Blooming

I could barely contain my enthusiasm as Dr. Carlton moved around my stomach trying to get a clear view of my baby on the ultra sound machine before me.
“Can you tell?” I asked, hopeful.
“Yeah? Can you?” Darren asked. He stood beside me, his hand atop mine for support. I still couldn’t help but feel the tension between us.
The doctor moved the machine probe around my abdomen, brow furrowed. Then, he smiled and turned his attention to us.
“Are you ready?” he asked. I felt Darren squeeze my hand.
“Yes,” I said.
A grin spread across his wrinkled face.
“It’s a boy!”
“YES!” Darren cried out. The whole room, quiet and tense just seconds before, had irrupted with happiness.
“I’m so happy for the both of you,” Mom told Darren and me, pulling each of us in an embrace.
“Congratulations,” Dad said patting each of us on the back.
“What he said,” Aunt Karen said next with a smile and hugging each of us as Mom had.
Lucy was next in line. She walked over to me, arms spread, squealing.
“I’m so excited!” she shrieked. Once she’d released me, she turned to Darren. “For both of you,”
Lucy had never been a fan of Darren so we both knew she really meant it.
Darren looked awkwardly at the ground before placing his attention back to her.
“Thanks,” he said.
“We’ll give you both a moment,” Dr. Carlton said. Soon, everybody was out of the room, leaving Darren and me alone.
Greaaaat.
Darren placed a shaky hand to the back of his neck and looked at me.
“So....It’s a boy!” He beamed a hopeful grin.
“Yeah. I’m excited.” I replied even though I was it wasn’t hard to miss the sincerity in my voice.
There was silence for what seemed like ages until, finally, we stopped dancing around the subject I’d been praying we would never speak of.
“Look, Savannah, about what happened....”
“Let’s just pretend it never happened.” I spat. I knew I shouldn’t have been so angry at him but I couldn’t help myself.
He looked at me, hurt.
“I don’t want to pretend it never happened, Savannah.”
I hopped off the hospital table I was sitting on.
“I don’t care. It ruined everything.”
I tried not to let my mind wander to Riley. I couldn’t bare replay that night in my head again.
Just as I started heading to the door, Darren took hold of my wrist and spun me around. His eyes, bigger and browner than I’d ever seen them, looked desperate, hopeful. It was all I had not to give in to our argument.
“You kissed me, okay? You’re the one who couldn’t keep her hands off of me. If anybody should be mad, here, it should be me.” he protested.
Now, I was furious.
“You? You! Ha! You should be mad? You practically threw yourself at me!”
Untrue, but still....
“Me?” he shouted.
“Yes. You!” I yelled back.
He crossed his arms.
“Savannah, give it up. You still love me and you know it!”
I could immediately feel my face turning red.
“I do not! I hate you!”
“You hate me?” he shouted, pretending to be shocked. “Well that explains why you kissed me! It all makes sense now!”
He threw his hands up in exaggeration.
“Oh, would you shut up about that stupid--”
I had no time to finish my sentence before I could feel Darren’s lips on mine, his hands cradling my face. It happened in an instant, but I wanted it to last forever.
The thought of objecting had never even crossed my mind.
Suddenly, I could hear the faint hush of my cell phone vibrating from across the room. I’d left it on the hospital table by accident, I realized, and I could very faintly see the tiny letters of the caller ID spell out R-I-L-E-Y.
It was at that moment I realized I had a decision to make and it wasn’t going to be easy.