by Lia Lee
“I have a cell phone. You could have called. I would have come over.”
I shook my head. “I needed to get out of the house. It’s shit being cooped up inside when I’m used to being always out and about.”
Jackson nodded. “I get that. But if you do something stupid to hurt yourself even more, I’ll beat you to it and fuck you up myself.”
I laughed. “Thanks, man.”
Jackson offered me coffee and put on the kettle before he sat down, waiting for the water to boil.
“Do you have a reason why you hobbled all the way here or did you just miss my pretty face?”
I laughed. “With your ugly mug? You know it had to be important.”
Jackson chuckled, shaking his head. When the laughter died down, there was an awkward silence. We had forced jokes because we usually joked, but I hadn’t spoken to Jackson since Thursday. We hadn’t addressed what had happened between us, that Jackson hadn’t told me about Fiona when I had had no idea who she was.
It was what I was here to clear up.
“Listen, I wanted to talk about Fiona,” I said.
Jackson nodded. “I guessed that’s why you’re here.” He looked nervous. “I know why you were so upset. I was only trying to help.”
I nodded. “I get that, man. But she’s not just some woman, you know?”
Jackson nodded. “I noticed. Not only by how you were acting when you remembered but by how she sounded when I phoned and told her you remembered. I’ve never heard a woman that happy. She must really care for you.”
I nodded. “She does. And I care for her, too.”
“I guess I never experienced something like that. I always seem to get the bitches. I think I was worried she was one, too. And after everything that happened to you, I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“I appreciate that,” I said. I understood where Jackson had been coming from. “But I think we’ll be okay. She really is a stunning person. When you get to know her better, you’ll see what I see.”
Jackson nodded. “As long as you’re okay. And happy and shit like that.”
“I am,” I said and chuckled. “And shit like that.”
Jackson grinned at me. He had only tried to be a good friend when everything had gone wrong for me. He hadn’t tried to ruin my relationship with Fiona by keeping the truth from me. I could forgive him for that. I could appreciate how he had tried to help me.
Now that he knew it was what I wanted, that what Fiona and I felt for each other was real, Jackson was more than happy to support us. This was why Jackson and I were such good friends. He cared about me more than just hanging out at work or getting a drink together. I was surrounded by good people, I realized. Everyone that had come to see me in the hospital was a person that really cared about me.
And if I ever ended up with only those people in my life, I would still be happy.
I thought of something.
“I need you to be okay with the idea that Fiona is carrying my baby. It’s more than a relationship. We’re heading toward being a family. It’s important to me.”
Jackson pulled up his shoulders and nodded. “Look, it’s a big deal, and it happened really fast. I don’t know how it will play out, but I know I am here for you. I’ll support you if it’s what you want.”
I smiled. “It is.”
Jackson smiled, too. “You’ve never been this serious about a woman before. I can tell it’s genuine.”
I nodded. It was. I was happier than I had ever been, even though I had no idea what to expect and no idea what kind of a parent I would be. Fiona and I could navigate that together.
“I have to get going,” I said. “I have pain meds I need to take, and that walk killed me.”
“Yeah, no shit,” Jackson said. “You’re an idiot.”
I shrugged, knowing he was right. I shouldn’t have walked all that way. But I had needed to talk to my friend.
“Let me drop you back at least,” Jackson said. “If something happens and you die in the woods after everything is okay again, I’m pretty sure Fiona will hunt me down.”
I laughed and agreed. It would be better for Jackson to take me. We walked out to his truck, and he drove me back to my cabin.
“Thanks for coming to chat,” he said before he pulled away to head back to his cabin. “It means a lot.”
I watched Jackson leave before I made my way inside to take my meds and take a nap. It meant a lot to me that we fixed it. Jackson was my closest friend, and I wanted the people that meant something to me to stay close.
Epilogue
Fiona
Four Months Later
We were back in the city in Doctor Sanchez’s office. It was the first ultrasound of the baby, and we were finding out the gender. Laird and I sat in the chairs opposite Doctor Sanchez, and I was beaming. She glanced at Laird before smiling at me.
She asked me a few questions that I answered. Laird didn’t let go of my hand, once. I could tell he was as nervous as he was excited.
The past four months had gone by so fast. It had taken a while for us to merge our households, to get everything taken care of. It had taken me almost a month to switch fully to working remotely. I had slowly switched over, working from home some days and going into the office on others. Charlene was satisfied now that I could do it, and she didn’t bug me as much anymore. I went into the office every other week, which suited me fine.
It was getting harder to travel into the city. At twenty weeks I was showing, and I was getting exhausted quickly. I had switched over to working remotely for Laird’s sake, but I was relieved I had done it.
