Destiny's Detour (13 page)

On Thursday afternoon, Troy and I go to my first doctor’s appointment. The doctor we’ve chosen, Dr. Smith, comes highly recommended. I think it is safe to say that we are excited about this first appointment. The visit begins with me giving a urine sample. Then we wait to be called back. After about 10 minutes, the nurse calls us back to do an iron test, weigh me, and ask me a billion health questions. Finally, we are taken into an exam room where I am asked to change into a gown and wait for the doctor.

Troy looks at everything with wide eyes; I think he is a cross between nervous and excited. The way he is acting is very cute to me, but I wouldn’t tell him that, as that is not a manly description. Dr. Smith comes into the room, introduces herself, and then talks with us a bit about all that will happen. After a pelvic exam, she measures my stomach, writes me a prescription for prenatal vitamins, and lets us know that I will have an ultrasound. This will determine how far along I am and let us listen to the heartbeat. A few minutes later, the nurse wheels a portable machine into the room. I giggle when Troy’s face turns pale. He’s just realized that I am having a transvaginal ultrasound and that the probe will be inserted inside me. He begins to look very uncomfortable. Honestly, I am too excited about hearing the heartbeat to worry about what is being stuck up inside me. I’m going to see my baby for the first time. Despite being slightly uncomfortable, Troy shows signs of his excitement, as well.

I can’t even begin to explain how awesome it feels the first time you see the image of your baby on the screen. Even though ‘Peanut’, as I call our baby, is no bigger than a bean, I know that is our baby. The sound of the heartbeat roaring through the speakers is beyond words. The technician prints out some pictures for us to take home with us, and I keep looking at them in complete awe. The big question is answered … my due date. I am already nine and a half weeks along and have thirty-one weeks to go. This puts my due date in June. I heave a sigh of relief knowing that I will be able to finish my first year of school, have the baby early in the summer, and still have time to decide what to do for fall.

Troy leans over, kisses me gently on my lips, and speaks for the first time. “This has been absolutely amazing.”

I couldn’t agree more. Who knew that something like the first appointment would be so special? I clean up, change back in to my clothes, and we stop to schedule my next appointment in four weeks before leaving.

I can’t wait to share the ultrasound pictures with David and Amy, so Troy and I go straight home from the doctor’s office. On the way there, I call my mom and share all the news with her. She is just as excited as I am. When we walk inside, Amy practically attacks us, and I laugh at her craziness. David and Mark are once again playing video games in the living room, so I settle on the couch and pull out the ultrasound pictures. Amy gushes over them, and Mark looks like he isn’t sure what to think about them.

But David’s reaction touches me the most. He stares silently at the pictures, and then moves to sit beside me. He looks up at me as tears pool in his eyes, and when he speaks, his voice cracks. “I can’t believe my little sister is really having a baby. You’re making me an uncle.”

Silly brother makes me cry. I throw my arms around him. “I am so thankful you have been supportive of my relationship with Troy. You don’t know how much it means to me.”

David pulls from my embrace and then shocks me by hugging Troy, too. Not some man hug, but a real hug.

“I know you’re my best friend, but she’s my sister and that’s my niece or nephew. Please, treat them right.”

My stomach rumbles, reminding me that it is time for me to fix dinner. As I cook, thoughts run on a constant loop through my mind. My biggest decision right now is what I am going to do about the dance team. I should be able to make it through all of football season with no problem, but I’m not sure how things will be during basketball season. I need to make an appointment to talk with Coach Mandy, but I am not looking forward to that conversation.

Done with our morning classes, Amy and I head to the courtyard to meet the guys for lunch. Because my appetite is already increasing, I have found that, while I don’t necessarily eat more food, I do eat more often. Troy informs me that he and I are going on a special date tonight, so I am not to make any other plans. His serious tone makes me giggle, because really, what was I going to go do? Party?

After lunch, we head back to get ready for the afternoon pep rally. As I walk by Coach Mandy’s office, I decide that it’s time to get this off my back and come clean with her.

“Do you have a second to talk, Coach?”

“Yes, Destiny, come on in.” She waves her hand towards the chairs in front of her desk.

I close the door behind me. “I have something important to talk to you about, and I don’t know if you want to discuss it now or set a time for next week.”

“Can you give me a clue how serious this is?”

I think for a moment about how to respond, and finally just blurt it out. “I’m pregnant.”

Shock crosses her face, and then she surprises me by saying, “So, our star quarterback is going to be a daddy.”

It is my turn to be shocked.

“Destiny, I know who my girls date.”

“So, yea, we are going to be parents. I know I can finish out the football season. I’m not sure how long I can stay for basketball.”

“I’ll tell you what. Come in Monday afternoon and we’ll talk about all of that. For now, let me tell you congratulations and be careful out there today.”

“I will, Coach, and thanks for not yelling at me. I swear, the way I have been lately, it would have made me cry.”

She laughs and shoos me on my way to dress for the rally.

Amy and I meet up at the lockers so that I can tell her about my conversation with Mandy. She volunteers to go with me on Monday to help me keep track of all the details. I decide not to say anything to the girls on the team until I talk to coach so Amy and I are being careful with what we say in front of them. I dress and walk out with the team to the field where we have another awesome pep rally. Troy finds me as soon as he can after the rally and tells me to go home and get dress for our fancy date and he will see me at 6pm. This gives me a little over two hours to get ready. Amy and I drive home immediately, and I head straight to the shower.

I walk into my closet trying to decide what to wear and find the burgundy dress with a beautiful flowy skirt that my mom bought for some dinner we attended. I slip on my black lace bra and panties.

