by Lex Martin
Chapter 17
Travis
It’s hard not to doubt my ability to be a dad. Considering I didn’t have a positive male role model in my life, I question it, but each day, I remind myself that I am not my father. No matter what, I’ll be there for my son or daughter, and make sure to give all the love I missed out on. I’ll try every day to set the example, to show love while being a parent. This kid isn’t here yet, but my life is already drastically changing. I don’t want to fail.
Even if I’m scared shitless that I will mess this whole dad thing up, I feel like I’m the luckiest man on the planet. At least that’s what I keep thinking when I glance over at Viola as I drive to our appointment. It’s no longer her appointments. I’ve made sure to take ownership of each and every one of them from now until the delivery date. Our appointments, our baby, our future.
I’m going to be a dad. It’s a scary thought, but knowing that Viola is the one, and she’s carrying our baby, brings such a sense of joy to me that it’s almost unexplainable. Since she’s been home, we’ve quickly fallen back into our old routine, but without all the wild sex. It feels great knowing there are no more secrets, and we can be as open as we wish.
For the past few days, she’s stopped by to visit Gryff and me, and I stop by Courtney’s every day before I head home. Each time I leave her, it sucks. I want her to move in with me or for us to get our own place, but I’m trying to keep her stress free.
We pull into the parking lot of the doctor's office, and once we’re parked, I grab her hand and kiss her knuckles. “Are you ready for this?”
She gives me a small smirk. “Somehow, I don’t think you’re referring to the doctor's visit.”
Arching an eyebrow up at her, I reply, “Definitely not.”
“Then take me, Travis King. Give me your babies,” she says with a laugh.
“Consider it done.”
We get out of the car and walk inside. It’s the first time I’ve stepped foot inside a gynecologist’s office, and it feels like all the heads turn and stare at me. Viola smiles at all the women in the waiting area, but her body tenses with nerves.
Once she’s checked in and they call her back, she steps on the scale and tells me to turn around so I can’t see. As much as I want to remind her that I don’t care what the number on that scale says, I want to respect her privacy as well. After that, they take her blood pressure and ask her if anything has changed since the last time she’s been there. Considering she’s pregnant now, she had a lot to update.
When the doctor arrives, they talk about a little of everything. It’s overwhelming at first, but I try to keep up. I want to know all our options and birth plans and whatever the hell an epidural is. I want to be here for Viola as much as possible.
The doctor motions for Viola to lie down and lift her shirt. She measures her belly from underneath her breasts all the way down to her pelvis. She tells us she measures right on time for a late February due date.
She then presses her hands into her belly, and I watch as Viola cringes. I’m not sure if that’s normal, so I’m tempted to say something, but it doesn’t last but a moment. Soon the doctor is pulling her upright and reminding her to take her prenatal vitamins.
Once the doctor leaves, I stand between Viola’s legs and cup her chin. “You are beautiful,” I remind her.
She gives me a forced smile, but it’s not believable.
“You are carrying my baby, and if that’s not the sexiest and most beautiful thing in the world, then I don’t know what is.”
She finally smiles wide and kisses me.
The nurse startles us as she knocks on the door and pushes it open. “I believe you scheduled your ultrasound for after the checkup? Wendy is expecting you in the radiology department whenever you two are ready to head down.”
We take the elevators down to the lower level and follow the signs to another receptionist’s desk. The woman’s name tag reads Wendy, and I know we’re in the right place.
Once Viola’s registered, we only have to wait a few moments before they call us back. An ultrasound tech, who later tells us her name is Kelly, greets us at the door and leads us down a hallway to a vacant room with a large flat-screen TV hung on the wall and an ultrasound machine. Everything looks so foreign to me, and I’m not sure what to expect, but I’m excited to be here with her.
Kelly instructs Viola to sit on the table and lean all the way back. Once she does, she looks over at me and smiles.
“What?” I ask.
“Are you ready to see our baby?”
I grab her hand and squeeze. “Yes, I can’t wait.”
Once Viola is settled on the table with her jeans unbuttoned and her shirt pulled up, Kelly turns down the lights and settles into the chair next to us.
“I saw in your chart that you don’t know the sex of the baby yet. Do you want to find out today?”
Viola looks over at me, and she’s beaming. “Do you want to know?”
“It’s up to you, princess.” Not knowing is somewhat killing me, but it wouldn’t matter if it was a little girl or boy. I’d love him or her just the same.
“Can we wait? Make it a big surprise?” she asks, and I can’t deny her excitement.
The tech smiles, and I nod.
Viola turns to the tech and smiles with an idea. “Could you write it down and seal it in an envelope for us?” Viola asks, and I want to know what she’s up to. Of course, she notices.
“I thought we could open it on New Year’s.” She’s enjoying torturing me way too much. “As soon as the clock strikes midnight.”
I laugh at her sweet idea. “Let’s do it.”
“This is going to be a little cold,” the tech warns Viola as she spreads the gel on her stomach so the wand will move easily across her skin and there’s no air between. I feel my heart begin to race as the tech places it on her stomach and moves it around until she lands on a pulsing beat. The room fills with a sound that reminds me of a washing machine, but it’s our baby’s heartbeat.
