Something Different
Chapter 6
Rex tweaked his whiskers and gave me a look that said, you got yourself into this mess.
"I get your point Rex"
I pressed play on my answering machine. One after another people congratulated me and most of them wanted to know if Joe Morelli was the father. Well, at least they won't be disappointed, I thought to myself. Scattered among all the messages where a couple from my mother, Mary Lou and one from Ranger. No messages from Joe.
I thought about the fact that Joe hadn't called. It's not that I didn't want to hear from him, but it was probably better to stay out of each others way for the moment. Give him time to except that the baby was his.
I thought that I'd get mom and Ranger out of the way first, so when I called Mary Lou she couldn't say I held out on her.
I flipped a coin to see who I'd ring first.
"Hi mum" I said when she picked up. "What's up?"
"Where have you been?" she demanded "I have been getting calls all day about that darn newspaper"
"I've been at work, and I explained this morning, I was going to tell you, but I was waiting until after I had told Joe, but the newspaper beat me to it, well at least with you."
"Surely to god, you not going to keep working?"
"Yeah, for a little while longer, then I'll find something else until after the baby is born."
"What did Joe say when you told him?" mum asked
"Well, he wasn't exactly happy about it. I haven't heard from him since this morning."
"Will he marry you?"
"I honestly don't know, at the moment, I'd say no"
"Oh my god, what did I ever do to deserve a pregnant, unmarried, bounty hunter daughter."
I could picture my mother making the sign of the cross.
"Calm down mum, I'll figure something out. Um why did you call?"
"I wanted to know if you were coming to dinner? Your eating for two now, you'll have to eat proper meals.
I glanced down at my watch 5:00pm. I could ring Ranger and still make it for dinner, then go to Mary Lou's after dinner.
"I have a few more calls to make, but I'll try to make it"
"I'll set the table for you, see you at 6."
I hung up, took a couple of deep breaths, and called Ranger
"Yo"
"It's Stephanie, I got your message"
"Congratulations babe, Morelli must be happy"
"Huh?"
"The baby"
"Right, sorry my mind's been working over time today. How do you know it's Joe's"
"Can't be mine, a, we were protected, and um, I had a vasectomy, after my wife and I divorced. I thought I'd never meet anyone again, until you."
My "oh" hung in the air for a while.
"So, what are you going to do about Morelli?" Ranger asked
"Dunno, it's really up to him now. He knows it's his, though whether he believed me, I have no idea."
"Do you want me to beat some sense into him?"
"As tempting as that may seen, I don't think that the cops will be very happy with you."
"Been in bigger trouble before, with bigger people"
"I have no doubt" I looked at my watch, "I've gotta go, my mother is expecting me for dinner"
"Call me if you need me"
" 'kay, bye" By this time I was talking to the dial tone.
It took me 20 minutes to get to my parents house, on the way I thought about what job I could possibly get. Maybe Ranger could find me something.
I pulled up to the curb outside my parents house, right behind a very familiar red Ducati.
Shit, Morelli is such an arse, I don't hear from him all day, and then he shows up at my parents house expecting dinner. I pulled my phone out of my bag and dialed my parents house.
"Hi mum, what's Joe doing here?"
"Where are you, I heard sirens before, you haven't been in an accident?"
"I'm outside and I'm fine, what's Morelli doing there?"
"Your grandmother rang him, and told him to come over for dinner"
"So he knows I'm expected for dinner?"
"Yes, are you coming inside?"
"Maybe, is he in a good mood?"
"I'm not sure, he's watching the game with your father, so who knows."
"He's what…" I shrieked
"Watching the game with your father"
"Does dad know I'm pregnant?"
"I haven't told him, and I'm pretty sure Joe hasn't"
In the background I heard grandma Mazur ask who was on the phone, but before I could tell mum not to answer she had told her it was me and I was outside. Then with horror I heard grandma tell relay what mum had told her. I then realize I had to get out of here, because Joe would be coming out any minute to talk to me.
