Coming Home to You

A few days has passed since I took Chastity to her doctor appointment and she told me about her fiancé. I couldn't stop thinking about her and all that she has gone through. I can't even figure out how she's about to continue going on the way she has pregnant with their baby. If I was in her position, I don't think I would have been able to make it.

I was sitting in the living room staring down at a piece of paper that Jimmy give me to look over for a song for our new album. No matter how much I stared at it, I couldn't focus on it for long before my mind drifted away to Chastity who more than likely was either stretched out on her bed or the sofa after the doctor confirmed her needing to be on bed rest. Not being able to focus much longer on the words, I leaned back against the back of the sofa running my hands down my face letting out a deep sigh.

Standing up from the sofa, I was heading toward the kitchen to get me a soda when I heard a vehicle going down the road and stopping nearby. Looking at the window, I saw that it was a delivery truck that was stopped outside of Chastity's home. I walked closer toward the window to see two guys climb out of the cab of the truck and start walking up her driveway. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Chastity meet them halfway down the driveway. One of the guys held out a clipboard that Chastity signed as the other walked back toward the truck to open the back.

I headed toward the front door to step outside to see that both guys were new pulling out a large rectangle box that looked pretty heavy. I could see that the box had a picture of a baby crib on the front. I walked across the yard to Chastity who still stood in the driveway watching the guys carry it up to her front door. "Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

Chastity slightly jump, turning around to face me. "Matt, you scared me," she said with a small chuckle. I couldn't help but smile at her. "Yes, I'm supposed to be on bed rest, but the baby's crib finally got here." I could tell that she was agitated.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"It was supposed to be here a few days after I moved in, so Kevin could help me put it together," she answered as she started making her way toward the house following the two delivery guys to show them where to put it.

"Is he going to come by later or something to help you assemble it together?"

She looked over at me, her lips curving down into a frown and slowly shook her head. "No," she answered. "He's having to fly back overseas tomorrow." I flashed her a quick confused look hoping she would explain a little bit more. "He was one of Dylan's marine buddies." That was all she had to say and I knew what she meant.

"I'm sorry," I apologized.

"You always have to be on your feet when you're in the military. Soldier and family," she said as we entered the house. I glanced around the room again to see that she had unpacked a little more since I had first been in her house when she moved in. She had more books up on her shelf, some I could see where baby/pregnancy books and some where children's books. She had her TV connected and a show that she was watching was paused. She only had one picture up on an end table beside the sofa that sat in front of the television. It was a picture of her with a man dressing in military uniform and if I had to take a guess, it was probably her deceased fiancé Dylan.

A minute later, the two delivery guy came down the stairs and toward Chastity. She quickly thanked them and led them toward the door. I stepped further into the living room to see that there was a pillow and a fleece blanket laid out on the sofa showing signs that she had been sleeping there at some point. Chastity soon came back into the living room running her hands up and down her stomach. My heart clenched at the sight of her, a beautiful woman alone and pregnant who is on a strict bed rest keeping her limited on what she can and can't do.

"You've been sleeping on the sofa."

She was silent for a minute before nodding her head. "It's easier for me." Looking back at the sofa, I couldn't figure out how it was easier for her when it looked like she had barely enough room to stretch out if she needed to. Looking back at her, she had stopped rubbing her stomach and was now just resting her hands underneath her bulging belly.

"I can put it together," I said receiving a confused look. "The crib."

"Oh, you-you don't have to do that," she said.

"I know, but I want to. With you on a strict bed rest and your friend not able to come, I can do it that way you don't have to worry about it later."

She stared at me for a second to see that I was being serious before nodding her head and pointed toward a door in the kitchen. "There's a tool box in there that should have everything you need to put it together." With a nod of my head, I walked around her toward the door she pointed at to open it to see that it was the laundry room and a small black tool box sat on one of the shelves.



After being at Chastity for a little over an hour, I had half of the crib together. It was a little more complicated than I had thought. I heard some movement from behind me and I looked to see that Chastity has entered the room. She a glass in her hand and held it out for me. "I thought you'd might want something to drink," she said. Taking the drink, I took a sip to see that it was tea, but it was a little bit sweeter than normal. "It's sweet tea."

Nodding my head, I reached over to place the glass on the small bedside table in the room. "Thank you, but why aren't you resting?" I asked looking back at her with a smirk. Her lips scrunched up before walking across the room and sat down in the rocking chair that sat in front of the window.

"Better?" she asked. I laughed, nodding my head as I looked back at the instructions to finish putting the crib together. "I would have thought you would of had it done by now," she said taking my attention.

"Me too," I sighed lifting my hand to run it through what little hair I had.

"Well, it looks like you got most of it done," she said and I could tell that she was trying to cheer me up. I flashed her a smile to make her feel better about the situation with the crib when I thought entered my mind that I couldn't help but want to question her.

"Why don't you have any pictures up?"

"What you mean?"

Taking a deep breath, I answered, "I mean, you only have the one picture in the living room on the end table of you and a guy who I guess is Dylan." Chastity took a deep breath letting her eyes look down away from me and I started to wonder if I had crossed a line. "I don't mean to hurt your feelings or anything, but I was just wondering why you didn't have any pictures of family and friends up."

Chastity took a deep breath running one of her hands through her hair while the other rested on her stomach. I started to regret asking her. "I don't really like talking about that part of my life," she said. I nodded my head expecting her not to say anything else. "I was a foster kid."

It took me by surprise. I would have never pictured her as a foster kid. She didn't look like a typical foster kid nor acted like one. I guess I was like other who often stereotyped how others were due to words on the street.

"That's how I met Dylan. He was also a foster kid. We were both put into the same home at one point as teenagers." I stayed quiet watching her wanting to move over beside her on the floor to hold her hand. "My mom was a drunk and did drugs. When I was born, I was told that my mom was so drugged up she didn't even know that she was in labor. And I don't know about my father."

"I'm sorry." I found myself saying again.

She shrugged her shoulders and said, "You get used to it."

"How do you do it?" I found myself asking. She smiled letting out a small chuckle.

"It's life," she said. "You eventually get used to it and often times have to prepare yourself to be ready."

I shook my head looking down away from her, scratching the back of my neck. "I don't think I would have been able to go through that."

With a smile still on her face, she shrugged her shoulders and started rubbing her belly again. "You're one of the lucky ones."