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**FLASHBACK, 1981**
Ohmygod. This can't be happening.
I'm looking down at a... test. A test that is pretty much the scariest damn thing I've ever seen in my life. Like, a life-changing test. Way scarier than the SAT's.
And the plus sign is definitely not a good thing.
I need to talk to Maureen, so I run into the family room. I see her sitting on the couch, watching Facts of Life with Robin and Tony.
I run up to her. "Maureen... can I talk to you in my room, please?"
She gives me a weird look. "Okay..."
We go into me and Robin's room, and I quickly shut the door. "I have to tell you something really important and you have to promise that you won't freak out on me."
"Okay," she says again, wary.
I pull out the test and show her.
"Jackie, all I can say is that better be yours and not Robin's," she says, eyeing the plus sign.
"Yes, it's mine, but isn't this /terrible/! Isn't this the worst thing that could /possibly/ happen?" I throw my hands in the air.
"No, it's not. It happened to me," Maureen offers.
"Yes, but... I mean..." I trail off slowly. I'm not sure what to say.
"You'll be fine. I promise. The worst part is telling Corey. Actually, no, the worst part will be the giving birth part, but telling Corey could be a close second," Maureen says.
"Great," I groan.
"No, it won't be that bad. But you have to talk to him. Right now, okay?" she asks me.
"Okay... I mean... I'll call him," I manage to say.
**FAST FORWARD TO mid-1982**
Corey and I are married now. And our daughter Molly is just beautiful. She's five weeks old, and is so good. She hardly cries.
We live in Corey's apartment, right near Maureen's. And everything's going great.
Corey and I are so in love. I've never felt this passionate about a guy before. It's like, with him I feel so much. I can't imagine anything ever going wrong in this relationship.
I'm rocking Molly, putting her to sleep, when Corey walks in. "Hey, honey," he greets me.
I put Molly down in the crib, then run over and kiss him, a lot. "How was work?"
"Good. But this is so much better," he says, laughing as we start making out again.
We continue in doing so for about five minutes. Then I hear Molly start to stir, and I get up. Corey follows me.
"Hey, Moll," he says, smiling down at her.
Molly yawns, and I pick her up. "I was thinking about heading down to Maureen's for a little while tonight," I say.
"Leaving me alone again? Alright." Corey stops, shaking his head. "You bringing Molly?"
"If you want me to," I say. "Do you?"
"It doesn't matter to me," he says.
"Then yeah, I'll take her." I smile at him and give him a quick kiss before grabbing Molly's diaper bag.
"Hey, hey, before you leave," Corey says, running up to me. Then he kisses me again, more passionately than before. "I love you," he murmurs to me before I walk out the door.
"I love you, too." I hold Molly up, making her give a little wave. "She says, 'Bye, Daddy'."
Corey smiles and kisses Molly on the head.
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Looking back, I wish I was living life like it was a few weeks ago. Right now, I'm sitting at Maureen's, terrified. Corey just beat me again. I'm still not sure how it happened, but I'm scared.
He started doing this about a week ago, whenever he gets mad at me, or he's in a bad mood. He apologizes continuously when it's over, but he still continues to do it, normally a few days after. I still haven't told Maureen, because I'm a little afraid of what she's gonna say.
Molly is asleep in a crib in my old room, while I'm sitting in Maureen's kitchen while she cooks.
"Jackie, you staying for dinner?" Maureen asks.
"Yeah..." I trail off slowly, thinking.
"Alright." She wipes her hands off and turns to face me. "Jackie, what's wrong? You look so sad."
"Nothing." I smile weakly. "I'm fine."
"Yeah, right." Maureen sits next to me at the table. "Is everything okay? Is your job okay?"
"Yeah, it's fine," I say distractedly. I got a job at a salon a few months back.
"Okay, then," Maureen says, going back to the counter.
"Maureen, is something wrong with me? Like, do I attract guys that... are violent?" I ask timidly.
She whips around. "Did something happen with Corey?"
I shrug slowly. "I don't know."
Her face turns angry. "Did he hit you?"
"I... well... yeah. He has been," I say as I nod slowly.
Maureen's eyes grow wide. "He hasn't hurt Molly has he?"
I shake my head.
"God, what an asshole!" She furiously paces around the kitchen. "You and Molly are moving back in here; I don't care what he says."
No. I knew she would do this. "But-"
"No, no 'buts'. You can't stay there. Let's go grab your stuff right now," she says, grabbing the keys.
"No! I mean, I love him!" I insist.
"I know you do. But if he's hurting you, it's not worth it," Maureen shoots back. "Robin, watch Molly for us if she gets up! And Tom, watch the stove!"
"Alright, Mom," her two children reply.
Maureen grabs my arm, forcing me to get into the car with her. "You are not staying there with him. Is he there right now?"
