by TC Rybicki
“About what?”
“No doctors. We’re both young and healthy. I think we’ll do perfectly fine on our own. If you’re going to get pregnant, don’t you want a nice memory of the conception?”
Willow’s entire life changed with that announcement. Her best friend and confidant leaned in to kiss her before she had the chance to form a coherent thought or a more appropriate reaction. They’d kissed before, three times to be exact, but this was altogether different. She knew it from the second his lips touched hers. There was meaning behind this kiss. He wanted to make a baby with her the old-fashioned way, and if she didn’t stop him this instant, she was going to let it happen because her memory never failed. Dutch could kiss her stupid. He knew exactly what he was doing when he made his move. They couldn’t do this. It was wrong on every level, but when Dutch lifted her into his lap, and their bodies wound together, it felt so right.
Summer 1996
Italy was cool, one of their best trips. It was the first vacation they’d ever had where his father did everything with the rest of the family. Every time he acted like he was going to check in with work, Momma frowned, and he let it go. Doug heard them more than once refer to some book they’d been reading together. He had no idea why it took them both to read a book. Doug learned to read on his own a long time ago. The two weeks overseas flew by. Soon they were back at home with one final week of summer fun. The following week would be filled with back-to-school preparations. Doug couldn’t wait for Saturday. He would be an official teenager, which was cool since he was the last of all his buddies to hit the milestone.
Doug never saw the little kid Willow again. He asked his parents about maybe trying to find her again, but they both said to stay out of the woods. He made the mistake of asking them at the same time. He could’ve played dumb if he’d only asked one, but he was sunk. He thought of her a few times, especially when he was flying across the ocean. Willow wished she knew more about far-off places, and if she lived in the woods her whole life eating berries and wearing a sack dress, how would she ever reach those places?
He didn’t have a big party every birthday, but this year he invited most of the kids from the neighborhood and last year’s class. A few of the dads were going to have their boats out, and he would get to showcase his many watersports-related skills. They were going to have his favorite foods and the lake for entertainment, so it was bound to be fun. He should enter the eighth grade on a high note after a successful party. It would be the first mixed party he ever threw, but not the first he’d attended. Girls acted weird at these things in the beginning. Doug anticipated seeing a female classmate or two to find out if they had begun to fill out a bikini over the summer. The changes and the prospects for his teen years were looking up. Doug had to help clean the house all week, but he wasn’t even complaining for a change. The party would be sweet.
Doug’s party was in full swing by mid-afternoon. Doug and his buddies had been on the lake for a couple of hours. Most of the girls he invited wore swimsuits, but hardly got wet. They tanned, tried to look cute, or did various other things he didn’t care about. So far, the addition of girls at his party had been dull except he was right about one. Haley Gentry. Yep, she filled out, and she was eager to be around Doug the whole day. Even when he was on the lake, she cheered on the bank like he was winning at something. He was knee-boarding like all the other guys, but apparently, she liked him the best.
A few other moms helped Momma fill up the long table with the food, so Doug started a line and announced it was time to dig in. Tanner cut in front of him because he was always starving. “Move it, Twerp. It’s my birthday, I’m going first.”
“Douglas. Stop calling your brother names. I can fix his plate quick.”
“Whatever. Go ahead.” He caught Haley watching so he decided to act like he was a little more sensitive in case she was into that sort of thing. Tanner only wanted a plain hot dog, anyway. That would only take a second.
The brat started eating before he moved out of the way. A muffled sound came from his lips, “Wook, it’s Wilpo.”
Doug was about to smack his kid brother in the back of the head, but he saw what Tanner was trying to say. Willow was slowly sneaking out of the woods. He couldn’t believe she was there after all those weeks, but he was happy to see her again. Doug waved to let her know it was fine to join the party, but she turned around and disappeared.
He dropped his plate and completely ignored his mother screaming his name. Doug had to catch her. Damn, the little girl was faster than him. He almost lost her, but eventually, she gave her position away. She cracked a tree limb on the ground, and Doug pulled her from her hiding spot.
