The Price of Love

The Shock of His Life

Chapter 8

Kelly and I climbed into my Cherry-Tomato Chevy Camaro, and she kept her word and brought her pink baseball bat from when she used to play little league softball in elementary school. I didn't think she still had that thing. She says it has whack-a-tramp pronability. Perfect. I have whack-an-asshole pronability in my right-hand. We sped down the road to Ace's Auto Shop, where David's best friend Cameron works. David might have been as asshole, but Cameron was always sweet and kind to Kelly and I. "Hey Blue Jaid and Kelcium in the house!" , he said smiling. "Hey Camerooster!" We had the silliest nicknames for eachother. He was like the big brother I always wanted. "So how are my favorite girls? How y'all doin?" "We've been okay, thanks. Cam, I need to talk to you for a quick sec. Can you leave the register?" Please say no, Please say n- "Oh sure, anything for you sis. Brandon! Cover for me! Thanks!" He yells to his co-worker as a customer enters the shop. Dammit! I wanted him to say no. Oh well. "Hey guys, Bobby just called, I'm gonna step outside, call me if you need me.", said Kelly walking away. We nod. "Okay, whats up? Everything okay? Hey, I already know about the break-up, so you don't have to tell me. He already did. So, what is it?" Here it comes. "Well you know about the whole break-up, so you know we're not together anymore. I don't know where to find him though, and I was hoping you did, because I have something really important to tell him. Its really important Cam, and it can't wait. Do you know where I can find him?" Just at that moment, David called him. "Yeah, what? I'm there dude. Uh huh, no way! Okay. Hey man, where is it gonna to be? Where? Ohhh! The Teardrop! Okay. Okay man, I'll be there right after work. See yah. Bye." He hung up. "Guess todays your lucky day princess, he's going to be at The Teardrop all day, so you can find him there. By the way, if it doesn't go well, Call me. I'll come and kick his ass. Okay babe, I have to get back to work, my boss just pulled up. Can I do anything else for you?" I shake my head. "Thanks Cam.", I say while smothered in one of his bear hugs. "No prob. See yah." "Okay, bye." I wave at Mr. Mancini, Cam's boss as I exit. I walk up just as Kelly ends her conversation with Bobby. "What did Bobby want?", I ask. "Oh, nothing. He just called to see if everything was okay. I left him asleep to come over to your place this morning. I told him about you telling David about the baby, and he says if David upsets you in any way, that he will personally kick his rich, spoiled ass." I love Bobby, he is so sweet. He treats Kelly like a princess, and treats me like a little sister. "So what happened inside with Cam?" "Oh, he told me where to find David. He is at The Teardrop. David called in the middle of our conversation, apparently something is supposed to go down there tonight. If we want to talk to him before things get too rowdy, we better step on it now. Lets go." We get back inside my car, I blow at a waving Cameron, and speed off towards The Teardrop. The Teardrop is a former nightclub-turned-teenage club. Dubbed "The Teardrop", because on the first night it opened 26 years ago, a fight broke out so bad that it caused a riot, and the police had to subdue the drunken clubbers with tear gas. So they closed it down 2 weeks later, and an aspiring DJ reopened it as a place for teenagers and young-adults to hang out 5 years later. My parents were there that night, celebrating their 4 year marriage anniversary. They left though just as the fight broke out. So as I pull up to the club, I notice that the place is somewhat empty, so I see this as the perfect oppurtunity. Kelly and I get out and start walking towards the club when I hear someone calling my name. "Jaida. Jaida. Jaida! Jaida wait! Hold on!'" I recognize the voice to be David's. "Hi. Um Cameron called, he said you wanted to see me. He said it was important, and I actually wanted to see you too. I've wanted to call you to talk, its just that-" Bite me."Save it David. Save it. I don't want to hear excuses or anything else. You made your choice, and I've moved on. So just leave our past where it is, in the past. Just listen to what I have to say so I can get out of here, okay? Trust me I won't be very long." I guess that  tramp took his money then broke up with him, as I don't see her anywhere. Sad. "Come on Kell.", I say grabbing her hand and leading her in to find an empty booth.  "This one looks good, lets sit." I say to Kelly. "Well why don't you 2 get the ball rolling, while I get us some drinks, okay?", Kelly says as she gets up. I nod. " Remember Kell, get something baby-proof!", I yell to her. She throws her hand up signaling that she heard me. "So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" He's so pathetic. "Well, um while you were out there catching herpes, I was sitting at home with your ring on my finger. By the way, you can have that back." I take it off and hand it to him. "No Jaida, I don't want it back, I bought it for you, because I love you." I roll my eyes. "Um hm, very touching. I don't want it, you, or-" "But", he interupts. "I wasn't finished!", I spat back at him. "Anyway, like I was saying. I was at home trying to pick up the pieces of my life. I cried for days after you left. You broke my heart. I never thought that I would meet anyone like you, but I seem to have met someone better. I didn't come here to discuss that though. I came here to tell you.......that....I'm pregnant. I found out last Wednedsay, when I went to get a check-up. The doctor told me that I was 9 weeks along. I was pregnant when you left me for another woman. Now that we have established that, we can move on to this. I didn't even plan on telling you, but my folks convinced me that you had a right to know, so there it is. Just so you know, I didn't tell you because I want anything from you, because I don't. I didn't need you then, and I don't need you now. You can be as involved in this baby's life as you would like. Now, what are you going to do? I don't have all day." Just at that moment Kelly came back with our drinks. "What do you want me to do?" Did he really just ask that? "Wrong answer. Lets go Kelly.", I say grabbing her hand. "Jaida wait, come on! You didn't even give me a chance to take it all in." "How long does it take, David? I'm pregnant!!" He is really starting to get on my nerves. "As much as I hate to admit it, Jaida, you really didn't give him much of a chance. Lets go back inside." "Whose side are you on Kelly?" I'm about to erupt, I swear. "I'm always on your side, you know that. Come on lets go back inside. I'm sure we can figure this out. Come on Jaida! The faster we get back in, the faster we can leave." She did make sense. "Fine, lets go back inside.", I say as I walked back inside of the club to sit down. "Look Jaida, I don't really know what to say about it. My parents never really wanted any grandchildren, and I never really wanted any children, to be honest." What kind of answer is that? "What does that mean, David? What does that mean? I'm not getting it! What does that mean? Get to the point. Do you or do you not want to take part in your child's upbringing? Yes or no, its that simple." "Well, I can send you money for it, but I don't really think I'm ready to be a father." At that moment, I could've thrown my drink in his face. "My baby doesnt need money, it needs a father! I don't want your money. You know what, David? I don't blame you, I blame your father. You don't know how to be one, because you never had one. Your father just gave you the things you wanted to shut you up. Now that I think about it, thats what you did to me for 6 years, but you know what? I don't need you. My baby doesn't need you either. We can take care of ourselves. Don't worry, my baby won't miss you one bit. Goodbye David." With that Kelly took my hand, and we walked out of The Teardrop together. Although I must admit, it was bittersweet. Bitter because David is going to miss out on knowing a great kid, but sweet, because now that its said and done, I never have to see him again. Once again, he has made his choice. "You know, I'm so proud of you." Kelly said as she hugged me. "So am I.", I thought to myself. It felt good to finally stand up for myself, it felt good. We got into the car to head over to my parents house. They weren't thrilled by the news, but we took it for what it was worth. Which in David's case, it wasn't worth much. I dropped Kelly off at her place, and headed home for some alone time. I undressed, ate a left-over burger from CheckMate Chilli, collapsed on the bed, and cried. I gotta admit, part of me hoped that he would've warmed up to the idea of fatherhood. Not for me, but for his child which had been growing inside my body for 9 weeks. For his baby. For our baby.

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