Pulled (10 page)

Nerves prickled across the back of my neck, and it was not a pleasant feeling.

“Hel o, Daniel.” She brushed my arm with her hand and started walking toward the car.

She let herself in, and I went around to the driver’s side and slid into my seat, not hesitating to start my car and pul away. My hands shook against the wheel. I stared straight ahead and never made eye contact with her as I struggled to find the right words.

“Five months?” They were the only words I could find. I didn’t believe she couldn’t have found a way to tel me sooner, and suspicion was boiling under the surface.

From the corner of my eye, I could see she was playing with the zipper of the purse on her lap, shaking her head.

Final y, she answered, “I just didn’t know what to do. I cal ed, and you never cal ed back. I got scared. I wanted to barge into your office and demand to see you, but I thought you’d just run. I figured if I kept cal ing, eventual y you’d give in and cal me back...just like you did.” With the last statement, she looked my way, waiting for my response.

“I don’t even know what to say to you, Vanessa. I met you one time five months ago, and now we’re having a baby in four months?” The anger in my voice was obvious.

“I just can’t wrap my head around this right now. I don’t have any clue what to do.” I knew I was being harsh, but it was true. I had no idea how to handle this.

“It’s a boy, you know,” she said quietly into her lap.

I tried to guard myself from the memories her news summoned, but it was no use. They were al I could see.

January 2000

Melanie held onto my hand. I could feel her
excitement and anxiety, as I’m sure she could feel mine.

My stomach was in knots, my head sore from the number
of times I had run my hands through my hair. I smiled
down at her and caressed her cheek, looking at her green
eyes overflowing with emotion.

“Okay, Melanie, this is going to be a little cold.”
Dad squirted some clear gel onto Melanie’s abdomen
and held up the probe. “This is how we’re going to take a
look at this little one.” He smiled at us, his joy evident.

Mom placed both of her hands on my shoulders as she
stood behind me.

Melanie was twenty weeks pregnant, and it was
time for her first ultrasound. Dad had arranged to do it
himself.

I had been so eager to see the baby, but I was
still anxious. What if there was something wrong? The
chances of that were low, but it didn’t stop me from
worrying.

Dad lowered the probe onto Melanie’s stomach,
and the monitor jumped around as he moved it to find the
right spot. “There you are.”

The fuzzy image on the screen cleared, and I
saw my baby. The moment took my breath away. Melanie
squeezed my hand harder, and I turned to her. Tears ran
down her face.

Melanie whispered to me, “Our baby.”

I leaned over and kissed her, murmuring back
the same, “Our baby.”

Dad began to take measurements and talk
about each body part. I was surprised at how big the head
was, but he said it was supposed to be at this stage. We
counted ten fingers and ten toes, and the heart was
beating exactly as it should.

Relief swept over me as Dad assured us that
everything was okay. He confirmed the due date as June
seventh. We were halfway there.

“So did you two want to know the sex of your
baby?” Dad grinned at us.

“Yes,” Melanie and I said in unison. We’d been
looking forward to this day for a long time.

Dad smiled at us. “Baby girl.”

We were having a baby girl. I looked at Melanie
who mouthed to me, “I knew.”

I took Melanie’s face in my hands and kissed
her. “Of course you knew,” I murmured against her lips.

When Melanie and Mom left for the restroom, I
turned to dad and pulled him aside. “Hey, Dad?”
He drew me into a hug, patting me on the back.

“I’m so proud of you, son.”

“Thanks, that really means a lot. I don’t know how
we could have done this without you and Mom.” Melanie
and I would have been so alone if we didn’t have them.

Melanie still hadn’t told her parents, and Mom had pretty
much taken on the role of mother in her life.

“You know we’d do anything for you, Daniel.”

“That’s actually what I need to talk to you about.” I
hated asking for favors when they’d already done so
much, but I’d thought this through and knew it was the best
plan. “I need access to my money.”

I had a trust fund from my grandparents that my
parents had control of until I turned twenty-one. My
intention had been to save it for my children for when they
were older, but my child needed it now.

He nodded. “I was wondering when you were
going to ask.”

March 2000

It took two months of preparation. Mom had
snuck up during the week to make everything perfect, and
now that it was complete, I couldn’t wait to show Melanie.

I smiled to myself as I dialed her number.

She picked up on the first ring. “Hey,” she
breathed into the phone. “I miss you.”

“I know, baby. I miss you, so much.” It was getting
harder and harder each week to leave her.

“You’re coming tomorrow, right?” She sounded
anxious.

“Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Do
you think you could tell your Dad you’re staying with Stacy
this weekend? I want you to come up here.”

