I felt like white trash. No wonder Trent thought I was going after him for money. Maylene came rushing out, with her arms open as wide as her smile. "You've made it! Come in, come in and have some dinner. I'm so glad you've arrived safely."
A tall thin man who could have been Trent's double, but older, stepped out onto the porch. "Well now, what do we have here?" He looked over at Tyler with a big grin. "I heard we had a handsome man coming to visit, it's obviously true."
"I strong," Tyler flexed, showing his manliness.
"This is my husband, Roger. He's been busy at work when I've been in Waco. He'll be working from home this weekend, so he can spend some time with us," Maylene introduced him.
"I hear you like to fish," he spoke to my dad, who grinned like a fool.
"That I do. I hear you have a boat."
"Yup, and a lake just out behind the house."
"How far behind the house, could Tyler reach it if he wandered off?" I asked worried.
"We have a fenced backyard. We put it and a playground in as soon as we learned Meredith was pregnant. It should be fine."
"Tyler is going to go fishing with us big boys, right, buddy? I got a special lifejacket just for you," Roger said with a smile.
I wondered if they would let Tyler wear it all the time to reduce the risk of drowning.
There was no need to wonder, though. As soon as Roger showed him his Elmo lifejacket, he wouldn't take it off, and they didn't bother to try and remove it from him.
We were halfway through dinner, when Trent came rushing in. "I'm so sorry I'm late," he apologized to my parents and me. "I had a baby to catch," he grinned widely, "A healthy little girl."
"Trent, dear, you need to change your shirt. Did you have it on under your scrubs?" Maylene asked confused.
"I was about to leave and was mostly redressed, when the mother came in. She was going to deliver using a midwife at home, but she changed her mind last minute. They came in when she was dilated to ten. The nurses were hollering for me to get in there and catch. I just made it. I didn't have time to get my shirt back off." He pulled it away from him to look at the collar.
"Just grab one of your father's shirts, dear, and leave that one in the hamper. I can get the stains out of that one for you."
"Thanks, Mom," he leaned in, kissing his mom's cheek while trying to keep his distance.
"There's peroxide under the bathroom sink, dear. Let it soak in that."
"Will do."
"Well, now that we have that settled, how about some dessert?" Maylene asked.
I really didn't want to give Tyler any sugar this late. There would be no way he would go to bed. It was going to be challenging with him being in a new place as it was.
"It's sugar free gelatin," Maylene winked at me, like she'd read my mind.
Tyler really didn't care if it was sugar free or not, he just wanted some. We usually didn't have dessert. Trent came down the stairs in a skin-tight shirt. His body looked glorious. I wanted to slap myself for thinking that.
"Have you been working out, Son?" his father asked.
"No, you've been dieting," he smirked.
Roger looked at his wife for confirmation. "I've lost weight?"
Maylene just giggled and kissed his cheek. "Your blood pressure came back a little high your last visit, remember?"
He looked at the fridge like it would have the answer. It was comical, really. I guess it was a testament to Maylene's culinary skills that he hadn't noticed the difference.
Trent took a seat next to Tyler with a dinner plate. "Hey, buddy, I see you have your lifejacket on. Are you going fishing with your grandpa tomorrow?"
I nearly snapped at him for calling Roger his grandfather, but my dad piped up with, "He sure is."
Maylene must have been excited to have us come, because the bathroom they had for Tyler and I to use had a rubber ducky theme with a mess of toys in it. I usually had a hard time getting him into the tub, but as soon as he saw the setup, he was in it in a heartbeat, and I had a hard time getting him out.
Trent had come into the bathroom with us and was thoroughly soaked from playing with the toys as well. He was trying to coax Tyler out of the tub with the promise of more toys and a bedtime story. When we crossed the hall to his room, I was floored. Maylene had taken the Elmo theme to the extreme. Tyler had been upset about taking off his lifejacket, until he saw the bathroom. He had been reaching for it, wanting it back on, until Trent showed him his Elmo pajamas.
