On the Morning Tide

Mya's POV:

The next day rolled around and I was getting anxious at the thought of finding out the sex of my baby. My dad was calling every thirty minutes asking if I needed him to go with me. Which I didn't. That was the last thing I wanted or needed.

I looked at my watch, it was 4:15. Leland had better hurry if he was going to make this appointment with me. I tapped my foot nervously up and down as I waited outside the doctors office. I started walking toward the office doors when my phone rang. It was Leland. "Let me guess, you cant make it." I say disappointed. "Actually, I'll be there in five minutes. The plane just landed." he says before we hang up.

He makes it in four and a half minutes. "I'm sorry...Im sorry." He says running toward me. "I really thought I would be back earlier than this." he says, opening the door for me. I sign in and the nurse calls my name shortly after. Leland's hand on the small of my back, puts me at ease as we make our way down the hallway.

The nurse leaves me to get undressed and into the tiny hospital gown. Leland turns his back as well. "Okay. I'm somewhat decent now." I tell him as I climb onto the table. He laughs and turns around, coming to stand at my side. The nurse comes back in and introduces her self to Leland. "Are you the father?" She says with a big smile. He blushes and looks at me. "No. He's my best friend. The father...cant be here." I say looking to Leland. Who winks at me and takes my hand.

Leland's POV:

In a way, being told I was someones best friend was very comforting. In my entire life I could never really say there was one person I called a best friend. My brother and I were close. But we weren't best friends. The more I thought about, I guess Mya really was my best friend. If I wasn't at my house I was at hers and vice versa. We were always together.

My head jerked toward her as she squeezed my hand, bringing me back to reality. The nurse runs the little wand across her stomach and the baby growing inside her is suddenly very real. The image projects in black and white onto the tiny monitor. I knew instantly it was a girl.

"Okay, Mom. It looks like a beautiful little girl." The nurse tells Mya. She looks at me with tears in her eyes. "I told you so." She says smiling brightly. "Congratulations Mommy." I whisper into her ear before I kiss her cheek. I wiped a few stray tears from Mya's cheek as she stared at the monitor, seeing her little girl move around as we talked. "She's going to be beautiful, just like you." I tell her.

Leland's POV

At eight months pregnant Mya complained that she was as big as the side of a barn. "But I want you to come with me...please. My dad would love to see you." I say begging. It was my fathers birthday and the show was throwing this huge surprise party and I found it hard to go anywhere lately without Mya. "I cant...nothing fits me anymore. I have no clothes. Ive been living in pajamas for a month." She says crying. "And I cant stop crying..."

"Myana I will buy you some clothes. Good lord." I tell her, pulling her to her feet. "But I cant pay you back.. I don't have a job." she says, and then looks at me, almost surprised. "Oh my God, I don't even have a job. How am I going to raise a child without a job. I have to go get a job. Ive been living off my savings account..." she says panicking.

"Just calm down. Take a deep breath." I say making the motions with my hands. She takes a few breaths and looks at me. "You have a degree in Criminal Justice, just come work for me." I say, hoping to calm her down.

"Really...I can work for you? No... I cant ask that of you." She says shaking her head. "You're not asking, I'm offering. Now hush and take the damn job." I say, crossing my arms.

She had been so up and down emotionally. I knew it was part of being pregnant, but with her it seemed different than my ex-wife. Maybe because she felt like she was going through this alone. But she wasn't. I was here. I went with her to most of her appointments, if I wasn't working. "You're not alone in this, you know." I say suddenly.

She looks at me, curiously. "Sometimes I feel like I'm all alone. I feel like I'm drowning. My life just didn't turn out the way I had planned." she says sadly.

"Mya, look at me." I say raising her chin up with my thumb. "I will always be there for you and the baby. I promise you that. Remember, Best friends." I say gesturing back and forth between the two of us. She gives me a small comforting smile. "Okay, I'll go to the party....You and those damn brown eyes talked me into it." She finally says. I throw my arms around her and give her a light squeeze. "Thank you."

A couple of hours later we're sitting on the plane flying over the ocean. "Does your dad know that I'm back in Hawaii?" She asks, still looking out the window of the plane, watching the water below us. "Um... yeah I told him. Didn't tell him you were pregnant though." I reply back. Looking away quickly.