“Hey, why’d you run away?”
“I, uh... you look busy. I’m sorry. I wanted to see if you could talk again or we could take the boat out. I liked that. Rain doesn’t care where the wind takes me as long as I’m home before dark. I came before, but no one was home. You have a lot of friends, don’t you?” Willow didn’t even take a breath.
“Kinda. I was in Italy for vacation and today’s my birthday.”
“Wow, Italy, the boot country. You’re so lucky. Well, okay, bye Dutch.”
He reached out and touched her shoulder. “Don’t leave. I would’ve invited you, but I couldn’t.” Weird how Willow’s mom let her go through the woods, but Momma wouldn’t let him, even though he was way older now that he was a teenager. He looked in the direction Willow traveled from. “Hey, there’s an actual trail through here. Isn’t there?”
“Yes, I’ve been doing a little clearing every day.”
“No shit. You made this? Wow, Wills. This is awesome! Please, come to my party. We have so much food, cookies and cake this time. You can probably find some new things you’d like. Not everything has meat.”
She didn’t look convinced. He was prepared to beg a little more. Doug wasn’t sure if her family had parties, but before he could ask, Dad broke up their conversation.
“Douglas, what on earth are you doing? Oh, hey Willow. I get it now. You hungry? You’re welcome to join the party.”
“See. What’d I tell ya? Dad look at this trail Wills made. You and Momma have nothing to worry about if I go back here. Willow walks it like a champ and she’s a kid.”
“Hmm, I see. Well, I suppose I could walk Willow back with you and check it out. I might have a few things to discuss with her parents, but for now, let’s get back to the party before your mother gets upset. She hates it when things are off schedule. Presents are next.”
Willow followed Doug and his father back to the party. Several people stared, mostly adults when they came back with a little girl from the forest. He felt bad she looked so different from everyone else and most partygoers stared, but Willow didn’t seem to notice. This rude girl, Misty snickered to her friends. Doug never wanted to invite her, but Momma told him the polite thing was to send everyone an invitation.
“Oh, Willow. I’m so happy to see you again. Why don’t you have a seat at the end of the picnic table and I’ll make you a plate?”
“She doesn’t eat meat, Momma, but sugar is her favorite.”
“I remember, Doug, finish fixing your plate and then you can introduce Willow to your friends.”
Rob was already in his ear at the table. “That’s her? Yikes. She looks totally wild. It’s like Tarzan but a girl.”
“Shut up. She doesn’t swing from the trees. Her family is just a little earthier than we’re used to. Be nice. I think she’s afraid or shy about all these people.”
Momma sat a full plate in front of Willow. He was about to remind her the burger she made might kill her if she’d never eaten meat, but she showed Willow it was a cheese burger minus the patty. Wills smiled. Her plate was full of food: the meatless burger, chips, carrots and ranch dip. Doug told her she’d get sweets when they cut the cake. Willow barely paid attention, she was too busy sampling all the good stuff she’d never eaten before. It was fun sharing new things with her. He couldn’t spend too m
uch time with her since he was the birthday boy and had to entertain his guests.
The rest of the party moved fast. There were presents to unwrap, money to count and a cake to eat. Once, Doug noticed Wills disappeared, and he got worried she took off. His father pulled him aside and said his mother had a surprise for her inside the house—girl stuff. Some kids were getting ready to leave, so Doug did his duty and told everyone goodbye and thanks for coming. Haley asked if he could show her around the pier before her parents came to get her. Doug was a rookie. He didn’t know she was trying to get him alone until they walked away from the crowd.
“This was a really nice party, the best I’ve been to all year.”
“Thanks, I’m glad you had fun. Sucks school starts in two weeks, huh?”
“Oh, I don’t know. This year might be fun. I hope we have all our classes together. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“I doubt it unless you took Boys’ PE, but yeah, it’d be cool to have some classes.”
Haley looked over his shoulder. “Um, I wanted to give you my other present without anyone else watching.”
“Really, because I think I remember your card had twenty bucks in it. Thanks, that was plenty.”
