This Love Will Be Our Downfall

I watched my girlfriend sleep while she was taking her nap. She couldn’t sleep last night because her back hurt her. She was curled up in a ball with one hand on her growing stomach, and she looked warm and comfortable. Things have been eating at her lately. She couldn’t get use to her changing body, and I tried to make her understand that it was normal to gain weight. She didn’t like the fact that she was carrying big, and that she was already getting stretch marks. It didn’t bother me with the way she looked. She was beautiful, just like the first day I met her. Sure, She was was getting heavier, but it wasn’t mean I wasn’t gonna find her attractive anymore.

Something in her brain of hers made me think that you are only pretty when you are skinny and flawless. She didn’t understand inner beauty. I didn’t get why, because that was what she saw in me all the time. She saw it everyone except herself.

However, I heard the doorbell ring, and I walked to my door. I opened the door, and I saw my parents there. This was gonna be interesting.

My mom and dad weren’t exactly chill with the fact I was only gonna be twenty-two, and I was gonna be a dad soon. They didn’t like the fact that I wasn’t married, and my girlfriend was kind of a complete stranger when it all happened. They didn’t think less of Lizzie or even think that much of her. They didn’t try to judge people before they met them, but this one was bit more tricky.

It was hard to explain to my mother that when she first wanted to come here she couldn’t, because my girlfriend had two broken ribs from ice skating. It was hard to explain to my dad that I was the one that kind of pushed her to be wreckless with my own unborn son or daughter still growing in there. It was was hard to explain that her parents cut her off when they found out she was pregnant.

My mom acted like she wasn’t bothered by my girlfriend/ the mother of her first grandchild. My sisters told me what my mom says at home about Lizzie. She thinks she incompetent of being a mother and that she is selfish. My mom thinks of my girlfriend, what the world thinks of me.

My dad didn’t seem really mind Lizzie from when I talked to him. He said as long as she was nice respectful towards them he would be okay with her. I fully explained to my dad about what happened with her broken ribs and he understood, and he wasn’t as angry ad my mom was. Dad seemed to understand this better than everyone else.

I got my greetings from them and we all sat in the living room and were talking.

“Where is your girlfriend?” My mom asked me.

“Lizzie is sleeping. I’ll wake up in a bit. It was just she didn’t sleep all the great last night, because she went to the game, hung out last night for a little bit, and then her back was killing her. She finally got comfortable after she got done getting ready today. So she took a nap.” I said explaining.

“Is she laying on her left side? It is better for her and the baby.” my mom said.

“Yeah she is laying on it. It is the most comfortable position for her.” I said.

“Is everything okay with the baby. You should be finding out soon what the baby is gonna be right?” My mom asked nine million questions about the baby.

“Yeah she gets to find out in like three weeks. I know she is excited about it. She can’t wait to go shopping for clothes.” I laughed. My dad just smiled and my mom grinned.

“What do you want it to be?” My mom asked me.

“I don’t really care what it is. I think I’d be happy with a girl or a boy.” I said.

“Save the boy for girl you know you are gonna marry.” my mom said kind of jabbing Lizzie.

“Mom that is uncalled for, you don’t know what is gonna happen. I’m perfectly happy with Lizzie. I can’t imagine my life without anyone else in it.” I said.

“You don’t actually think she is gonna be stable enough to handle all this for the rest of her life do you? She is a figure skater with a silly dream teenagers have, she is gonna have that baby and somehow pawn it off on someone else so she could go live out some delusional fantasy in her head.” Mom said. My mouth dropped.

“Donna...” My dad’s eyes got bigger. I looked and my mouth dropped.

“Hi everyone...” Lizzie said awkwardly. “I’m gonna go Patrick. I’ll be back later.” She started to get her shoes on and head for the door, and then I dashed for it. “Let me leave, Patrick.”

“No, we are gonna talk.” I said standing in front of it.

“No, I’m gonna leave and avoid a situation that I’m gonna get ambushed in.” I said.

“No you are gonna go into the front room.” I said kind of taking her by her arms and moving her.

“Patrick, let go of me.” She said trying to not to budge.

