Chapter 7: Making Time
Leah glanced down at the results one more time. She couldn't believe this. It couldn't be true. There had to be some other explanation. These things weren't one hundred percent accurate, right? So what that she'd tested herself three times before and they'd all come out positive? What did that have to do with anything? There was no way the stupid thing was right.
She was totally in denial.
Before she could stop herself, she was crying. Not just silly little tears trickling down her face, but serious body-wracking sobs. By the time she was finished gasping for breath in-between her tears, she was on the floor of the bathroom and her head was pounding. She couldn't be going through this. Now was not the time... they were already stressed out as it was.
She didn't need a baby to complicate matters.
Nick already had a child, one that was taking up a lot of his time. How would he have time to take care of her and support her during her pregnancy? More importantly, how would he have time for their baby after it was born? She had five minutes to find the answers to her many questions. Nick would be home in five minutes and there was no way she could keep something this big from him. After all, her bloodshot eyes would be a dead giveaway that something was wrong.
Leah slowly pulled herself from the bathroom floor and looked at her dreadful appearance in the mirror. Her hair was tangled and matted in the front where her tears had fallen, her eyes were red and puffy, and her nose was running. Not to mention the long streak of mascara smeared across her right cheek.
Quickly, she washed her face and brushed her hair and teeth. There was no way she could have greeted Nick at the door looking like she had. If she was in Nick's position, she wouldn't want to be having a baby with someone who looked like that either.
"Stop being so self-conscious," Leah scolded herself out loud. "He's marrying you, isn't he?"
She sighed at the thought. He was going to marry her, right? Gosh, they'd put the wedding off for months now. She felt depressed every time she met newlyweds, or ran across a wedding on TV, or came face to face with a bridal magazine at the grocery store. If she was truly honest--which she hadn't been allowing herself to be--she'd admit that she was pretty much depressed no matter where she was or what time of day it was.
Leah left her bathroom after applying a little mascara back onto her eyelashes, and changed quickly in her bedroom. If she wanted to look half-alive for her fiance, she definitely couldn't stay in her pajamas. After all, it was five o'clock at night. How pathetic had she become?
Leah got downstairs just as his car was pulling into the driveway. She wasn't going to wait for him to come inside, because if she didn't get her news over with as soon as possible she knew she never would.
"Hey, baby." Nick smiled as he walked up the front porch and found Leah sitting on a lounge chair by the front door. The sun was shining on her hair and Nick felt his breath catch in his throat. He'd never seen her look more beautiful. Her eyes were an amazing color. But unfortunately, Nick knew they only turned that color when she'd been crying. "What's wrong?"
Leah wasn't about to say "nothing" or tiptoe around the situation. He was going to know and he was going to know now, or he never would. "I'm pregnant."
Nick glanced at the clock on the wall, knowing that if he didn't leave now he would be late. He couldn't be late. If he was late, he was a dead man. And he couldn't leave. If he left, he would suddenly be stamped by his ex as "neglecting his son." How in the world was he supposed to make such a decision?
"Just go. I know you want to."
"Lisa."
Lisa ignored the warning tone of his voice. "What? It's not like your son's been looking forward to today for the entire week. I'm sure he won't mind that you're cutting his day with you short."
"Lisa."
"What, Nick?" Lisa rolled her eyes and looked away from him. She couldn't stand being in the same room with him for more than five minutes. It only made her realize all she'd lost by caring more about her career than her relationships with people.
"I'm not abandoning him." Nick was trying not to sound annoyed but it was hard. Everywhere he looked, someone was needing him somewhere other than where he already was. "She's pregnant. I have to be there for her. It's not like I'm running off to go make love to her."
Lisa looked out the window at his words. She didn't want to hear about their love life, she didn't want to picture it, and she sure didn't want to focus on how romantic he made sex sound when he was talking about it in affiliation with his fiance.
Nick sighed when she didn't respond. Why in the world had he gotten this particular girl pregnant? There were plenty of other nice girls he'd dated who wouldn't give him so much trouble. Couldn't he just be there for his son? Did he really have to deal with his ex's temper tantrums too?
"She has a Lamaze class, Lis. C'mmon, I gotta go or I'll be late. She needs me."
Lisa looked at him with blazing eyes. "I'm sure she could manage one class by herself. After all, I managed all of mine without you there."
"That's a really stupid thing to say, Lisa." Nick rolled his eyes and felt like just turning and leaving, but he knew he had to at least try and keep things as civil with Lisa as they could be kept. For his son's sake. "First of all, you didn't even tell me you were pregnant, so how the hell could I have been there for Lamaze classes? And second of all, we'd broken up and it wasn't a fun breakup, so I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have wanted me there in the first place. Leah's my fiance. I'm going to be with her for the rest of my life... and the child that she's carrying. I'm going to the d*mn class."
"Fine, just go," Lisa spat and felt like doing it literally. She'd love to see a big spit ball running down the side of his face.
"I'll come and get him tomorrow night and he can spend the night at my place. I'll make it up to him, Lis."
Lisa looked towards the staircase, knowing that for the moment her son was upstairs sleeping peacefully. But things wouldn't be quite so peaceful when he awoke and realized his dad had left without saying good-bye.
"I don't know what else to do," Nick whispered and felt his throat constricting with emotion. He would not cry. At least, not in front of Lisa.
Lisa turned her face back to him and closed her eyes. "Just go, Nick. I'll tell him you're coming to get him tomorrow. Be here at seven and don't be late, or I'll kill you."
Nick nodded silently and walked to the door. He hated the feeling that he was always choosing between his son and the baby that was on the way. It shouldn't have to be like this. Yet, it was.