"I brought clothes for him," I complained.
"Mom wanted to spoil him. She was really excited to have you all come. She wanted to make sure you had a great time so you'd return."
I looked away, not sure what to say. It was very nice here, but I didn't really have a reason to visit Livingston. I was only here for the ultrasound.
I knew Trent picked up on that, because his smile faltered a little. He recovered, tucking Tyler in and read to him until he fell asleep.
We stepped out into the hall. "Have you seen your room?" he asked, pointing to the door across the way.
"I haven't had a chance yet."
He opened the door for me. The room was done up in a deep burgundy and rosy pink. There was a little bassinette in the corner of the room. The bottom of it was overflowing with baby supplies. "Did your mom make up this room for your sister-in-law and Charlotte?" I hoped.
He shook his head no. "Meredith and Trevor's room is at the other end of the hall."
That was what I was afraid of.
"So, in the morning, I'll be here for breakfast. Our dads are taking Tyler fishing, and our moms are doing…honestly, I don't know what they're doing, but mine said they'd be busy with something, and she was wearing a grin that made me nervous."
I giggled at the face he made when he said that. I'd seen the pair of them chatting with mischievous smiles earlier. He was right to be worried.
I think my mother had actually been in on getting me down here, because when I asked her about painting the kitchen, she waved me off, confessing she hadn't even picked a color yet. She most likely used that excuse, just in case I was asking them to do something else…the troublemakers.
"After breakfast, I'll take you down to the clinic, and we'll have a look at our little girl."
I didn't correct him. I felt guilty for some reason over disappointing him by not wanting to come back here, so I let him call her ours.
His behavior towards us had changed so drastically, it was confusing. I knew he was still hesitant around me, walking on eggshells, but he seemed to really want to be involved with Tyler in any way I'd let him. I hadn't invited him into the bathroom for bath time, he had just sort of showed up, and I hadn't wanted to run him off with Tyler watching. Then they were having so much fun together. Being thirty-four weeks pregnant had been taking its toll on me, so I just didn't have it in me to fight with him. Then when he had stepped in to halt Tyler's tantrum when getting out of the tub, I'd admit, I might have been a little grateful. I was so used to parenting on my own; it was strange to have backup. I knew if I wasn't careful, I could end up getting used to it.
Chapter 7 - Pretend
For once, I wasn't woken by Tyler, but by the smell of breakfast. I made my way downstairs to the kitchen and found Trent holding Tyler in his arms. Tyler was dressed to go fishing, wearing his little lifejacket and helping Trent make toast. Trent had him put the bread in and push the button down. But when they popped up, Trent would take them out, warning Tyler they were hot and showed him his red fingertips, and even went so far as to kiss his own fingers, like he had hurt them. Tyler looked concerned, and I wondered if I should have been upset that Trent was butting in and teaching my kid something, but when I reached for the bread, Tyler shouted, "Momma, HOT!"
"Those ones on top are probably still hot. Do you want to grab the jam?"
I grabbed the jam from the fridge and then watched in horror, as Tyler grabbed the butter knife, ready to jam up his bread. We would end up scrubbing the ki
tchen all day if he had his way.
"Give it to mommy."
"Mine," he held the butter knife against his chest, ready to fight for his chance to spread jam.
Trent put him in his booster at the table and then pulled out another butter knife. He started spreading the jam without saying a word. Tyler looked over at Trent confused, unsure how he'd ended up with a butter knife, but no jam on it.
"Have a seat," he said, as he put together a couple of plates. He cut a toasted jam sandwich into four pieces and brought it over to Tyler. He sat next to him. "Are you gonna cut it smaller?" he asked him. He held his knife over the pieces, showing Tyler how to cut them smaller. "Like this, buddy." Tyler got the idea, and he went to town, chopping the crap out of his toast. At least it was a minimal mess. Once Tyler was done chopping, he got to eating and finished off his whole sandwich.
