Chapter 6
Before Melanie knew it, she was almost four months along. She was continuing to get good grades, but her reputation at school was rapidly plummeting, now that everyone at school knew she was pregnant with Roger's baby. Besides Mark, Maureen, Collins, and Benny, Roger hadn't been very well-liked to begin with, but now things were much worse. His reputation was suffering, too. When she'd first arrived to Scarsdale, being immediately accepted by the Bohemians, she had no idea her life would end up like this. She didn't know how she was going to finally tell Mrs. Schwartz that she was pregnant. Even wearing her favorites of Roger's big sweatshirts wasn't hiding her baby bump anymore.
"I guess you just have to come right out and say it, Mel," Maureen said, sighing and looking at her.
"I guess I do," Melanie said. "I'm scared, Mo. What if she freaks out on me and tries to send me away or something? I can't leave Roger."
"I don't think she will, Mel," Maureen said. "She loves you and she just lost Brian recently. I'm sure she'll do anything to help you out, to protect you now."
Melanie nodded. "You're right," she said. "Will you come with me, just for moral support?"
"Sure, I will," Maureen said, gently hugging Melanie close. "So have you and Roger figured out names yet?"
"No, not yet," Melanie said. "We haven't really talked about it at all. But we do bothwant to be surprised. We're going to pick out names eventually, though."
"Just don't wait until the birth," Maureen said, "or that will be hell for both you and your mom."
Melanie smiled. "I don't think I'll be able to," she said. "Mo, school's been so hard being pregnant. For the longest time, I wanted to drop out and do something different, but you wouldn't let me."
Maureen nodded. She had yelled at Melanie for twenty straight minutes to convince her not to drop out, that a G.E.D. just wasn't as well-qualifying as a high school diploma; it had worked.
"But I don't think I can keep the baby and go to college at the same time. I mean, Roger said I couldn't get pregnant during our first few times… and now look at me; I have to wear huge sweatshirts and sweatpants to hide the evidence, and even that isn't helping much anymore," Melanie said.
Maureen cringed at Melanie's choice of words. "I know, Mel, but you should tell her soon," she said. "You can't hide it until the baby's born or the day you go into labor will be even more hell than you already think it will be. She has to know somehow. Besides, the hospital's gonna bill her for your doctor visits and stuff, since you're under 18."
Melanie sighed and looked at Maureen. "I know. Mo, I don't know how to tell her," she said.
"Well, you'll think of something," Maureen said. She squeezed Melanie's hand. "I'll help you out, OK?"
"Thanks, Mo," Melanie said, smiling at her.
"Mom, I need to talk to you," Melanie said, walking into the den that night.
"Yes, honey, what is it?" Mrs. Schwartz asked, turning around. She noticed Maureen. "Maureen, honey, what are you doing here?"
"I'm here for moral support, Mrs. Schwartz," Maureen said.
Melanie cringed as her mother looked at her, nervous and suspicious. "What do you need to tell me, Melanie?" she asked.
Melanie sighed. There was no way to avoid the subject forever. "Mom, the reason I've been wearing sweatshirts and sweatpants and everything… is because I'm pregnant."
Mrs. Schwartz looked stunned for a moment. "Melanie Elizabeth Schwartz,when did this happen?" she asked.
"Roger and I have been having sex... since Christmas Eve," Melanie said. "I asked him to use protection, but he said we didn't need it for the first time and…" She gestured to her stomach. "Well, a few times later, here we are. But I knew I had to tell you."
"Oh, Melanie, I'm glad you did," Mrs. Schwartz said. "But I can't hide the fact that I'm very disappointed. I thought you knew better?"
"I'm sorry, Mom," Melanie said. "I did. But I love him."
"Melanie, sex isn't love," Mrs. Schwartz said, "and you knew the rules."
"That's what I told him when he wanted to the first time," Melanie said. "It was the time I said no."
Mrs. Schwartz looked at her daughter, who was leaning against Maureen. "Well, what do you want to do?" she asked. "Since you've hidden it for so long, it's much too late to get an abortion."
"I think I want to give it up for adoption," Melanie said. "I don't know if Roger will agree to that, though. Mom, he wants so badly to stay with me and help me. Please don't send me away to a home or something."
"Melanie, can you imagine living with him for the rest of your life? For the next forty, fifty, sixty years?" Mrs. Schwartz asked. Melanie shrugged. "Then I'd suggest you make the decision on your own; after all, it is your body. How far along are you?"
"About four months," Melanie said. "But I knew I couldn't hide it from you for the entire time."
"I'm glad you didn't," Mrs. Schwartz said, "because although I am disappointed in you, I do want to try and help. We need to convert one of the rooms in this house to a nursery and everything."
"I know. Thanks, Mom," Melanie said. "I'm really sorry."
"I know you are," Mrs. Schwartz said, looking seriously at her daughter. "We need to schedule an appointment for you to get prenatal vitamins and an ultrasound, too. Even though you haven't been doing those things since the beginning, which would have been best, anything helps."
"OK, Mom," Melanie said, "but can Maureen go with me? I appreciate the fact that you're… not angry… but I'd be more comfortable with her going instead."
