September 23rd, 2012
The smile on her face as she walked home from class would need a hurricane strength wind to disappear, and on this crisp autumn day, that was unlikely to happen. She readjusted the messenger bag over her shoulder as she turned into the pathway of her apartment building and climbed three flights of stairs. She retrieved her key from the bottom of her bag and pushed opened the door, happy to see the man she was looking for at the kitchen table. He dropped his fork and abandoned his slice of pie before greeting his girlfriend at the door, planting a sweet kiss on her lips. When they pulled apart, he took notice of the wide grin on her face.
"Mmmm." She licked the pie crumbs off her lips. "You taste like my mother's apple pie."
Ezra was amused at her giddiness. "Why are you so happy?" he wondered aloud. "Did the barista downstairs slip some drugs into your coffee this morning?"
Aria shook her head and proceeded to drop her bag onto the kitchen table, then took out a leopard print folder and opened it. She retrieved a piece of paper and held it in front of his face. On the white piece of paper, her photography professor had given her an A+ and glowing critique for her first major project, one that she'd spend the past two weekends trekking over Philadelphia to capture street art and artists. Naturally, she had dragged Ezra along with her, and he had even served a model in some shots.
Ezra bent down to embrace her in a tight hug, then pulled away and kissed her cheek. "See? You had nothing to worry about. I knew your professor would see your talent."
Aria kept her hands linked behind his neck, slipping them beneath his t-shirt to play with the tiny hairs there. "It's because I'm living with such a great teacher," she told him, before leaning up for another kiss. She smiled into his lips, breathing in his oxygen. "I could get used to coming home to this. Just you and me and our own little place." She kissed him again, getting the final crumbs from the corner of his mouth. "And pie." He smiled in response and increased the passion of their kisses, slipping his tongue into her mouth as she moaned at the sensation.
They'd only moved in together a month before, and every day, they were finding new things that they loved about the experience. He was always there for her, for whatever she needed, whether it was homework assistance, dinner on the table when she had a late class, or someone to grab toilet paper out of the linen closet when she was stuck on the toilet with an empty roll. It would be dishonest to say there were things they didn't like, like the fact he was always the one who forgot to replace the toilet paper, but the good things certainly outweighed the bad by a significant amount. Her mom's warnings about taking such a big step at a young age were proved wrong by her seamless transition into adulthood.
Following a brief makeout session, Aria bounced into the kitchen with Ezra following closely behind. "Is there any pie left? I'm starving," she announced, checking the inside of the fridge. When she couldn't find the pie, she checked the counter, and as a last resort, inside one of the cabinets.
"Actually…" Ezra began, causing Aria to whip around to look at him, suspecting his answer. "That was the last slice. I'm sorry."
Aria rolled her eyes and leaned against the counter, crossing her arms. "I'd been thinking about having a slice of that pie all day," she admitted, sadly. "It was the only thing that got me through Statistics."
"I can run down to the bakery and see if they have any," Ezra volunteered.
"It won't be the same as my mom's," she whined. "I'll just ask her to make another one, and then hide it where you won't be able to find it."
Ezra laughed, then intertwined her fingers with his, bringing her hands around his neck again. "I may have some crumbs left on my lips," he teased, leaning down to kiss her again. Aria grinned and reattached her lips to his. In addition to the other benefits of living with her boyfriend, this was certainly Aria's favorite, especially...
"You owe me 76 kisses," Aria demanded. "That's how much a slice of pie is worth."
"76?!" Ezra questioned, feigning shock. "In that case, we should probably take this to the bedroom."
September 25th, 2012
The frown on her face as she walked home from class would need a bright ray of sunshine to melt into oblivion, and on this stormy autumn day, that was unlikely to happen. Her brain throbbed with a painful migraine as she turned into her apartment building and slowly climbed three flights of stairs. She dug through her bag until she managed to spot her keys and pushed the door open to find an empty apartment. On Wednesdays, Ezra had to stay late for multiple faculty meetings. She dropped her bag and keys on the kitchen table before noticing a note, a vase of fresh cut daisies, and pie plate.
How many kisses is an entire pie worth? Maybe we can find out tonight...
Love, Ezra
She uncovered the pie plate to find her mother's apple pie, but didn't have the energy to produce even the slightest smile. Nevertheless, she filled a glass of water and took the entire pie and a plastic fork and walked into her bedroom, ready to devour as much as she wanted of her mother's comfort food.
She realized she must've been blind or plain stupid to have neglected the signs. This morning, while sitting through yet another boring Statistics class, she spent approximately half the lecture trying to keep down her breakfast. At first, she attributed the sudden nausea to something she caught from one of the kids she babysat on the weekends for extra cash, or maybe food poisoning from the egg sandwich she picked up from the campus convenience store before class. She had slept really late and didn't have time for a proper breakfast, so she opted for the breakfast sandwich that was housed next to the college sweatshirts and textbooks. Probably not the best choice.