“I’ll pick your ass up if I have too.”

“You can’t pick up my lard---- PUT ME DOWN!” She said as I picked her up. I set her on the couch right next to me and she folded her arms and looked at me.

“Don’t you dare give me that look Elizabeth Czech.” I said to her. She stuck her tongue out.

“And you two are gonna be parents...” I heard my mom say under her breath.

“Mom.” I said looking at her. “This is only gonna work if we all get along. Mom dad this Elizabeth. Elizabeth these are my parents, Patrick and Donna.”

“Nice to meet you---”

“Mrs. Kane.” My mom said cutting off my girlfriend. That was just being rude.

“Right. You never address your elders by their first names. My babcia taught me that.” Lizzie said trying to be as polite as should could. She was angry at my mom and me. My dad was stuck in soon to be war zone.

“Babcia?” My dad asked.

“Oh Babcia is just Polish for grandma. I’m all Polish. I grew up in the Polish neighbourhood.” Lizzie said.

“Do you speak it?” My dad said interested. See at least one of them were trying.

“I can read it over speak it. I speak fluent German though. It was the second language at home when my parents were still here.” Lizzie politely responded.

“Where are your parents?” My mom asked.

“They live in Poland. My dad was born in America, but my mom was born in Poland. She came here when she was seventeen and met my dad. They stayed here to raise me, and then on my 18th birthday they left America to move to Poland.”

“So you’ve been by yourself since you were eighteen?” My mom said kind of appalled at my parents actions.

“Yeah. My dad’s family moved to Poland years ago, and my mom’s family is all in Poland. She was the adventurous one and came to America. My babcia lived here for a few years, but she got sick and had to go back to Poland...” Lizzie said. She didn’t like talking about her family, because in the long run they abandoned her. Her parents also screamed at each other all the time, and I guess when they left her their marriage got back on track. Her mother blamed Lizzie for everything wrong in their life, and Lizzie took it to heart. Talking about her family was always a sore subject.

Lizzie explained her family more than she wanted to people, that she knew already passed judgement on her before they met her. However, my mom after hearing my girlfriend’s more than fucked up life lightened up. It wasn’t that my mom expected someone like Lizzie to get knocked up because of a broken home, but more so she sees now why Lizzie was the way she was.

Lizzie was brought up by a strict upbringing. Her family was all about figure skating and making Lizzie the best she could be. It was serious business since she could remember. Elizabeth was raised in one of those snooty, fancy families that money meant you were better than everyone else. Lizzie wasn’t caught up in the world of that, but she did fall under the fancy clothes category, but everyone has their vices.

However, my mom’s hate for my girlfriend somehow turned into love. That the next day my parents came over for a visit that my mom and girlfriend left to go out shopping for new clothes for Lizzie, because well her ever growing stomach made it impossible to fit in one size for so long. It was just my dad and me, and it was actually really nice. We were just sitting down drinking a beer watching a football game.

“So Patrick was are you gonna do about where you guys are gonna live? You staying here?” My dad asked me.

“I was thinking about it, but like I was thinking about my childhood. I had a backyard to play in, and like all the stuff I had when I was kid. I want them to have the same thing. I want them to have a house not a condo. I’m thinking about moving, but I have to throw the idea to Lizzie.” I said taking a sip of my beer. “She just bought a condo on the Gold Coast and she is here more than her place. So I don’t know.”

“Well you can at least try you know that right?” my dad said.

“Yeah for sure.” I said nodding my head. I looked down at my beer and played with the rim of it with my thumb was thinking. “Hey Dad?” I asked him.

“Yeah?” He said.

“I won’t royally fuck up my kids life will I, like I know I have bad rep and all. However, that won’t ruin their life will it?” I asked my dad.

“No it won’t Patrick. You know what they say about raising kids? They say something like you raise them how you are minus the flaws in your system you know you can’t really fix. You’ll do the same thing with your son or daughter. I promise you that much. We did it with you, just like my parents did with me. Plus, you have Lizzie in all of this too. She is really special too you isn’t she?” My dad asked me.

