A couple months later, as he was sitting at the lunch table with Amy and a couple other kids, Amy asked him, "so what are you planning on doing when we graduate in two months, Ephram? I'm thinking of going to the state school a couple hours from here. Enough freedom, ya know, but close enough in case I want to come home."
He finished chewing his food, "you know...I haven't really thought about it..." he shrugged his shoulders, "I guess I havent had time." he thought for a second, "I may take a year off."
"What do you mean?" Amy asked
Ephram looked at her confused, "what do you mean, what do I mean?" he shook his head once.
"You cant take a year off! Why dont you go to that school in Denver, 'College of Contemporary Music'?"
"Why are you pushing this?" he asked innocently
"I'm not pushing anything" Amy said defensively, "I'm just saying you should have a plan once you graduate. It's like you're life is on hold."
Ephram straightened up and his face became hard, "and what would you know about my life, Amy? Do you know how stressful it is, having a four month old at home? My life revolves around him, if he gets sick then I miss school, that's how it works. It's day by day, not week by week or year by year like it used to be."
"I know, you dont have to get defensive."
"I'm not the one getting defensive, Amy!"
"lets not argue, please"
Ephram raised up his arms as if to say, 'I didn't want to start in the first place.'
They were quiet for a few minutes before Amy asked, "so, how is Madison doing?"
Ephram pursed his lips, "do you really want to know?"
Amy's eyes widened, "I wouldnt have asked if I didnt want to know! Why are you being like this?"
"sorry" he sighed, "I just thought...I dont know, forget it." then he said, "Madison's doing well. She's gone back to work, which is cool because she missed being away." he smiled, "she's got a lot of plans for the wedding, which isnt for the next several month, but you know how she is, she likes to get things planned to a T."
The bell rang, which meant there was about 10 minutes before the next class.
As they were walking to class, Amy asked, "are you scared at all?"
"About what? The quiz today, damn right." he grinned
"That's not what I meant and you know it. Getting married at such a young age."
Ephram just half smiled, saying nothing, then went and found a seat in his class. Amy sat next to him, just looking at him.
Of course he was scared, why wouldn't he be? This is his whole life and everything around him is changing as quick as a heartbeat. But he's making the right choice and he knows it. He's got the love of his life standing beside him, and they have a child, a product of their love, he's got everything he needs. He knows, deep down, that he can handle this. They've gotten through difficult times and this will only make their bond stronger. It's a life commitment and he's ready for it.
Just before class started, he took out a piece of paper and slipped it to Amy. She was sort of confused as she tried to open it up discreetly. She smiled, then looked at Ephram and nodded her head after she read the words, "Congratulations, Ephram. We are excited to welcome you to the College of Contemporary Music"
In the middle of his class, the pager that Ephram completely forgot that he had, went off. It was in his bag and it started making little noises. He immediately pulled it out, trying not to draw attention to himself. Just as he pulled it out, his teacher managed to throw the attention on to him, "Mr. Brown, not having another baby are you?"
"Hope not!" he said as he slouched in his char, trying to draw the attention away from him. He felt himself get red in the face as 15 pairs of eyes looked in his direction.
Ephram looked at the pager and read it. It read, "Trenton says hi from mommy's work" which made him smile. Just then, his teacher asked, "Mind sharing with the class what's so important?"
Ephram smiled out of embarrassment, waved the pager slightly and said, "my son says hi." Everybody in the classroom laughed. After they all finishd their chuckles and side comments and focused on the teacher again, Ephram felt like crawling under a rock and hiding. Instead, he just slouched back in his chair as Amy glanced a smile at him.
Later that day, Ephram went to his dad's place. They were to have a family dinner, which was a long time coming. Delia was glad that she was going to have her family together again, even if it was for just one evening.
As his father was cooking for the evening, Ephram leaned on the counter, "You're actually cooking? Will we know what it is when it's put in front of us? And, most importantly, will we die from the taste?"
"How'd you get so funny all of a sudden" joked Andy, "for your information, Nina gave me cooking lessons."
"Wow, I didn't know that." replied Ephram as he looked at his father with a smile.
"There's a lot you don't know about, son" he said, pointing a knife at his son, "That's what'cha get for only living here part time."
"I'm glad you stopped sending the money, it shows that you actually think we're responsible now." he smiled.
"That's only because Madison sent back the last two checks I had sent." he chuckled, "she sent them in a letter. Sort of comical really." he stirred the noodles, "she wrote in the letter that she was only taking the other checks in the first place to get back at me. It was very philosophical, I admire that, since she seemed to put a lot of thought into it."
"What do you mean, philosophical, dad?" asked Ephram as he squinted his eyes.
His father just waved it off as he concentrated on the meal he was preparing.
Through dinner they kept asking about Trenton and how the little family was doing. At one point, Delia replied thoughtfully, "you know what, Ephram...I think I'm too young to be an aunt."
Ephram looked at her and chuckled, "Well, look at it this way...you're not the one taking care of a 4 and a half month old that takes up all of your time." he joked, "but, if you want the experience I'm sure Madison wont mind giving him to you for the day."
Delia rolled her eyes, "That's okay, I'll leave the responsibilities up to you."
They all talked and joked throughout the dinner before Ephram figured he should leave before it got too late. His father gave him a hug and said, "I'm proud of you son", which actually amazed Ephram that he said nothing. Just smiled and wandered to his car. On his long drive back to Madison's all he could think about was what his father said.