She tried her best to focus on the lecture, fighting the urge to fall asleep now that the nausea had went away, when a student raised her hand while the professor was in the middle of an equation.
"Yes Ms. Rodriguez?"
"Sorry to interrupt Professor Emond, but I think that should be 15%, not 50%."
Professor Emond double checked her laptop screen, then grinned at the student. "Nice catch," she complimented. "Sometimes I just can't trust my pregnancy brain." A few students politely laughed at the professor's comment, who was indeed about six or seven months along. The woman placed a hand on her stomach and carried on with her lecture, now using the correct numbers.
Pregnancy brain, the words echoed in her own brain. Apple pie. The nausea suddenly hit her like a truck, and she carefully collected her things and slipped out of the classroom, rushing toward the women's restrooms at the end of the hall. Unluckily, the bathroom wasn't empty as she navigated to the stall furthest away from the door, and swallowed back the vomit trying to travel up her throat. She was unsuccessful in her efforts, and a moment later, she leaned over the toilet and heaved, ridding herself of the questionable breakfast sandwich. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and took several deep breaths before closing the toilet seat and sitting down on top of it.
She stared at the back of the bathroom door as she thought back to her last period, which she finally remembered was about a week before she moved into her apartment. She remembered having to dig through her toiletries at the bottom of a box when she realized she'd already packed her tampons for the move. Then, she thought back to the week before when she asked her mother to bake the pie she was craving, and how she couldn't think about anything else all day. She recalled last week, when she told Ezra he'd must've purchased rotten milk, because she couldn't stand the smell of it. Even after he had told it was perfectly fine, a heated pointless argument ensued, and he had poured it down the drain anyway. Last night, she and Ezra had fallen asleep early, about 9:30 p.m., and she still had trouble waking up nearly ten hours later.
"Are you okay?" a voice called from behind the stall. "I saw you rush out of class."
Aria collected herself and exited the stall, coming face to face with the girl who sat behind her in Statistics. "I'm fine," she lied, forcing a smile. "The campus store should have a warning on those breakfast sandwiches."
The girl didn't seem convinced, but she also didn't ask anymore questions as she selected her own stall to take care of her business. Aria left the bathroom and returned to the same store she'd purchased the breakfast sandwich from, in search of something different. Sitting right next to the condoms—what a cruel joke—she located the pregnancy tests. Holding the box in her hands was a terrifying feeling, knowing the stick inside the pink packaging could deliver a message that would transform the trajectory of her life forever. She grabbed a purple Elisa College hoodie as well, trying to disguise her purchase, and waited in line behind students buying college textbooks, college sweatpants, and protein bars.
Fifteen minutes later, Aria was introduced to what would become little Rosalie Ella Fitz when two pink lines deviously smiled back at her in a cramped bathroom stall. Finally, alone in the restroom, her fists pounded on the wall in anger as tears began cascading down her cheeks, leaving trails of black eyeliner. She sobbed, her fists pounding repeatedly on the metal walls, while tears continued to slide uncomfortably under her chin. Her fingernails dug into the skin of her hands as she punched the walls and held back an angry scream. She didn't want a baby now. She didn't want a baby for at least another decade full of life experiences, education, and travel. But here she was, about to trade in her college degree for a thing that kinda looked like Ezra and kinda looked like her and did nothing but eat, poop, cry, and sleep, only after it destroyed her body.
Exhaling a deep breath, she wiped the tears from under her eyes, and unstuck the strands of hair from the sides of her cheeks. Another deep breath. She pulled her phone from inside her bag, navigated to Favorites, and was about to dial Ezra's number when she looked at the time and realized he would be in a meeting. Instead, she threw her phone back into her bag and left the stall.
She stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. Was her face always that round? No, everyone will notice. She placed her left hand under the automatic paper towel dispenser and ripping off a few sheets. The warm water drenched the brown paper towels, which she used to remove the makeup from her cheeks. After she ensured she looked halfway decent, she slung her bag over her shoulder and made her way to Creative Writing.
The hours since this moment, her brain wouldn't shut off with questions. Most of the questions she asked herself were met with negative answers. How will you finish college? You won't. How will you afford this? You can't. Will your parents support you? Definitely not. What will your mother say? Told you so.
Aria polished off more than half the apple pie while she was lost in thought, then put it on the bedside table and grabbed her phone. She pulled up a message to Spencer, typed "How would you feel about becoming an aunt?" and was about to send it before she erased it and threw the phone back onto her bed. Spencer was going to be so disappointed in her, if she ever happened to tell her. Maybe she'd flee the country with Ezra and the baby and avoid any heartbreaking looks of disapproval from friends and family. She was smarter than a teenage pregnancy, even though she was an adult and barely a teenager anymore. You're smarter than this mistake.
