A Twist in My Story

Danielle smoothed down her billowy maternity shirt examining her reflection. At just barely 4 months (in reality she had about 5 more days before she hit the mark) she swore she could see a baby bump. It was small and when she stood you could hardly tell, but it was there nonetheless and she knew it. At her appointment today she’d find out exactly how big the baby was, but her guess was it would be on the small side. She was a tiny baby herself at 6 pounds 2 ounces. However, Kevin was a buster of a baby at 8 pounds 14 ounces. Remembering that this baby was half Kevin made her teary-eyed again as she stroked her slightly extended belly. Luckily before she got too upset her door cracked open.

“Knock, knock,” Angela smiled, opening the door wider. “Aren’t you the best sight? Look at you glowing. Nothing better than an expectant mother.”

“Hi Mom,” Dani replied, putting on a pseudo-brave face. “I don’t know if I agree. Do you think this shirt makes me look…bloated?”

“Nothing could, darling. Your Italian genes are too good to you,” Angela fussed motherly over Danielle’s hair. “Now are you sure you don’t want me to come with you? I don’t mind at all.”

“I know you don’t, Mom, but if I can’t go with Kevin then I don’t want anyone. This is a special thing for us, you know. Or rather it’s supposed to be,” she explained apologetically. “You understand, don’t you?”

Angela patted her cheek. “Of course I do, sweetie. One question though, did you tell Kevin about the appointment today?” Dani looked down. “I didn’t think so. Then you shouldn’t hold it against him. Not like you hold everything else about his behavior against him. I just want you to be happy, okay?”

“I’m working on it,” Dani muttered softly, casting a glance at her phone on the bed. Kevin hadn’t called in two days. She began to worry that he’d given up on her and their marriage, but then quickly reassured herself he was just busy with work. Denise confirmed this when she talked to her this morning. The numerous weekly calls with Denise helped Dani to stay in touch with Kevin’s life and that probably had a huge thing to do with her relative sanity. “I should go so I’m not late. Forms to fill out and such.”

“Yes, you need to go. If you need me, just call, okay?” Angela said as they walked out of the room together.

“Okay, Mom. Love you,” Dani kissed her cheek before heading off alone.

Finding a parking place near the downtown doctor’s office had been hell and as such left Danielle bustling down the sidewalk to make it on time. It didn’t help that her nerves were shot either.

“Danielle. Elle,” Spencer caught her arm as she passed by him without noticing. “Running a race?” he joked.

“N-No. I have an-an appointment I’m almost late to,” she panted.

“Okay, well I’m sure they won’t bump you for being a minute late. Breathe,” he instructed pulling her out of the flow of sidewalk traffic. “Where’s the appointment?”

Feeling easier to breathe she gave him a welcome smile. “Next block over. It’s cool running into you, Spence, but I should-” she glanced at her watch.

“I’ll walk you,” he declared, hooking an arm around through hers in an easy gesture.

“W-What? No, you can’t. I mean-” she stammered as he pulled her along.

“What’s the harm in it? I need fresh air. You breathe so much saw dust and you go crazy,” he laughed easily, ignoring her panic. “Speaking of, we should get together and discuss plans for the Henderson’s extra addition. I assume she’s hired you on, right?”

“Y-Yes, but Spence-”

“I know you’ve got the other rooms to do too, but sketching couldn’t hurt. I could get you a walk-through. Hard hat required,” he continued.

“Spence…I’d appreciate that but – well, Spence see…the thing is…”

“What? Afraid you’ll mess up your hair?” he joked, frowning as she pulled to a stop.

“My stop,” she said softly.

He glanced up at the building sign announcing Dr. Rose Olson, OB/GYN. “Here? You sick or something?” he asked in confusion.

“Or something,” Dani looked away. “I’m pregnant.”

Shock shook through him so badly he actually took a step back. “Excuse me? You’re pregnant?” She could only nod. Why when she broke this news did men stagger backwards? Was it that much of a shock? Couldn’t they be a little happy too? A tear broke free before she could stop it. “Where’s your husband?”

“At home in Teaneck. H-He’s not coming,” she admitted no longer caring about promptness.

Anger surged through him. “Why the hell not? Are you not important enough to him? Does he not care? Danielle, look at me,” he lifted her face to his.

