Naomi checks her phone impatiently. 3 PM. She hasn't seen Calvin since he stormed out of the house the day before while she took a bath. He hasn't picked up his phone either or read any of her messages.
Just out with the boys, Naomi thinks acerbically, Because it's not like we have things to sort out together or anything.
She hurriedly rakes the front yard, trying to keep calm.
What if he doesn't come back? How am I supposed to do this alone? Has he already skipped town?
It certainly could happen. They haven't been together long, Calvin is apprehensive about their future, neither of them make much money...
Her fingers grip the rake tighter.
He'll come back... he has to...
She's so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't notice the light drizzle, or the return of her wayward boyfriend.
"Naomi? Are you crazy, you must be freezing!" Calvin is immediately alarmed, "That's not good for you or the baby!"
"Neither is leaving to Watcher knows where with Watcher knows whom, but that hasn't stopped you," Naomi spits back.
"Fine! Stay out here and get a cold then!" Calvin returns acidly. He storms back into the house.
Naomi grimaces, but follows after him.
As soon as they're inside together, Naomi explodes.
"Where have you been!? Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"
"It's always about how worried you are! How about me?" Calvin argues back, "I'm stressed too! I just wanted to have some fun after our dumb fight-,"
"-you were the one that decided to storm out, not me!"
"Stormed out because you refused to talk to me! What was I supposed to do? Stay in here, stew, and hide from my mom like you?"
"That's low, Calvin. You have no idea what my mother is like. Why do you think I couldn't see you in high school? Why do you think I was scared to tell her about the baby!?"
"Because you're scared of a lot of things."
The sentence fills the air between them, thick and sticky. They both can only glare at each other, nostrils flaring, but no coherent words forthcoming.
Naomi is the first to break the silence, "So scared that I ran out to party to escape my problems?"
"Hey, I'm not-,"
"Scared? Like me? You can run away all you like, Calvin. I can't. I thought you were a decent enough boyfriend that you wouldn't hang me out to dry the first chance you got, but I guess I was wrong, huh? Stupid, silly Naomi! Why did I ever think you cared?"
"Wait, hang on. I do care."
"You have a weird way of showing it."
Calvin looks down, ashamed, "I'm sorry, Naomi. It's just that this baby stuff freaks me out."
"Hey, me too, Calvin!"
"I know, I know!" he spreads his hands in a placating gesture, "Look, I made a dumb mistake last night. I..I just want to have some fun before the baby's born."
Naomi stares at him incredulously, "I think 'not having fun' is the least of our worries right now."
"I know! It was dumb, I get it."
Naomi's face softens, "So you're done with the parties, then?"
"I swear. I won't leave you alone like that again."
Naomi's not entirely convinced, but she has a pounding headache and an aching back that make arguing excruciating.
"Ugh, I'm so exhausted," she deflates in defeat.
Calvin takes her into his arms and gently spins her around.
"Well, you've got me here now."
Naomi smiles tiredly, "And that's supposed to help my fatigue?"
"You could sleep on my shoulder right now. I'd hold you up."
Naomi laughs quietly and rests her head on his shoulder.
She very nearly falls asleep, but her eyes shoot open at the ringing of the doorbell.
"Did you invite someone over?"
Naomi shakes her head, "No. I guess someone wants to give their congratulations." She shudders slightly. In a town as small as Riverview, she wouldn't be surprised if her boss told someone else of her reason for being absent, and that person told someone else, and then someone else... or maybe Calvin's family told other people. She's been dreading the possibility that someone would show up to touch her stomach (without asking) and give her parenting advice (without being asked) or ask her a million questions about the baby (that she doesn't feel like answering).
"I guess it had to happen sometime," Calvin sighs with disdain. The amount of random high-fives and expressions of (both happy and dismayed) disbelief at his impending fatherhood have begun to wear on him.
"I'll go see who it is." Naomi reluctantly untangles herself from Calvin's embrace and turns to answer the door.
"Mother!?"
Sage looks at her daughter's growing stomach with distaste. "I could say the same to you."
Naomi awkwardly shepherds her mother inside.
"So? Did you want to talk to me to explain yourself, or beg for my help because you can't handle living alone?"
Naomi looks down, her cheeks deep red with embarrassment, "Me and Calvin don't make enough money to support all three of us yet. His parents will help out too, but I thought we could lessen the burden on them if..." her cheeks turn an even deeper red.
"Well? Spit it out," Sage says impatiently.
"If you helped too."
Sage scoffs, "That's what I thought."
Calvin made himself scarce when Naomi answered the door, thinking it would be a friend from high school like Brianne. Hearing who it really is, though, he can't help himself.
"So I suppose this is the father? Or is he just someone else that's... 'helping out'?"
