October 25th, 2004
Angel Grove, CA
The next few weeks passed without incident. Marci and I moved back in our house and we did everything we could to banish the last few things of Nick's that had been left behind. I didn't even give him the decency of putting it aside to get , I chucked all of his clothes and belongings into the garbage for pick up. It felt great to see it go and to not need to worry about his presence hanging around. The same effect went with the living room furniture. Trini and Jason found a cheap set for me when they went shopping and it was delivered the following day. It wasn't as big as the set Tommy had bought for me but the brown leather went well with the room. Marci and Trini helped set up the couch, love seat, and recliner with me while the delivery men carried the old set out to the curb for me. That was the last memory of Nick that hung in the house and it felt much better in here now that it was gone.
I went back to work the following Monday where I was greeted with open arms by everyone. Instead of giving everyone the story about what had happened and getting sympathy looks, I opted in telling them I had been attacked during a home invasion and that Nick was in jail for drug charges. It was the best story I could give where I didn't sound like a complete moron for not leaving. I did tell everyone I was pregnant as well and they seemed thrilled for me, especially Rosey. I showed her the sonogram picture and she said she couldn't want to knit me something once I found out what I was having. It was nice having everyone at work behind me. The show had been gearing up as well, the sets nearly all put together and the costumes being sewn to fit everyone. Adam and Billy volunteered their time to help out, coming down to paint and work on some of the other big props we needed to have done. Billy wired street lamps for us that worked with a remote and he also fashioned a call system between backstage and the concession stand for us. We were right on track for our grand opening the first week of November. I designed the posters to hang around town to advertise and Aisha helped me get into contact with a couple of the nearby radio stations who sold us some cheap air time for our commercials. Tickets were already starting to sell and I was excited to see what kind of turn out we would have.
We had a lot of company in our time back at the house. Trini was a staple, coming over every couple of days on her way home from work. She went back in after I was cleared at my next appointment with the doctor. She had gone with me and Dr. Amankwuah confirmed that I had been correct about how far along I was. He wasn't able to see what the baby was but said that he could try again in the beginning of November for my next appointment. Sadly, my insurance didn't cover having multiple sonograms unless something was wrong with the baby. I would need to be patient. Marci was having a harder time at that than I was. She had a lot of plans for the nursery and what she wanted to do if it was a girl. She had some for if it was a boy too but I knew her heart was set on it being a girl. I hope it wasn't going to break her heart too much in the event it ends up being a boy. I knew she was going to love them, regardless of what the gender would be. She was going to be a great addition to their lives. I just wasn't sure exactly what they would call her yet. It felt weird to say sister but I didn't want her to just be Marci. I was going to have to sit and think about it for a while. I still had time but time was ticking away faster than I thought it would.
We started having dinner as a group every Wednesday and Saturday nights, changing out where they would happen. Since we were just beginning to help Trini and Jason get their house back together, they weren't an option. We cycled through, eating pizza at Tommy's house, chinese at Adam and Billy's, and then mexican at Rocky and Aisha's that his mother made for us from scratch. When everyone came over to our place, we worked all day at cooking a recipe she found in a magazine while waiting for me at one of my appointments. It came out great, the greek inspired dish being a huge hit with everyone. I was impressed on how well we had done and she started planning for our next turn. I was enjoying having everyone around again. It brought me back to when I was a teen and I would picture what adulthood would look like. It was exactly this; all of us sitting down to dinner, laughing and talking like old friends. It felt like home to be surrounded by everyone and building these memories to wash out the bad.
Trini and Jason's house was slowly coming back together. There had been so much damage to the property we hadn't seen that it slowed things almost to a halt. Their piping had been ripped out, their electric wiring had been sliced, and nothing would work when they tried their heat. All of this required hiring professionals and we had to work around their scheduling. Billy could only do so much when he was available. A month later, we are finally able to work on more of the house. They should be able to move back in before Thanksgiving which was good seeing as they were hosting everyone. I knew Trini was excited to have people over and feeling like normal again. Her and Jason had found a place nearby to rent for the time being while they were waiting to move back home. They both hated it but it was the only thing they could do. The police were still no closer to finding the people than they had been that day. Jason was still convinced Nick was behind it somehow but he had denied everything to the police I guess. It didn't shock me.
Nick's court date was scheduled for the beginning of January. His lawyer was pushing for some kind of insanity plea which was forcing the process to take even longer than it should. As the middle of October approached, I wished that it would just happen already so I could move on. Detective Branson and her team have been working with me to help prep for the stand. I was nervous as hell but more eager to have his ass behind bars for a long time. I knew I would be ready for it when the time came as long as I had everyone there with me. Tommy said he'd be there but I was nervous about that idea. What if Nick said something about the baby to him while in court? What if he told everyone the truth while he was at the stand? I couldn't risk that. Nick would do anything to hurt me and exposing the truth would be the best way to do that now.
Tommy and I have been a great place. He's really slipped back into that best friend role we had back in high school before we started dating. He comes over every day just to check on me and to make sure I don't need his help. He finished up the rest of the renovations that hadn't been finished yet and helped me clean up the yard. When he wasn't working his butt off, he'd come over just to hang out and watch movies with Marci and me. At first, Marci didn't like to stick around when he was here. I think she assumed we wanted to be alone. But she eventually came around to it. Now, she doesn't bother moving over to make room on the couch. And the wise cracked between the two of them have me almost rolling on the floor most nights. Tommy even comes over on his lunch breaks sometimes and has lunch with me at work, making sure I was eating enough for the baby during the day. He was acting like a father to be more than he should be but I didn't mind. I like having him around and I enjoyed the company. He just wanted to be friends and this was the best way to get to that place we were at before.
