Chapter 31- Oh Baby
"We are going to throw Maya the best baby shower that she was never expecting." Riley was talking to Abigail, one of her classmates, after lunch. She had done some thinking and realized she was taking out her frustrations on Maya. It wasn't Maya's fault, after all, that the rest of the family was doting on her. She decided to make it up to Maya by throwing her a baby shower, considering that the baby was due in about 7 weeks. "Just make sure you don't tell her about it. It's a surprise." Riley handed her a stack of invites and a list of suggested baby gifts to bring.
"A crib? Playpen?" Abigail looked at the list, in shock. "You do realize that we are in high school and most of us don't have jobs? And the ones that do, can't afford a crib for a baby." Riley shook her head.
"That is why it is a 'suggested list'. Anything helps. Pacifiers, newborn diapers, anything you think a baby would need. It does not have to be extravagant." Riley explained. Abigail nodded, understanding.
"Okay. I will pass these out to whoever I see that might be interested. But don't get too excited, though. Teen pregnancy is not something a lot of parents are going to condone. I'm just saying." Abigail replied. Riley nodded, acknowledging the sad truth.
"I know we may not get a lot of people to come to this party, but I am gonna try my best." Riley thanked Abigail for her help and walked in the opposite direction with her own stack of invitations. She passed them out to everybody she thought would be a strong 'yes to attend'. When she had passed out the final invite, she sighed with relief. Now it was a waiting game to see who actually showed up.
The day of the shower was cold, with it being held right after Christmas. Riley did not expect a lot of people to show up because she had not received a lot of responses to the invitations. She called Maya and requested that she come to the apartment to hang out. To Riley's surprise, Maya was not busy that day and agreed to come over. They had not really spoken since their Thanksgiving tiff and even though Maya agreed to visit Riley, she sounded slightly distant and cold. Riley winced at Maya's harshness, even though she knew she deserved it.
When the buzzer sounded, signaling there was someone downstairs, Riley unlocked the door, expecting Maya to come walking up the stairs. When she opened the front door, however, she was shocked to see that there was at least 10 to 15 of their classmates coming up instead. Riley let them in and told them to get ready to hide when she gave the word.
Riley had decorated the entire living room herself. She had hung blue streamers from the ceiling and taped to the walls and the front door. She had her mother's help with the party food. She ordered a pizza and there were also deviled eggs and homemade artichoke dip to go with either crackers or tortilla chips. Riley had organized games to play at the shower like Pin the Binkie on the Baby and Race to Change the Baby. The buzzer sounded again and Riley jumped. She instructed everyone to hide and unlocked the downstairs door. Riley's heart was beating out of her chest as she heard Maya coming up the stairs. Before Maya could knock on the door, Riley opened it and greeted Maya with a hug. Surprised, Maya hugged her back.
"I'm so so sorry, Maya. I should not have said those awful things at Thanksgiving. That was not fair of me to take out my frustrations on you. Please forgive me." Riley pleaded with Maya, widening her eyes.
"Oh, all right, Riley." Maya replied. "I hate fighting with you. You're my sister. I love you."
"I love you too, Peaches." Riley hugged her again. "Come on in." The minute the door closed, 15 teenage girls jumped out from behind furniture, causing Maya to have a near heart attack.
"SURPRISE!" they all screamed at the same time. Maya gasped in shock, noticing the decorations for the first time.
"Oh, Riley!" Maya exclaimed. "Is all this for me?" There were tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Riley nodded.
"Yes, Peaches. This is my way of saying sorry." Riley replied and then whispered in Maya's ear. "I didn't expect so many people to come. So, Surprise!" Maya laughed and went about greeting all the guests and even tolerated having her belly touched. As it turned out, although the perpetrator was never caught, the story about the Ski Lodge actually made the news. The parents of their classmates felt bad about all the torture they endured and agreed to buy baby gifts for Maya's baby. To Maya's surprise, all the guests, or their parents, chipped in to buy that special crib that she had been eyeing. She received everything she would need for at least the first three months of the baby's life. They played shower games and ate until everyone was stuffed. At the end of the party, when everyone had left and it was finally quiet, Maya relaxed on the sofa while Riley cleaned up.
"Riley?" Maya asked, cautiously. "What are you going to do? As far as your baby, I mean?" Riley pondered a minute before answering.
"I don't know what I am going to do, Maya." She dropped the garbage bag and collapsed on the sofa, next to Maya. Maya grabbed her hand and squeezed.
"I can help you, Riley." Maya offered. "Everything you are going through right now, I was going through not 6 months ago." Riley turned to face Maya and looked into her face. Riley's face showed how exhausted she was, trying to keep up the farce she had created. She hung her head in resignation. Maybe it would be good to have someone on her side, who was going through the same situation.
"But how, Maya? How are you going to help me? I have not even been to the doctor since I found out. And that was like 3 months ago." Riley replied, ashamed. Maya sighed and looked into Riley's face.
"We can turn it around, Riley." Maya responded. "It's not too late. We will make an appointment and I will go with you. But you must be responsible. Tell your parents, please." Riley nodded in acknowledgement. She knew she should have told them from the beginning, but the longer it went, the harder it was. Riley agreed to tell her parents after her doctor's appointment.
The following week Riley and Maya walked into the clinic for Riley's appointment. Just as nervous as she was the first time, Riley sat in the waiting room chair, tapping her foot, waiting for her name to be called. She jumped a foot in the air when the nurse called out her name. After catching her breath, Riley took Maya's hand and they walked into the exam room together.
"Riley?" The doctor rapped lightly on the door. Peeking her head in, she saw Riley had come with a support system this time. "Hello, I'm Doctor Reynolds. How are you today?" Maya smiled at the doctor.
"I'm good. I just want Riley to get back on track here." Maya replied. Doctor Reynolds looked Riley's chart, frowning slightly.
"Hmm. I see. Riley, what happened? You missed your appointment in October and we have not seen you since." Doctor Reynolds asked, concerned.
"I was ashamed and I couldn't handle it. I'm sorry. But I am ready to fix this." Riley replied. "It's not too late, is it Dr. Reynolds?" The doctor smiled and patted Riley on the knee.
"It's never too late to do the right thing, Riley." the doctor answered. "Let's get you checked out, shall we?" Positioning herself in the stirrups, Riley tried to relax while she was being examined. Maya sat next to Riley, holding her hand. Furrowing her brow and frowning, the doctor was starting to worry Riley.
"What's wrong?" Riley asked.
"Well, apparently," the doctor explained, "you are not as far along as I previously told you. Originally, your due date was May 15th, suggesting your conception was around the 23rd of August. But the ultrasound suggests conception was more like the 30th, making your due date around the 22nd of May. It doesn't really change much, but I like to be as accurate as possible. Also, it appears that there are," the doctor paused, shocked herself, "two fetuses in there. You are having twins, Riley." Riley abruptly sat straight up on the exam table, startling both Maya and the doctor. Riley's eyes widened.
"If my conception date was August 30th and not the 23rd, that means…" Riley trailed off. She knew who the father was, and it was not Lucas.