“Daniel, I don’t think my car will make it.” I heard
her disappointment over the phone.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll come get you. We’ll
just leave your car at my parents and drive back together.

Do you think you could get out of school early?”

“Yeah. It’ll be perfect!” she squealed into the
phone. “I can’t wait. We haven’t had a weekend to
ourselves since Christmas break. I really need to get
away.”

“So, I take it you’re anxious to see me?” I teased
her, knowing full well she was always as excited to see me
as I was to see her.

“No, not at all,” she laughed into the phone, her
sarcasm evident.

I told her I loved her and hung up, counting the
hours until I could leave.

I woke up early. I planned to be at my parents by
ten so I could spend an hour with them before Melanie
and I left.

When I arrived, I found Mom standing on the
porch waiting for me.

“Hey, Mom!” I called out to her as I got out of the
car.

“She’s going to love it, Daniel.” She beamed at
me. She had put a lot of effort into this whole thing, and
she was almost as eager for Melanie’s reaction as I was.

“You think she will?” I wanted her to love
everything and was sure she would, but I also didn’t want
her to be disappointed because she hadn’t been a part of
it.

“Of course she will, sweetheart. Don’t worry, you’ll
see.” That was all I needed to hear.

My parents and I spent the hour having a late
breakfast.

“Thanks, Mom. That was great,” I smiled at her.

My baby girl was going to have the best
grandparents. Sure, they would spoil her like crazy, but
they’d also give her the same kind of selfless love they’d
given me my whole life.

I jumped up when I heard Melanie’s old car
coming up the road. I flashed an excited smile at my
parents before darting out the door. My heart burned with
desire to hold her. The magnetism we shared was always
there but grew stronger the nearer we were. I felt her spirit
surge as she came into sight.

She pulled up behind where I’d parked, her face
filled with disbelief as she looked between me and the car.

She got out giggling. “You didn’t.”

I descended the three steps to stand in front of
her. “Do you like it?”

“Daniel, seriously, you bought a new car?”

“Did you think I was going to let my baby girl ride
in that old thing?” I laughed as I pulled Melanie into my
arms, feeling the peace that her touch brought.

Melanie’s car was so old. It broke down
constantly, so I bought a new car for our family. The four-door sedan was white and nothing fancy, but it was reliable
and safe.

She hugged me. “Thank you for taking care of
us.”

I stood with her in my arms, swaying as I
cherished her in our embrace. I grinned as I felt her
stomach press against me, our baby now prominent
between us. I never wanted to let her go. She was my
home.

“Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
She grasped my hand from her side and brought
it to her face, making me cup her cheek in my hand, hers
covering mine. My whole arm burned with the fire that she
set in me. “Yes, because I feel it, Daniel, every time you
touch me.” She pressed her cheek further into my hand to
demonstrate the power that held the two of us together, the
energy flowing soundly between us.

A low ahem from behind caused me to pull away.

“We wanted to say hi to Melanie before you guys
took off for the weekend.” Dad brought Melanie into a hug
and kissed her on the temple. “How are my girls?”
Melanie grinned. “We’re great, Patrick.” She
rubbed her belly. “Growing every day.”
We loaded her bag into the trunk, and said our
goodbyes to Mom and Dad, promising we’d be back early
enough on Sunday to spend some time with them.

The ride back to Boulder went quickly. We talked
the whole way about our little girl, the plans we’d made,
and how anxious we were for them to all come to pass.

We’d decided a couple of months ago to get
married as soon as Melanie turned eighteen, which was
next month. Mom and Erin had planned a small wedding
in our backyard, just family and a few friends. Melanie had
never dreamed of the big wedding and neither had I.

Her parents still didn’t know. I’d been pushing her
for months to tell them. She was just over six-months
pregnant, and there would be no hiding this much longer.

Rumors had already started, and Steve was either going
to have to find out from us soon, or he was going to hear it
from someone else. As it was, the man was blind if he
hadn’t noticed that Melanie was showing.

I didn’t bring it up on the ride home; I just wanted
us to be at peace.

Once the conversation died down, we enjoyed
each other in silence as we traveled down the road.

Melanie rested her head against the seat, her hand
loosely entwined with mine.

Every time I glanced at her, my chest burned
with the love I felt for her.

Trees became sparse as we neared town, the
forest soon behind us. Buildings began to line the
freeway, and before we knew it, we were in the city.

“Daniel, you just missed your turn.” We passed
the University of Colorado next right sign.

“We’re not going to the dorm. I have a surprise
for you.” I made little circles on the back of her hand with
my thumb as I took the second exit, making a left and
heading north.