I slide my dress over my head and straighten it out just as Amy comes in. “Destiny, you look beautiful in that dress. Want me to do your hair?”

She curls my hair, and then pulls it into an up-do with ringlets hanging out on the side.

“You look beautiful, Destiny.”

“Thanks. I love what you did with my hair.””

I slip on my black heels and clasp a simple diamond pendant on. My dad had given it to me for my 18th birthday. I am ready to go ten minutes early. I move around my room until I stop and twirl, seeing the full effect of my outfit. Amy laughs as she watches me. I sneer at her, pretending to be mad at her. Amy flits off downstairs and hollers up a few minutes later that my date has arrived, since Troy had gotten ready somewhere else

As I walk down the stairs, I literally stop dead in my tracks. I spot Troy and naturally run my eyes up and down his sexy body. He is so handsome in black dress slacks with a hunter green polo. He has his hair spiked up tonight and his eyes sparkle, making my knees grow weak. Glancing back at his face, I find Troy looking at me, his mouth slightly open and his eyes heated.

I start walking down the stairs again, and as I reach him, he grabs my hand, brings it to his lips for a kiss, and says, “You look so beautiful.”

“Thank you. You are looking pretty handsome yourself.”

“Are you ready to go?”

“Yes.”

Troy firmly takes me by the hand and guides me outside to his car. He holds the door open, gently helping me into my seat before closing it behind me. He walks around the front of the car before climbing in behind the wheel, fidgeting nervously before starting the car. I wonder what has him acting so strangely. It’s not as if this is our first real date.

Lights flash as cars pass on the road. I can't stop myself from stealing glances at my man. His face is drawn so tight that I am afraid he might hurt himself.
What has him wound so tight tonight?
We drive into town and stop in front of Carmine's, an Italian bistro. He quickly comes around, helps me out the car, and leads me inside. After giving his name for our reservation, the hostess leads us to a quiet, candlelit table for two in the far corner. He pulls my chair out and helps me get seated, placing a soft kiss on my cheek before sitting down across from me. He immediately takes my hand, brings it to his lips for a kiss, and then softly lays our clasped hands down on the table. His thumb is slowly drawing circles on the back of my hand. I feel like such a princess at that moment. His princess. Our waitress comes to the table and takes our drink orders. As we wait, we continue making small talk while we look over the menu.

“How are things going with Buffy?”

“She is a total bitch. She makes my life hell, but I deal.” I sigh.

“I’m sorry. I wish there was something more I could do to stop her."

“Oh, she just annoys me. I can handle her just fine. I talked to Mandy today”

“What did she have to say?”

“She set me up to meet with her on Monday to discuss details.” I lock onto his eyes as I bring my glass to my lips, taking a sip of my drink. He watches my every movement.

As our date progresses, Troy remains very attentive to me, listening to every word I speak as if I am Gandhi imparting wisdom. He finds a reason to touch me every chance he can. He even goes as far as moving his chair around the table to be closer to me. He strokes my hair, caresses my face, placing soft kisses on my cheeks and forehead. When the waitress returns, we give her our order.

Troy leans into me.

“Gorgeous, you look absolutely gorgeous. You already have the pregnancy glow. I always thought it was fake until I looked at your beautiful face knowing you are pregnant with our child.”

A blush creeps across my face, the warmth of it caressing my skin. I have no words to say in return. He renders me speechless. Our meals come. Troy has ordered the seafood combo served over linguini, and I am slightly envious of his dish when comparing it to my cheese manicotti. Troy notices me eyeing his food. He waves his fork in front of me with shrimp and linguini on it, teasing me.

“Open up.”

Like a baby bird, I open. He places the fork in my mouth, and I slowly slide the food off as he carefully pulls the fork out of my mouth. My stomach jumps. Who knew I would swoon over being served a bite of his food.

We finish the meal and the waitress brings our bill. Troy pays and pulls my chair out so we can leave. His hand on the small of my back heats my insides in the most delicious way. Troy's gentle touch always makes me feel warm and fuzzy. I am in awe of how sweet this date is as he guides us back to the car.

We get back on the road, passing through town, heading toward our next destination. The neon lights of the boardwalk come into view, and now I’m almost positive that I know where he is taking me. When we pass by the main beach area, I am confused, until we travel a little further down the coast to a more secluded spot. As he pulls into the lot, I slip my shoes off. He walks around to open the door for me, taking me gently by the hand. He tugs me toward him, and the coolness of the asphalt on the bottom of my feet shocks me. With our bodies pressed together, I look up into his beautiful eyes. The love shining back at me is so intense that I feel a little frightened. Scared is not how I should feel, but I have never been in a relationship like this, and it overwhelms me at times. When he sees my reaction, he softly kisses me, before gently guiding me toward the sand.

The roaring, rushing sound of the waves dominates the silent night. White caps break along the shoreline in a steady rhythm. Our feet sink deep into the warm sand as we cross to reach the water's edge. Time stops for us as we enjoy just being together. As I wiggle my toes in the sand, the light tickle makes me smile. Troy pulls me closer to him as we stroll across the breaking tide. The full moon provides light as if the heavens have opened just for us, and it shines a romantic spotlight for our walk on the beach. The soothing atmosphere and the warm body holding me work to dispel my earlier fears. The warm water rushing over our feet causes peace to descend over us like a comfortable blanket. At this moment, I can handle all that life is throwing. While unexpected, I wouldn’t change one thing about this pregnancy.