Two minutes later, the apartment door creaked open and the sound of keys hitting the kitchen table could be heard from the bedroom. Footsteps followed until they were outside the bedroom. The door opened, revealing Ezra dressed in a pair of black jeans and a nice shirt. His goofy smile was the closest thing to a hug without his arms actually touching her. Something about his presence always brought a sense of comfort; it was the same effect her mother and Spencer had whenever she was struggling to hold it together.
"When I asked your mom to make us another pie, I didn't actually think you'd eat half of it one sitting," he joked, immediately noticing it on the bedside table. "So if you calculate 76 kisses per one slice, and that was about four slices…" Before he could continue, he saw the look on Aria's face and lowered his eyebrows in concern, taking a seat next to her on the edge of the bed. It was as if she hadn't even detected his presence in the room, the way she didn't move to acknowledge him, or how she didn't get up to give him a 'welcome home' kiss like she had every time he came home after her.
"Are you okay?" he asked gently, rubbing his hand up and down her back. Aria silently shook her head. "What happened?"
"In Creative Writing, our professor asked us to tell a story in only 5 words, something that described us. She wanted to see if the other students could guess. I left before I passed it in."
"What was your story?"
Aria sighed, unable to make eye contact with him, and dug inside the pocket of her jeans. She retrieved a crumbled up piece of notebook paper and handed it to him. Still watching her, he unfolded the piece of paper and let his eyes travel across the words.
"Wanted degree, got pregnant instead."
He felt the wind knocked out of him, like a hurricane strength gust of wind had escaped into their bedroom. In a state of shock, he asked, "Is this...true? Are you—"
"Yes," she answered, before he could finish the sentence. She had written the word "pregnant," had read the word "pregnant," but wasn't ready to vocalize it. "I mean, if the test was right. I'll have to see a doctor to make sure."
"Holy crap," he finally vocalized, the same words he uttered when he realized she was his student two years ago, another blow with equal force. Ezra stared at the piece of paper for several moments, concentrating on his breathing. He continued to move his hand up and down her back as the couple sat in complete silence, trying to take in their reality. She broke the silence a minute later.
"Everything was going so well."
Ezra gently turned her chin so she was looking at him. "You...don't have to do this."
Aria shook her head, knowing what he meant, and knowing she wouldn't even consider abortion. "I could never do that."
Ezra nodded understandingly. "Remember how happy we were yesterday?"
"Yeah, that didn't last very long," she muttered, looking down at the floor.
"This baby will make us even happier," he promised her. "He or she will bring so much happiness into our lives, that you won't remember feeling this way."
"I barely know how to be a college student, or an adult," she pointed out. "How am I supposed to learn how to be a parent at the same time? What if I have to drop out?"
"That's not going to happen," he insisted.
"How do you know? We don't know what our lives will be like in a year. No one does."
"Because I won't let it happen. We are going to have this baby, and you are going to receive your degree, and in a few years, you are going to show the world how talented you are as a successful young professional in whichever career path you choose to follow."
Aria smiled meekly at his confidence, even if he hadn't completely persuaded her. The faith he had in her strength and abilities was one of the reasons she loved him. He thought she could do anything, even if she wasn't so sure of this herself. When she struggled in high school while dealing with a menacing stalker, he always coached her along, but this was a lot bigger in her eyes. This was never going to go away. He leaned over to his nightstand and grabbed a fisher ballpoint pen with a custom nib—his favorite pen—and crossed out the word "instead" on the crumbled up piece of paper. He wrote another world, and handed it to Aria. "Wanted degree, got pregnant too."
"Now we'll have a little cheerleader who loves you just as much as I do, cheering you on when you go out and accomplish everything you want in the world," he promised, adding, "and you'll also have me, who isn't so little, but will still be your cheerleader."
She smiled sadly and scooted closer to her boyfriend, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and brought her closer to his side. They stayed in peaceful silence, reflecting on this life-changing day, until Ezra remembered something.
"Three-hundred and four," he calculated.
Aria turned her head and looked up at him as he looked down at her. They shared a sweet kiss, and then another, and another, until she pulled away. "I'll have to save the rest for later. I just ate four slices of pie, and I'm only now regretting it."
"I'll happily take a raincheck."
Aria smiled, resting her head back on his shoulder. "But as a warning, I do charge a 20% interest on my pie loans," he cautioned.
Aria rolled her eyes, nestling her body into Ezra's.
I was so happy to see that a lot of people were still interested in this story, so I was motivated to write this chapter. Please review! I promise that they motivate me to keep writing. ;)
Oh, a few things. The Creative Writing class assignment was actually based on my freshman year of college. In one of my first classes, (it was a journalism class), our professor asked us to write our stories in 5 words, and she'd collect all the sheets of paper and read them out loud, and see if we could guess who was who. She proceeded to tell us that one year, a girl submitted "Wanted degree, got pregnant instead," and it was very memorable for her. She said the woman continued in the class, and as she got further along in her pregnancy, the rest of the students were extremely supportive and helped her out.