My dad was surprised to hear that she was back in Hawaii, he had always loved Myana. He asked me earlier in the week to be sure to bring her with me next time I came over. Well, the next time just happened to be during his surprise birthday party. And boy would he be surprised that she was this pregnant. I couldn't wait to play fifty questions about that...

"You didn't tell him I was pregnant... why not?" she asks curiously, making a funny face. "I don't know. I just thought it was your business to tell. Not mine." I say with a smile. She shrugs her shoulders and stands up to exit the plane as it comes to a stop on the runway. I follow closely behind her, not wanting her or the baby to get pushed around by the sea of people exiting the plane.

"My brother should be here to pick us up. I don't think you've met him before, have you?" I ask her as I pull our luggage from the baggage claim. "Um..Duane Lee? No, I haven't met him yet. I don't even think Ive gotten to see one of the shows with him in it!" She says looking around at the people passing by.

A few were pointing and saying my name. A few women asked to take a picture. Mya graciously took the picture for them and stood to the side as a others approached me. I was used to getting stopped every now and then, but this was ridiculous.

Mya's POV:

I never expected this many people to stop Leland at the airport. I took a few pictures for some of the women, but mostly stood off to the side as he spoke with them. I felt someone approach me from behind, on instinct I clutched my stomach. I had become very protective of my little girl.

"What do you think is so special about him?" Says the voice standing beside me. "He' a great guy. I guess thats why women love him." I reply, not taking my eyes off Leland. "Yeah...they love him alright." He says mockingly.

A moment later Leland approaches us. "Good you're both here." He says happily. "Duane Lee, this is Mya. Mya, my brother Duane Lee." He says introducing us. We turn to each other and stare. Leland stands by looking confused. "Oh nothing." his brother tells him.

I observed the two of them on the short ride to their father's house. They seemed friendly and close. But the way Duane Lee talked about Leland threw me...something was up and I couldn't put my finger on it.

Mya's POV:

We arrived just in time for the party to start. I was growing more and more nervous as the seconds ticked by. "What if they don't like me?" I say gripping Leland's hand as we walk into the house. "Don't worry so much. It gives you wrinkles." He says laughing and pushing me through the door.

I felt paranoid as he introduced me around to his extended family. Some of them I knew and some I didn't. I could see the questions in their eyes as they gazed down at my very pregnant stomach. I smiled and tried to be as friendly as I could be under their watchful eyes. We finally made our way over to his father.

"Myana." He says hugging me. "Its nice to see you again." I say as he releases me. "Leland tells me he didn't recognize you when you moved back home. I don't know how. You haven't changed a bit." He says with a huge smile.

"Aside from this baby. Nah, I haven't changed too much." I tell him. He just shakes his head. "Little Mya is having a baby. Thats so wonderful honey." He says and hugs me again before greeting a few more people. Leland gets pulled away by the camera crew for an interview and I'm left standing alone near the food. I pick up a few chips and munch on them while I wait.

"Don't tell me he left you standing alone at the punch bowl?" I hear that familiar voice ask me. I laugh and turn to see Duane Lee standing there. "Yep...feels like I'm at the prom." I say giggling. "Awwww." he says sarcastically. "How about I rescue you from the dreaded punch bowl? Hmm?" He asks, raising his eyebrow and holding out his hand. "Deal." I say taking his hand.

He leads me through the crowd and outside, coming to stop at the edge of the yard. In the distance you could see the sun setting over the ocean. It couldn't have been more beautiful.

"Leland never mentioned you were pregnant." He says casually, turning away from the beautiful view; elbows propped on the wrought iron fence. "Why is it when people say, "pregnant" they act like its a disease?" I question him, hands on hips. He just laughs and rolls his eyes. "I didn't mean it like that." he says back to me.

"I know. I'm just saying...Sorry. I'm a little hormonal at the moment." I say, apologizing for my outburst. "Don't worry about it." he tells me. "So...is Leland the father?" He asks me out of the blue. "WHAT!?" I said a little louder than was called for. "Just asking. He's been keeping you a secret from the rest of us. So I figured there must be some reason." He says.

"No. Leland is not the father. Although he's a great father, he's just not my baby's father." I explain. He shrugs his shoulder and looks off into the distance. Leland finally walks outside to tell me he's ready to go home. "It was nice meeting you Duane Lee" I say with a wave, before we disappear into the house.