James Ross - A Young Adult Trilogy (Prairie Winds Golf Course)

by James Ross

  The emotional side of Tina was as unattractive as her physical side was stunning. Whether or not it came from being Italian or her competitive streak on the soccer fields, Tina’s temper was one to stay away from. If somebody crossed her path or disagreed with her point of view, then it was a given that she would not mince any words in settling the situation. More often than not, in a weak emotional outburst, she would tell any perpetrator where to shove it.

  As Tina approached her thirtieth birthday, her emotions were bouncing off anything within earshot. She was saddled at home with her three-year old son Eric. His father had left them when Eric was hardly fifteen months old. Given that she was from a large Italian, Catholic family she felt as if her reproductive clock was starting to wind down. She longed for a large and stable house full of children, but her current state of affairs didn’t even have a male wage-earner.

  Somewhere in her upbringing, either her mother or aunt or teacher at school had suggested that a woman would be unsuccessful if she wasn’t married by the age of thirty. So, Tina went husband hunting. In no time flat she latched onto Donald Dorne, or Double D, as he was called on the soccer fields. He had progressed up through the Catholic soccer leagues and played semi-pro and indoor soccer for the various pro leagues that popped up whenever entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to sell tickets.

  Double D was tall at six foot four. He was golden blonde, and had a set of steel thighs that drove women crazy. Not only could he dazzle the crowds with his ball handling skills, but more often than not he was the enforcer for whatever soccer team he suited up for. His main drawback was that he was a delivery truck route runner by day. It was something that Tina looked past as her infatuation with his body occupied her thoughts.

  Like many young couples in the nineties, they dated for a few weeks and hastily made a decision to cohabitate. One night not too long after moving in together Donald had been running late with his deliveries. Tina had fixed dinner and decided to feed Eric. He slid out of his high chair after a few spoonfuls of macaroni and cheese and made his way to the play box on the living room floor. It was filled with bright plastic race cars that were scattered around.

  Tina wiped up after her pride and joy, and then went to the stove to keep the meal warm. Donald burst through the door. “Sorry I’m late, Sugar.”

  “You could have called,” Tina shot back. Not hearing from him was worse than having to keep the meal warm in her opinion.

  “I couldn’t hit a green light to save my ass. And there was a nasty wreck on I-55,” Donald explained. He didn’t feel as if he had been running all that late.

  “Don’t gripe if the food isn’t the way you like it,” Tina said as she fixed a plate of baked chicken, fettuccini noodles, and steamed broccoli for him.

  “You know how much I like your cooking,” Donald said as he approached Tina from behind and placed his arms around her waist.

  “I hope so. The sauce on the noodles dried out and it’s as thick as paste,” she said as she broke from his grasp. “Why don’t you wash up?”

  Donald made his way to the sink and washed his hands. He grabbed a glass and reached into the freezer for a handful of ice cubes. A two-liter bottle of diet soda was his next target. He filled the glass until the fizz was bubbling over the top and spilling onto the counter top.

  “I just wiped that down after Eric finished eating,” Tina complained. “You’re making a bigger mess than he did.”

  “I’m sorry,” Donald said as he reached for a sponge. “I poured it in there too quick.” He wiped up the errant soda and grabbed a seat on a stool by the counter. “How did your day go?”

  “So, so I guess,” Tina replied as she placed a plate of food before him.

  “What happened?”

  “It’s the same old crap at work. The kids these days are so rude. Their parents must think that we’re the ones that have to discipline them. None of them do their homework,” Tina complained. She was having second thoughts about being an elementary school teacher.

  “It’s not going to go away,” Donald said in between bites of fettuccini. “You can come along with me and drive in traffic all day and see all the idiots that drive up and down the roads any time you want.”

  Tina wasn’t interested in what Donald had to go through at work. “Then I was late picking up Eric from day care,” Tina whined.

  “Why?”

  “I took off early to go to the doctor’s office and he was running behind.”

