Status: Complete.
A Little More Than Convenient
Chapter 19-Shocker
|Carmen Remington|
The next morning, I woke up, and miracles upon miracles, I wasn’t tired. I had slept exceptionally well that night. I went to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow at ten-thirty, and didn’t wake up until five that morning. I know, it’s early, but I wanted to get the deals.
I hurried and took a shower, then brushed my teeth, put my hair in a side braid, a T-shirt, sweat pants, and New Balance tennis shoes.
My parents had left me a note on the refrigerator:
Carmen, we’re leaving now. Your father didn’t sleep too well and he wants to go sleep in his own bed. Thank you for letting us stay over, sweetheart.
-Mom
To be honest, I was glad that they had left. Now, Trent wouldn’t have to deal with them. I know that it was awkward between Trent and my dad. Which was why I hadn’t wanted to leave them alone last night. But really, there was no point in arguing with my mother. Although, I had tried.
“Mom, why did we come in here?” I had asked, following her to the kitchen.
She chuckled. “To clean, of course.”
“But we already cleaned.”
“Yes, we swept and mopped and everything, but we did not wax the floor.”
I narrowed my eyebrows. “Mom, I don’t think-”
“Nonsense,” she interrupted. “I saw wax in the supply closet. I’ll bet that this floor has never been waxed.”
She was probably right about that.
“Mom-”
“Sweetie, I wanted to give your father and your husband a little time to get to know each other.”
I held back the eye rolling and said, “Mom, they’re not gonna get along. You know Daddy.”
She shrugged. “I know, I know. Sweetie, I also wanted to talk to you about something.”
I frowned. “What is it?”
“Sweetheart, I don’t know if Trent’s really the right person for you.”
I bit my lip. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, there is a lot more men out there. You and Trent...you really rushed things.”
I thought for a moment, not really sure what to say. Then, it hit me. “You saw Christian the other day, didn’t you?”
“Well,...,” she trailed off.
“You did, Mother. I knew it.” Then I shook my head.
“Christian was such a nice-”
“Mom, please! Christian and I are over! Done! There’s no freaking way that we’re ever gonna get back together.”
“Carmen, calm down. He’s a perfectly nice man and you were very good together.”
My eyes started to fill with tears, but I blinked them away. “You, you just don’t get it, do you, Mom? Christian was a terrible boyfriend! Don’t you know that cheated on me? That he smokes and drinks! That he stole from you and Daddy?!”
She shrugged. “Are you certain that those allegations are true?”
I hated it when Mom used big words. All she was doing was trying to make me feel stupid.
I shrugged. “You think I’d lie to you about it?”
She sighed. “I guess not, sweetheart. Sorry.”
I nodded. “So, you’ll stop bugging me about Trent? Because Mom...I love him, okay?” I tried to lie successfully.
“Yes, sweetheart, I will. And I know.”
I pulled into Jessica’s apartment building. Luckily, she lived on the first floor, so I just went right up to the door and knocked. She answered the door, dressed very similarly to me. Instantly, she shut the door and said, “Let’s go.”
Once we were in my car, she told me to floor it. Of course, I wasn’t gonna floor it. Sure, I wanted good deals, but I didn’t want a speeding ticket.
“What’s wrong?” Jess asked.
“Huh?”
“You seem upset,” she replied seriously.
“I’m not.”
“Lies.”
I bit my lip. “My mom wants me to get back together with Christian.”
She said nothing.
“Jess?”
“I don’t know what to say. Like, I wanna call her something bad, but she’s your mom and all, so, yeah.”
I chuckled. “Jess, it’s okay, we resolved it.”
“Then what else is wrong? You look tired.”
As we pulled up to a red light, I looked in the mirror. There were purple-ish bags under my eyes and they were a little bloodshot.
I shrugged. “I did just cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner. Well, minus the turkey.”
I still don’t think she was convinced, but she didn’t say anything else, until we pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot.
As we were walking to the entrance, Jess asked, “What should I get Ross for Christmas?”
“A watch?”
“No, too soon.”
“Cologne?”
“No, I don’t know what he’ll like.”
“A chain?”
“What...?”
“A sweater?”
“No, sweaters aren’t cute on him.”
“I don’t know Jess!”
We walked into the store and grabbed a buggy. “What should I buy Trent?”
She glared at me. “I can’t even think of what to buy Ross, let alone Trent. Hell, Carm, you’ve been living with for a lot more than a month. What’s he like?”