"No. He went to the bar," I say.
"He drinks? Since when?" Maureen asks.
"Since recently," I reply.
"Well, that's why. Obviously he's doing this because of the alcohol." Maureen frowns as we pull in the apartment complex.
"Let's go grab your stuff. Hurry!" she says as we rush into the building.
As upset as I am right now, and as much as I don't want to do this, I'm really thankful that I have a friend like Maureen to fall back on. She'll look after me no matter what, especially when even I don't know what's best for me. She's like my best friend, and the mom I never had, all in one. That's what makes her so special to me.
**END FLASHBACK**
As I get into the car, I think about all of the memories that I've had with Maureen and her family. I really want to go there, but I don't feel like it's the right time. I mean, it's been so long.
So, when I start driving, I find myself driving as though I'm going to Molly's apartment. However, I know that I have a different destination in mind.
So, after an hour of driving, I found myself in the home that I actually grew up in. I haven't been there for so long. It's like, I've felt the need to go there ever since I left, but I never allowed myself, until now. I mean, things are changing. I think I deserve to allow myself to go there.
I'm driving up and down the street where Eric and Donna used to live. I know that new families probably live in those houses. However, it seems that when I drive past Eric's old house, there's a Vista Cruiser in the driveway.
It must be a sign. It has to be. Hesitantly, I pull into the driveway, get out of the car, and knock on the door.
After standing on the porch for a few seconds, the door opens, revealing a teenage girl.
"Yeah?" she asks.
"Um, hi. You wouldn't, by any chance, happen to be a Forman, would you?" I ask slowly.
She rolls her eyes. "Dad, it's a telemarketer!"
"No, no, no, it's not, I swear!" I insist. "Can I... talk to one of your parents?"
She sighs. "Fine. Dad!"
I hear frantic running, and suddenly the door opens a little wider, revealing none other than Eric Forman.
"Yes, what-" Eric stops midsentence, looking at me intently. "Are you... Jackie?" he asks in disbelief.
I nod. "Yeah. I was... in town for the first time in a while. I thought I'd stop by."
"Jenny, go get your mom!" Eric yells to the living room. Then he turns to me. "Oh, uh, come in, come in."
"So do you, like, live here now?" I ask.
"Yeah, Donna and I do, with our two kids," Eric replies.
"So you and Donna finally got married, huh?" I ask.
Eric smiles. "Yeah, after we both graduated from college. You know we got back together New Year's 1980. After that, I went back to Africa, came back that May, and went to college with Donna. Then we-"
"Jackie?" Donna's surprised voice echoes from the staircase.
I smile lightly as I see her descend from the stairs. "Hi, Donna."
"Oh my God, it's been forever! We were, what... eighteen?" she asks in disbelief.
"Yeah... I think so," I say.
"That's so weird..." Donna says quietly. "That's almost how old Jenny is now."
"Jenny's... your daughter?" I ask, and then feel dumb. "Well, obviously."
"Yeah," Donna says, while Eric says, "She's the one who opened the door for you."
"Oh, okay," I say, nodding.
"Yeah, and our son Adam is at his friend's house right now, or else I'd tell him to come out," Eric says. "He's twelve."
"Do you have any kids?" Donna asks me.
"Um, yeah," I say. "Asher's thirteen, Spencer's eleven, and Molly's almost twenty-one."
"What?" Eric and Donna ask in disbelief.
"Yeah, I had her young," I say. "Actually, that was with my first husband. The other two are with my current husband. Who, I'm currently divorcing."
"Huh," Donna says, obviously unsure of what to say.
"I know... my life is nothing like I thought it would be." I shrug. "It's gonna get better. I mean, I can only hope that."
"That's a good way to think," Donna agrees.
Jenny walks by again, and Donna pulls her over. "Jenny, this is me and Dad's old friend Jackie. Jackie, this is Jenny. She's seventeen."
"Hi," I smile at her. She's very pretty. Her hair is blonde, probably dyed, and she's actually not all that tall, which is surprising, because both of her parents are.
"Nice to meet you," she says distractedly.
I turn back to Eric and Donna. "So... have either of you talked to anybody else from the group?"
"Well, as far as I know, Kelso's still in Chicago..." Donna trails off thoughtfully.
"Yeah, the last time we saw him was... well, it had to be almost ten years ago," Eric says.
"He still wasn't married or anything," Donna says.
"Fez actually owns that salon now. We still see him quite a bit, actually. He got married to a girl named Theresa. They have one son. He's pretty good friends with our son, actually," Eric says.
"Oh, wow," I say.
"Yeah, and I'm not really sure what happened to Hyde. He's still around, I guess. I ran into him a few years ago," Eric says again.
"Huh," I say. "Weird."