Page 84 of The Champion
“This can’t be happening.” I muttered incoherently tomyself.
Even though I was talking to myself, Alley replied. “You?How the hell am I going to keep track of your shithead of a husband with three kids?Did you know that in Phoenix I had to separate him and Colin three times in thematter of an hour after the first practice session?”
“You’re the one that got knocked up.” I replieddefensively. “That’s hardly my fault or Jameson’s.”
“I didn’t say it was your fault.” She sighed and slumpeddown holding the pregnancy test in her hand. “I blame these Riley men.”
“I agree.” I finished peeing on the stick and then satnext to her. “Axel just turned one. How the hell am I going to manage anotherone?”
“You better not turn pink you asshole stick!” Alleyshouted at the innocent pregnancy test. Then she started crying in a verymelodramatic way. “Why does this keep happening to me?”
“I think I remember this conversation we had, or at leastI think I do.” I turned toward her. “I asked what the best birth control was...and you said: No sex.”
She held up the now two pink line sticks in my face. “Youclearly didn’t listen to me.”
“Neither did you,hypocrite.” I held her positivestick up in her face.
We stared at each other for a moment, started crying, andthen resorted to laying in my bed all morning after Emma came by and watchedreality TV until Nancy arrived with the kids.
Nancy had been watching them so we could take the boys tothe Lake Norman Air Park to meet Wes so that they could leave for Tulsa and theChili Bowl.
On the way back to our house in Mooresville, I told her Ithought I might be pregnant.
Alley, the hard ass bitch that she could be broke andstarted bawling because she was three weeks late herself and hadn’t toldanyone. So we stopped off atWal-Marton Norman Station Blvd, picked upa few pregnancy tests and a box of donuts.
Nancy let herself in and came upstairs to my room withall the kids. I’m not sure how she could handle them all but she had Lanecarrying Noah, who looked like he was carrying a bomb that was about toexplode.
Axel was on her shoulders with a very large grin and achocolate donut in his chubby little hands. Most of the chocolate had beenlicked from the donut and was either on his face or in Nancy’s hair. In herarms she had Lexi, who was sound asleep, while pushing Charlie in the stroller.
I wondered for a moment why she didn’t have Noah in thestroller as well but it appeared she had too many bags in there to actually fitkids in it.
Axel started squirming when he spotted me in the bed.
“Mama Mama!” he practically flung himself off Nancy’sshoulders to get to me.
She had to set Lexi down before this could happen, whichirritated Axel. As I’ve said before, when he wants something, he wants it rightnow.
Pushing myself up from the bed, I went to him in fear forNancy’s hair that he was pulling on to get down.
“Calm down buddy. Mommy’s right here.”
He smiled wide. “Mama,”
There’s nothing better than a hug, but a hug given by achild is by far the greatest feeling. They give everything to youunconditionally because that’s what they feel. Somewhere along the lines welose that in life; the ability to do as we feel rather than what we think.
Not my baby, he loved me.
“Did you have a good time with Me-Ma?” I sat down on theedge of the bed with him.
That’s when Nancy, just as Emma does after she goesshopping, showed us everything she bought for the kids.
Axel nodded with a chocolate smile and curled up on mylap to eat the rest of his donut.
Emma reached over to take Noah from Lane when he foundthe donuts we had on the bed. Lane had a habit of forgetting that he washolding something when chocolate or sugar of any kind was involved.
“It appears you’ve already had a donut Lane.” Alleydeduced after seeing his chocolate smile.
Lane shrugged carelessly and continued the selectionprocess. Once he had hisspecificdonut selected, he crawled up next tohis sleeping sister on the bed and patted her head.