“Doug Chadwyk, you’re so funny and you know what else? You’re the cutest boy in our grade.”
“I am?”
“Yes. All the girls say so, but I was kinda hoping we could go together once school started. What do you say?”
Doug didn’t know what to say. He might be the youngest of his crew but getting a girlfriend first would give him major points. “Yeah, I guess so.” He glanced at her chest and mustered a tiny bit more enthusiasm. “I mean, sure. Why not? You’re pretty, Haley.”
“You think? I want you to be my first kiss. Have you kissed anyone before?”
“Nope.” He regretted the truth as soon as he said it. Doug might ought to play it a little cooler. They both glanced toward the house that time. No one was paying attention and the dock rafters kinda hid them. Haley leaned in first with puckered lips. Doug met her somewhere in the middle. He didn’t know what it would be like, but she took over. He never even moved his hands away from his sides. Really, that was her first try? She must be a secret kissing pro. How could that be beginner’s luck?
Haley pulled back. “Oops, I hope your Mom didn’t see. She’s walking out with the weird woods’ girl. How do you know that freak anyway, Doug? I heard she lives like a savage with a bunch of dirty hippies.”
“Who told you that shit?”
“Everyone’s saying it. Misty said so.”
“Misty is a damn liar and you know what else? Your breath smells like Doritos. Forget the girlfriend stuff. I’m keeping my options open in eighth grade. See ya around, Haley.”
“You’re rude. I can’t believe I just wasted my first kiss on you.”
“Yeah, feeling’s mutual.” Doug realized certain phrases got girls to leave him alone in the blink of an eye. Haley stomped away from him, so he called out to her, “You and your friends better not talk about Willow ever again. She’s a family friend. I mean, she’s my friend.”
Doug ran up to the house to see what Momma did with Willow. She took her inside almost thirty minutes ago. Now he knew why, Momma had brushed out Willow’s wild hair and plaited it in a long braid. Wills had also changed into a red and white short set. “Hey, where’d you find those clothes?”
Momma answered, “I hoped Willow might come back, so I bought a few things in her size.”
“You did?” Wow, Doug had a new appreciation for his mother. “Do you like it Wills?”
Willow nodded. “I love this color. I’m leaving the rest of the stuff here because I don’t want it to get messed up. Not sure if JC will let me wear things that make me stand out.”
That made Doug mad. Some weird guy pretending to be Jesus shouldn’t tell Willow what clothes she could wear.
It was almost dark and the last of the guests were leaving so Doug’s father suggested they walk Willow back. Momma packed a few leftovers and goodies for her to take. This time he was way more hopeful Willow would come back. It seemed like his parents wanted her around as much as he did. Tanner sure liked her. He followed her everywhere the whole afternoon.
Doug decided to ask if that was the only birthday party she’d ever been to.
His father interrupted, “I’m sure she’s had a few birthday celebrations of her own.”
“Oh, no, sir. We don’t celebrate birthdays. It’s self-serving to do so, but I don’t think Dutch is self-serving. He was so kind to share his day. I had fun.”
“Jeez Wills, you never had a birthday, really? No cake, no gifts, no day for yourself?”
She shook her head, “No.”
“Dad, we should totally give Willow a party.”
“I agree, Son. Maybe we can arrange that. When’s your birthday?” Doug hoped she knew the date at least or they’d have to invent one.
“Oh, thanks, but you don’t have to. I pretended a little today was my birthday too. I hope that’s not selfish.”
“No, of course not, but Willow, we’d like to do something nice for you if possible. I plan on speaking to your parents about some supervised playtime with the boys. Mrs. Chadwyk’s always home and I can tell she likes having a young lady around for a change. We’d love to have you over on a regular basis.”
“Okay, they don’t mind. They never care as long as I’m back for nightly gatherings.”
Doug wondered what those nightly gatherings were like. Probably full of weirdness. He had to know Willow’s birthday though. He couldn’t wait to give her a party even if it was just their family.
“So, do you know or not, Wills? What day were you born?”