His job, I thought. And...football, a little.
“Well, I’m gonna buy Lizzie a dish set. Since she and Stephen are getting married in a few weeks, they’re gonna need some.”
“Okay, let’s go to kitchenware, then,” she replied.
We did so, and I picked out some more gifts for Tara and Mark.
“Get Ross a PlayStation 3 game or something. I think Trent mentioned that he’s a gamer. Call of Duty: Black Ops, that’s what everybody’s playing now.”
Her face lit up. “That’s perfect! Now, you should buy Trent a watch or something. I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I just don’t know about that. I mean, it’s not what I’d expect Trent to like.”
Jessica shrugged. “Well, Carm, I really don’t know. Maybe you should wait a while.”
“We can look some other places, too. I mean, Wal-Mart’s not the only place that’s having deals. We can go to Big Lots, the mall, Sam’s...,” I trailed off.
We were silent as a woman with three buggies walked by. All three buggies were filled with vacuum cleaners. Of all things, vacuum cleaners. We giggled.
“Okay,” she replied, “I think we’re almost done here. Just don’t let me forget to buy tampons.”
“All right,” I replied chuckling.
Then, I went pale.
I started counting how many days it had been since the day before I met Trent. One, two, three...twenty-eight, twenty-nine. The hunger, the crying, the mood swings, the vomiting, the fatigue, the overall discomfort, it all hit me like a line drive. I clutched the buggy, my head starting to spin. The night that we got married...Trent and I had slept together; obviously without protection. No, no, no. It’s not possible. No. Shit, shit, shit.
Grabbing Jessica, I headed toward the pharmacy section and dropped a pack of tampons into the buggy, then I flung to the aisle with pregnancy tests. Without trying to draw attention, I grabbed two.
“Carmen! What? The? Hell?” Jessica asked.
“I-I don’t know,” I replied, “it’s just a possibility.”
I bit my lip.
“Carmen, let’s go and check out. Then, you can...,” she trailed off.
“Take a fucking pregnancy test? Shit!” I exclaimed.
People began to stare, but for once, Jess didn’t seem to care.
“Ho-ly, shit,” she finally said.
And, you know what? I totally agreed with her.
The next morning, I woke up, and miracles upon miracles, I wasn’t tired. I had slept exceptionally well that night. I went to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow at ten-thirty, and didn’t wake up until five that morning. I know, it’s early, but I wanted to get the deals.
I hurried and took a shower, then brushed my teeth, put my hair in a side braid, a T-shirt, sweat pants, and New Balance tennis shoes.
My parents had left me a note on the refrigerator:
Carmen, we’re leaving now. Your father didn’t sleep too well and he wants to go sleep in his own bed. Thank you for letting us stay over, sweetheart.
-Mom
To be honest, I was glad that they had left. Now, Trent wouldn’t have to deal with them. I know that it was awkward between Trent and my dad. Which was why I hadn’t wanted to leave them alone last night. But really, there was no point in arguing with my mother. Although, I had tried.
“Mom, why did we come in here?” I had asked, following her to the kitchen.
She chuckled. “To clean, of course.”
“But we already cleaned.”
“Yes, we swept and mopped and everything, but we did not wax the floor.”
I narrowed my eyebrows. “Mom, I don’t think-”
“Nonsense,” she interrupted. “I saw wax in the supply closet. I’ll bet that this floor has never been waxed.”
She was probably right about that.
“Mom-”
“Sweetie, I wanted to give your father and your husband a little time to get to know each other.”
I held back the eye rolling and said, “Mom, they’re not gonna get along. You know Daddy.”
She shrugged. “I know, I know. Sweetie, I also wanted to talk to you about something.”
I frowned. “What is it?”
“Sweetheart, I don’t know if Trent’s really the right person for you.”
I bit my lip. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, there is a lot more men out there. You and Trent...you really rushed things.”
I thought for a moment, not really sure what to say. Then, it hit me. “You saw Christian the other day, didn’t you?”
“Well,...,” she trailed off.
“You did, Mother. I knew it.” Then I shook my head.
“Christian was such a nice-”
“Mom, please! Christian and I are over! Done! There’s no freaking way that we’re ever gonna get back together.”
“Carmen, calm down. He’s a perfectly nice man and you were very good together.”