“Any issues since your last appointment?” the tech asks.
“Nope. Everything’s been great.” She glances over at me and smiles genuinely.
“Have you two picked out any names?”
“Not yet,” we both say at the same time. It’s something we haven’t discussed yet.
I’m in awe that I can see our baby’s face in a 3D image. I glance over at Viola, smiling as tears of happiness stream down her face. I stand and grab her hand in amazement. “I can see the baby’s mouth and nose.”
“Everything looks perfect,” the tech says with a satisfied smile. “Now I’m just going to take some measurements for the doctor, and then when I get to the lower half of the baby, I’ll let you know so you can look away.”
I’m half tempted to sneak a glance, but I don’t. I want to share that moment with Viola. It’ll be something just for us.
“I’ll print some images out for you to take home,” she says, clicking some buttons on her machine. Once she’s finished, she sets everything down. “Here are some tissues to wipe the gel off.” Viola takes them and cleans her belly. It suddenly feels so real.
The tech hands us the 3D images, and we’re both in awe.
“I can’t believe we can see so much detail already.”
“I think he or she is going to look a lot like you,” I say, examining the images.
“Yeah?” she asks with hopefulness in her tone.
“Yup. Just add some glasses, a tiny wand in their hand, and voila! Miniature Viola.”
“Very funny!” She wrinkles her nose and pulls her shirt back down. “Well, he or she will clearly have good taste in books.”
“Clearly,” I mock.
She stands up, and I hold her in my arms and kiss her hair and tell her how much I love her. “We’re having a baby,” I whisper. “We’re really having a baby.”
“I have a surprise for you,” Travis says as we head down the highway in the opposite direction of the h
ospital. The streets and houses are decorated with Christmas lights, and I think about how this will be our first Christmas together as a couple. He interlocks his fingers with mine and squeezes. When we pull up to the mall, I laugh at his choice of location.
“You’re taking me to the mall?”
“Thought you’d want to see Santa.” He chuckles. “Actually, I’d like to spoil the shit out of you and my little prince.”
“Prince? So you think it’s a boy?” I grab the envelope out of my purse and wave it around. Inside on a piece of paper is the sex of our baby, and while I’m so tempted to rip it open, I don’t.
His eyes widen. “New Year’s. It’s not too far away. Just a couple of weeks.”
I lean over and kiss him, and he places his hand on the back of my head and pulls me even closer. We get out of the car and walk into the mall. Twinkling Christmas lights are strung from the trees, and it’s so damn crowded that I almost second-guess this decision. Travis grabs my hand, and we walk through different stores, and he asks me questions about things I like. The next store we walk into is a baby store. He finds a onesie that has a crown on it and buys it immediately.
“But it’s blue,” I state.
“It’s because we’re having a boy. But if we have a little girl, I’ll still dress her in it,” he chuckles.
“If we have a little girl, you’re going to be that scary dad with tattoos that doesn’t let her date, ever.”
“Damn straight. And she’ll have a big strong uncle that carries a gun and handcuffs. No dating until she’s thirty. I’m serious.”
I shrug with a grin. “She’ll just sneak around. Seriously, look who her parents are.”
“We don’t have to worry about it because we’re having a boy.”
“Okay, whatever you say.”
As we walk past Victoria’s Secret, he turns and gives me a smirk.
“Don’t even think about it. I’m a house. The last thing I feel is sexy.”
“Trust me, princess. You’re sexy.” He glances down to his crotch where I see an impressive growth under his jeans.
I’m laughing so hard I can barely catch my breath. The giggles take over, and my stomach is bouncing so much that it makes me laugh to the point that Travis joins in. We look ridiculous, walking through the mall, losing our shit laughing.
He grabs my hand and leads me across the way where Santa is sitting.
“You’re not serious.”
“Come on, it will be our first family photo.”
His smile is convincing, so I follow him down the decorated lane with plastic candy canes. Travis pays the teenager dressed as an elf, and soon, we’re walking up the stairs on the stage. Santa pats his lap, and I laugh and sit.
“Have you been a good girl?” The old guy looks at me. He’s such a great Santa. I don’t even have the urge to pull his beard like I did when I was a kid.
Travis speaks up. “No, Santa. She’s been a very bad girl.”
My mouth falls open with a gasp. “King!”
“And what would you like for Christmas?” I look at Santa for a long while and then look at Travis.
“I have everything I want, actually.” I mean every word. Instinctively, I touch my tummy. Travis is smiling so big. I wish they could take the picture right at this very moment so I can treasure it forever.
“There’s bound to be something,” Travis asks as if he was waiting for me to spill my guts to Santa and his elves.
“I’d like world peace,” I say with a smile.
“A typical princess answer.” Travis laughs.
Santa gives us a big ho, ho, ho, and I turn to look at the camera with a smile and the elf snaps the photo. Once it’s printed and put into one of those cardboard frames with snowflakes along the side, she hands it to me. Immediately, I open it to see. I’m looking at the camera, so happy, with my little baby bump, and Travis is looking at me with so much love and adoration that I can’t help but turn to him and kiss him in the middle of the mall, regardless of all the people trying to walk past us.
