I was finally five months pregnant. The morning sickness was gone, and I was actually becoming comfortable with being pregnant.
"Are you ready to go?" Ron asked. I nodded. Ron and I were going to spend the weekend at his cabin. He promised that he would teach me how to fish, which is something I don't think I'll ever be able to do, but he wants to teach me and I can't say no to that.
"What do you think we should name her?" I asked casually on the drive over to the cabin. Ron shrugged.
"What names did you have in mind?" he asked me.
"I really like the name Emma," I said softly, hoping Ron would agree.
"Maybe something like Emma May," he said as I smiled. I nodded.
"That's perfect! I've always loved the name Emma," I said as we pulled up to the cabin.
"Then it's settled. She'll be named Emma May, and she'll be perfect," he said as I smiled.
"Of course she'll be perfect " I said when we got out of the car. We took our bags inside. I put away all of the food we had brought before I realized how tired I was. It wasn't even lunchtime and I was exhausted. I sighed as I plopped down on the couch next to Ron.
"Why don't you go fishing?" I suggested, knowing that he would go. "Maybe I'll join you later, but I am seriously so tired," I said as he smiled.
"Okay, you sleep and I'll go fish," he said as I nodded. He waited a second, I guess to make sure that I was really okay with it before he got up, kissed my forehead, and walked out. I was too lazy to get up from the couch, so I pulled the blanket off of the chair next to the couch and fell asleep instantly.
I don't know how long I slept, but I woke up when I heard a car coming down the gravel road. I was confused, since there was only the cabin down here, and I knew that Ron was still fishing. So I got up to investigate.
"Oh, hi Ann! I'm so glad to see you!" my eyes grew wide when I realized who had said that. It was Tammy Two.
"What are you doing here?" I asked confused, crossing my arms across my chest. She obnoxiously laughed.
"Oh, silly, silly Ann. I'm here to see you!" she said, walking up on the porch and standing in front of me. "And of course, I'm here to see Ron."
"What do you really want?" I asked, blocking the doorway. She laughed again.
"I just wanted to see how you're doing," she said. I didn't move. "I know that isn't Ron's baby," she said, dropping her voice an octave. My jaw dropped.
"That's not true," I said. She laughed. "It's definitely not anybody else's," I said, still a little confounded that she was even here. How did she know where the cabin was?
"Well when Ron finds out that it isn't his baby, he's going to leave you and you'll be all alone again," she said with a smirk. "Now, let's get you inside, we don't want you to hurt your baby." she pushed me inside.
"Look, I know that you're here to ruin my life, but I don't give a damn. I just want you to leave, okay? Because you're trying to make me sound like a liar, which I am not!" I said, getting louder with each sentence.
She pushed me into the hall closet, and somehow she locked the door.
"Ron was always right. You're the biggest bitch I've ever met!" I yelled through the door. I knew there was no point in yelling because she had already left to go try to persuade Ron. I sat down in the middle of the closet and began to cry. Why was this happening to me? I knew that Tammy Two was crazy, but I didn't know that she was this crazy.
I sat there, crying for a while. I was really pissed at myself, because I had left my phone in my purse, so I couldn't even call or text Ron for help.
After I sat there forever, I finally heard the door open.
"Ann?" Ron called out, obviously pissed.
"In here!" I yelled. I could hear the footsteps outside in the hall.
"You can't get in there without the key," Tammy said. I groaned, since I had hoped that he had gotten her to leave.
"Give me the key," Ron said, angrily. I was surprised, since I had never heard Ron get so angry before.
"Come on, Ron. We both know that you don't love her. You love me, remember?" she said. I knew what was happening next, and it honestly broke my heart to think about it. She had kissed him. "Look, I'll give you the key on two conditions: you admit that you want me over her and we go have a little fun while she's still in the closet."
"Just give me the damn key," Ron said, ignoring what she had just said.
"I guess you leave me no choice," she said. I could tell that she had pushed up against the wall, and was kissing him again.
"Tammy! Stop it!" I could hear Ron's protests, but they were pointless. She knew what she was doing, and I started to cry when Ron stopped protesting.
I fell asleep in the closet an hour later.
I woke up in the middle of the night, desperately needing to pee. I stood up and tried the doorknob again, and surprisingly it was unlocked. I hurried to the bathroom.
After I used the bathroom, I quietly walked into the bedroom. And there they were. She was wrapped up in his arms, and I could feel the tears coming as I hurried out of the room. I went to the kitchen and grabbed a snack since I was hungry, and then I went outside.
I walked all the way to the creek, stopping when I finally found the tree stump that Ron was sitting on when I had found him out there. I sighed as I realized what this truly meant. She was right. He didn't really want me. He wanted her, and that's what he got.
I cried for awhile, until I fell back asleep. I woke up as soon as the sun came out. I had taken two granola bars with me, so I ate the second one when I woke up. I finally pulled my phone out of my pocket (I had grabbed it on my way out) and called Leslie.
"Good morning Ann!" Leslie said energetically, like always.
"Can you come pick me up?" I asked.
"Of course! What's wrong?" she asked. I could tell that she was getting her keys and purse and going out the door.
"Tammy Two showed up. Long story short, Ron and I are not on good terms right now," I said. I could feel the tears forming again, which I was surprised by, since I didn't think I really had any tears left.
"Oh Ann," was all that Leslie said. I didn't respond, knowing that I would start bawling if I didn't. "I'll be there soon, okay?" she said softly.