  “What was that for? Did you have to pick up medicine for Eric?” Donald asked as he placed a generous bite of chicken into his mouth.

  “No, I wanted to get his opinion on something,” Tina stated as she pulled up a stool and sat opposite Donald at the counter top.

  “What was that?” Donald asked before he took a giant swig of soda.

  “I’m pregnant,” Tina blurted.

  Donald’s eyes nearly came out of their sockets. His reaction to her words caused him to start choking. The carbonated fizz bubbled out of his nose. Soda dribbled out of his mouth and onto his plate as he fought the beverage down his throat. “How did that happen?” he shouted.

  “How do you think?” Tina uttered sarcastically.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know how,” Donald muttered. “But when?” he asked. “I thought that you were on the pill.”

  “I don’t know,” Tina stammered. “It might have been that weekend at the lake.”

  “We were pretty hammered the whole time,” Donald agreed.

  “And I might have forgotten to take my pill,” Tina consented reluctantly.

  “What do you mean, you might have forgotten?” Donald demanded. His demeanor changed into that of an irate diner. He was livid at her announcement.

  “Well, you know . . .” Tina stuttered.

  “No, I don’t know,” Donald yelled back. “That wasn’t part of the deal!”

  “What deal?” Tina asked. She was surprised at his reaction at such a delicate time.

  “The deal with me, moving in here, with you!” Donald cried out as he furiously rose to his feet. He shoved the plate of food across the counter. His appetite had disappeared.

  “I’m sorry,” Tina backpedaled. “Sometimes things happen for a reason.”

  “Look, dammit. I agreed to help you out with Eric. Bringing another body into the equation doesn’t sit too well with me,” Donald steamed. “Why didn’t you say something about this before now?”

  “I didn’t want to get you all excited in case it was a false alarm.”

  “I’m in over my head as it is with the two of you!”

  “You can leave any time you want,” Tina shot back. Her emotions were teetering between joy about being pregnant and Donald’s angry reaction.

  Donald glared back at her as he took a second to let her words sink in. “Do you even know if it’s mine?” he blurted out.

  Tina reached for the two-liter bottle of soda, wound up, and hurled it at Donald’s head. The missile nailed its target. The loosely fitted cap flew off the container and soda sprayed across the kitchen. “How dare you, you bastard!” Tina’s Italian temper erupted.

  “What was that all about?” Donald naively cried out. He reached for a kitchen towel and started toweling off.

  “You know exactly what it’s all about!” Tina yelled back.

  “Well if it’s mine, do something about the thing!” Donald roared.

  “Like what?” She stared at him in disbelief.

  “Like the abortion clinic! “I’ve got enough stuff to worry about. Another kid is not in my plans!” He bolted toward the back door and slammed it on his way out.

  After giving Eric a bath, Tina diapered and tucked him away on the side of the bed that Donald had occupied. She had no idea if Donald was coming home that evening, but if he did it was clear to her that he was going to have to sleep on the couch in the living room. His very suggestion of abortion almost made her lose her dinner.

  Tina was thrilled to be pregnant, but his reaction to the n
ews dampened her spirits beyond imagination. All day long she had thought that this would be a wonderful opportunity to start raising a family together. Instead, she saw his back as he ran out the door.

  As she turned out the lights and crawled into bed, she couldn’t stop running her fingers through Eric’s hair. She hugged him and held him next to her as tightly as she could. Then she would stop and stare at her son’s face and examine his tiny hands. Thoughts of her involvement in the making of another human being warmed her heart and she was excited about her next child.

  Tina tossed and turned the entire night. Donald’s response had upset her so much that she couldn’t relax. One o’clock became two, and before she knew it the clock read four twenty-two. What a miserable night, she thought just before dozing off, and the alarm goes off at five thirty.