“I-I don’t know. He doesn’t know about the appointment,” her bottom lip trembled as she buried her face I her hands. “I’m scared, Spence. Life is spinning out of my hands and I don’t know what to do. How do I fix this?”

Sympathy replaced the anger. Before him stood a broken woman he cared deeply for. Not knowing what else to do he hugged her. “Don’t cry, Elle. I’m sorry for yelling. You’ve got me. Always.” She nodded into his chest. “Want me to come in with you?”

She pulled back in shock to meet his eyes. Originally she thought that she didn’t want anyone coming with her except Kevin, but now she was beyond nervous and really wanted someone with her. “You’d do that? For me?”

“Absolutely. Go sign in while I make a quick call to my mom letting her know I’ll be a little late.”

Danielle did as he said and felt the nerves dissolve a little bit. However they came back full force as she waited to be called back. Her manicure was shot to hell with all her fretting.

“Chill, Elle,” Spencer laid his hand on hers. He’d been watching her fret for the last 15 minutes.

“Why do we make appointments if we are made to wait once we get here?” she asked irked, a tremor in her voice.

“Do you want the rational or irrational answer?” he responded cheekily hoping to make her smile. She didn’t. “Elle, if you want…I could…well, I could go back with you if you want me to. Up to you. You just look like you need moral support is all.”

Danielle turned her head towards him. His honest brown eyes saw her fear and hesitation for what it really was. “It’s just a check-up. Nothing major. But…But I hoped to do this with Kevin and now…I’m sorry, Spence. You shouldn’t waste your day here,” she wiped a lone tear away.

“Kevin’s your husband I take it?” She nodded. “Well whatever happened between you two – and I’m not asking for details – but whatever happened he should be man enough to be here with you. Experience this with you. What’s wrong with him?” he vented. She opened her mouth to respond but was silenced. “Don’t answer that. I shouldn’t vent about what I don’t know. But you have nothing to be sorry for. I’m glad to be here with you. It’s what friends do.”

“What about your mother?”

“She understood, wishes you the best, and I’ll see her later,” he said simply. “Now do you want me to wait up here for you?”

Danielle looked at her lap, biting her bottom lip in thought. Would it be wrong to invite him back to share this moment? He calmed her nerves and she really wanted to be at her best for whatever tests they did so they’d get accurate readings. It was only a check-up…and friends came to doctor’s appointments all the time.

“Danielle Jonas,” a nurse called out holding a clipboard.

Danielle stood up, looked toward the nurse and back rooms then held out her hand to Spencer. He looked up, met her eyes for a moment of understanding then grabbed her hand in his. As a solid unit they walked down the hallway to see Danielle’s baby.

An hour later they stood in the warm September afternoon sun by Danielle’s car. Neither said anything. After the slight awkwardness of Dr. Olson mistaking Spencer as the baby’s father the attention turned completely to her baby and its’ progress. It felt good to know that her child was growing right on target with no complications. The sonogram in her fingers was living proof that her baby was perfect. She could even see the fingers and toes if she looked hard enough. The gender was not yet identifiable and that was fine by her. She didn’t know if she wanted to know but she did now she wanted Kevin with her if they did find out.

“Thanks,” she said softly almost reverently unable to tear her eyes off the sonogram.

“For?” Spencer responded, his eyes drawn to the same thing as hers. She passed it tenderly to him, seeing something quickly flash in his eyes before he masked it.

“For being there for me. It meant a lot to me, Spence.”

“Anything for you, Elle,” he smiled at her softly. “Can you drive home on your own?”

She chuckled as she carefully tucked the sonogram in her purse. “Don’t go all worry-wart on me now. I’m pregnant not an invalid,” she teased. “Yes I can drive home.”

Spencer nodded. “Okay. Good.”

He looked like he was in a far-off place, but she didn’t push it. “See you tomorrow at the Henderson’s? I want my hard hat tour,” she quipped, climbing into her car.

He leaned down to be eye level with her, his hand almost touching her baby bump but instead settled on her thigh. “We’ll talk about that tour later. No need to rough you up, Mommy-to-be,” he covered up his weird expression with an easy smile, kissing her cheek.

She agreed then cranked her car as he walked off with a wave. Questions swirled through her mind as she wondered about Spencer.

