The Weekday Brides 04 - Single by Saturday (28 page)

“Sorry.” Nolan swiped a hand over his eyes and slid from beneath the covers. “Just need a quick shower.”

The teen walked to the shower in a pair of sweatpants, and before anyone could grab a cup of java, the sound of the pipes rattling filled the room of the cheap motel.

Karen held the door open as Zach moved inside. “I wasn’t sure what to get. I managed doughnuts and bagels, figured that would please someone.”

Becky scooted up in her bed, a timid smile on her lips.

“And milk for you.”

When he handed Becky a paper container with milk Karen felt tears in her eyes.

Her eyes weren’t even open and Zach was already working the room.

“Thanks, Mr. Gardner.”

Zach winked at the teen and focused his attention on Karen. “How did you sleep?”

Karen shrugged. She could only guess how she looked. Like a woman who’d managed only a few hours of sleep, much of it filled with unwanted memories and dreams. “I’m OK.”

He didn’t buy it, she could see by the worry etching his face.

She accepted his offering of coffee and adorned it with cream and sugar before sampling its flavor. Perfect.

She sighed and opened her eyes to find Zach watching her with a smile.

“What?”

“It’s
that
good?”

“Long night.”

Zach handed her a paper from his back pocket. “Here’s the only rental car company in town. If you run into a problem, call me.”

She accepted the paper and thanked him.

The water from the pipes in the walls made a squeaking noise before turning off.

When Nolan stepped from the bathroom he strode to the side of his bed, sniffed a shirt he’d tossed there the night before, and then pulled it over his head.

Karen laughed, but tried to do so quietly.

Becky sat in the center of her bed sipping her milk and nibbling on a doughnut.

“Did you call your parents?” Karen asked Zach.

Zach nodded. “Told them I had some issues I needed to deal with on site. That I’d try and get back to them later today.”

Karen gave a sad smile. “Guess your vacation is over.”

He looked through her. “Some people make it better. Without them, it’s just idle time.”

Like the last year of her life. Idle time spent pretending to be something she wasn’t. Not that it was terribly difficult living with a great friend in a fabulous home. Only in the past month did her decision to put much of her life on hold cause any real emotional turmoil. In the end, it would be worth it to help people like Becky and Nolan, or so she told herself.

“Is one of those for me?” Nolan asked when he eyed the cups of coffee.

“Yeah.” Zach pulled one from the tray and handed it to him.

Nolan mumbled thanks and took a big drink from the black coffee. He sighed with satisfaction. “That’s good.”

“We should get out of here. Before anyone sees us.”

Zach was right.

Karen sat on the end of her bed and watched as Nolan packed his small bag. Then he hesitated before he leaned over and kissed Becky’s cheek. The motion was sweet, and so full of innocent love that Karen had to look away. “You need anything…call me.”

Becky nodded with a smile. “I’m OK.”

Then when she didn’t think anyone watched, Karen noticed Becky mouth the words
I love you
to Nolan.

Nolan kissed her again, then took a bite of Becky’s pastry and strode past Zach and out the door.

“Coming?”

Zach lifted an eyebrow and then glanced at Karen with a smile. “Call me.”

Karen saluted him with her coffee cup as he closed the door behind him.

Alone with Becky, they both smiled at the closed door.

“Nolan is a good guy,” Karen told her.

When her comment was met with silence, she turned to see Becky’s blank stare. “He’s the best.”

Her lower lip trembled.

Karen set her coffee on the table between the beds and moved next to Becky. With her closeness, the girl started to cry.

Karen enveloped her in her arms and Becky clasped on. “I’m so scared.”

“I know, baby. I know. It’s OK.” Karen stared at the stained ceiling of the tacky motel and thanked God she had been in Hilton when this girl needed her most.

Becky’s hand clutched Karen’s shirt. Her sobs filled the room.

“It’s OK. You’re going to be OK. You’re not alone.”

Zach pulled Nolan aside and shoved a bag with a double cheeseburger, fries, and a Coke at him for lunch. They both sat on the tailgate of his truck and bit into their burgers in relative silence.

“How do you like construction?” Zach asked him between bites.

“I like it. Much better than filling orders and inventorying your dad’s shop.”

Zach understood that. “Do you think you and Becky will stay here in Hilton?”

“I need to work.”

That wasn’t the answer Zach was looking for.

“But I don’t think Becky’s parents are going to walk away. And people will talk.”

“People are going to talk anywhere.”

Nolan shoved several fries in his mouth and talked around them. “But less people know us in Bell…or even St. George.”

“That’s a long commute.”

“Whatever. I have to think about Becky. I don’t think she’s safe here…ya know? And if I run into her dad, I’m bound to rearrange the man’s face. Bastard.”

Zach was half-ready to do that himself and he didn’t even know what the man looked like.

“You have a lot to think about.” Zach sipped some more of his soda. “And you’re thinking. That’s good. Best for both of you.”

“I love her. Not just because of the baby either.”

“Are you saying that for my benefit or yours?” Zach watched him now, searching for doubt.

“Yours. I already know how I feel. Yeah, I would have waited until she was out of school…until I’d saved some money and we could find a place of our own. But shit happens. Go with the flow and all that. Life happens whether you want it to or not.”

Zach’s thoughts shifted to Karen and her honey blonde hair and pink lips she licked right before he kissed her. The way she made him feel alive. Hell, he hadn’t realized how dead he felt inside until she walked into his life.

