do I mention Orion? Will he even believe me?”
“Pumpkin?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“You okay? You seem to have the weight of the world on your mind…or at least on your face.”
“Oh, ummmm. Well… Just wondering if you wanted breakfast?” She asks, chickening out of what she really wanted to say.
“That would be nice, pumpkin,” He says after taking another sip of coffee.
Ashton heads to the green fridge and pulls out a couple of eggs and other items to make breakfast. She places each item on the counter and keeps looking back to her dad, waiting for the right time to say something.
“So, how’s that Booo Bee fella? You still seein’ him?”
“It’s Bobby, and no.” Ashton pulls out an iron skillet from the bottom cabinet. She turns the heat up on the gas grill of the stove.
“That’s a shame. He had quite an arm, though to be honest, he didn’t seem too bright to me.”
“Just wasn’t meant to be.” Ashton smiles and grabs a jug of orange juice from the fridge and pours herself a glass.
“Probably best. Heard from Miss Callahan that he was caught naked doing something god awful to some football post.”
Ashton practically spits out her orange juice after the first sip. She cleans it up and cracks an egg to put on the skillet. The skillet sizzles.
“Autumn Spirit and her filly are doing well. The filly has tons of energy. Reminds me of you and your sister.”
“Dad…Pops, I’m pregnant,” Ashton says. As if triggering a small explosion. She squints after saying it, waiting for the reaction. Her dad hasn’t spanked her in years, but she can’t help but flinch.
She glances over to see him staring at the window. His face is getting flushed red. He doesn’t say anything.
“Well?”
“Well, nothing. What were you expecting me to say?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking that…”
“You weren’t thinking. That’s the problem.”
“I didn't think that I could keep this a secret much longer.”
“Who’s the father? Is it that no good Bobby can’t-keep-my-pants-on quarterback?” Her dad continues to get red.
“No, Dad.”
“I expected this from your sister, but not you. How you going to help on the farm while you’re…”
Ashton gets angry. It’s not about her getting pregnant. It’s about her not being able to help on the farm. What if she didn’t want to help on the farm anymore? Would she ever have the choice to leave? “That’s what this is really about.”
“Don’t go changing the subject.”
“I’m not. This isn’t about me, it’s about you,” Ashton fires back. “You’re afraid. You’ve been afraid ever since you lost Mom, and then your hand. You’ve always needed a crutch.”
“I don’t know what you got spinning in that head of yours, but…”
“Dad, I know you. You try your best, but you’ve been limited. Especially by your…”
“Gimp hand, just say it! Don’t you think I wish I could be self-sufficient? In all my life I never had to rely on anyone else. We were taught to take care of ourselves and our family. It’s a cruel joke of the universe that I can barely do either.”
“Dad it’s not like that.” She stops as she has a new idea. “I noticed your walk has gotten better.” Her father says nothing, so she continues. “Something magical and confusing has happened to me. You’ll never believe it, but it’s not all a bad thing. Ashton walks to her father and takes his gimp hand. She feels her blood rush and tingling all over like she did when she cut her own hand.
“What are you doing, Ashton?”
“Pops, just look.”
“It’s bad enough you’re pregnant. Now you are throwing my disability in my face.”
During this whole argument, Ashton forgot about the eggs. They were starting to smoke. The fire detector goes off. Her father pushes her out of the way and grabs the skillet with one hand and turns the faucet on with the other. Smoke fills the room as the fire dissipates.
Faith comes rushing downstairs to see the commotion. “What the heck is going on down here?” She shouts as she comes into the smoke-filled room with the small plastic fire alarm blaring. “Pops, your hand!” she shouts.
He looks over and notices his gimp hand now working. It holds the skillet, while the other is on the faucet. He drops the skillet into the sink and pulls his hand in front of his face.
“It can’t be. It can’t be. I can feel it. I can move it,” he says as he moves each finger and thumb. “How…How Ashton?”
“You are both going to need to sit down so I can tell you.”
Ashton paces back and forth trying to find the right words to explain something so irrational. Faith is excited. She’s normally the one in trouble and having to get out of it. It was fun seeing Ashton finally as the bad girl.