By lunch the following day, Danielle’s fingers were tired of pinning cloth together for drapes and throw pillows, plus the smell of paint (though windows were fully open) was getting to her. She’d been on the job only a few days, but had jumped right in. It helped keep thinking about Kevin and their problems to a minimum.

Nailing, sawing, and hammering had been filling the air with sound since 8am. Country music added to the mix of voices and power tools too. But Danielle hadn’t seen or heard from Spencer at all today. She forced herself not to think it was because of yesterday. Gathering her hair back up into a ponytail, she sucked up her nerves and marched through the house to the new addition construction zone as her stomach grumbled once again. Everyone needed to eat, she’d justified her desire to have lunch with Spencer. He just didn’t know about the plans yet.

The construction zone was definitely busy. She had no idea the extent of the Donnelly construction company but there were men everywhere. Some were sawing boards, spewing sawdust into the air. Some were nailing boards together, assembling what looking like a wall. Some were measuring out areas of the floor and wall for future improvements. However, for all the bodies and movement that was going on it seemed to be very organized in a messy way. So much different than her line of work, but it interested her too.

Lost in her thoughts and wonder, she was startled by a hand on her shoulder. “Excuse me, Miss, you can’t be here. This is a construction zone,” the worker said politely.

“Oh, um, sorry. I’m looking for Spencer Donnelly,” she raised her voice above the saw noise and tremors.

The worker looked at her hard for a minute then craned his neck, looking around the site. “Yo, boss. Visitor,” he shouted through cupped hands, gesturing to Danielle.

Spencer looked up and paled seeing her. He rushed over careful of the debris nodding the worker off. Immediately he plopped his own hard hat on her head.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Elle? This is a construction site. Hard hats required. You know that. Accidents happen when people are lazy and no accidents can happen to you,” he said in her ear as he pulled her out the open doorway to the fresh beach air.

“I-I came to see if you were eating lunch today. I thought we could eat together, exchange ideas,” she rushed to explain, confused by his sudden anger and annoyed at the rush of pleasure that went through her. “Maybe not though. I’ve seem to have pissed you off.”

Spencer released a long sigh, rubbing his eyes then gently held her shoulders making circles with his thumbs. “I’m not mad at you, Elle. You just startled 10 years off my life seeing you in there with no protection. I reacted badly. I’m sorry,” he apologized sincerely. “You work the job so long that you see accidents happen to good people. No accidents can happen to you.”

She was genuinely touched by his thoughtfulness. “No, I understand. I’m sorry. I should’ve known better. But wow, that’s some crew you’ve got,” she offered him a smile, brushing saw dust off his cheek.

“Mostly Dad’s men. I’m just head guy on this project,” he shrugged humbly, a light blush gracing his cheeks. “About lunch though…”

Patter of feet sounded along the pathway. “Daddy! Grammie and me gotted French fries!” a little rosy-cheeked boy exclaimed, running on little legs. The dark hair, dark eyes, and facial features sent shockwaves through Danielle as she was gently let go and set back by Spencer.

He sent her one sheepish smile before crouching in front of her and scooping the boy into his arms. The little boy giggled as he was showered with kisses and tickles. Danielle saw Spencer’s mom Brenna Donnelly stop in her periphery. Spencer turned back to her with the little boy in his arms smiling wide at her as he held onto Spencer’s neck with one arm. “Elle, I’d like you to meet Ian. My son.”

Kevin had no idea why he’d driven here. Maybe his subconscious was telling him something. Maybe he was just too tired to care and this was closest. Maybe he didn’t want to go back home to only a frustrating dog. Who knew. Whatever the reason he found himself sitting in his car in front of his parents’ house, staring blankly at it. Five minutes of internal debate had him going up and knocking on the door.

“Hey Kev,” Frankie opened the door.

“Hey Frankie. Where you off to?” he asked noticing the glove and ball in his brother’s hand.

“To play ball with some friends. Got me out of dishes,” he grinned. “See ya.”

He waved a goodbye then went to find the person who could always soothe him – his mother. He found her standing at the sink her hands in suds as she washed dinner dishes humming a tune.

“Mom.”

Denise spun around, allowing a smile to fill her face. “Kevin! What a nice surprise. On your way home from work?” she asked, drying her hands off. “Have you had something to eat?”