I heard the stomping of feet coming from the back of the house. "Is Tyler, the fisherman, ready to go in the boat?" my father called.
Tyler jumped up, standing in his booster, and Trent was able to move much faster than I was to steady him. "Yeah, I’d say he's ready," Trent laughed it off and helped Tyler down. Roger pulled a cooler out of the fridge and waved to us. "We'll be back for dinner, or hopefully, with dinner."
Once the back door shut, I turned to Trent. "So, where did our mothers get off to?"
"I have no idea, but it couldn't have been good. My mom usually cooks big breakfasts, but she just 'didn't have the time' to do it this morning. They're definitely up to something."
I rode in Trent's car to the clinic, which was actually attached to a little hospital. That explained how they could call him in so fast from his clinic. He held the door for me and led me to a back room. He flipped on a machine, but didn't bother with the lights. "So, you know the drill, right?"
I nodded yes, scooting up on the bed and tucked my pants under my belly and pulled my shirt up over it as well.
The look on his face was confusing. He looked in awe and in pain at the same time. He gave me a gentle smile, as he readied the machine. "Alright, this'll be a little cold."
"It usually is."
"Have you had several ultrasounds?" He sounded worried.
"No, but Dr. Harding uses some gel when he checks for the heartbeat."
"Dr. Mathias Harding?" Trent sounded worried. I nodded yes, wondering how he knew my doctor. "Is he in a co-op of doctors now? Do you see several other doctors as well?"
"No, just him."
Trent looked nervous, like he was trying to debate between telling me something and keeping his mouth shut.
"Is everything alright?" I was beginning to worry. It wasn't a good sign, when one doctor wasn't happy about you seeing another.
He looked like he was about to explode and not in a good way. "Let's just take a look at our baby girl." I could tell he was trying to pull his thoughts together.
When her heartbeat filled the room, his smile was huge. I thought he was just going to look at her for fun, but he seemed to be doing a thorough exam, even going as far as to measure her organs. "Did Dr. Harding do your ultrasound or a technician?"
"He did," I answered honestly, and Trent seemed to examine the screen even more thoroughly. I could see the stress and worry in his face. He seemed to be taking several images and double-checking everything. "Is everything alright?" I asked worried.
"It looks like it. Who recommended him to you?"
"No one, I just saw he was covered by my insurance and located close to work."
"You work with a pediatrician, does she know him?"
"I don't know, I didn't tell her I was seeing him."
"You didn't ask anyone about him?" he nearly shouted.
"I didn't see any complaints about him online."
He shook his head, laughing blackly. "Of course not."
"Trent, what's going on?"
He looked at me nervously. "I know you don't like me or trust me, but please, just listen to me this one time and change doctors. I can give you a list of great doctors, just don't see Mathias anymore."
"You know Dr. Harding personally?" I asked.
He nodded yes. "Please, I'll bet if you asked the doctor you work for, she'd agree with me. Just please, consider changing doctors. Hell, I'll pay for the cost of an out-of-network doctor if you want. Just please, don't see him anymore. I don't want him delivering our baby."
Again, I didn't snap at him for calling Katie our baby; instead of saying she was just mine. He looked really upset about it, and I was getting worried. "Is she alright? Does everything look like it should?" I asked, as I tried to see the ultrasound pictures.
"It looks good so far. I'm going to pull these up in my office and look at them closer to make sure I didn't miss anything." He put his hand on one side of my stomach and held the wand in the other, shifting my belly to get her to move and kick him. He smiled down at her, and before I could stop him, he was kissing my belly. My eyes widened, and I gasped in shock. He looked up at me wide-eyed, like he couldn't believe he had just done that.
"Do you kiss all of your patient's bellies?" I asked letting him know I wasn't pissed at his little slipup.
"No, just the belly with my baby in it."
I raised a challenging eyebrow at him, and he smiled. "I swear yours is the only pregnant belly I've ever kissed."