  The buzz of the alarm clock startled Tina and she reached for the snooze button. Then a kick to the abdomen by Eric put her in a foul mood. Today is going to have to be a sick day. I’m in no mood to face the world all alone. Plus I need my sleep. With those thoughts she easily pulled the covers up over her shoulders and promptly fell back asleep. That only lasted about three minutes. The snooze button made her jump just as she was starting to dream. Dammit!

  Even though her first impulse told her to unplug the alarm clock, Tina realized that she had a little guy next to her who was depending on her to feed him and get him to day care. She forced herself out of bed and stumbled in the pre-dawn darkness to the kitchen. The first item that she grabbed was the coffee. She couldn’t get it in the instant coffee maker quick enough. Then Tina went to the refrigerator and grabbed the milk. Her instincts told her that Eric would be in at any moment wanting Fruit Loops, his favorite breakfast treat.

  Eric made his entrance as expected and crawled up into his high chair next to the counter. Tina couldn’t take her eyes off of his tiny features. She loved her son and so badly wanted another child. Her mind kept wandering back to the events of the night before. Donald had taken all of the bliss out of her new condition.

  After breakfast and a much-needed cup of coffee, Tina hurriedly got Eric ready for day care, strapped him into the car seat, and dropped him off. On her way back home she called into school and notified the office that she would be taking a sick day. After a sleepless night all she wanted to do was crawl back into bed and not face the world for a while.

  Glistening sunlight shined through the window and woke Tina up around eleven. After she got her bearings she reached for the phone and dialed the number of her best friend, Fran. “What are you doing today?” Tina asked.

  “Hey, girl. How did it go?” Fran inquired. Tina had confided to Fran the day before about her pregnancy.

  “He left me,” Tina whimpered.

  “What a jerk!” Fran shouted.

  “He took one of the most joyous moments of my life and turned it into a disaster,” Tina said opening her heart to her best friend.

  “You’ll be okay. You’ve got a strong family,” Fran replied.

  “But I’m scared.” Tina continued. “I don’t know where he went or if he’s coming back. I feel all alone.” She started to cry.

  “Hey, there’s no need to feel that way. You’ve got lots of friends and family that will support you,” Fran consoled her.

  “He told me to do something about it.”

  “Do something about it. Like what?” Fran asked.

  “Get an abortion,” Tina spoke lightly trying not to get upset.

  “You don’t want to do that,” Fran barked back.

  “Of course not!” Tina stated defiantly. “The thought never entered my mind. I tossed and turned all night hearing his words over and over again.”

  “Hey, why don’t you get ready and I’ll come over and pick you up? We’ll go out for lunch,” Fran suggested. She could sense that her friend needed a shoulder to lean on.

  “I don’t know. I’ve got so much to do today and I hardly slept last night,” Tina responded. All she really wanted to do was sleep the day away.

  “Aw, come on. We’ll figure something out,” Fran replied persuasively.

  “It would be so easy for me to roll over and go back to sleep.”

  “Get your butt out of bed. I’ll be there in an hour,” Fran demanded.

  “Oh, I guess,” Tina agreed reluctantly. She hung up realizing that she needed a good friend’s company.

  After taking a shower Tina turned the blow drier loose on her shoulder length, shiny, black hair. She hurriedly applied her makeup and brushed her teeth. Just as she was pulling her top on a car horn sounded in her driveway. She locked the house and entered the passenger side of Fran’s white Grand Prix.

  “Where to?” Fran asked.

  “I don’t have much of an appetite,” Tina said. “Donald hasn’t called and I don’t know what to do.”

  “We can go to the mall,” Fran suggested.

  “I don’t even feel like shopping,” Tina responded. Lethargy was in sharp contrast to her normally upbeat demeanor.

  “That’s a first,” Fran replied as she backed out of the driveway. “I thought that you were born to shop.”

  “I’m just not in the mood to do much of anything,” Tina whined. “I can’t figure men out.”