“She means the world to me, like I know you know that I know everyone thinks I am a giant manwhore with no sense of morals. However, when I met Lizzie I wanted to change that, and prove that to her there was more to me than that. She saw that without me even trying that much. Seriously Dad, Lizzie tries to find the best in the worst people. She is just special like that. That is why I know she is gonna be the best mom she can be to our kid. She doesn’t know anything about babies and either do I, we kind of were thrown off with this whole thing, but at least I have her around. I know I fucked up big time with this, but I’m glad I fucked up big time with her and not someone else.” I said looking up at my dad kind of just spilling out my feelings.

My dad smiled at me. I guess he liked my answer. “You growing to like the fact that you are gonna be a dad yet?” My dad asked me.

“Yeah, It hit me when I got to hear their heartbeat for the first time and got to see them on a screen. It is amazing seeing that, like I can’t believe I helped make that thing. I’m still speechless.” I said still trying to find the words to describe how I felt. “Like, that baby is gonna be here before we know it, and I’m excited to see what they look like. Not to mention I get to hold it, and watch them grow up. It sounds more rewarding than the winning goal at the Stanley Cup.” I said.

My dad let out a chuckle.

“Patrick you’ll be surprised when you have a kid how little that Stanley Cup winning goal will be to you. Especially when they start talking to you. Don’t get me wrong the first smile, the first steps, the first everything is touching, but when they first say Dada or their first sentence it is the best feeling in the world. I’m proud of you though son. You seem like you’ve got a handle on this.” My dad said giving me that dad pat on the back. “Just remember if it is a boy name him Patrick.”

I just laugh and smiled.

Later that day my parent’s left, and then in came Brent being a Debbie Downer. He has been like this for four weeks now. The man needed to understand not to fuck with Katey.

“What now Brent?” Lizzie said making dinner for us.

“Is there anyway you can make Katey talk to me?” Brent asked Lizzie.

“No? You fucked up like really bad. Not to mention she is at her new job.”

“She got a job?” Brent said.

“Yeah, she is a nurse at Rush.” I said.

“I was only standing up for you two, and you won’t help me out.” Brent said to Lizzie.

“We can fight our own battles.” I said butting in. “If you haven’t noticed we’re still together.”

“Yeah barely! If it wasn’t for Katey you two wouldn’t even being talking to each other.” Brent said.

“Wrong, wrong, and WRONG Brent Seabrook.” Lizzie said. She was getting irritated. Lack of sleep Lizzie was not one to pick a fight with... I found that out the hard way one time. “If it wasn’t for me getting completely shit faced to the point where I almost died and into YOU. That is how I am here right now.”

“Doesn’t it bother you your kid is getting brought into the world, because mommy dressed like a slut one night, convinced her best friend to act slutty, which I think you did to get her out of the hair, because mommy couldn’t say no to some crazy hormones she was having. She ditches her ‘best’ friend and goes back to Daddy’s house to sleep with him, which is pretty how that baby was brought into the picture right?” Brent said to my girlfriend. Lizzie’s mouth just dropped. I was full of rage.

Lizzie was cutting vegetables, and she just slammed the knife on the counter. She looked like she was gonna kill him.

“Talking to me like that won’t make me want you to talk to Katey anymore. You know what Brent you think you are SO MUCH FUCKING BETTER THAN US RIGHT? I mean after all you skank of an ex was such a better person than me. When did I cheat on Patrick? NEVER. When did I try and fuck up breaking someone up with their girlfriend that I know is pregnant? NEVER. When did Patrick and I EVER and I mean EVER just stop talking to each other for longer than a few days? NEVER. You know what your problem is Brent? You don’t fight for it. You don’t fight for the person you love. Patrick looks like he is about to kick your ass right now. Why? Because you offended and hurt the person he loves. You fight with Katey you just seem to give up. A phone call or a text doesn’t fix things, seeing them does. Grow some fucking balls and go see her. Texts don’t fucking work. God I swear to go you fucking Canadians and fucking Americans don’t fucking do shit if it isn’t easy for you!” Lizzie said storming off into our room.

Brent left the condo pretty quick after that explosion.

There is never a dull moment in my life is there?