It had taken time to get rid of all the furniture in my apartment I wouldn’t need and to finally give the place up. I rented it out. I hadn’t wanted to sell. It wasn’t that I didn’t think it would work out between us, but Laird and I had decided together that keeping it as an extra income would be a good idea.
Besides, it was good to have a place in the city, if it was ever necessary for us to move back there. For now, I was happy on the mountain. I loved being with Laird and having so much peace and quiet around us.
I hadn’t seen Randy again since I had had my say in the conference room. Jamie and I were still good friends but we didn’t see each other as often anymore. I wasn’t sure if she was dating Randy or not. They seemed to be on and off. It was so typical of him. And apparently, of her. It still didn’t bother me. The moment I had found my happily-ever-after, I had realized I want in love with Randy. I hadn’t been for a long time.
I didn’t miss him at all. I hardly ever looked back at our life together. The only time I thought about him was when I thought about his comment that I was too boring for him. Those words were what had started my journey to the mountain where I had found my Viking.
I glanced at Laird, nervous and excited next to me. I loved him so much.
“You can go through to the examination room and get undressed,” Dr. Sanchez said.
I walked through, putting on the thin paper robe. I lay on the examination table, and Doctor Sanchez put the jelly on my stomach. I gasped. She pressed the probe against my body, and Laird took my hand as we watched the images of our baby appear on the screen.
“Your baby is healthy and growing well,” the doctor said. “Do you want to know the gender?”
We both nodded.
Dr. Sanchez moved the probe slightly before she smiled.
“You’re going to have a baby girl.”
I looked at Laird. I had wondered how he would react if he would rather have had a boy. But he had a silly grin on his face, and the pride in his eyes told me that he was happy with what he had heard. That he would love the baby no matter what the gender.
“I’ll give you two a moment alone,” Dr. Sanchez said with a smile. “Join me in the office when you’re ready.”
When she left, Laird kissed me.
“I can’t believe it. Seeing her on the monitor makes it all feel so real.”
“I know,”
I said. “I love her so much already.”
“We should call her Fake Ankle Twist. That’s how this happened.”
I laughed and swatted Laird on the arm. “You’re incorrigible.”
“You always say that.”
“I was thinking we should call her Destiny.”
Laird smiled. “Because that’s how this happened.”
I nodded, and he kissed me again.
“Get dressed,” he said. “Or I’ll want to take you right here.”
I laughed. I had felt self-conscious about my baby bump when I had started showing but if anything, it had made Laird want me more. He kept telling me that knowing I was carrying his child and that he had planted his seed in me made me the hottest thing he had ever seen. It made me feel great about being pregnant and about our relationship.
It worked like we had always been together.
When I was dressed, and we sat in the office again, we booked our next appointment. Finally, we left. We headed back to our cabin in the mountains where we would be alone. I knew exactly what we would do.
Halfway home, we stopped.
“What are you doing?” I asked Laird.
“Wait here,” he said, getting out. He jogged away, and I noticed his limp had nearly gone. He had struggled with it after the cast had come off, but he had never complained. Having his memories and his life was more important, he’d said.
I wondered what he was up to. He had stopped at a center that didn’t have many shops. There was a convenience store, a hairdresser, a jeweler and a hardware store.
When Laird returned, he climbed into the truck with a silly grin on his face.
“What are you up to?” I asked.
Laird took my hand and slid a ring onto my finger. I blinked at the diamond, surprised.
“Now it’s official,” Laird said.
“You didn’t even ask,” I said, even though I knew I would have said yes.
“Sweetheart, you were mine since the moment you undid that first button on your blouse five months ago.”
I laughed because Laird was right. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him.
“Well, just for the record: yes!”
Laird chuckled and put the truck into gear, pulling into the road again.
“We’ll have to tell my parents,” I said.
“They’ll be so happy,” Laird said and I knew he was right.
I had done the right thing and contacted them after Laird and I had finalized our plans together. It had been wrong not to speak to them for so long. They had been right about Randy and I hadn’t wanted to admit it. I had been too caught up in my puppy love for him and I had rebelled against anything anyone would tell me that didn’t agree with my plans for a future with him.
But they had been right and I’d had to let them know.
When I had gone to see them, my mom had cried. I had arrived on their doorstep without letting them know I was on the way. I had been terrified that they would turn me away but my mom had grabbed me and held onto me and my dad had told me that he had always known I would find my way back home.
When I told them about the baby, they had been shocked. I hadn’t expected anything else. My mom had asked if it was Randy’s baby. When I had said no, they had both seemed relieved. I had been a fool not to listen to them about who Randy was.
They had been worried about the tattoos and the hairstyle, about my wild side that was showing. But my mom had commented on how happy I looked, and for the first time ever I was able to agree with them. I could tell my mom she was right, I was happy. Delirious.