"Okay," I mumbled as I began to cry again. I hung up and let the tears fall freely.
"Ann," I jumped at the voice behind me, and I was very glad to see that it was only Leslie. She held out her arms. I gladly got up and hugged her.
"He hates me," I mumbled as she shook her head.
"He does not hate you, beautiful Ann. I've never seen him so loving and caring until you two got together. It's so obvious that he loves you," Leslie said as I sighed.
"Well I don't even care anymore. Can we just go home?" I asked quietly as Leslie nodded.
We walked in silence back to Leslie's car. I was a little better when I saw that Tammy's car was gone, but I still hurried into Leslie's car before Ron knew we were out there.
We rode in silence back to my house. I was so thankful for Leslie at the moment, because she knew that I would talk when I wanted to, so she didn't push it.
I finally said something once we had pulled into my driveway.
"Please come inside," I asked Leslie as she nodded. All I really had with me was my phone, but Leslie had her key to my house handy, which was good. I locked the door behind us and walked over to my couch.
"So what happened?" Leslie asked. I sighed, as I began to explain the situation. By the end of the story, I was crying again. Leslie pulled me into a hug.
"Everything is going to be okay, Ann," she said as I shook my head.
"He cheated on me, Leslie. I can't live with that. What am I supposed to do now? Emma can't grow up fatherless," I said. Leslie's face lit up when I mentioned Emma.
"So you decided on Emma?" she asked. I nodded.
"Sorry, I would've told you sooner, but this hasn't been my weekend," I said as Leslie shrugged.
"I'm just happy that you decided on a name for her," she said with a small smile.
Leslie and I talked and talked for hours, until there was a knock on my door. We both knew who it was.
"I don't want to ever see him again," I said, refusing to open the door. Leslie sighed.
"At least give him a chance, Ann," she said as she stood up and opened the door. "I'll see ya later, Ann! Call me if you need me," Leslie said as she walked out. I sighed, ignoring Ron's presence.
"You have a right to hate me," he said as he sat down in the chair next to my couch. I didn't say anything. "She's such a bitch, Ann. I can't stand her. I never thought that she would try anything like that."
"Well she did," I said coldly. Ron sighed.
"Listen, Ann, I never should've done that last night. I should've just pinned her down and gotten the key. But she wouldn't let me move, and she took control. I couldn't tell her to stop after a few minutes because she had covered my mouth. I hated every single minute of last night, Ann. And the worst part was knowing that you were going to hate me. I heard you go outside, but I didn't follow because I knew you weren't ready to talk. This is probably still too soon, but I can' have you angry at me, Ann, because I love you," he said. I sighed.
"Did you believe her?" I asked after we sat in a few minutes of silence. He shook his head.
"Trust me, Ann, I know Emma's mine,and I already love her so much. I don't want this to happen, Ann. And I never want anything like this to happen once she's born," he said. I sighed, not sure what to say. "I'm sure Tammy Two will be back, but if she is, I'll get her away, without using sex."
"I don't know what to say, Ron. How do I know that you really love me? Obviously I didn't matter much to you last night," I said. When I said those words, I could tell that they hurt Ron, but I was so heartbroken at the moment I didn't care.
"Look, Ann, I really do love you. I love Emma too, and I'm going to prove all of this to you, okay?" he said as he stood up. He pulled something out of his pocket, and then I realized what he was doing. He got down on one knee. "I know that you hate me right now, and I know I made the biggest mistake of my life, but I love you Ann. You always know what to say, and you always make things perfect. Remember that night we went to the bar with the parks department? I only had a good time because you were there. You made it worth going. You're not worth losing. And last night made me realize how much I really love you. So what I'm trying to ask is, will you marry me, Ann?" I grew wide-eyed at that question, not really sure how to respond. I knew that I was supposed to be angry at him, but I love him. And I had wanted us to get engaged for the past couples of months now. I finally nodded.
"Of course Ron. I love you, too. I honestly think that we should just erase last night from our memories, okay? And then let's go eat to celebrate, because I am starving," I said, crying again. The only difference was that these were happy tears, and as I leaned up and kissed him, I knew that last night would easily be forgotten.
"Can we go eat now?" I asked as Ron smiled.
"I know someone who can make a killer steak and all of the ingredients are already at the cabin," he said with a pause. "Unless you just want to get something," he added quickly. I shook my head.
"Let's just go back to the cabin," I said as he nodded. He helped me up and I leaned up and kissed him.
On the car ride over to the cabin, I sent Leslie a picture of my ring. She sent me a text telling me to call her, but I ignored it. I didn't want to ruin the evening.
"This looks amazing," I said as Ron led me into the dining room. He had insisted on making dinner alone, so I took a shower while he cooked.
"I just wanted to make it up to you, Ann," he said as we started eating. The food was perfect, which just added onto our perfect evening.
"Put your hand here," I said, guiding Ron's hand on my stomach. We were sitting on the couch after cleaning the kitchen after our dinner. "Do you feel her kicking now?" I asked as he nodded, obviously so fascinated and so in love with Emma. I smiled as I kissed him. I knew that Tammy Two would come back eventually, but this time I knew that Ron would get rid of her.
As I curled up next to Ron in bed that night, I realized how lucky Emma was. She has two parents who love each other and love her even more.
"Ron," I mumbled into the darkness.
"What, honey?" he asked softly.
"We're going to spoil Emma, right?" I asked sleepily. Ron chuckled.
"Of course," he said. "We'll probably spoil her too much."
"Good," I mumbled as I fell asleep.