Marci was continuing to go to school and seemed to be fitting in well. She brought home new friends a couple days throughout the week, some of them were younger siblings to my old classmates. I did notice that she brought home a boy named Craig a few times now and the two were very friendly while they watched television on the couch. I sat in the kitchen with Trini, giving them privacy while they hung out. Craig seemed to like Marci, him choosing to sit with her on the loveseat rather than the other five spaces available for him in the room. And she didn't seem to mind as she moved closer to him.
"Should I separate them? I probably should, huh?" I whispered, trying to pretend I wasn't looking around the door jam at the pair. Trini shook her head.
"Leave it be. It's not like they are going at it on the couch right in front of you." She replied. I sighed, taking a sip of my tea.
"They only met just a few weeks ago! Doesn't this seem a little fast?"
"Well, if that doesn't bring me back to a certain couple I used to know." Trini said, looking at me over her coffee cup. I gave her a look.
"Tommy and I were not like that. He was whisked away to the moon by Rita before I could snuggle with him on a couch." I shot back.
"Yeah but what about when he joined our team? I seem to remember a time where the two of you were fused together at the hip."
"That was like four months after we met. It took him forever to get the nerve to even ask me out. Craig seems like he moves a bit faster than that." I said, peeking at the two again. I saw he had his hand on her knee now.
"Marci can handle herself. I'm sure if he tries anything she doesn't like, she'll rip his head off and feed it to him. She has been spending a great deal of time with Aisha." I laughed, nodding.
"You're right. I just worry about her. That's all." I finished my tea and set the cup off to the side of the table. "Speaking of Aisha, any news on when we will be finding out what they are having?"
"I believe she said they are going to announce it sometime this week. They wanted to wait until his grandmother came to town to tell anyone. They don't even know. Rocky's sister is the one who has the gender from their appointment. They've been waiting since the end of September. Rocky wants a boy in the worst way. She said she heard him praying the other day for one. I really hope he gets his wish. "
"Ugh. I don't think I could wait that long! They are far more patient than me. Though, I can't picture them having a girl. Poor Rocky would be teamed up for the rest of his life. One Aisha is rough on him. Imagine a mini one of her running after Rocky when he does something stupid." We both laughed, picturing a little girl version on Aisha walking after Rocky with her signature fiery look as she glares him down.
"What about you?" She asked. "Do you want a mini Kim running around? Or a bouncing baby boy?"
"It doesn't matter to me as long as they are safe and healthy." I put a hand over my stomach. I had started to show about a week or two ago, a small bump popping out one morning when I woke up. It was shocking to say the least but made me smile. I wondered for a moment what they would look like. What if they came out as a spitting image of Tommy? How would I explain that one? Though Nick had dark hair and eyes similar to Tommy, I couldn't even begin to explain if they had similar noses or face shape. I prayed the baby looked more like me or a mix that would show both of our features to the point of not being obvious of who their father was.
"I guess we will find out at your appointment next week. I got the day off if you want me to take you still." Trini said, walking over and pouring more coffee into her cup. I nodded.
"Of course I do! Who else would I want there?" She shrugged, not looking at me.
"I figured Tommy might want to go." She said. Turning, she headed back towards the table. I gave her a look when she sat down.
"I think Tommy had his fill of the OBGYN office to last him a lifetime, ya know? Besides, I hate making him go through that. Everyone assumes he's my husband and then we have to awkwardly say he isn't. I figured it would just be best if we didn't make the poor guy through all that again. Besides, he agreed to help out at the theater with Jason that day to help set up for opening night. I really wish that my appointment wasn't the same day. There's so much I could be doing instead of getting probed."
"They will be fine for an hour or two while you make sure the baby is okay. You've led a tight ship. The show is going to do great. The whole town's talking about it."
"I hope so. We are so close to selling out. I hope we can manage to do just that. I feel like it's the only way I can make it up to everyone for going missing in the middle of our first production."
"You had your reasons, Kim. They all know that you meant well and you've stepped up to the plate since then. Everything is going to go great. The show will be great and you will be great. Hopefully, the fame doesn't go straight to Zack's head." I smirked.
"Pretty sure it's too late for that. He's grown two inches since he landed the role. There's no going back now." I heard giggling in the living room and I peaked around to make sure it was innocent. They were both looking at the television, him now holding her hand. Trini glanced behind her, smiling when she turned back around.
"Makes me think of high school." I said, crossing my arms on the table. "Though, they have things a tad bit less stressful than we did."
"Oh? You found our after school jobs stressful?" She asked, giving me a cheeky grin. I snorted, shaking my head.
"No. Not at all. I loved almost failing math because of putties. Twice. Thank god for Billy and his ability to teach anyone anything."
"We had a good thing going, even with Rita making things hard. I miss it sometimes. Not the fight, obviously, but being on a team."
"We still are a team. We just fight different monsters like bills and taxes these days." I said. She nodded, sipping her coffee.
"Isn't that the truth. Thank god for insurance or we'd be in the poor house right now. I can't wait until we're home." She sighed. Reaching over, I patted her hand. The damage had almost cost more than their house did. The police photos had helped them in making the insurance claim though, leaving them with nothing to pay out of pocket for what happened. I was grateful for that, not wanting them to have to deal with not being able to afford to fix their house on top of what I had already caused.
"I know the feeling. I can't wait for you guys to have your house back and for Nick to be behind bars. Everything will be back to normal then and I won't have to stress about anything."
"I wouldn't say that." She said. I looked at her, confused.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Your teenager and her male friend just sneaked their way upstairs." I groaned, burying my face into my hands.
"I'm gonna kill her."
