by Unknown
“Haley, I’m taking you for dinner,” I said through my teeth.
“I think you did enough for one night, thank you.”
Looking back at the waiter she stated, “I’m just heading to the rest room, please have everything ready to go when I get back.” Without a second look back, she was gone.
The waiter watched her walk away then looked back to me, “Dude, she is pissed off.”
I ripped her credit card out of his hand and grabbed my wallet from my jeans. “Put the damn bill on here,” I said pushing my credit card into his hand.
“Want me to pack up the dessert?”
I growled at him.
“I take that as a no,” he said backing away from the table.
I dropped my head into my hands, cussing myself out.
I AM SO pissed off at Bentley that I don’t think I can speak to him. How dare he even think that, meanwhile say it. The boys only joined my team because I’m hot. Who the hell does he think he is saying that football is more important? Those boys chose on their own to join the running team before they even found out I was the coach.
Pulling onto the highway not one word was shared between the two of us, even when he handed me my credit card back. Listening to the rumble of the road under the tires made me tired, so I thought the best thing was to put my head back and close my eyes.
I was slowly woken my Bentley placing his hand on my shoulder slightly shaking me. “Haley, were home.”
I rubbed my eyes before fully opening them, “Thanks for waking me, I had a pretty hard nap. I was more tired than I thought.”
“I kept the radio off so I wouldn’t disturb you,” he half smiled at me.
“Thank you for coming with me today,” I said softly.
Bentley stopped me before I could undo my seatbelt and get out of the truck, “I’m sorry. I am an asshole.”
“Yes, you are,” I said flatly.
“My words never come out the way I want with you lately.” He looked sheepishly at me.
“You think? Bentley, you totally degraded me back there.”
“I know.”
I took the seatbelt off and opened the door, hopping out. “I’ll have you know, those boys signed up for track before they even knew I was coaching. While you were gone, Coach Dudley sent them all a text saying it would be good for them to gain some speed, and he would work out games and meets with the new coach, once one was hired.”
“I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
“If you would have listened instead of throwing more of your accusations around you would,” I said shutting the door to his truck and walked to the house.
I heard Bentley get out of the truck and walk up behind me. Opening the front door I turned, “Thank you for dinner; I take it I didn’t pay.”
“You’re welcome, and no, I said I wanted to take you out.”
Stepping into the house, I quickly shut and locked the door.
“Sweet dreams, Haley,” Bentley said through the door and tapped it twice.
I flopped on the couch with the ultrasound pictures, shaking my head. When is he going to stop wearing his ass as a hat?
STILL BEAMING OVER the images, I changed into my pajamas, and grabbed my phone to call my dad.
“Hello?” Dad answered groggily.
“Hi Daddy.”
“It’s late, is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine. I just wanted to talk to you.”
“Sure, just give me a minute to wake up.”
“Where are you?” I asked, not remembering.
“Canada. It’s beautiful here; you should come and visit. I really think you’d like it here.”
“Grams and Papa said they really enjoyed it, too. What part of Canada?”
“Calgary, Alberta. I can see the mountains from my hotel room.”
“I bet it’s beautiful.”
“It is, we got a little snow today, but it was all melted by noon.”
“Think you’ll get more snow tonight?”
“I’m sure you are not calling your old man to talk about the weather. Are you going to tell me why you’re calling?” Typical Dad, getting right to the point. This is why he is so good at his job.
Rubbing my thumb over the ultrasound image, I swallowed, “Daddy, I’m pregnant.”
There was dead silence on the other end.
“Are you happy?” he eventually asked.
“Yes,” I smiled.
“Then congratulations, baby doll.”
“Thanks daddy,” I sighed in relief.
“When are you due?”
“The middle of May.”
“Are you and the father together?”
“Kind of.”
“What do you mean, kind of?” I could hear Dad shifting in bed; he must be sitting up.
I don’t know how to explain the mess between Bentley and me in such a way that doesn’t have my dad wanting to kill Bentley. No dad wants his daughter pregnant by a man she is no longer with. “He knows, and he’s happy…we’re happy. We went to the first doctor appointment today, but we’re not together-together.”
“Is this boy from the city, or from…”
“His name is Bentley Knight. His mother is Charlotte, Maggie’s best friend.”
More silence.
“Dad?”
“I’m still here. How is Maggie?”
“She’s good Dad, she looks great.”
“Do you need anything?” he asked.
“No I just wanted to tell you now that I know for sure everything is fine.”
“Was something wrong?”
“No, it’s just recommended to wait to say anything until the second trimester.”
“Baby’s good, though?”
“Yeah. I’m actually holding a few ultrasound images right now. The doctor said we both are healthy, and the baby has a strong heart beat.”
“Will you text me over a picture of my grandchild?”
“As soon as we’re off the phone, I’ll scan all of them and email them to you.”
“Do Grams and Pop know?”
“Yes, they’ve known from the beginning.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“It’s kind of a long story.”
