Love by Love - 22
Reba was at a loss of words. Barbra Jean just announced that she was pregnant.
"Who's the father?" Her voice was merely above a whisper, slowly taking a seat.
"Don't worry. It isn't Brock's. I haven't been involved with him pretty much since you moved here." Barbra Jean replied knowing what was in her friend's mind. Reba closed her eyes, inhaled and exhaled deeply in relief. "It's Dr. Herman."
"Dr. Herman?" Reba tried to think if she knew who that person was.
"Dr. Herman, the one I'm working for now." Eugene had asked Brock if he could have Barbra Jean to be his hygienist. Brock knew his friend had a crush on his ex-girlfriend. He hired a new hygienist for himself and let Barbra Jean work for Eugene instead. But it wasn't too long ago that Barbra Jean was hired by someone else leaving Eugene with heart broken. "You know, Dr. Herman, handsome with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes."
"Blake Herman? Isn't he married?" Reba started to remember the guy; she talked to him briefly when they met in Hawaii. "Separated. He's currently living in a condo. His wife kicked him out. Apparently he had some type of midlife crisis and his wife kicked him out to go find himself."
"And instead of finding himself, he found you." Reba felt bad for the woman. "So what are you going to do now?"
"I don't know Reba. I don't know what to do." Barbra Jean started to weep and cry. "Blake said he wants me to keep the baby, he asked me to marry him."
"What about his wife and his kids?"
"He said they are getting divorce."
"He's leaving his 20-year marriage for you?"
"Who's leaving who for who?" Brock came in and caught a little bit of the conversation.
"Dr. Blake Herman's divorcing his wife to marry Barbra Jean." Reba told Brock.
Scoffing, he replied. "Blake Harman? Are you kidding? No offense, Barbra Jean, but haven't you seen his wife? She's gor... just okay." He quickly changed his intended statement when he met with Reba's glare. Brock knew him and his wife, Rebecca. She was a redhead too, and despite of being in her early 40s and having three kids, she was still gorgeous. A few people envied him. Brock might have envied him too if not because he had met someone who he found more attractive. But the moment Barbra Jean told him the reason why he would marry her; he kept his mouth shut.
"How did it happened?" Reba spoke, feeling pity for her friend and feeling bad for the wife.
"Well, when a man and a wom-. Oaw!" cried Barbra Jean when Reba smacked her.
"I know how the babies are made! I'm talking about the situation! Don't you use any protection?" Once Reba finished her sentence, she glanced at Brock who started to grin mischievously and she blushed. Ironically, she shouldn't be the one who spoke when she thought she was pregnant too just couple of months ago. Barbra Jean looked at them a little confused. Reba motioned her to speak.
"Well, we were working in the x-ray room, and he complained about how his wife blamed him for everything. And one thing led to another. We did use protection, but it broke." Barbra Jean continued to cry and weep because she wasn't ready to have a baby, but she didn't want to commit another sin. Reba told her friend to talk with Blake and think about the consequences before breaking up a family.
"Well… that sure is some decision to make," commented Brock to Reba after Barbra Jean left.
"I feel bad for her, but I feel even more terrible for the woman, what's her name? Rebecca?"
"Yeah. She's a nice lady. Blake is one of my golf buddies. He loves his wife. He always brags about her getting us men jealous of how lucky he is." Brock told her more about his friend's family. How he was happily married for 19 years and how he started to have some type of a midlife crisis last year and fought with his wife. She kicked him out of the house.
"You think he'd really leave his wife for Barbra Jean?"
"I doubt it. I mean… How should I say this without sounding like a jerk? It's like leaving you for her. Who's in their right mind would do that?" Reba's bottom jaw dropped listening to his statement. He wrapped his arms around her shoulder and kissed her cheek. "I'll never leave you for anyone."
"You better not."
"So… When are we going to have a little one?" Brock implored.
"After we get married." That was the reason why Brock wanted them to marry soon. He didn't want to waste anymore time not being with her. He wanted to have a baby with her too. Reba was back on the pill since she went to see the doctor to check if she was pregnant. She stopped taking the pill when Terry passed. She didn't see the point continuing to take them. But after the unforgettable trip, Reba decided it was best. She had secretly planned to stop the pills before they got married. After all, she wanted to have a baby with him too.
"Fine. As long as we can still practice."
"Well..." Reba bit her bottom lip.
"Oh no, no well, let's not 'well'." Brock objected what was coming.
"Only for three months."
"THR... THREE months?" He exclaimed,
"It'd be worth it. We'll have something wonderful to look forward to." Reba tried to butter him up.
"But I'm already looking forward to it every night," whined Brock.
"Honey, it means a lot to me if we wait." Reba hated to wait too, but she planned to be off the pill and the doctor recommended to use an alternative protection. But she couldn't tell Brock if she wanted to surprise him. So she decided to just cut him off, only for three months until they got married.
"Shouldn't I get a warning before you start cutting me off?" Stated Brock with a frown. "So I could at least make last night last me for a good three months."
"All right, we'll start tomorrow." Reba would let him have his way tonight, and then he would have to wait until their wedding night.
"What are we waiting for then, let's make every minute count!" Brock scooped Reba up and was going to take her upstairs, but he walked past the kids playing go fish in the living room. He had to put Reba back on her feet to deal with the kids. "Girls, bed time!"
"What?" Kyra and Cheyenne cried out in unison. "It's not our bedtime yet. It's..." Cheyenne stared at a clock that only had the numbers 3 6 9 12. She tried to figure out the time. "Well I don't know what time is it, but it's... not our bedtime!" She argued. Brock scratched his head.