We heard a knocking on the office door, and Trent poked his head out of the room. "Go ahead and get dressed. I'll pull up the images as soon as I've taken care of this."
I stepped out of the exam room and saw him talking to a pregnant woman and another holding a baby. Trent took the baby from the lady and cuddled it. He was so enamored with the baby, that he didn't see the way they were gawking at him. I remembered that from college. I came down the hall, but they were too focused on him, and he was too focused on the baby for them to notice me.
As I walked closer, I heard Trent talking. "So, Sandy, how is Tim adjusting to fatherhood?"
The woman had the audacity to lean to the side to check out his butt. "Oh, my husband is doing fine, so fine," she answered, but it was obvious she wasn't referencing her husband's state of mind.
"That's good, being a daddy is the greatest thing in the world."
"That's so true, Dr. Carrington," the pregnant woman stated rubbing her belly. "Having a father around is so important to a child." She stepped a little closer. "I can see you'd make such a wonderful father. You really should see about settling down…Trent."
He looked up a little rattled and stepped back, clearing his throat. "Please, call me Dr. Carrington while I'm in the office, Tammy."
"But it's after hours." She stepped closer, and he shifted the baby between them.
"Even still, we're in the office," he motioned to the desk to make his point. "So, Sandy, is all going well? I see her jaundice cleared up nicely."
"Yes, you're so good with her."
"Actually, it's Dr. Walters who takes over after I catch. He's the person who confirmed and treated her jaundice."
"Still, you were the one to point it out first."
She reached out to take the baby from him and blatantly ran her hand down his chest. Once the baby was back in her arms, he took three large steps back. "I have a patient waiting. Was there something you needed?"
"Tammy was having contractions," Sandy motioned to the other woman.
"Yes, Trent, I was hoping you could do that pressure point thing. You know that always works like a charm," she purred, disregarding his request to be addressed as Dr. Carrington.
He reached up, scratching the back of his neck. "I don't have a nurse on hand to help with it."
"Oh, I'll help," Sandy offered, and Trent looked at her with his mouth hanging open, his eyes darting to her face and then the baby in her arms.
"Where did you say Tim was?" he glanced to the door, looking panicked.
"You know, it's time for me to feed the baby." She started undoing the buttons on her shirt.
"She's not fussing, I'm sure she's fi
ne. Like I said, I have a patient."
"How about we wait for you in exam room one?"
"You know, I think it'd be best if I just scheduled you on a regular day. I was worried that their might've been something wrong with the baby, but if you're just having minor contractions…"
"Look at you, being such a sweetheart on your day off. Do you want to be a daddy, Trent? You can be my baby's daddy," the slutty pregnant woman tried to sound sultry and began moving in on him.
Trent was floundering so badly, even I felt sorry for him. I decided to have mercy on him and rescue him from the slut sisters. His discomfort proved this kind of behavior was not something he encouraged. The poor man looked like he was about to run away screaming.
"I thought you'd narrowed down the father of your baby to two men," he said, while his eyes darted around, searching for an escape.
"Oh, I have, but neither are good enough to be a daddy." Pity she didn't think of that beforehand, but then who was I to talk.
"Yes, well, I'm more of a one-woman man myself."
"Oh, I know," she moved closer, and he stepped back again. "I could be a one-man woman for you."
"That's very kind of you, but I'm not really available right now."
"Not available?" Sandy didn't believe him one bit, but I had a feeling he wasn't seeing anyone because of me. "We don't ever see you with anyone, honey. This town is small, you know. You can't fool us."
It was time for me to cut in. "That's because I don't live here, and he's actually my baby daddy. I'm sure you've noticed he's been spending a lot of time in Waco lately, seeing as how you're up on all the small-town doings." I slipped under Trent's arm, and his jaw nearly hit the floor, but he played along, wrapping his arm around me and resting his free hand on my belly. I did my best to ignore how good it felt to be in his arms.
A Life Unplanned Page 5