wondering how I got naked and in my bed. Then the naked peep show he provided me, and in turn, my holey underwear gig. The slipping on the spilled drink. The message from my mother. The ride down the elevator and by the time we made it inside my apartment, I had given her the brief overview in a super-fast babble language, hoping she caught most of what I just said.
"However, enough about me!" I practically shouted with excitement. I quickly turned it back to her and wanted to know about the pregnancy. How far along? Was she feeling ok? I began questioning her so fast that I had to wonder if it was excitement over the pregnancy or excitement about Mason - or perhaps both?
"So, oh my God, tell me when did you find out? How far along? Are you having morning sickness? Is Carl's mom already bothering you for the second kid?" The last question got a huge laugh out of both of us. We both knew that Carl's mom had been bothering them for kids before they were married. However, Marion had her reservation shortly after being married when she realized a large portion of Carl's friends, and his coworkers, all had been struggling with marriages. She was petrified to start a family until she was sure. I knew. I knew that Carl loved her and did not care that she came from a broken family that was struggling more times than not. I knew that Marion's self-doubt came more from her upbringing than from the fact that she was an incredible person both inside and out.
We sat down on my couch facing each other, and Marion took a deep breath while rubbing her belly. I watched in awe as her brown eyes lit up and her long brown hair seemed to have some magical halo around it. She seemed to have transformed into this heavenly figure right in front of me, that, or I was imagining what it would feel like to be pregnant. "Well." She started out on one long slow breath. "I am approximately six weeks. I suppose I could have chosen a better moment to tell you, I had actually planned to tell you on your birthday, but you needed a distraction." She paused and looked into my concerned eyes. She didn't know it, but I was truly wondering how bad was I at the restaurant, considering I didn't even remember her mentioning it until I started texting her while doing my laundry? She continued on when I didn't say anything. "I've had a little morning sickness, but mostly it was kind of a surprise. Remember that trip to the Bahamas that Carl took me on for a work-related trip. Well, we got a little crazy, and I forgot to pack my pills. We decided not to worry. If it happened, it happened. I think secretly he has wanted me barefoot and pregnant for years now, but I've been so... well, apprehensive. I still feel as if I don't always fit in with his family, his co-workers." Her tone held questionability.
"Hey." My voice was super enthusiastic. "Carl loves you. That is all that matters. He loves you for you. The you that is better than all of his family combined and any co-workers times ten. He loves you because you are gorgeous. You are kind and giving. You always say the right things to people when they need to hear it. You are smart." She interrupted me.
"Not smart enough to get a college degree let alone a high school degree." Her voice held regret.
"You got your GED. That's good enough. As far as college, think about all the people that do go and never amount to anything, or they just aren't good stalk, if you know what I mean. It's the person you are not the piece of paper that says how smart you are."
She laughed and looked across me to the big window with the box seat. "Is that his place?"
I turned and looked dreamily over my shoulder. "Yeah." Then the room fell silent. When I turned and looked back to her, she had her eyes big and a huge question mark hanging over her head.
"We've got plenty of time to go all ga-ga over my pregnancy. I think we need to discuss what happened with Steve, then being kissed by the sexy super across the alley."
"We do... however, Steve is O. V. E. R." I spelled it out. "I should have