Mrs. Schwartz looked at Maureen, who looked back blankly. "All right, if that's what you want," Mrs. Schwartz said. "You need to make a decision soon, though."
"I will," Melanie said.
"And Maureen, since you're going with Melanie instead of me, I'm going to tell you some things I want you to do, OK?" Mrs. Schwartz asked firmly.
"Yes, Mrs. Schwartz," Maureen said, nodding at her.
"Roger, I told her," Melanie said to him the next day, as she met up with Roger at his house.
"You what?" Roger asked, caught off-guard.
"I told her about the baby," Melanie said frantically, looking at him.
"You did?" Roger asked. "What did she say?"
"She said that, while she was really disappointed that I had broken one of her huge rules, but she's going to support me in whatever decision I decide to make," Melanie said. "This means we need to talk."
"Oh no," Roger said, "I don't think I like the sound of that."
"Roger, please, don't be like that right now," Melanie said, putting a hand to her head, and her other hand on her hip. "Look, we can't keep the baby."
"What? Why not?" Roger asked, whirling around to face her. "Mel, we can take care of it. Not just you and me; we all could, Maureen and everybody else. I know Maureen would jump on the chance to take care of anyone's baby, especially ours. She can be a real softie sometimes."
"No, Roger, we can't take care of it with everybody. Roger, we'regoing to graduate and move onto college," Melanie said.
"Mel, we don't graduate for like, another year," Roger said, looking down at her.
"Does it really matter? I'll have this baby around September. It's completely unreasonable to take care of a baby and go to college at the same time. We can't handle a baby and you know it. I mean, my mom could help us out, but she can only do so much. She's had to take care of me and Brian our whole lives. She had to hear and see that Brian died, Roger. I don't think she could honestly handle taking care of her grandchild, too," Melanie said.
"Mel, you aren't being serious, are you?" Roger asked her, looking down at her, horrified. "You can't really expect me to… to give up my baby to some stranger?"
"I think that's how it has to be, Roger," Melanie said. "I'm sorry. I know this will be one of the hardest things we'll both have to do."
Roger nodded and tears welled up in his eyes. "I know it will be," he said. "But I love you, Mel, and if this is what you think is best… then I'm going to go with it." As he said this, he sobbed and his body shook violently before the tears spilled over.
"Thank you, Roger," Melanie said, leaning up to kiss him and wiping away his tears. She hugged him close to her, only wishing she could make it all go away.
Four months later...
Roger jumped as the phone rang. He was listening to music in his room. He reached over on the nightstand to answer it. "Hello?"
"Roger, you have to come get me," Melanie's frantic voice said.
"Mel? Mel, what's wrong, sweetie?" Roger asked, clutching the phone nervously.
"I… I think I'm in labor," Melanie said. He heard her let out a cry of pain and he knew she was enduring a contraction. "Roger, it hurts so badly! Help me!"
"Mel, are you at home? Answer me, Melanie!" Roger said loudly, when she didn't respond after a second.
"Yes, I— I'm at home," Melanie said, breathing hard. "Please come!"
"I'm coming, Mel, I'm coming!" Roger said. "Where's your mom?"
"She's working as usual," Melanie said, and she groaned as another contraction hit her. "Roger, please hurry!"
"Just stay there, OK, Mel?" Roger said. "Just breathe, OK? I'll be there in five minutes."
"OK, Roger," Melanie said, and she hung up.
Shit, Roger thought, as he jumped into the car and sped off to Melanie's house, the day has arrived and neither of us is ready for this. God, if you are for real, help me out here. I love Melanie more than anyone else in this world. We've been through so much together. I can't lose her, too. Please help me out. I'm only asking once.
Roger jumped out of the car as he pulled up in front of Melanie's house. He ran down the walkway and didn't even knock as he walked into the house. A sudden jolt went through his body as he realized Brian was no longer at home to answer the door…
"Melanie, where are you?" Roger yelled, looking around for her.
"I'm up here," Melanie yelled, "upstairs, in my room!"
Roger raced up the stairs and saw Melanie sitting on the floor of her bedroom, clutching her stomach in pain. She was pale and crying. "Roger, it hurts so badly!" she cried. "I didn't realize that was what it was at first, but after a few hours, my water broke. Then it all started happening so fast. I didn't know what to do. It's too early, it can't be happening now!"
"I know, baby, I'm so sorry," Roger said, and he helped her to her feet when the contraction ended. "Can you get down the stairs?"
"I'll try," Melanie said, and Roger helped her walk out of her room.
They were halfway down the stairs when another contraction hit Melanie. She screamed in pain and cried in Roger's arms. Roger was terrified; he'd never seen anyone in such pain before, except perhaps for Melanie, Mrs. Schwartz, and Collins, when they'd found out Brian had died.
"Almost there, Mel," Roger said, rambling in his nervousness. "Just to the car now, you can do it."
"Roger, I don't think I can make it," Melanie said.
"You can, you can," Roger encouraged her, and he held her hand as she endured another contraction. He picked her, writhing in pain, up into his arms and carried her to his car. Then he raced to the emergency room.