"Mother!" Naomi gasps quietly, her mortification only growing, "No... this is Calvin. My boyfriend... the father of my child."
"I always knew she was seeing someone, but she hid it too well," Sage hisses venomously, "And look where it led it to."
Naomi will never remember exactly what was said next due to the wave of panic and anxiety that overtakes her. She will remember, however, how furiously her mother and Calvin shouted at each other and how much she wished she could be literally anywhere else.
She will also distinctly recall, however, how Calvin yelled at her mother for being "an unhelpful old hag on a high horse", and how her mother called Calvin an "entitled scoundrel barely worth the hair gel on his head".
At some point, her mother turns her attention on an anxiety-ridden Naomi. "And what an inspiring scandal! A political aide pregnant just out of high school? How are you going to advance in your career, Naomi?" Sage pointedly ignores Calvin.
"...I don't know, mother." Dread churns powerfully in Naomi's gut.
"Wait, wait, wait, no," Calvin interjects, "Do you know how many single parents live in this town? Our mayor even got divorced! Naomi, c'mon, she's just trying to scare you."
"Are you going to believe someone who doesn't even have reliable income and helped you get into this situation, or your own mother, Naomi?"
Naomi looks between the two helplessly.
"Unbelievable. You're so ungrateful."
"Mother, wait!" Naomi pleads.
"I pity your child, honestly."
"This is your grandchild too!" Calvin sharply interrupts.
Sage looks down at Naomi's stomach with a sneer, "No. No it's not."
She leaves with a dramatic door slam.
Calvin runs his hands comfortingly up and down Naomi's arms.
"Look, we don't need her," his words sound much more forceful and aggressive than he intended, "She can be unhappy and bitter if she wants."
"But what if she's right? What if this ruins my career before it even starts?"
"You're going to listen to that bitch?"
"Calvin!"
"Look, I'm just calling her what she is-,"
"She's still my mother!"
"Fine! You're going to listen to that...thoroughly unpleasant... person?"
Naomi gives him a withering look, "You could have handled that better, you know."
"Me? You're blaming me?!" Calvin wonders what alternate dimension he's stepped into.
"I told you what she's like! She's all about manners-,"
"She didn't really show it..."
"Because you were rude!"
"You can't be serious. She was rude first!"
Naomi doesn't respond, but Calvin can see shame and embarrassment burn in her cheeks, brim in her eyes that avoid his.
Calvin desperately wishes he never pressed Naomi to talk to her mother. "Naomi, it's ok. You're pregnant and we're together. Everything will work out! If we have to accept it, so does your mom."
"No, she doesn't. She cut me off, remember?" Naomi reminds him bitterly.
"Seems like she did us a favor, then."
Naomi pinches the bridge of her nose. "You just don't get it."
"Get why you're upset you don't ever have to talk to her again? Yeah, you bet I don't get it!"
Naomi closes her eyes and mentally counts to ten, "It would be too difficult to explain, and I don't want to talk about it. Can we just...eat dinner? Pretend this didn't happen?"
Calvin scoffs, "Gladly."
Neither of them have the energy to make dinner, so they eat leftovers from breakfast.
"So, the nursery. We can use the spare bedroom," Calvin says quickly. Maybe bringing up something positive would cheer Naomi up?
"Can you just let me relax for a few minutes? I don't want to talk about baby stuff right now."
Calvin holds up his hands, "Okay, okay, sheesh." And people say I'm the grumpy one.
Naomi wrings her hands, "Do you think I should call my boss? Make sure he knows that I'll come back ASAP?"
"Where is this coming from?"
"...Well I told you that I don't have maternity leave. And my mother-,"
"-is overly critical."
Naomi sighs, "She has a point. What if city hall thinks I'm unprofessional?"
"If I take too much time off-,"
Calvin scowls, "You're being ridiculous. Why would you get fired over that? It's not like people are jumping at the chance to dust off tables."
Naomi feels frustration boil up inside of her. "You're not listening to me, Calvin."
"And you're overthinking everything!"
Naomi massages her temples, "Thanks for being so fucking supportive. You know what, whatever. I'll just clean the dishes myself."
Calvin rolls his eyes and gets up from the table. "Good night."
"Good night to you too," Naomi says once he's already showering in the bathroom.
She touches her abdomen and blinks back tears.
There might be three people in their family, but right now she has never felt so alone.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN: Ughhhhhhhh. I hate writing chapters like this. I originally had a really long and ugly argument written between Sage and Calvin, but it was getting out of hand with the insults and seemed out of character for Calvin, so I scrapped it.
Sooo I did not update this blog for over a year now. I got all nostalgic from re-reading some of my old blogs and remembered that I have so many screenshots from the four generations of this family that I have so far. So I want to try and get through them and try to finally properly commit to the long-arching storylines I have in my head!
No comments:
Post a Comment