"Hey mum, listen I've gotta go, I'm suddenly not feeling very well. Speak to you soon."
As mum tried to say something, I hung up the phone. I looked towards the front door, and Joe come running out, helmet on, ready to follow me, geeze he knew me to well. I started the Buick and pealed away from the curb, smoking tires and all.
For the next 15 minutes all I did was drive around Trenton. I couldn't go home because I knew that Joe would be waiting for me, well at least I knew he couldn't get in, I hope he couldn't.
My stomach rumbled, reminding me that I was starved. I turned around and pointed the Buick's nose towards my parents house.
I pulled into the same space as earlier, relieved not to Morelli's Ducati any where. As I walked up the drive I could see mum and grandma standing in the door way.
I heard grandma Mazur say "See I told you she would come back"
"Can I still get something to eat? I'm starving!"
Mum and grandma ushered me inside the house.
Mum dished out a rather large plate of food for me, and while she was heating it up, I decided to go and talk to dad.
"Hey dad, what's the score?"
"Don't know, not really watching it"
"Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Dad looked at me, "Sure what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm pregnant."
"I know, Joe mentioned it earlier"
"What??"
"Joe mentioned it when he was here, guess he figured I knew"
"Your not upset?"
"No, I figured something was up, on account of the number of times the goddam phone has rung, oh, and this" he said, pointing to the paper lying in his lap. "I knew you'd tell me sooner or later. And besides, Joe's a good guy, better that that Latino, muscle bound bounty hunter you once bought around"
If only he knew the full story.
"Thank you dad" I said hugging him.
After dinner I didn't really feel like driving home (or running into Joe) so I stayed the night at my parents.
The next morning I put off leaving for as long as possible, the way I figured it, Joe had to go to work, and the later I left here, the less chance I had of seeing him.
Around 10am I left my parents house, driving down the road I flipped on the radio to my favorite station 101.9 Trenton FM, I was in time to heard the daily quiz, which I was desperate to win, seeing how the prize was a trip for 2, to LA, with 2 adjoining rooms, and all expenses paid, and it was for 3 weeks. Man I really needed to win!! I need to get away.
Turning up the radio, I was just in time to hear the question.
"This is 101.9 Trenton FM. If you want to play our quiz today, be called number 20 right now"
I pulled the Buick off to the side of the road, at the same time I dumped the contents of my bag onto the seat beside me. Picking up my phone from out of the mess I dialed the radio station. Damn engaged. I tried once more, it was ringing.
"Hello, this is 101.9 Trenton FM, your caller number 20"
"Ommigod, ommigod, really?"
"Yes, what is your name please?"
"Stephanie"
"Ok, for your chance to win this wonderful trip to LA, all you need to do is answer these 5 questions about the music we play on this station. Are you ready?"
"Yep"
"Question 1, What country do Savage Garden come from?"
"Australia"
"Correct, question 2, what is the title of Matchbox 20's new album?"
"Um, is it Mad Season?"
"Another one correct, question 3, what is the latest single by band Blink 182?"
"Adam's song"
"Correct, question 4, name two bands that have a song on the M:I 2 sound track?"
"Metallica and Limp Biscuit"
"Correct, now all you have to do is answer this question correctly and you have won the trip to LA. Are you excited?"
"You have no idea how much I need to get away"
"Last question, according to our afternoon disk jockey, who of the new bread of young female singers is the biggest bitch?"
I thought for a second, there were so many. "Its gotta be the one and only Brittany Spears"
"Stephanie, your are correct, you have won the trip to LA!!!!!!!!"
"Ommigod, ommigod, ommigod" I screamed down the phone.
"Have you got anyone to take with you?"
I thought about all the possibilities, Mary Lou, Lula, grandma, Sally, Connie, Briggs, Joe…
"I think I'm gonna have people fighting with me to come"
"Once more, congratulations, hang on the line and we'll get your details"
Chapter 6
Rex tweaked his whiskers and gave me a look that said, you got yourself into this mess.