He shook thoughts of Michael from his head. Life happens, whether you want it to or not.

The clinic provided an anonymous setting for Becky and Karen. Karen had called ahead and arranged for them to be taken into a room quickly. Becky gave them the name Rebecca Parker and answered all her medical questions on the history form while Karen sat beside her in support. They’d covered up the bruise on her face with some makeup, but only a blind person wouldn’t notice the marks.

“Do you want me to stay in here when the doctor comes in?” Karen asked.

When Becky didn’t immediately say no, Karen took the decision away. “I’ll stay. If you want me out, just nod.”

“OK.”

One of the nurses stepped in the room and retrieved the form. She scanned it with a smile and then handed Becky a plastic cup. “We need a urine sample. And you can put this on, open in the back.” Becky took the blue and white hospital gown and crumpled it to her chest.

The nurse directed her to the restroom and then moved back into the exam room and waited.

“Is she your sister?”

Karen smiled. “No. I’m a friend.”

“Poor kid. She’s scared.”

“Aren’t they all?”

The nurse nodded. “At least she’s not fourteen.”

Karen didn’t even want to think about those kids. At least at seventeen, Becky was close to adult age. Fourteen-year-olds shouldn’t be having sex. Even Karen had her limits. She thought of her own father and closed the image from her mind. Some kids didn’t have a choice about sex.

Becky slipped back in the room holding her gown closed with one hand, her clothes and the plastic urine-filled cup with the other.

Karen helped her with her clothes, while the nurse took the sample away. “The doctor will be here in a minute.”

Becky wiggled up on the small exam table, her legs dangling.

On the walls were posters showing the different stages of pregnancy. There were hotline numbers to help lines, runaway shelters, and adoption agencies.

“Have you been to a gynecologist before?”

Becky shook her head. “No.”

Her parents really hadn’t done their job in preparing this girl for life. “Well, it’s not that bad. And remember, the doctors do this all day.”

They stopped talking when the door opened and a petite brunette stepped in wearing a lab coat.

“Hello, Rebecca,” the woman said with a smile. “I’m Dr. Grayem.” The doctor held out her hand for Rebecca to shake.

“Hi.”

Karen waited for the doctor to turn her way. “And you are?”

“A friend.”

“Not her mother?”

Karen shook her head and noticed Becky stiffen.

“No.”

Dr. Grayem sat on a rolling stool and dropped the questions about who Karen was.

She looked at the chart and asked questions. “Your last period was twelve weeks ago?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You have normal periods?”

“Yes.”

Dr. Grayem made a few notes on her paper. “Any morning sickness?”

“A little.”

“How much did you weigh before you realized you were pregnant?”

Becky told her and the doctor nodded. “Do you know who the father is?”

Becky sucked in a breath. “Yes. I-I’ve only been with him.”

Dr. Grayem stopped writing notes and glanced up at Becky. “I’m not suggesting you sleep around, Rebecca. I want to know what risk factors you might have. Is your boyfriend involved now?”

She nodded.

Karen snuck her hand next to Becky’s and the girl grasped on.

The doctor asked several more questions, mostly confirming what Becky had already indicated on the history form, but in doing so, Becky was growing more anxious.

Dr. Grayem snapped the paper in her hand closed and set it on the table behind her. “I’m going to examine you now and tell you everything I’m doing before I do it, OK, Rebecca?”

“Is it going to hurt?”

The doctor smiled. “No.”

Karen backed away from the table but stood close enough to assure Becky that she was there. Becky closed her eyes during the pelvic exam and winced at the coldness of the doctor’s hands. All
the while Dr. Grayem talked about what to expect over the next month, about what to watch for, cramping, bleeding…the usual suspects of complications. The exam was brief, after which the doctor washed her hands and walked toward the door. Instead of leaving, she called for a nurse to bring an ultrasound machine into the room.

“Is everything OK?” Becky asked.

“Everything is fine. You’re already into your second trimester. Do you want to see what your baby looks like?”

Becky blinked, tears started to gather behind her eyes.

“If you think you want to give the baby up for adoption, I can—”

“No! I’m not giving my baby away.”

Karen smiled and stepped aside when the nurse rolled in the ultrasound machine.

“All right then. Let’s take a look.”

Dr. Grayem rolled the chair beside Becky, and the nurse dimmed the light in the room to see the monitor better. Karen stood at Becky’s side and held her hand.

After they applied a thick layer of gel on Becky’s abdomen, the sound of the machine picked up a heart rate.

“That’s you,” Dr. Grayem told them. “Notice the slow pace…well it’s a little fast, but too slow to be your baby.”

Becky was watching the monitor with wide eyes as the black-and-white images swam past.

Then the room filled with a much faster heart rate.

“There we are.”

The doctor kept the wand on Becky’s belly stable and pointed to the monitor with her other hand. “See there. Just a flutter.”

Then the image on the screen twitched.

“Baby’s waving. Saying hi.” Dr. Grayem clicked a few buttons and moved the wand, then clicked a few more.

Becky was squeezing Karen’s hand and smiling like a mother should.

Dr. Grayem pointed out the big head, the heart, and the little legs. So tiny, so precious.

Karen fished her phone out of her pocket. “Want me to take a picture, send it to—”

“Yes,” Becky interrupted her before she mentioned Nolan’s name.

“I’ll print one for you here, too.”