“No, ma’am. I was on my way home, but then…I guess the thought of only Riley there with me all weekend wore me down and here I am,” he shrugged. “Is that okay?”

“Of course it is, honey. I’d never turn you away. In fact we’ve got leftovers that I’m going to heat up for you so sit down and relax,” she fussed over him.

“Thanks,” he sat down with a sigh.

“Long day?”

“Long week.”

“Have you heard from Dani yet?” she asked casually with motherly concern.

“Do I ever?” he countered contemptuously. “I think she sent a picture text earlier but I haven’t looked. Honestly if she’s too busy to call-”

“Look at the picture. Do it now,” Denise urged. She knew what it was and wanted to gauge his reaction herself.

Obliging his mother he took out his phone and opened the text. A picture of a baby in the womb filled his screen. Underneath it Danielle had written ‘Our Baby’. Several emotions passed across his face before he set a blank face.

“Beautiful, right?” Denise said softly. “She sent me one too. I printed it off the computer and put it on the fridge. My first grandbaby.”

“Mom, don’t get ahead of yourself,” he cleared his throat.

“Why not? I find it very upsetting that my son can’t put his fears aside and be by his wife right now. You should’ve been at the appointment with her instead of Spencer.”

“Who’s Spencer?”

“A friend from Danielle’s past.”

“What kind of friend?” Kevin asked suspiciously.

“Oh Kevin, put that jealousness away. He’s just an old friend,” she waved him off a little too casual for his liking.

He forced himself to take a few deep breaths before he lost his temper. She was right; he was jealous. His wife had been seeing another man behind his back and that stung deep. “Has she called you?” he asked through locked jaw.

“Yes but only to keep me updated on the baby mostly. Someone has to care, Kevin,” Denise said honestly. “However, Angela told me about Spencer.”

“Great, just great. Now what am I supposed to do? Huh?”

“I’d say move on with your life. She has obviously,” Paul inserted entering the kitchen but having overheard most of the conversation. “Pay some child support and focus on your life.”

“Paul Jonas! That’s an awful thing to suggest. She’s lonely and upset and needs her husband. Don’t encourage the coward’s way out,” Denise chastised her husband angrily. “And Kevin Jonas, you dare to even entertain your father’s ridiculous notion and I’ll knock it out of your head myself.”

But the wheels were already turning in his head. Perhaps a little autonomy is what they needed. They’d been together since junior year of high school.

“Kevin, I don’t like your expression,” Denise said warily.

Meeting his parents’ eyes he told them the decision he’d made right then. “I’m taking Brittany Nicole on a promotional tour for almost a month. Mostly in California, Texas, Tennessee, and New York.”

“What? No, you need to stay here and fix your marriage.” Denise protested.

“Wonderful, son! That’s great news. Get your name out there. People will be flocking to you in no time,” Paul beamed feeling the exact opposite of his wife.

“Paul, how can you…what are you…Ugh! You’re on the couch!” she ordered before stomping out of the kitchen in anger.

“Don’t worry about that, son. She’ll get over it,” Paul waved away Kevin’s concern. “Now let’s talk about this tour.”

“Actually, Dad, I need to get home. I’m sure Riley has surprises for me already,” Kevin stood even though he hadn’t eaten a thing, ignoring his father’s remarks about the dog. “I’ll call you later and we can talk.”

Nodding in agreement blindly to his father he left the house and began the drive home. At a red light he pulled out his phone and looked at the picture again. His baby. Feelings swamped him that he didn’t want to feel: the fear about what this new life would bring to his carefully controlled work-life, the wonder at how he created something so precious without even meaning to, and most importantly (and frighteningly) the attachment he already felt towards this tiny human being. The phone rang with a new call and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was his boss.

“Hello, Mr. Rich,” he answered it and began to drive again.

“So, Kevin, have you made a decision about Brittany Nicole’s promo tour? Is it a go or not?” Mr. Rich asked out the gate.

“I’ve decided it would be beneficial to all if we went ahead with this tour,” he responded professionally reserved.

“Good, good. Well here’s what needs to be done then…” He listened as Mr. Rich ran through things that needed to be done to prepare for the tour, pushing all feelings provoked by the picture to the back of his mind.