Ch. 11

I woke up the next day feeling refreshed. I haven't had such a peaceful sleep in I didn't know how long. To me it felt like years, when in reality it was probably only a couple weeks. I had taken my shower and got dressed. I decided on jeans, a light blue t-shirt, and my flip flops again. Today was the day I took Evelyn to the doctor. I wanted to be as comfortable as possible, just in case. I also was wanting to go shopping for her wedding.

When I got to Rafe's house, the boys were already gone. I was slightly disappointed. I was hoping I would get to see Danny before his big interview. I wanted to wish him luck. Evelyn was already waiting on the porch for me. She had started walking to the car. I looked at her hard, and just shook my head. She was wearing a navy blue skirt from the 1940's, a white blouse from the same era, and the way her hair was fixed you could tell it wasn't up to date. Something had to be done about this. She was way too young to be dressing like that.

When she got in the car I just looked at her with a mischievous smile. She looked at me confused.

"What?"

She was a little aggravated. She hated when I was up to something. She could see the gears turning in my head. I just kept smiling, and started driving.

"You do know, that if you're going to be living in this time period, you need to get some more up to date clothing, right?"

Her mouth was hanging open agape. I could tell she didn't like the idea at all.

"What, and wear that?"

She was pointing at what I was wearing. I looked down at my clothes for a second. For a minute there, I thought there was something completely wrong with what I was wearing. I thought maybe I had accidentally put the wrong thing on.

"What's wrong with this? It's comfortable, functional, and you can wear it almost anywhere. You, on the other hand, look like you're ready to go to a job interview. Or you look like how my mom would dress if she were still alive."

I couldn't help but snicker. It was true. At our age, you wanted to dress a bit mature for your age, but not too much.

"Well, what do you suggest then?"

I could tell that she was kind of disgusted at the fact of what girls wore in this day and age. She didn't like it one bit, but, I could also tell that she didn't want to stick out like a sore thumb either. She knew she was going to have to change the way she looked. I was more than willing to help.

"I suggest we go shopping after I take you to the doctor."

"You know, it's one thing for men to wear jeans, Alyssa, it's another for women."

I just rolled my eyes at her. She just had no idea. Even when she came from, men didn't really wear jeans. They always wore khakis or some sort of dress pants. I could tell she was very uncomfortable with all of this new information.

"Well, you didn't have a problem with it last night."

I was getting aggravated. She couldn't let anyone on about where she was from. Even though, most people don't really catch things like that in this century. If you didn't fit in, you were bullied for it. No one really understood anyone anymore. I was thankful that, when I time traveled, everyone was accepting of me being different. I just didn't want Evelyn to get her feelings hurt.

"That's because last night, I wouldn't have cared if you walked in naked, I was just glad to see you."

She was right. It felt like an eternity since we last spent some time together. I knew she was worried about me when I had disappeared on her before. I knew that's why she didn't say anything. She was just happy to see me.

"Fine. We'll compromise. Anyway, you don't want to be wearing jeans while you're pregnant. I hear it's very uncomfortable. We'll get you some stretch pants and some dresses."

She smiled. She liked that idea better. I was thankful. I didn't want to argue about this anymore.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I had decided to turn the radio on. I put on Jason Aldean's 'She's Country.' I was singing along. The thought of her not liking it never occurred to me until I saw her scowl.

"What now?"

I was aggravated again. I didn't realize that this music would bother her.

"What the hell is this?"

I just chuckled. That's when I realized she was talking about my choice in music. This was one of my favorite songs. I was going to get her to like things about this time, whether she liked it or not.

"It's country music, Ev. Well, what this time period considers country music. Some of the stuff I like, some stuff I don't. Sometimes I prefer Johnny Cash, but right now I'm in the mood for this.

She looked at me like I had three heads. She didn't know who Johnny Cash was, either. I just shook my head.

"Trust me. You'll eventually find some music you like. You're just not used to it, that's all."

She nodded. She knew this was a battle she couldn't win. She had no choice but to listen to music from today. It was all that was ever played on the radio. I couldn't wait for her response to seeing my cell phone. Right now, though, I kept it hidden in my purse.

By this time, we had gotten to the doctor's office. I had to let her in on what to expect. The ultrasounds, the peeing in cups, all that good stuff. She just nodded her head. It wasn't anything to really worry about. Birth was birth. No matter what time period you came from.

I guess she had called a head of time, because as soon as we got there, they almost immediately called her back. I could tell she was nervous.

