I hope that you have enjoyed the first two installments of Marrying Dad. You may get caught up by clicking on the links below:
Marrying Dad- Part 1
Marrying Dad- Part 2
Today I am including part three. Enjoy! Oh, and let me know what you think!
******************************
Marrying Dad- Part 3
by Raychelle Muhammad
When I was eight, I
noticed a real change in my parent’s relationship. Suddenly, my father was home
for dinner every night. He seemed genuinely happy to be there. The vibrancy
returned to my mother’s face. She started going to the beauty shop and taking
me along, too. It was like a girl’s day out. We would get our hair washed and
styled. Then, mom would stop in at the nail shop for a manicure and pedicure.
She was happy—happier than I could remember for sure. I thought it odd that she
was sick to her stomach for about a month. During the week, I sometimes had to
get my own breakfast before school because Mom said that the smell of anything
and everything made her sick. My best friend, Jazzy, said that it sounded like
Mom was pregnant. Jazzy seemed to be “in the know” about everything that eight-year
olds shouldn’t know. Her mom started having babies at sixteen and Jazzy had
three older siblings. Her oldest sister is seventeen and she tells Jazzy almost
everything. Whatever Jazzy doesn’t get from her sister, she gets from
eavesdropping. To this day my best friend hasn’t changed one bit. She has
always been incredibly resourceful. Jazzy’s skill set would prove to be
invaluable to me in more ways than I could count.
At dinner one night, Mom announced that
she was pregnant. She and Daddy were beaming. I pretended to be surprised since
Jazzy had already schooled me on how this baby business works. Mom was about
two months along and she was starting to show. I must say that I was pretty
excited. Maybe Grandma was right after all. Daddy was spending more time with
us and had already started cleaning out the guestroom to make room for my new
brother or sister. Then it hit me. What if the baby isn’t a boy? Grandma told
Mom to pray for a boy. What would be so wrong with having a little sister?
Several weeks went by before we could find
out the baby’s gender. Conversations around the dinner table went from talking
about my day at school to all about the baby. Mom’s appointment for the
ultrasound was in a week—or so we were told.
“What time is your
doctor’s appointment next week?” Daddy asked.
“I’ll call to double
check in the morning. Don’t you have that big presentation coming up?”
“Yes, it’s on Thursday.
The partners will cover for me though if it conflicts.”
“You don’t have to do
that. It’s just a checkup.”
“I thought that we
would be finding out the baby’s gender.”
“No, it’s too soon.”
“Don’t you find out at
12 weeks?”
“It is possible, but
you know that I am not 12 weeks yet.”
“Are you sure? I
thought you said…”
“Well, of course I am
sure. If you insist, we can go over the dates again after dinner.”
“Either way, I’m
coming.”
*******************************
Would you like to read what happens next? Leave your feedback in the comments section below.
Keep your pen to the paper! Remember, inspiration is everywhere...
Yes, still left wanting to find out more, is it a boy or girl? Will it keep their marriage together? Having a child rarely has that affect.
ReplyDelete