“Okay. Bye Ricky.”
“Goodbye Molli.”
She ended the call and immediately sent out a text to Seneca. ‘Hey girl. Guess what?’
‘What? Did Ricky finally break up with Mellenda? Oh, I’m so happy for you Mol.’
‘I only wish. I asked him about a double date with you and Grant and he said yes! Are you guys busy next weekend?’
‘Nope. Grant’s off for a change and my parents are taking Rain to visit our aunt. I wasn’t invited because my stuffy old aunt doesn’t think I’m involved in activities that are suitable for a girl my age.’
‘Did your parents tell your whole family that you’re having sex with Grant?’
‘I think so. They’re so weird. When my dad caught us, he made Grant promise that he’d marry me if I got pregnant. I thought Grant was going to die when my dad walked in on us.’
‘You let him catch you? You’re slipping Sen.’
‘My parents weren’t supposed to be home until way later and Rain was spending the night at his friend’s house since we’ve been out of school since Tuesday with all of the conferences and in services and stuff. At least he didn’t catch us doing it in their bed.’
‘I forgot you guys were out of school most of the week. You’re so lucky. I wish my parents still let me go to public school. You are horrible Sen, doing it in your parents’ bed.’
‘It was Grant’s idea. Public school sucks. If you’d never have come to Crestview you wouldn’t have met me your wonderful best friend and you wouldn’t be having Ricky’s kid.’
‘I know. Crestview is just so uptight though. How am I going to hide my pregnancy?’
‘Wear baggy clothes and no one will notice until you graduate and then it won’t matter. Has Mellenda caught you puking?’
‘She almost did the other morning. She came back because she forgot something and I think she could smell it. She wrinkled her nose in that prissy way. I’ll be so glad when my morning sickness is over. She would so tell on me.’
‘She’s such a bitch. I can’t believe that Ricky wants to be with her. I can’t believe she has sex with him.’
‘Ricky isn’t the type of the guy that would break up with her even if she didn’t. He likes sex and he’s really good at it, but he’s not one of those guys that’s constantly thinking with his penis.’
‘Yeah. I have to go. I have to cook dinner since Mom and Dad are both working. Rain has a friend over. Is it wrong to think your thirteen year old little brother’s friend is kind of cute?’
‘Um. I don’t know Sen. I have to go too. Ricky is on his way to pick me up. I’ll text or call you later about getting together next weekend. There’s something I want to talk to you about, but I want to do it in person.’
‘Sounds juicy. Bye Mol. Don’t tire Ricky out too much.’
‘I’ll try not to. Bye Sen.’
Molli stood up, put the blanket back in her bag and her phone back in her purse. She almost regretted putting her phone away because it had a flashlight and it was starting to get dark in the woods. She thought it was pretty creepy being out there by herself, thinking that the old pervert’s ghost was wandering around. Some of her more superstitious classmates claimed they had seen lights and heard noises out in the woods. She figured that it was either Tory spying on people or the perverted security guard Jeremy.
She walked with hurried steps towards her meeting spot with Ricky and managed to make it there right when he pulled up. She opened the passenger side door and got into the car.
“Are you sure you’re okay Molli? You look a little pale.” Ricky reached over and turned the heater up.
“I’m fine. I think I let myself get a little spooked being out in the woods by myself.”
“I don’t like you being out there by yourself either. Next time, I’ll call you and let you know I’m here and you can come to me then. I’d rather have to wait on you than have you wait on me.”
“You are such a gentleman. Your mother must be so proud.”
He smiled. “I like to think so. Where would you like to eat?”
“There‘s a really good Mexican restaurant right outside of town on the right hand side. I can’t remember the name but the food is so good. I hardly ever get to go there.”
“I know the place you’re talking about. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Good. Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome Molli. It’s no trouble. Mellenda and I ate there once and the food was wonderful.”
Molli made a face at his mention of Mellenda. “So Seneca said that she and Grant are both free next weekend. When are we going to get together?”
“Well, I’d love for you to stay with me Friday night. I do work Saturday, but I’m off at two p.m. so we can do something afterwards, see a movie and then go out to dinner. If Seneca and Grant can make it up earlier in the day, I can give you money to go shopping so that you won’t be bored. You’re going to need maternity clothing eventually and we should start buying things for the baby.”
Molli thought her grin was going to split her face she was so happy. “Oh Ricky, thank you. I don’t know about maternity clothes, though. I still have to wear my uniform at school. I think I might have to buy a bigger size. My parents are going to throw a fit about the cost because they charge so much for the things and they won’t let you trade in your old ones. No hand me downs for the girls at Crestview.”
“I’ll give you the money for a new uniform so that you don’t have to bother your parents. You might like some things for outside of school that will be comfortable as your pregnancy progresses. We can also keep all of the things for the baby at my place. We’re going to need something bigger than my one bedroom apartment after the baby is born. I have a credit card that I barely use. I’ll give that to you or make a cash withdrawal.”
Molli wondered why he wouldn’t break up with Mellenda if he was talking about them living together. She was almost afraid to go shopping for baby things though. Upton was only half an hour away from her hometown. People from Cheston frequently shopped there since there were more stores and a bigger selection.
