It's Go Time

I devoted my time to my studies over the next few months although I did keep in contact with Darren and Amy as much as our schedules allowed. He came up to visit over the holidays and since his wife was afraid to be left alone, she and her son accompanied him. Amir also came up with them for the Christmas break. It was bit awkward but still a good visit. Amir hung out with my dad and Angie clung to my mom. She is a very pleasant person making it easy to get along with her. My mother seemed to take the girl under her wing and spent much of their visit chatting about parenting and going over basic cooking skills. Mom was all to happy to share her love and expertise and Angie seemed overly excited to learn. I guess not having a mom of her own for so long left a pretty big hole in her life that my mother was all too willing to fill.

My pregnancy progressed uneventfully as everything was and stayed good with it. I was very appreciative of my parents support throughout my pregnancy. They never treated me contemptuously or held my misjudgments against me. Mother went to every doctor's appointment with me and Dad made sure I was eating healthy. They really wanted to know the gender, but I had opted to be surprised and they didn't push it. They went a little overboard preparing for their first grandchild though; buying just about everything I was going to need. I mean, they bought the crib, the car seat, the first year's worth of clothes, diapers, wipes, and whatever else they thought was too adorable to pass up. All gender neutral, of course. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say they were a wee bit excited.

Almost as excited as Darren, who sent something up for the baby every payday. He sent bottles, toys, rattles, clothes, lotions, blankets and whatever else he found irresistible. Amy and Angie had said they would save all their baby stuff for me; at least until I knew what I needed, But since both of them were pregnant again, I told them to keep it for themselves. I'm pretty sure I will have enough to share with several mothers with the way Darren and my parents shopped.

My May 25th due date was fast approaching as was my graduation which was schedule for June 1st. I was going to have to work a lot from home the last few weeks to ensure I graduate on time. Mom and Dad told me I could quit working in April until after I had the baby so I wouldn't have so much on my plate. I reminded him of the bills I had to pay and that I didn't want him to have to support me like that, and I didn't want to blow through my savings. He told me Darren had been sending 'child support' to pay my bills and not to worry about it. Really? He's paying child support already? The baby isn't even here yet.

Yes, I texted Darren demanding to know if he was sending money to my dad. "Yep. I knew you wouldn't take it and he would. And nothing you can say will stop me." Ugh, frustrating. Whatever, not gonna fight about it. I hate to admit it, but it helped a lot, not having to worry about working.

He had taken two weeks off around my due date in hopes that he would be there for the birth. Naturally, Angie and Levi accompanied him. Mother had the spare room in the main house set up for them and Darren stayed on my couch. He showed up on a Sunday evening; Monday was my final doctor's appointment. Tuesday, he took me out to lunch but before we could make it into the restaurant my water broke. 'Oh my god! Ew! ew! ew! Gross' Darren looked panicked. "I think it's go time." I grunted as pain wrapped itself around my abdomen.

He drove erratically through traffic while I continually demanded he slow his shit down. Stereotypical, I know, but what else would you expect? I was afraid he would wreck the car; he was afraid I would have the baby in the car. I'll say this, if I had this baby in the car, it would have been because he shook it out of me with way he was driving!!

By nine o'clock that evening, I was in a hospital bed holding our daughter, Amelia Jade Evans, born at 6:57p.m. weighing seven pounds thirteen ounces. Darren sat on the edge of my bed cooing over this beautiful creation in my arms. My parents had already been sent home for the night along with Angie and Levi. The hospital didn't even ask if Darren was my husband, they assume as much since he brought me in and refused to leave my side during the birth. I chose not to correct them because I wanted him to be able to stay the night with me there. I was glad she showed up early on his vacation so he could spend the first week of her life with us.

Saying goodbye to him that time was harder than ever. Maybe it was the hormones, but I bawled for days when he had to go back to his life in our hometown. Part of me, a really big part, wanted him to move in with us, even if that meant he had to bring his 'wife and kid' with him. God, you know how screwed up that sounds? Sigh. He asked me to move in with him there, but that would be just as screwed up, so I decline. Plus, I didn't want to live anywhere near that psycho father-in-law of his where he had access to our daughter.

So, he just visited every weekend after Amelia's arrival. Sometimes with and sometimes without the wife and son. I looked forward to every visit and dreaded every goodbye. We kept our promise to each other to remain chaste until we could be together legally, though admittedly that was difficult for me to do. It was bad enough when he just sporting slightly too small concert tees on that well-defined torso but now, I get to see him interact with our infant daughter. He is so good with her; so willing to do anything that was needed. And I mean anything; diapers, feeding, dressing, rocking... You have no idea how friggen sexy that is. And not once did he complain about sleeping on the couch or having to wait for intimacy. He was loving and devoted to both of us while he was here and texted several times daily while he was away.