"I need help! Somebody please help!" Roger yelled, as he carried Melanie into the emergency room. He didn't really know where he was getting all this new strength from; he guessed it was adrenaline.
Doctors and nurses rushed over to him and helped him set Melanie onto a gurney. They wheeled her over to a bay.
"On my count," one of the doctors said to the other medical staff, "one, two, and—"
They lifted Melanie onto a bed and hooked her up to different machines, tubes, and other contraptions so fast that Roger barely saw it all happen. She let out a cry of pain as another contraction overcame her. "Roger," she cried.
Roger was immediately by her side, and she clutched his hand tightly. "I'm here, Mel," he said. "I'm here, baby. It's OK."
"What are your names?" one of the doctors asked.
"I'm Roger Davis and this is my girlfriend, Melanie Schwartz," Roger said. "She's in labor."
"So we noticed," another doctor said. Roger almost laughed at the sense of humor, but he was too scared.
"Is something wrong?" Roger asked the doctors. "I've never seen anyone in so much pain before…"
"Water's already broken," the first doctor said to the other nearby doctors and nurses. He glanced at Roger. "No, this is normal, especially for teenagers. I'm Doctor Nick West, by the way. I'm the main doctor on call right now. How old are you two?"
"Eighteen," Roger said.
"Melanie, when I say, I'll need you to push, OK?" Doctor West asked, looking up at her.
Melanie nodded, her mouth clenched shut, and she whimpered. "OK, push, Melanie," Doctor West said, and she did as she was told. "OK, take a little break." Melanie stopped pushing and lay back on the pillows, breathing hard and sweating. One of the nurses brought a lukewarm washcloth over to Roger, and by instinct, he wiped it across Melanie's sweaty forehead. They nodded in approval; he was obviously doing the right thing.
"Push again, Melanie," Doctor West said, a minute later. Melanie again did as she was told.
"Oh, my God," Melanie cried out.
"OK, the head is out. Melanie, just breathe, OK?" Doctor West told her. Melanie tried to do as she was told, but it was hard. Doctor West quickly suctioned the baby's mouth and nose. "Melanie, we'll have a baby if you push one more time, OK?"
"Oh, my God, this hurts so badly," Melanie cried. Melanie pushed with all her might, willing the baby to be born. She let out another cry as she pushed the baby out, and then she heard the baby's cries filling the room.
"Congratulations, Melanie and Roger, you have a beautiful baby girl at 4:24 P.M., August 5, 1981," Doctor West said.
"Isn't it early, though, Doctor West?" Melanie asked him. "She was due around, like, September."
"For teenagers, an early birth is common," Doctor West said. "And you're only a month early; that's not too bad."
Melanie nodded.
But when he went to hold the baby up to Melanie's chest, she pushed the baby away. "No," Melanie said, closing her eyes, "I don't want to see her."
"Why don't you want to see your daughter, Melanie?" Doctor West asked her.
"Melanie, look at our daughter," Roger said, looking from her to the baby. "She's so beautiful, Melanie. Look at her."
"I… I can't. I just can't. Please just take her, OK?" Melanie sobbed, looking at Doctor West.
"OK, but do you have a name for her?" Doctor West asked, as he handed the baby off to the nurses to clean up, weigh, and measure.
"Brianna," Melanie said, without hesitation, "Brianna Maureen Davis, after my late brother and my best girlfriend." She looked up at Roger, who nodded in agreement with tears in his eyes.
"OK, sounds good, Mel. You did a great job, considering everything happened so fast," Doctor West said.
"Thank you, Doctor West," Melanie said, looking up at Roger.
That evening, when Melanie was asleep, Roger left the room to go call the others. Within ten minutes, after Mrs. Schwartz had checked on Melanie in her room, they were all up on the fourth floor, looking at Brianna in the nursery.
"She's so beautiful, Roger. You guys have a little girl," Maureen said.
Roger nodded wordlessly. His throat was tightening up and his body was threatening that he would start to cry if he spoke.
"I'm sorry you have to do this, man," Collins said, going over to him.
Roger nodded again and then he broke down. The others hugged him as he sank against the wall, pulled his knees up to his chest, and cried. He knew what he and Melanie were going to have to do tomorrow and it was already breaking his heart.
So there you have it, Roger and Melanie's baby has entered the world. I knew from the moment I started writing Brian's death, I wanted Melanie to name the baby after him. And I've always wanted Roger to have a little girl to wrap around his finger (thinking, really, of Adam Pascal), so in the end, it was a girl. I never really considered a boy; not sure why. And I also knew that, with Melanie not being 18 yet, they wouldn't be able to keep the baby, which is why they are going to give it up for adoption in the next chapter.
I'm typing up the next chapter as fast as I can. Please be patient with me while you wait for updates. Also, many of you may have noticed the most recent FFN update; they no longer support little dashes between sections of chapters or any other char-based separator thingy? Well, this means I'm going to have to go through all 15 of my stories and redo all the formatting. Makes me angry, but I'm going to do it tomorrow, since I have no school and probably nothing better to do, since I don't work (yay!) LOL.
Of course, don't forget to review. Thanks.
Until next time, lots of love,
Renthead07