“Just spit it out Pumpkin. Whatever it is you have to say can’t be any crazier than me getting the feeling back in my hand.”
“Well right before the Fair and the stock yards, I was having a real bad night.” Ashton continues to tell them about the night after the lake, how she reached out on the radio. How she ran off into the fields and the beam of light. Faith and her father sat bewildered. They would never in a million years have believed her had she not just healed their father.
“So, basically you’re saying you got abducted by a UFO in a field while naked and were seduced by an amazing hunk of alien, and now your pregnant…and going to have little alien babies,” Faith says in a very unbelievable tone.
“Yep, pretty much.”
The room is quiet. They all start to laugh.
“That’s absurd, but I guess we have to believe you. That might explain the crop circles the other day, I figured it was the Miller brothers again. They’re always prankin’ and cow tipin’” Ashton’s father says.
“Always have to one-up me, sis. I don’t think I can top getting laid by someone from another planet. Does he have a brother?” she jokingly asks.
“Now that your hand’s better, you won’t need me as much on the farm, Pop.”
“I didn’t realize I put so much burden on you.” He goes and puts both hands around his daughter and gives her a big hug. “It’s going to take me some heavy drinking and prayin’ before I know what to say or how to understand what’s going on, but you’ve never been one to lie. Besides I never would have believed you if you said I’d use my hand again. I guess I’ll have to put aside what I believe and no for now. I love you both and want the best for you both.”
Chapter Eighteen: Tossing and Turning
The blades circled in a hypnotic motion. For hours Ashton stared at the ceiling fan. She shifted her covers, stacked her pillows, slept left, slept right, nothing she did felt comfortable. Her body was tired, but her mind was a three-year-old on caffeine and sugar cubes, racing back and forth. It didn’t help that her windows rattled with the winds from an approaching storm. She had her own storm in her min
d she was dealing with.
Even though there was some resolution with her family Ashton new her trouble and issues had just begun. Being a single mother wouldn’t be easy. Her dad was right she thought. How was she supposed to take care of the farm and her newborn?
She was lonelier than ever. She had only been with Orion for a night, but it felt like she knew him for an eternity. She missed him and wanted to know more about him. She didn’t even stop to think about how amazing it was to be one of the only people that know there is another life form out there in the whole universe. She has part of that life form, part of him growing in her she thought to herself.
She sits up in her bed. Her belly has gotten significantly larger, so it’s not as easy to sit up as it once was. That may be why she’s having such a hard time falling asleep. Her room is dark except a small night light by the door and the occasional lightning strike in the distance. She pulls off her covers and walks over to the telescope and looks through it. Her view is limited from the window especially through the rain, but she always remains hopeful to catch a glimpse of Orion who may be watching her from above.
“Where are you, my prince? My man from another world, another Galaxy, “she whispers as if he’d somehow hear her through the telescope.
“I don’t want to be alone. I need you. I can’t have this baby alone. I don’t even know how to raise an Alien baby or whatever it will be.”
Her emotions build. Her heart starts to race. She paces back and forth. Thousands of conflicting thoughts collide. She can’t handle it anymore.
Chapter Nineteen: The Return
Ashton runs down the stairs. She’s about to run outside but stops and looks at the radio in the den. She grabs the microphone from it and flips the radio on. The radio whirrs on. She’s done this many other nights, and it didn’t matter. No response.
“Orion. Orion. If you can hear me, I need you. I crave you.”
“I don’t know who this Orion guy is but that’s pretty hot. I can come meet you.” says some random voice possibly a trucker.
Frustrated Ashton shuts off the radio, throws the microphone and runs out of the house. The screen door slams behind her. She runs through the grass field. The rain pounds harder and harder with each step. The sheets of falling water drench her t-shirt. Her oversized shirt clings to her body and reveals her breasts as her shirt becomes see-through from the wetness. She keeps running, but not as fast as before. It takes her a little longer with a bulging pregnant belly, but she’s just as determined. She makes it to the edge of the corn field where she was abducted. She fights to breathe and catch her breath. The cold air stings her as it enters her lungs.
The Campus Jock: A College Bad Boy Romance Page 76