“Sure, I do. Tomorrow’s my birthday.”
Present Day
As hard as it was to stop, Willow pushed her best friend away, but didn’t completely stray from his lap. His lips caused her to lose her senses for a moment.
“What the hell, Dutch?”
“What do you mean, ‘what the hell?’ I thought it was good.”
She couldn’t lie, “That’s not the point.”
“So, it is good?” Willow held her breath and tried her best not to admit too much, “I knew it. I always set you ablaze with my kisses.” He was back on her after his egotistical remark. This time he grabbed her butt and pulled her even closer, so she’d know just how serious he was about this proposal. Willow said one thing in her mind, but her body wasn’t listening, and she reciprocated again. What a weak, sex-starved ninny she’d become to indulge him because there was serious shit to discuss and this... this thing taking place was not a discussion. It was all action.
She didn’t push this time. Willow simply shut her mouth down and Dutch backed away trying to catch his breath. “Okay, what’s the matter?”
“I never answered you. I mean, I can’t make this big of a life decision in ten seconds. I haven’t even had time to think about it before you were all over me. Truth is, I don’t think this idea is the least bit wise.”
“The turkey baster sounds more appealing? If so, you’ve cut me to the core. I assure you I’m way better than all artificial means.”
She didn’t doubt it, but that still wasn’t the point. “I haven’t made up my mind about any of it, so stop all the bragging.”
“Okay, I’m sorry. I thought you had made up your mind—you want a baby.”
“Well, yes, that decision has been made. I’m so ready, but first I was looking for the right man to settle down with, and then I was preparing to be a single mother. Then you come out of left field ready to impregnate me with your magic sperm. It’s all a bit too much, too fast. Dutch, seriously, we’re best friends. We don’t, you know. We don’t do these things. We’re not like that.”
“You think it’s magic? Wow. I’m flattered. I also think you’ve already decided but are too afraid to admit it.” He paused, expecting her to answer. “Look, I’m not going to force myself on you. I’d never do anyth
ing like that, even if I just knocked you off your feet with that surprise kiss.” She rolled her eyes, but he was so right. “Wills, I can tell. You like the idea of us making this baby together. Hope I’m not being too cocky to insist I’m your best option. I’d do anything for your happiness. We’re best friends, and there’s no one who knows you better. Plus, I love you and you love me. And like I said, I’ve got great DNA.”
He was being overly cocky, but everything Dutch said was also true. That wasn’t the thing that bothered her. Willow knew what to expect if she used an anonymous donor but creating a life with Dutch was something completely different. “But, I mean, given your thoughts on settling down and your commitment to your career, how will you, I don’t know what I’m trying to say... cope? How would you cope knowing there’s a kid in the world that’s a part of you? He or she will not be a stranger either unless you plan to cut ties with me. I think it’s more of a complication than you realize.”
Dutch stroked her cheek and Willow leaned into his touch. Everything about him was familiar and comforting even if this wasn’t a normal position for them. Even perched in his lap in an intimate embrace felt natural. “Because this child will have the best mom on the planet. You’ll have the family you always dreamed of and you’ll still be my best friend. Cut ties? Seriously, that’ll never happen.”
He was right. Willow had already imagined what their child would be like. She couldn’t help it as soon as he offered to give her a part of himself.
“Hey, we can wait and think about it or I can go to the doctor with you, but you’re at the prime time in your cycle. I have no doubt it could happen tonight.”
“How do you know that personal tidbit of information?”
“Please, we lived together for years. I know your cycle backwards and forwards. You’re quite regular, always were. That’s a good sign of fertility, you know?”
“I know positively you’re a weirdo for being my personal period app.”
Willow’s head landed against Dutch’s. She wound her fingers into his loose waves of thick brown hair. She leaned back to look at him, really look for a change. They were so close. She had forgotten to appreciate the beauty of this man. His eyes were the same as the first day she woke up to find him hovering over her. She lost herself there for a minute. The color of those familiar eyes reminded Willow of autumn because they were a warm brown with golden flecks. That was the season they grew into their special friendship.