"I get your point Rex"
I pressed play on my answering machine. One after another people congratulated me and most of them wanted to know if Joe Morelli was the father. Well, at least they won't be disappointed, I thought to myself. Scattered among all the messages where a couple from my mother, Mary Lou and one from Ranger. No messages from Joe.
I thought about the fact that Joe hadn't called. It's not that I didn't want to hear from him, but it was probably better to stay out of each others way for the moment. Give him time to except that the baby was his.
I thought that I'd get mom and Ranger out of the way first, so when I called Mary Lou she couldn't say I held out on her.
I flipped a coin to see who I'd ring first.
"Hi mum" I said when she picked up. "What's up?"
"Where have you been?" she demanded "I have been getting calls all day about that darn newspaper"
"I've been at work, and I explained this morning, I was going to tell you, but I was waiting until after I had told Joe, but the newspaper beat me to it, well at least with you."
"Surely to god, you not going to keep working?"
"Yeah, for a little while longer, then I'll find something else until after the baby is born."
"What did Joe say when you told him?" mum asked
"Well, he wasn't exactly happy about it. I haven't heard from him since this morning."
"Will he marry you?"
"I honestly don't know, at the moment, I'd say no"
"Oh my god, what did I ever do to deserve a pregnant, unmarried, bounty hunter daughter."
I could picture my mother making the sign of the cross.
"Calm down mum, I'll figure something out. Um why did you call?"
"I wanted to know if you were coming to dinner? Your eating for two now, you'll have to eat proper meals.
I glanced down at my watch 5:00pm. I could ring Ranger and still make it for dinner, then go to Mary Lou's after dinner.
"I have a few more calls to make, but I'll try to make it"
"I'll set the table for you, see you at 6."
I hung up, took a couple of deep breaths, and called Ranger
"Yo"
"It's Stephanie, I got your message"
"Congratulations babe, Morelli must be happy"
"Huh?"
"The baby"
"Right, sorry my mind's been working over time today. How do you know it's Joe's"
"Can't be mine, a, we were protected, and um, I had a vasectomy, after my wife and I divorced. I thought I'd never meet anyone again, until you."
My "oh" hung in the air for a while.
"So, what are you going to do about Morelli?" Ranger asked
"Dunno, it's really up to him now. He knows it's his, though whether he believed me, I have no idea."
"Do you want me to beat some sense into him?"
"As tempting as that may seen, I don't think that the cops will be very happy with you."
"Been in bigger trouble before, with bigger people"
"I have no doubt" I looked at my watch, "I've gotta go, my mother is expecting me for dinner"
"Call me if you need me"
" 'kay, bye" By this time I was talking to the dial tone.
It took me 20 minutes to get to my parents house, on the way I thought about what job I could possibly get. Maybe Ranger could find me something.
I pulled up to the curb outside my parents house, right behind a very familiar red Ducati.
Shit, Morelli is such an arse, I don't hear from him all day, and then he shows up at my parents house expecting dinner. I pulled my phone out of my bag and dialed my parents house.
"Hi mum, what's Joe doing here?"
"Where are you, I heard sirens before, you haven't been in an accident?"
"I'm outside and I'm fine, what's Morelli doing there?"
"Your grandmother rang him, and told him to come over for dinner"
"So he knows I'm expected for dinner?"
"Yes, are you coming inside?"
"Maybe, is he in a good mood?"
"I'm not sure, he's watching the game with your father, so who knows."
"He's what…" I shrieked
"Watching the game with your father"
"Does dad know I'm pregnant?"
"I haven't told him, and I'm pretty sure Joe hasn't"
In the background I heard grandma Mazur ask who was on the phone, but before I could tell mum not to answer she had told her it was me and I was outside. Then with horror I heard grandma tell relay what mum had told her. I then realize I had to get out of here, because Joe would be coming out any minute to talk to me.