When we got to the room, they immediately sent her to the bathroom. They needed a urine sample. I chuckled a little. I saw this coming. When she walked back in, she just glared at me. She didn't want me to say a word. As we were sitting there waiting on the doctor to come in, my phone rang. I was hesitant. Should I or shouldn't I answer it? I didn't want Evelyn asking a million and one questions here. The ring was so loud, though, and she could hear it.

"What is that? What's that noise?"

I pulled my phone out. I had to. She was just going to keep asking, and it probably would have made her nervous for when the doctor had arrived.

"What is that thing?"

She was freaking out some. I just shushed her as I looked at my phone. It was a number I didn't recognize. I just pushed the end button. If it was important they would leave a message.

"What was that, Alyssa?"

"It's a cell phone. It's a telephone you can take anywhere with you. Most people now a days have only cell phones and no home phones. They can be very convenient."

She was in shock.

"Can I see it?"

Just as she asked the doctor walked in. I was so relieved. I didn't want to freak her out any more than necessary. I didn't want to put her or the baby through too much stress.

Thankfully, the doctor wanted Evelyn on the table right away. She wanted to have a look at the baby. She had put the gel on Evelyn's stomach, and started doing an ultrasound. Almost immediately, we could hear the baby's heartbeat. It was strong. Evelyn and I both looked at each other and smiled.

"Well, I can tell you this. Your baby is perfectly healthy. Everything is developing normally, and it has a strong heartbeat."

She turned the monitor so we could see it. We could tell it was a baby, but couldn't make out too much more than that.

"I'd say you are about 12 weeks along."

The doctor smiled at her warmly. That's when Evelyn decided to ask her question.

"Do you know what it is, yet? Can you tell?"

She was excited. She desperately wanted to know. The doctor and I both just chuckled at her.

"It's too early to tell that, but we can make an appointment for 4 weeks from now. We should be able to tell by then."

Evelyn just nodded. The doctor smiled warmly at us.

"Congratulations on your pregnancy."

"Thank you."

We had left the doctor's office. Any worries either of us had had disappeared. We walked excitedly back to the car.

"Oh, Alyssa, isn't it wonderful? It's a miracle. The baby's healthy, we're happy, everything's going to be fine!"

She was giddy with joy. I couldn't blame her.

We got in the car, and we both sat down and buckled up.

"So, where to now?"

"Shopping."

I smiled at her. It was something every girl loved, no matter where you were from. Any trace of disgust from shopping had disappeared. After seeing all those girls at the doctor's office, she knew she had to get with the times.

"Alright, let's go."

I took her to some thrift shops. I knew she didn't have any money, and I had a little. Enough to get her what she needed for her pregnancy. She walked around like a kid in a candy store. She was excited to find some new clothes.

As we looked around she started talking to me.

"Alyssa? How long have you and Emily been friends? You two seem so close."

She was right. I was just as close with Emily as I was with Evelyn. That's when I had decided to tell her.

"Well, we grew up together. My parents and her parents were really good friends. We lived next door to each other. We were inseparable. We still are, really."

Evelyn nodded as she kept adding clothes to the cart.

"Well, what about her parents? She doesn't talk about them much."

I froze. I was dreading having to tell this part. It made me sick. I knew she needed to know, though. Just in case it happened to come up in casual conversation.

"Well, our parents left us with a babysitter one night so they could go out. They were all killed in a car accident. They were hit by a drunk driver."

Evelyn immediately dropped what was in her hands. Her face fell, and she covered her mouth with her hands. She walked over to me and gave me a big hug. I never told Evelyn, or anyone, how my parents had died.

"I'm so sorry, Alyssa. I had no idea."

I hugged her back, and nodded my head.

"It's ok. I never talk about it. We were both young. That's why we work in the book store. Ms. Leslie had taken us both in, and raised us. Everything worked out for the best. I miss my parents dearly, but I'm happy with the way my life turned out."

Evelyn nodded. She was satisfied with that answer. I was glad she was. I didn't want to talk about it anymore. We went back to shopping for clothes. She never once mentioned it again. I was grateful.

When we got back to her place, we had 5 bags full of clothes. She found some sweat pants, a couple dresses, and some shirts. She picked everything out. I was glad she had actually found some clothes that she liked.

Danny and Rafe were sitting on the porch, talking. They looked happy. Danny walked up to me and gave me a big hug.

"You need to go home and change into something nice. We're going out and celebrating."