Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 25833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Both of us laugh, and I gently thread my fingers through her hair and turn her head so she’s facing me. I love to stare into her eyes. It’s like looking into the rest of my life.
“And that you’re not marrying Zack.”
9
LUCY
FIVE MONTHS LATER…
Telling my parents the news wasn’t easy. Neither of them took it well. There was lots of What in the world is wrong with you? and Have you completely lost your mind? and Do you know how many girls your age would kill to go to Yale? And that was just when I told them I was giving up college to pursue being a pianist. Then there was the whole pregnancy thing…
I thought both of their heads were going to explode when I told them. My mom didn’t speak to me for a week after she gave me a big speech on how I wasn’t ready and how this wasn’t the 1920s where a woman’s only job was to churn out babies.
My dad gave me a stern talking-to about how I could still make law school work and how all we’d need to do would be to hire some help for the baby when it came. And then I’d go to Yale in a couple of years and get back on track. That would be the right thing to do as far as he was concerned.
I had to tell him that there was no way I was going to have a baby and let someone else raise it. Whether he liked it or not, I was going to be a mother and a pianist from now on.
And then there was Zack.
Surprisingly enough, Zack took our “breakup” pretty well. Part of me wants to believe that he was being mature and he understood that we were never truly meant to be together, but in reality, I have a feeling that once he learned I had a baby in my belly, he just wanted to get the hell out of there.
Eventually, once they cooled off, my parents met Jason (not like they didn’t already know who he was, of course), and I moved in with him. He hired a piano teacher named Wendy, who I continued to work with four days a week, and things have been going great ever since. I’ve also taken up writing my own music in my spare time, and even my parents are slowly coming around to the idea that this might be something I could make work.
My pregnancy has caused me to blow up like a balloon, though, which has been making playing a little…awkward. Jason says he doesn’t mind how big I am. In fact, he says he finds me sexier than ever, but I think he’s just being sweet.
He’s also been spending a lot more time at work lately. He says there’s been something that’s come up that he’s had to deal with personally that’s been cutting into his time, but I really can’t complain. He’s the boss, and I’ve been used to him making his own schedule for the entire time we’ve been together. Most couples don’t have that kind of luxury.
“So keep working on Beethoven for Friday,” Wendy says as we walk together upstairs to the door. “And even though they’re obnoxious, it’s always good to keep up with your finger, chord, and scale exercises. Oh, and if you’d like, we can delve into that Chopin as well?”
“Yes, that would be great. Thank you so much, Wendy. I really hope I can pack as much in before…” I tap my belly. “The big day.”
Wendy’s eyes light up. “I’m so excited for you. Do you and Jason know the gender yet?”
“No.” I shake my head. “You see, I’ve had this habit of over-planning everything in my life, ever since I can remember. So we decided not to find out. To be surprised.”
Wendy smiles happily. “Well, won’t that be exciting! I’ll make sure to find time in my schedule for beginner lessons once he – or she – is old enough to play.”
We both laugh, and I see Wendy out, then make my way into the kitchen and pour a glass of iced herbal tea from the fridge. The session with Wendy went very well, and my confidence as a pianist has gone through the roof since we started together, but that doesn’t change the fact that I feel like I’m walking like a seal that’s trapped on land as I waddle into the living room.
I am so ready to have this baby, and not just because I want my old body back. I want to give Jason his gift. I want to give him the family he knew he wanted when he saw me nine months ago. I want that change in both of our lives to come true.
It’s hard to believe just how much has changed in my life already, and it’s all because of him.