"I tell you what. If you two go to bed now, and not come out until the morning, I'll take you both for a pony ride this weekend." Reba snickered when Brock tried to bribe the kids.
"All right fine! Why do you want us to go to bed early anyway?" Kyra questioned.
"You'll find that out when you're a grown up."Brock replied and Reba quickly added.
"When you're forty!" Reba yelled behind the kids.
"You're not even forty." Brock chuckled.
"You wanna wait until I'm forty?"
"No dear! Let our night start now." He picked her up and carried her to bed. Tonight would be a night to remember.
Reba was busy planning her own wedding and she completely forgot about Barbra Jean. Until Brock told her that Barbra Jean seemed to be sick, she threw up like madness. She still lived at Brock's house until she could find her own place. After she moved out, Reba suggested he rent out the house. They would have extra income that way.
"Barbra Jean, are you alright?"
"I don't know. I don't feel so good. I woke up dizzy and I threw up everything I ate."
"What did you have for dinner?"
"Clam chowd-" Barbra Jean rushed to the bathroom before she ended her sentence. Reba followed her and helped her out.
"I think you're having morning sickness."
"But it's 9PM!" She cried.
"I know, who the heck came up with the word 'morning sickness' when you sick most of the time." Reba smirked. "What I mean is, you're going through a stage of pregnancy. You'll feel better after the first trimester passes." Reba helped Barbra Jean to her couch. The doorbell rang, Reba went and answered it. "Dr. Herman."
"Please call me Blake. Is Barbra Jean here?"
"Yes she's..." Reba joined her brows together when Barbra Jean sat up straight like nothing bothered her and she wasn't sick.
"Barbra Jean can we talk?" Said the visitor. Reba let herself out. She looked at the guy before she closed the door. She went back to her house but still worried about her friend. She peaked at them through her kitchen window. She couldn't hear them, but she could see a bit of Brock's living room. She saw Blake giving Barbra Jean a ring. She threw him a hug and kiss and... oh dear God! Reba closed the curtain and thanked God the kids were in bed.
"Brock where are you going?" Brock came out of the living room and was going out the back door, Reba pulled him back.
"Going back to my house."
"Why?"
"Because you cut me off and if I stay here I wouldn't be able to resist you." Brock replied.
"You may want to stay here tonight."
"Oh... You're giving up on 'waiting for our wedding night'? I knew you'd cave!" Brock kissed her lustfully.
"I hate to disappoint you, but if you look out the window, you'll know why." Reba stepped away and Brock confusedly looking out the window and he saw his kitchen, but he didn't notice anything in his kitchen until he looked further to his living room.
"I'm selling that couch!" Brock exclaimed. He ended up having to stay at Reba's place that night. But if he wanted to keep his promise, he was better off sleeping on the couch. Two more months, only two more months.
Barbra Jean came to Reba's house to tell her what was going on last night.
"I don't want to know, and next time, please close the curtains!" Reba brushed her off.
"I'm getting married! He proposed." Barbra Jean announced happily.
"What about his wife?" Reba puzzled.
"He said they went to a court mandated therapy, and he confessed to his wife that he knocked me up. And she's giving him a divorce."
"I can't believe this!" Reba wasn't about to take her friend's side when it was wrong.
"Reba, their marriage was over. They weren't willing to fight and save their marriage."
"Yeah, because you're in the picture!"
"Reba, he could be my only chance of happiness." Barbra Jean tried to give herself a reason why this was right. All Reba could do right now was just listen. She wasn't in a position to talk, she might not agree with Barbra Jean, but this wasn't her business. "Do you think Rebecca would except me as her friend?"
"I don't think any wife would be thrilled to be a friend with her husband's mistress. I know I wouldn't."
"But I can try, right?" Reba rolled her eyes.
While Reba was busy with her work, kids and still a lot to do and planning for the wedding. Barbra Jean tried to get along with Blake's wife. She spent her spare time at the church. She knew what she did was wrong, but she was too weak to stand up for herself. She needed support.
"I didn't know you're a religious person," commented Reba with a smirk. She came to see if Barbra Jean would help her pick out a wedding dress, but Barbra Jean said she had choir rehearsal every Wednesday night.
"I'm always a religious person." Barbra Jean defended herself.
"Then you better read the bible again about the ten commandments," quipped Reba. "Especially 'Thou shall not commit adultery'." Barbra Jean frowned at Reba's sarcastic comment. But she went with Reba the next day since she too needed a wedding dress. Reba didn't want anything fancy, just a simple white dress was good enough for her. She spotted one and she fell in love with it right away. Barbra Jean, on the other hand, she went with a beautiful six foot train. But she couldn't get it altered yet, she had to wait until Blake and Rebecca's marriage was final before they could get married. She didn't know how long that was gonna be, she didn't know how big she would grow by then. Life was changing fast for the both of them.
As for Brock, one cold shower after another, counting down to their wedding night. Two weeks, only two more weeks of cold showers.
"Can you not look so sexy doing the dishes?" Brock groaned when Reba leaned over to the sink and her top hung showing a generous amount off her cleavage and a glimpse of her black lace bra contrasting with her fair skin.
"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful." Reba teased him by leaning over a little more. She giggled when Brock left the room to cool off. It was hard for her too, but by letting their desires and lust for one another grow more intense, their wedding night would mean a lot more to them. However it was getting more and more difficult, knowing exactly what they were missing. Brock was now not just counting the days, but he began counting the hours.
In three days or 72 hours, they would be pronounced husband and wife.