  The Grand Prix turned onto a state highway and traveled past a number of corn fields that occupied the river bottom land. Vapor rising from the oil refineries could be seen in the distance. The Gateway Arch disappeared in the rear view mirror. Fran traversed several country roads and ultimately ended up on the outskirts of one of the small towns that dotted the Illinois side of the river opposite St. Louis. “Where in the world are we?” Tina asked.

  “Another minute and you’ll see,” Fran answered. “It’s around the next bend.” The Grand Prix rounded the curve in the road and slowed down to pull into the parking lot of Today’s Wishes Come True . . . A Workshop for Women. It was an older, two-story stone house that appeared to be converted into some sort of business.

  “What the heck is this?” Tina cried out. Three people were carrying signs along the edge of the parking lot. They read: STOP MURDER, FETUSES HAVE RIGHTS TOO and CONCEPTION MEANS LIFE.

  “It’s a place that I picked out to show you how screwed up the guy is that has been living with you,” Fran deadpanned. She never had liked Donald’s uppity attitude. The parking lot was almost full and she parked the Grand Prix in one of the two available spots. “This way you can have a firsthand story to relay to him the next time you see him.”

  “Is this an abortion clinic?” Fran nodded her head. The very thought disturbed Tina. “I don’t want to be here,” she whimpered.

  “I know that and you know that,” Fran reminded Tina, “but I want you to feel this experience so that you can let that jerk know what it really feels like to walk into a place like this.” They exited the car and Fran held Tina’s hand as she helped her through the front door of the clinic.

  The waiting room was packed full of mostly young and apprehensive-looking girls. Many of them looked like frightened teenagers. Several were minorities. Tina felt as if all of the eyes in the room were glued on her as she walked through the door. What the heck am I doing here? I don’t even want to be here!

  The waiting room smelled musty and felt cold and damp. Even the drab green walls suggested a putrid atmosphere. Tina felt light headed and thought that she might faint. All the seats were taken in the waiting room and Fran motioned for her to take a seat off to the side of the front desk. “I think I’m going to throw up,” Tina whispered urgently to her friend.

  “We won’t stay much longer,” Fran said. “But I want you to really feel this so that you can tell that idiot what it feels like.”

  “I’m not as desperate as these other girls,” Tina sniffled.

  “I know you’re not,” Fran said as she placed her arm around Tina and reinforced her.

  The lady at the front desk handed Tina a clip board with a lot of papers and instructed her to read the notices and sign the f
orms. One of the release forms asked for permission to remove the contents of her uterus and give the clinic the rights to dispose of the contents. “This is disgusting!” Tina shouted.

  “Then you make sure you let the jerk know,” Fran urged.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Tina said and started to cry.

  The lady at the front desk closed the door so that the other girls in the waiting room couldn’t see the tears running down Tina’s cheeks. “Stop it!” the lady snapped. “If those other girls out there see . . .”

  “I want out of here!” Tina shouted back.

  “You’re not going out there bawling like that,” the lady chastised her as she stepped into the doorway to block Tina’s exit.

  “The heck I’m not,” Tina said as she bolted around the lady, through the doorway, past all of the girls in the waiting room and out the front door. Fran was on her heels. “Why did you take me there?” Tina shouted to her friend as they reached the center of the parking lot. She was hyperventilating.

  “So that you could convince yourself that his idea was disgusting,” Fran replied.

  “I knew that the minute he said it,” Tina said.

  “Now tell him to his face how much of an idiot he was to suggest that you go through something like that. Make sure you bring his ass over here and let him know what he almost put you through.”

  “They’re easy to figure out. Stay away from them,” Fran said with a chuckle. She turned onto an entrance ramp and merged into traffic on I-55.

  “Where are we going?” Tina inquired.

  “I’m going to let the car point me to wherever it wants to go,” Fran laughed. “ . . . No place in particular.” The Grand Prix navigated the interstate system in and around St. Louis. It headed across one of the bridges that spanned the Mississippi River. The two entered the state of Illinois.