My dad had been skeptical about Laird at first. What kind of a man slept with a stranger and got her pregnant? But I had taken Laird to meet them a month later and they loved him.
My mom had told me that he was the man for me, that destiny had found it’s way. And I agreed.
“They’ll be thrilled that we’re getting married,” I agreed, thinking back to how my mom had told me I should hold onto a good man when I found him. I had told her there was no rush, we had our baby together. But now that we were engaged, even though it was only five month down the line, I wanted to get married as soon as possible.
“Do you know you were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, sitting on the ground that day I found you on the trail, pouting like a child?” Laird said.
I swatted at him with my hand. “I was not pouting.”
“You were,” Laird laughed. “But it was the sexiest pout I’ve ever seen.”
I smiled and turned my head toward the window, watching the scenery slide by.
We drove to the cabin together where Laird was already working on the room for the baby, as he had received permission.
Everything working out the way it should, as if it was all meant to be. I put my hand on my belly and looked out of the window.
Destiny, I thought.
THE END
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Chapter One
April’s thighs stuck to the cheap plastic seat of her faded blue Cruiser, and she groaned as she pulled into the narrow parking lot on her side of the apartment complex. The cars were randomly spaced, as though the lines didn’t exist. To be fair, the spaces were pretty difficult to see at night with the streetlight perpetually out. Either that or some of the drivers had been stoned.
April narrowed her eyes and coasted along until she could find a spot where she could slip in between the lines without bumping into another car. She couldn’t risk parking the way everyone else did. The complex periodically towed cars that weren’t properly parked, and there was no way she could afford to pay another impound fee right now.
“Hey-hey, girl!” a deep male voice called from behind her as she made her way to her door. April ignored the guy, since he probably lived a few blocks over. She hated the guys who rolled through here. Besides hitting on her and being unable to take a hint, one of them was probably responsible for the break-in last week.
“You have got to be kidding me!” April stormed toward her door as her eyes caught sight of the eviction notice taped to it.
“Can you believe it?” Rene said from his stoop.
“I paid my freakin’ rent two weeks ago!”
Rene shook his head and tapped his cigarette. “They had that kid from the front desk out putting those up all afternoon.”
“What the hell is their problem?” April pulled the notice off and began to skim it.
“Hate their jobs as much as they hate us, prob’ly.” Rene exhaled a long plume of smoke.
April considered going inside to change out of her work outfit first, but didn’t feel up to the hassle. So, wearing only a pair of black hot-pants and a very tight white t-shirt with “The Dog House” on the front, she hurried toward the front of the complex, the garishly yellow notice flapping in her hand. By the time she reached the office, her heart was in her throat and she felt ready to jump across the property manager’s desk and shake that bitch.
Instead, she found herself cooling her heels as she waited in line. Both desk workers were occupied and two other women, older than April, were waiting in the few available seats. A small older man who didn’t seem to speak English very well was trying to explain to the girl behind one desk that he’d been waiting for his roof to be fixed for two months. April wanted to tell the guy that he shouldn’t
hold his breath; he should start looking for a new place to live.
Her ire had calmed slightly by the time she finally made it to the front of the line. That “kid” her neighbor, Rene, mentioned was at the other desk, and as April stood in front of him with her complaint, his eyes seemed to drift uncomfortably from his notes on the desk to the door to the right that sometimes contained the property manager. It was like the door that you had to pass to see the wizard: no tenant managed to get back there without an act of a wicked witch. No way, no how.
“Miss Lucas, the water company billed us incorrectly for several months,” Jacob said in a flat voice that spoke to a day full of complaints. “The amount you owe is the corrected total that should have been paid for each of those months.”
“Then shake down the water company! It isn’t my fault they charged you incorrectly.”
“You are responsible for paying for water and sewer services.”
“Yeah, and that’s fine, but I never got this bill before today. How am I supposed to have paid you for a bill that I didn’t know existed?”
“Look, it says you have fifteen days to pay the bill—”
“What is with that random amount of time?”
“That’s because the amount is about half a month late.”
“Again, because you never billed me for it to begin with! If you’d just sent me a bill, I would have arranged to pay it!”
“If you pay, then there’s no problem. It’s only $120.”
April knew the answer before even asking: “Is the manager in?”
“No.”
After a few more volleys, April headed back to her apartment. This was the last thing she needed. Maybe for some people it would be “only $120,” but chances were, if you lived on Imperial Valley Drive, you didn’t have that kind of money lying around. If you did, you’d be looking for another place to live.
“You go in there and tear that kid a new one?” Rene had finished his cigarette and was leaning back on his front door.
“Hell yeah.” April lifted herself up onto the ugly brown fence around the patio and sat on it for a moment. “Still gotta pay it, though. And by the time it’s due, I have to pay rent, too.”