“I don’t want to put you into debt. And I don’t want to buy too much for the baby. I’m afraid that someone will see me shopping for all this stuff and tell my parents.”
“Oh Molli, you still haven’t told your parents about the baby?”
“No. Like I told you before, I don’t want them to bring up abortion or adoption. My older sister, well she’s not my blood sister and she’s much older than me, they adopted her from foster care; got pregnant right before she was eighteen. They made her put the baby up for adoption.”
“If she was of legal age when she had the child they couldn’t have forced her to put the child up for adoption.”
“I think they threatened to cut her out of their will if she didn’t.”
“That’s terrible. Maybe it is better if you don’t tell them. I can’t believe a parent would do such a thing.”
“I know. My parents are really old fashioned though. They had me when they were in their forties but they seem even older than they really are sometimes.”
“I’m sorry darling.”
He pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and parked the car. He came around and opened her door for her, taking her into his arms for a brief embrace. When he pulled back, she thought that she saw that look in his eyes again, the look that said he loved her. But why wouldn’t he break up with Mellenda she wondered, why wouldn’t he tell her that he loved her? She wanted to tell him that she loved him, but she needed to hear him say it first. She felt like she had already laid her heart on the line for him enough, she didn’t think she could take it if she told him she loved him and he didn’t say it back.
She followed him into the restaurant. They were greeted by a pretty young waitress who showed them to a booth and took their drink orders, leaving them with menus. When the waitress left, Molli decided that she wanted to sit on the same side of the tab
le as Ricky and got up and moved. She wanted to be close to him. She loved the way he smelled and the feel of the warmth of his body next to hers.
He smiled at her and put his arm around her. “I’ve missed you Molli.”
“I’ve missed you too, Ricky.”
The waitress brought their drinks back and took their orders. They talked about Ricky’s classes. He asked if Molli had any plans on what she wanted to do after she graduated. She told him that she still had no idea and that she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to get into college. Ricky tried to assure her that she would do fine but she didn’t believe him. He didn’t make her feel stupid like a lot of people did, but she knew that he was just trying to be nice.
Their food arrived and they ate in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Molli finished her enchilada since she really had been very hungry but Ricky took half of his huge burrito to go. They both got a hot cocoa to go and made their way back to the car.
When they got to the car Ricky said “Do you want to drive?”
“Your car is so nice. I hardly drive anymore since my car has been broken down for so long.”
“You can drive if you’d like. I don’t mind.”
“Really?”
“Yes. We can look for another car for you after you graduate. My payments for this one are done in March and I like to comparison shop. It took me months to pick out this one.”
He handed her the keys and she pushed the button to unlock the doors. She adjusted the seat and then strapped on her seatbelt. He was being so sweet that she felt tears try to prick her eyes. She turned away from him and started the car.
They didn’t talk during the drive. Ricky got two phone calls, one from his brother, wanting to talk about his pending divorce and one from the friend of his that was going to examine Molli and make sure everything was okay with the baby.
When they got to Ricky’s apartment, there was a good looking blonde guy waiting in the hall. Ricky said “Hello Matthew. Thank you so much for coming.”
He grinned. “No problem. You know I owe you about a thousand favors.”
Ricky unlocked the apartment and stepped back so that Molli and Matthew could both go ahead of him. “Matthew this is Molli, my girlfriend.”
Molli felt a little thrill that he’d called her his girlfriend, but she figured it was easier to let Matthew think she was his girlfriend since she was most likely pregnant with his child.
“Nice to meet you Molli. Ricky said that some crazy girl at your school pushed you down the stairs?”
“Yeah. I’m sure everything’s okay with the baby, but I want to know for sure.”
“Of course. It never hurts to be sure.”
Ricky led them to his bedroom. Almost as soon as he had turned on the light, his phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and sighed. “I have to take this. I’m sorry. You go ahead Matthew. I’ll try to make this quick.” He reached out and squeezed Molli’s hand and then left the room.
“Why don’t you lie down?” Matthew said.
“Um, sure. You’re not going to check me out like they check you out at the doctor’s office are you?”
Matthew grinned. “Not unless you want me to. Nah, I’m only kidding. Ricky would probably kick my ass if he heard me say that. He’s so proud that he’s going to be a dad. I think he’s telling everyone at the University.”
Molli smiled. “Is he really?”
“Yep. Everyone that will listen to him. If you lift your shirt a little I’ll kinda feel around a bit. You let me know if it hurts anywhere I touch okay?”
“Okay.”
Molli lay down on the bed and lifted her shirt. Matthew put gentle pressure on several points of her abdomen; again telling her to let him know if anywhere he touched was painful. When she told him nothing was he said “And you haven’t had any sharp pains or bleeding or anything like that?”
“No.”
“Good. You and the baby both seem to be fine. Have you had any headaches or blurred vision?”
“My vision was blurry for a little bit and I did have a headache but it went away after I drank some juice and ate something.”
“Okay. Well, you might still want to have yourself checked out by your regular doctor to be sure, but everything looks good as far as I can tell.”