From behind, I hear someone scoff, and I turn around to see Mia fucking Montgomery standing there, with a smug-ass look on her face, and some dude next to her. Travis grabs my arm because I’m ready to kill her. She glances down at my stomach and then looks at Travis and bursts into an evil laughter. “I wonder how many other King babies are wandering around.”
“Nowhere near the amount of sex tapes you have floating around the internet. Or the number of random dicks you’ve had in your mouth,” Travis spits back at her.
Mia gasps then turns and looks at the bag of bones standing beside her—unamused—but he doesn’t jump to defend her. Either it’s because Travis could rip him in half or because he knows it’s true.
I’ve not seen Travis this angry in years.
“Can’t believe you settled for this. Look at her. You could have done so much better. Pity, really.” She looks me up and down.
“You’re a bitch! I’m so happy Drew finally moved on from your skanky ass,” I say between gritted teeth, taking a few steps forward. People turn and look at us, and in any other circumstance I’d be embarrassed, but all I can see is red. My heartbeat rings out in my ears, and I want to punch her in the face, pregnant or not. She hurt my brother; she hurt Travis and me, and the damage she caused was almost irreparable.
Travis grabs my hand and pulls me away from her, but I’m seething to the point that I start crying. I’m pissed I can’t gain control of my emotions, and I hate that people are staring at us. Once the adrenaline courses through me, exhaustion follows with an extra-large dose of doubt.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here,” Travis says, rubbing my back.
After we’re in the car, we sit in silence.
“I’m sorry, princess. You didn’t deserve any of that.”
“Did you hear what she said?”
He looks at me with sad eyes and nods. “You know what? Fuck her.”
“She wanted you to,” I add. All those old fears start flooding back in full force, and it puts me on edge.
“I can guarantee you the only King baby is the one you’re carrying.” He grabs my hand.
“No one else I’ve ever been with has made me feel the way you do. Ever. It’s always been you, Viola. I’ve always reserved that part of myself for you.”
I let out a ragged breath. “But what if you wake up one day and decide I’m not what you want? What if she’s right?”
“And what if I counter that with another scenario? What if I wake up every day, knowing I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life? And what if I honestly believe I’m the luckiest man on earth because I’ve somehow snagged the girl of my dreams—the girl I crushed on as a kid, that forbidden fruit—and she’s going to have my baby? Because that’s the reality we live in, that we will always live in.” He brushes his thumb against my cheek.
“You always do that,” I say.
“What’s that?” he asks as he cranks the car, the low rumble calming me.
“Say exactly the right thing at the right time.” I smile.
On the way home, we share side-glances and the realization of how happy Travis makes me sets in. After being away from him for six months, I don’t dare take moments like this for granted. I cherish each and every one of them, but I know there will be thousands more. No one will ever be able to take this away from us because what we have is more than a stupid crush or a one-night stand.
It’s real.
It’s love in the rawest form.
Chapter 18
Travis
It’s finally the night I’ve been waiting for, and even though Viola’s only been back for a few weeks, it feels like nothing’s changed at all. Well, except that she’s carrying my baby, we’ve been apartment hunting together, and she tells me she loves me every day.
Six months ago, I was at a dead-end job that I no longer felt passionate about. The girl of my dreams had just moved across the country, and my best friend would b
arely speak to me. I’d screwed up, and I’ll live with that for the rest of my life, but I can’t say I’m not happy about where that has all lead me. Drew and I worked out our differences. King Marketing is becoming a reality, Gryff finally stopped chewing on all my damn expensive shoes, and most importantly, Viola is finally mine. I couldn’t be any fucking happier right now.
New Year’s Eve used to mean going out with friends, getting drunk, and bringing back a random girl for a meaningless night together. I’m not proud of that tradition, but this year I plan to make a new one.
Viola has held onto her promise of finding out the baby’s gender until midnight. We’re going to open it together in the park under the lights. I have a couple more gifts to surprise her with tonight as well, and she has no clue. Tonight’s a night we’ll both remember for the rest of our lives.
Viola sleeps over most nights now, and since she’s restless the majority of the time, I let her sleep in while Gryff and I go for our morning walk and I brew the coffee. She’s been snoring in her sleep, which keeps me up. Gryff sleeps at our feet, and when she’s not kicking him off in the middle of the night, he’s nuzzling his way under the covers and stealing them from me. The first thing we’re getting once we move is a king-sized bed. And a bigger dog bed.
After our chilly walk, I grab the newspaper and pour myself a hot cup of coffee. Gryff sleeps at my feet as I scan the paper. Once I finish the world news section, I flip to the business overview where I see Crawford Marketing in big, bold letters.
Enron was one of the biggest scandals in 2001, and more than a decade later, another company is facing similar charges. Crawford Marketing, founded in 1970, has fallen under the same scrutiny of the Security and Exchange Commission. A formal investigation concerning the $400 million loss reported by the company in the fourth quarter will begin soon. Reliable sources have stated earnings have been misrepresented for an undisclosed time period, and embezzlement charges have been filed against Alyssa Crawford, daughter of the chief executive officer.