“I have the time baby girl.”
“How about I give you the short story?”
“I’m good with that.”
“I’ve known Bentley since high school, and we kinda hooked up this summer…”
“Just want every father wants to hear.”
“Are you going to keep cutting me off, Dad?” I tried joking.
“No,” he said, his voice clipped.
“After the summer ended, I found out I was pregnant. Actually, I found out shortly after my visit with you. Then I took the job Mrs. Harris offered. Charlotte’s family moved me here and wouldn’t let Papa or I hire a moving company, which you already know.”
“Why is there no mention of this Bentley yet?”
This was the last thing I wanted to tell my dad, but when he came to visit he would find out, so I may as well tell him, “Because he left.”
“He left?” Dad growled.
“Yes, but he didn’t know I was pregnant.”
“Go on.”
“Anyways the night before school started, Maggie, Charlotte, and Whitney were over having dinner, and Whitney wanted to know what I was doing with my spare room because she wanted to move in with me when she graduates. That’s when I told them, and since I told them I figured it was only fair Grams and Papa knew, too.”
“What did they say?”
“Charlotte was thrilled right off the bat, Whitney hugged me tight, and Maggie said if I needed anything all I had to do was ask and she’ll be here. Dad, Maggie has been so great during all of this. She has fully fallen into the mom role for me.”
“That’s nice, I take it that you see her often then?”
“The first two months I pretty much lived at her diner eating cheeseburgers and strawberr
y milkshakes.”
“Your mom ate tons of oranges and tuna when she was pregnant with you. What did Ma and Pop have to say when they found out?”
“Papa wanted to hunt Bentley down, but Grams stopped him and said I was old enough to make my own decisions, and if this is what I wanted then they will stand behind me.”
“Ma is sending you food?”
“Tons,” I laughed.
“That’s her thing for everything, isn’t it?”
“Sure is,” I said grinning.
“When did Bentley find out?”
“He actually overheard his parents and brother talking about it.”
“Haley, you didn’t tell him yourself?”
“I was going to, but…”
“There are no buts, Haley. If you are woman enough to make the decision to have sex, and then decide to raise the baby when you become pregnant, then you are mature enough to tell him yourself. That was pretty low Haley.”
“Dad, you don’t understand. He wasn’t here when everyone found out, and when he did come home, he never contacted me once.”
“You’re putting all the blame on him, doesn’t your phone work?”
“Dad.”
“Haley, it doesn’t matter what the circumstances were, you should have told him yourself.”
“You’re right,” I mumbled ashamed.
“I know I sound mean, Haley, but as a father myself, I would be devastated finding out that way. I’d be pretty mad if I was Bentley.”
“I get it, Dad.”
“Good, now crawl into bed and have a good night’s sleep. I love you, Haley, more than you will ever know, and I will always be in your corner. If you need anything, call your old man, night or day, okay?”
“I love you, Dad.”
“I love you more, sweetheart.”
I thought about what he said, and it made sense. If I was Bentley, I probably would have said the same things to me, and maybe worse. I opened my text messages and sent Bentley a text.
Me: I’m sorry. I should have told you I was pregnant as soon as I found out.
Bentley: It’s in the past. I forgive you. Let’s move forward and enjoy tomorrow ☺
Me: Can we also move forward from tonight’s dinner? I’d rather remember the afternoon more and have it end with happy thoughts and memories of our baby.
Bentley: I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Me: Night Bentley.
Bentley: Night.
THANKSGIVING HAS COME and gone, and Haley and I enjoyed most of the holiday weekend together. My family, along with her grandparents, got together and shared our blessings at the Wells ranch.
When Haley returned to work, she decided to let Mrs. Harris know we were expecting, and when the baby was due. With the help of my mom, Maggie, Mrs. Wells, and myself, Haley was able to guarantee Mrs. Harris she would return to teaching in the fall. Haley would miss the last three weeks of school, something she wasn’t comfortable with. Thankfully, Mrs. Harris told her she would take over those weeks, and not to worry about anything until the fall.
Coach and I haven’t told Travis yet that there are scouts watching him, Cullen, and Cody. We don’t want to add extra pressure to the boys until the last track meet, which will be at the end of this week. Coach Dudley and Haley managed to work things out quite well, with my first string boys only being late for two games. We lost both games, but the scouts were impressed at how well each played after already participating in a track meet.
The cows have to be moved from the pasture to the farm so we could decide which ones needed to go to market, and which ones would stay. Tomorrow we will head over to the Wells ranch to give Mr. Wells a hand with the same thing.
Grabbing the quads and heading over to the north quarter, Travis and I had time to talk, which we haven’t done much of since I’d come back.
“How are things between you and Whitney?” I asked, driving up beside him.
“They’re good. We haven’t seen as much of each other as I would like since I have a curfew after someone ratted me out on the whole condom thing.”
“Sorry.”
“I know; things just got out of hand.”