Molli pulled her shirt back down and sat up. “Thank you.”
“No problem. Your makeup is smearing where you tried to cover up the bruise on your forehead. You probably had a lump there at first huh?”
Molli touched her forehead, feeling self-conscious. “Yeah. I didn’t want Ricky to worry. He worries about me enough already.”
Matthew chuckled. “All good boyfriends worry about their girlfriends. But yeah, I’d say Ricky is a really good worrier. He’s so caring that he lets stuff get to him sometimes. I think he’d save the whole world if he could. He thinks that there’s plenty of food and shelter on the planet for everyone and doesn’t understand why everyone can’t have a house and food and clothes.”
“It makes sense doesn’t it?” Molli shrugged.
“Yeah, it does. Now we have to convince the rich people to share with the poor people. It’s kinda funny that one of the first things we’re taught when we’re little is to share, and then we grow up and seem to forget how to do it. Well, I guess I’d better go. My girlfriend is waiting for me back at my apartment and she gets really impatient.”
“Have a nice night Matthew. Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. I really do owe both Ricky and his family a lot. I was too busy playing sports and chasing tail to think about my grades the last couple years of high school.”
Molli laughed. “And now you’re going to be a doctor.”
Matthew smiled. “Yeah. Guys like Ricky remind you that you have to follow your dreams on a daily basis, no matter what you did in the past. It wasn’t that I couldn’t do the work, I just didn’t want to. His older brother and his parents helped me out a lot and Ricky was always around. Well, you guys have a good night and best of luck with your baby. Remind Ricky that I want an invitation to the wedding okay? I think he’s still busy on the phone.”
“Um, sure.” Molli wasn’t sure there was ever going to be a wedding. “Bye Matthew, it was nice to meet you.”
“You too, Molli. Hey did you dye your hair? I thought Ricky’s girlfriend had dark hair.”
“No. That would be his ex-girlfriend Mellenda.” Or soon to be ex-girlfriend she hoped.
“Oh, sorry. Take care Molli. Bye now.”
Matthew walked out of the room. She heard the door of the apartment open and shut.
She stood up and stretched, wondering what was taking Ricky so long on the phone. She wandered out to the living room and found him sitting on the couch. He looked up at her, gave her a weak smile and mouthed “It’s Mellenda.”
She fought a sudden urge to say something really loudly or to do something that would really distract him, but instead, she sat on the couch, laid her head in his lap and put her feet up on the arm of the couch, trying not to listen too closely to his conversation.
He talked to Mellenda for several more minutes. The last thing she heard him say was “I’m hanging up now Mellenda.”
His phone rang again right afterwards, but he ignored it and tossed it onto the coffee table.
He stroked his hand across her hair, then leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry. Mellenda and I have been doing nothing but arguing since I told her I found out about the baby.”
“So why don’t you break up with her?”
“We are so entangled, Molli. We have so many plans so far ahead of time that it’s not funny.”
“Then cancel them. It doesn’t sound that hard to me. Of course what can I say? I haven’t broken up with Jude. I haven’t bothered to answer his phone calls in almost two weeks, but I haven’t exactly broken up with him.”
“I suppose I can give the tickets and things that we already have away, which I guess I will do when I do break
up with her. I guess now, I want to wait until after the holidays are over. The holidays can be a painful time. I don’t want to cause Mellenda any more pain. She really does care about me.”
“How are the holidays painful for Mellenda? She has parents that actually care about her.”
Ricky sighed, and ran his hand over her stomach. “Mellenda’s older sister died during the holidays five years ago. She was pregnant. Did you not know that, even after being her roommate for two years?”
“I didn’t know that. She barely talks to me. That’s why I have no idea why she brought up the whole abortion thing to me out of the blue.”
“Would she have had any reason to think that you were pregnant? Was it a possible warning against making such a decision yourself, do you think?”
“I’d missed my period, but I hadn’t taken the test then. I hadn’t even made Seneca steal it for me yet, so I don’t think that she would have had any reason to suspect that I was pregnant. And it didn’t seem like a warning to me. She was casual about the whole thing. She told me and then she went back to reading some fashion magazine like it was nothing.”
“I don’t think it was nothing for her. I’m still very angry with her for not telling me, but she cried for a very long time after I told her that I’d found out.”
“How did you tell her you found out?”
“Rumors. There are always rumors.”
“So, you’ve been telling people that you’re having a baby huh?”
“Yes.” He leaned down and kissed her. “Should I not be?”
“It’s not that. Aren’t you concerned about Mellenda finding out?”
“I’m going to break up with her as soon as the time is right. We’re supposed to get together over Christmas vacation, but I don’t know if I can stand to do that. I can’t look at her and not think of you.”
“Are you sure she doesn’t know that I’m the one that told you or think that I spread the rumors? She’s been even bitchier than usual lately. She ignores me when I say hello to her.”
“She suspects there is someone else in my life.”
“And what did you tell her about that? Did you tell her it’s not true? I can’t believe she wouldn’t have broken up with you if you had told her it was true.”
Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set Page 163