My eyes started to fill with tears, but I blinked them away. “You, you just don’t get it, do you, Mom? Christian was a terrible boyfriend! Don’t you know that cheated on me? That he smokes and drinks! That he stole from you and Daddy?!”
She shrugged. “Are you certain that those allegations are true?”
I hated it when Mom used big words. All she was doing was trying to make me feel stupid.
I shrugged. “You think I’d lie to you about it?”
She sighed. “I guess not, sweetheart. Sorry.”
I nodded. “So, you’ll stop bugging me about Trent? Because Mom...I love him, okay?” I tried to lie successfully.
“Yes, sweetheart, I will. And I know.”
I pulled into Jessica’s apartment building. Luckily, she lived on the first floor, so I just went right up to the door and knocked. She answered the door, dressed very similarly to me. Instantly, she shut the door and said, “Let’s go.”
Once we were in my car, she told me to floor it. Of course, I wasn’t gonna floor it. Sure, I wanted good deals, but I didn’t want a speeding ticket.
“What’s wrong?” Jess asked.
“Huh?”
“You seem upset,” she replied seriously.
“I’m not.”
“Lies.”
I bit my lip. “My mom wants me to get back together with Christian.”
She said nothing.
“Jess?”
“I don’t know what to say. Like, I wanna call her something bad, but she’s your mom and all, so, yeah.”
I chuckled. “Jess, it’s okay, we resolved it.”
“Then what else is wrong? You look tired.”
As we pulled up to a red light, I looked in the mirror. There were purple-ish bags under my eyes and they were a little bloodshot.
I shrugged. “I did just cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner. Well, minus the turkey.”
I still don’t think she was convinced, but she didn’t say anything else, until we pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot.
As we were walking to the entrance, Jess asked, “What should I get Ross for Christmas?”
“A watch?”
“No, too soon.”
“Cologne?”
“No, I don’t know what he’ll like.”
“A chain?”
“What...?”
“A sweater?”
“No, sweaters aren’t cute on him.”
“I don’t know Jess!”
We walked into the store and grabbed a buggy. “What should I buy Trent?”
She glared at me. “I can’t even think of what to buy Ross, let alone Trent. Hell, Carm, you’ve been living with for a lot more than a month. What’s he like?”
His job, I thought. And...football, a little.
“Well, I’m gonna buy Lizzie a dish set. Since she and Stephen are getting married in a few weeks, they’re gonna need some.”
“Okay, let’s go to kitchenware, then,” she replied.
We did so, and I picked out some more gifts for Tara and Mark.
“Get Ross a PlayStation 3 game or something. I think Trent mentioned that he’s a gamer. Call of Duty: Black Ops, that’s what everybody’s playing now.”
Her face lit up. “That’s perfect! Now, you should buy Trent a watch or something. I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I just don’t know about that. I mean, it’s not what I’d expect Trent to like.”
Jessica shrugged. “Well, Carm, I really don’t know. Maybe you should wait a while.”
“We can look some other places, too. I mean, Wal-Mart’s not the only place that’s having deals. We can go to Big Lots, the mall, Sam’s...,” I trailed off.
We were silent as a woman with three buggies walked by. All three buggies were filled with vacuum cleaners. Of all things, vacuum cleaners. We giggled.
“Okay,” she replied, “I think we’re almost done here. Just don’t let me forget to buy tampons.”
“All right,” I replied chuckling.
Then, I went pale.
I started counting how many days it had been since the day before I met Trent. One, two, three...twenty-eight, twenty-nine. The hunger, the crying, the mood swings, the vomiting, the fatigue, the overall discomfort, it all hit me like a line drive. I clutched the buggy, my head starting to spin. The night that we got married...Trent and I had slept together; obviously without protection. No, no, no. It’s not possible. No. Shit, shit, shit.
Grabbing Jessica, I headed toward the pharmacy section and dropped a pack of tampons into the buggy, then I flung to the aisle with pregnancy tests. Without trying to draw attention, I grabbed two.
“Carmen! What? The? Hell?” Jessica asked.
“I-I don’t know,” I replied, “it’s just a possibility.”
I bit my lip.
“Carmen, let’s go and check out. Then, you can...,” she trailed off.
“Take a fucking pregnancy test? Shit!” I exclaimed.
People began to stare, but for once, Jess didn’t seem to care.
“Ho-ly, shit,” she finally said.
And, you know what? I totally agreed with her.