"Hey mum, listen I've gotta go, I'm suddenly not feeling very well. Speak to you soon."
As mum tried to say something, I hung up the phone. I looked towards the front door, and Joe come running out, helmet on, ready to follow me, geeze he knew me to well. I started the Buick and pealed away from the curb, smoking tires and all.
For the next 15 minutes all I did was drive around Trenton. I couldn't go home because I knew that Joe would be waiting for me, well at least I knew he couldn't get in, I hope he couldn't.
My stomach rumbled, reminding me that I was starved. I turned around and pointed the Buick's nose towards my parents house.
I pulled into the same space as earlier, relieved not to Morelli's Ducati any where. As I walked up the drive I could see mum and grandma standing in the door way.
I heard grandma Mazur say "See I told you she would come back"
"Can I still get something to eat? I'm starving!"
Mum and grandma ushered me inside the house.
Mum dished out a rather large plate of food for me, and while she was heating it up, I decided to go and talk to dad.
"Hey dad, what's the score?"
"Don't know, not really watching it"
"Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Dad looked at me, "Sure what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm pregnant."
"I know, Joe mentioned it earlier"
"What??"
"Joe mentioned it when he was here, guess he figured I knew"
"Your not upset?"
"No, I figured something was up, on account of the number of times the goddam phone has rung, oh, and this" he said, pointing to the paper lying in his lap. "I knew you'd tell me sooner or later. And besides, Joe's a good guy, better that that Latino, muscle bound bounty hunter you once bought around"
If only he knew the full story.
"Thank you dad" I said hugging him.
After dinner I didn't really feel like driving home (or running into Joe) so I stayed the night at my parents.
The next morning I put off leaving for as long as possible, the way I figured it, Joe had to go to work, and the later I left here, the less chance I had of seeing him.
Around 10am I left my parents house, driving down the road I flipped on the radio to my favorite station 101.9 Trenton FM, I was in time to heard the daily quiz, which I was desperate to win, seeing how the prize was a trip for 2, to LA, with 2 adjoining rooms, and all expenses paid, and it was for 3 weeks. Man I really needed to win!! I need to get away.
Turning up the radio, I was just in time to hear the question.
"This is 101.9 Trenton FM. If you want to play our quiz today, be called number 20 right now"
I pulled the Buick off to the side of the road, at the same time I dumped the contents of my bag onto the seat beside me. Picking up my phone from out of the mess I dialed the radio station. Damn engaged. I tried once more, it was ringing.
"Hello, this is 101.9 Trenton FM, your caller number 20"
"Ommigod, ommigod, really?"
"Yes, what is your name please?"
"Stephanie"
"Ok, for your chance to win this wonderful trip to LA, all you need to do is answer these 5 questions about the music we play on this station. Are you ready?"
"Yep"
"Question 1, What country do Savage Garden come from?"
"Australia"
"Correct, question 2, what is the title of Matchbox 20's new album?"
"Um, is it Mad Season?"
"Another one correct, question 3, what is the latest single by band Blink 182?"
"Adam's song"
"Correct, question 4, name two bands that have a song on the M:I 2 sound track?"
"Metallica and Limp Biscuit"
"Correct, now all you have to do is answer this question correctly and you have won the trip to LA. Are you excited?"
"You have no idea how much I need to get away"
"Last question, according to our afternoon disk jockey, who of the new bread of young female singers is the biggest bitch?"
I thought for a second, there were so many. "Its gotta be the one and only Brittany Spears"
"Stephanie, your are correct, you have won the trip to LA!!!!!!!!"
"Ommigod, ommigod, ommigod" I screamed down the phone.
"Have you got anyone to take with you?"
I thought about all the possibilities, Mary Lou, Lula, grandma, Sally, Connie, Briggs, Joe…
"I think I'm gonna have people fighting with me to come"
"Once more, congratulations, hang on the line and we'll get your details"