“Have you given any thought about what you are going to do after high school? It’s coming up faster than you think.”
“I’m not really sure. I haven’t heard if any scouts are looking at me, or anything, so I guess I need to decide if I want to go to college.”
“What do you want to take?”
“Something with my hands, maybe mechanics.”
“Thinking of doing an apprenticeship and still work on the farm, or doing the two year program then get your hours in?”
“Bentley, is this your way of letting me know there aren’t any scouts looking at me?”
“Coach Dudley hasn’t said,” I lied, trying to keep a straight face.
“Bullshit,” he called.
I stopped the quad and put my hands up, “I swear.”
Rolling his eyes, he kept driving. “How is the situation between you and Haley?”
“Okay, I guess, but she is still keeping her distance.”
“It’s just going to take time.”
I scowled at my brother, “Whose side are you on?”
“Yours, until you do something stupid,” he grinned.
Shaking my head, I decided to race my brother to the end pasture.
WALKING INTO THE house, I could smell mom’s peach cobbler. “Mom, your cobbler smells as good as ever,” I hollered walking over to the kitchen sink to wash my hands.
“Mom’s not here, she went with the girls to town to do some shopping after school.” Dad said walking into the kitchen.
“You made the cobbler?” I questioned.
“No, your mom asked me to pull it out of the oven when I got back from the doctor.”
“I didn’t know you had a doctor’s appointment today.”
“It was more of a question and answer appointment than a medical visit. I’m feeling more tired than usual, and not having as much energy as I had been, and I’m not really sleeping at night. I think it’s the new meds he has me on, so I just went to ask him a few questions to see if these are the side effects, and if they are, if we could change them.”
“What did he say?” I asked pulling out the coke bottle from the fridge, “Coke?”
“Please,” Travis answered walking into the house.
“No thanks,” Dad said.
“Well that’s kind of the funny part,” Dad laughed.
“What is?” asked Travis
“When I told the doctor about my side effects from my other meds, he said it was normal then wrote me a prescription for Viagra.”
I choked on my drink, “What?”
“I’m not kidding.” Dad dug in his pocket and pulled out the prescription.
Travis pulled the paper out of Dad’s hand, “Let me see that…he only gave you twenty-five milligrams. That’s a low dose.”
“How do you know that?” I asked wiping the soda off my lips.
“Like you haven’t Googled it, or YouTubed it, to find out if Viagra makes your dick harder for longer.”
“Can’t say I have,” Dad and I said at the same time.
“Whatever,” Travis said giving Dad back the paper.
“Are you going to fill the prescription?” I snickered.
“I thought I’d ask your mother first.”
“Do you…” I wiggled my baby finger in a circle, “need it?”
“Not that I am aware of.”
“Has the accident affected you in that area?” I asked concerned. No man wants to hear another’s man parts don’t work for the ladies.
“At first I was concerned about it, but once they took out the catheter, your mom helped put that thought to rest.”
“Enough said,” Travis cringed.
“After I got home that was another story though.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I had depression so bad,
I couldn’t get it up. It was havoc on my relationship with your mother.”
“What do you mean, havoc?” Travis asked not understanding.
“When you lose that part of your relationship with someone, Travis, it’s hard. That’s how you reconnect with your partner. Your mom and I didn’t connect for a long time, which eventually put space in our relationship.”
“I didn’t notice anything different between you and Mom?”
“Besides me just being an ass?” Dad questioned.
“There was that,” my brother replied back honestly.
“Boys, your mother has one of the best poker faces I know.”
“So what happened?” I asked.
“A few weeks before we talked it out in the barn, I went back to the doctor and asked for anti-depressants and booked that trip with your mom.”
“Have the meds helped?”
“They did, but as a man, I had a hard time dealing with it and asking for help.”
“Dad, you do know we don’t look at you differently because of them, right? It’s no different than taking aspirin for a heart condition. It’s just a medical condition,” Travis went on to say.
“I understand that now, and to be honest, I never believed in these meds until I had to take them myself. I just thought if people got their asses outside and worked instead of being so lazy, it would fix them. Now that I’ve not had that energy to get out of bed, or cared about what was going on around me, and being so damn frustrated with everything, I get it’s not the person. It’s the way your brain is programmed. Being depressed is not a weakness boys, it’s a medical condition.”
“Let’s get back to the Viagra…” said Travis, “Will it make your orgasms stronger?”
“No, when I talked to the pharmacists…”
“You talked to the pharmacists. Which one was it? Old man Willis, or his hot granddaughter Kimmy?” Travis asked, cutting in.
“Kim,” Dad said firmly.
“She’s old enough to be your daughter,” I snorted.
“Kim was very professional, I’ll have you know,” Dad scolded.
“What did she have to say?” I asked.
“It helps with the blood flow to your penis, and helps increase of the libido, or sex drive. It only works if you are sexually stimulated, mentally or physically. It’s doesn’t necessarily make the erection harder, stronger, or longer; it just help the penis get there.”