Odes To Ella.

chapter 5: Pregnant days part 2.

Month 1.5.

"What do you want us to do with the couch?" My dad asked. I bit my lip and set some more of my clothes in my duffle bag.
"It was here when we moved in. Let's just leave it, I guess." He nodded and walked over to my box by the door.
"Is this the last one?"
"Yeah." I said, liftling the duffle bag over my shoulder. He picked it up and frowned.
"What do you have in here?! Rocks?!" He smiled and stumbled out the door, passing my mother as she came in. She smiled at me and set a gentle hand on my shoulder.
"Ready baby?" I smiled and looked around the apartment one last time. The emptiness was eery and sad in a way, but it also symbolized a new beginning.
I sighed and nodded to my mother. She smiled back and hooked an arm around mine and we strolled out together.
We both hopped in the back of my parents black SUV and started down the road. I watched the building disappear as we neared our house. My dad tilted his head back and asked,
"Do you have time to help unpack?"
"No. Class starts in an hour." I replied. He nodded and pulled into our driveway.
"Ok, then. Do you need gas money?" He asked as he got out. I shook my head and started towards my car that was parked on the curb.
"No, I'm good."
"Ok, we'll see you for dinner then?" My mom asked. I smiled and nodded, shutting the door and turning on the engine.

(2 hours later...:)

"And what classifies an infidel from the insane?"
"The generality of their intelligence test." We all replied in monotone. I laid my head on my palms and sighed.
Just twenty more minutes and the lecture's over.
"Now watch this clip from the mental institute upstate." Professor Tinsley clicked his remote and started a video on the big screen. A man in a straight jacket appeared on the far right, policemen standing behind him with needles at the ready.
Across the table sat a psychologist with a brown jacket and a note pad.
"Can you tell me why you killed your family?"
"T-they told me to..." The man in the straight jacket snivled out. The psychologist jotted down some notes.
"I see, and do they speak to you often?"
"Not recently." The man started laughing. Low at first, then it grew gradually more hysterical. More note jotting.
"Are you aware of how they died?"
"Did you know butterflies can soar?" The man asked, suddenly calm. The whole room waited. The man scooted forward and whispered,
"That's what they do, you know. Fly. And doesn't it bug the hell out of you knowing that you can't crush them under your foot?"
"Most people aren't bugged by it." The psychologist stated. The man in the straight jacket shook his head quickly.
"No, no, no...no, it bugs me. They bugged me. And one day, hehe, I finally crushed them under my foot! And you know what? They stopped bugging me!" More hysterical laughter. The two guards shot him up with the needle and drug him out of the room. End of tape.
The lights came back on and the professor clasped his hands together.
"Alright, your homework is to write down a list of his symptoms and possible treatments. Class dissmissed." Everyone got up from their seats and headed out. I sighed and walked out of the building and out onto campus. I promised to stop by the grocery store on my way home, so I parked at the Wal-Mart parking lot and started inside.
Right when I went inside, I saw something on the billboard that caught my attention. It was an advertisement.
Lamaze class!
Available Monday through Saturday, 7:00a.m. to 5:00p.m.
$10 per class at the community center.
Hmm.
I smiled to myself and started to shop. My cellphone started ringing. I took it out of my pocket and pushed the cart to the fruit isle.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Clair. How's it going?" It was Dr. Wulkam. I smiled and set some bananas in the cart.
"Good, how are you?"
"I'm fine, thanks. Well, I'm just calling to say your appointment has been confirmed."
"For the 26th?" I asked. He cleared his throat and said,
"Yes. I'll see you then."
"Ok, bye." I hung up and dialed my mom.
"Hey mom."
"Hi, sweetie, what's up?"
"My appointment was finalized." I replied. There was a short silence, then she said,
"For the ultrasound?" Her voice was soft and quavery. My eyes softened and I nodded.
"Yes." After another few minutes, she said,
"Well, I was wondering...when do you have time to look at houses?" I took a minute to think.
"Hmm...two weeks?"
"Ok, I'll look with you." I could picture her small smile in my mind. I smiled and said,
"I love you mom."
"Love you too, I'll see you at home."
"Bye." I hung up and started to the checkout.
I decided to see what the lamaze class was all about, so I hopped in the car after classes the next day and drove to the community center.
The town of Greendale had a small community center, but it was just enough for the 2,398 residents. I payed my ten dollars at the front desk and started down the institutional like hallways. Two young boys in swimwear ran past me towards the pool doors at the opposite end of the hall. I smiled and took a right down the next hallway and came to a wooden door. Someone had taped a sign on that said,
Lamaze.
I assumed the obvious and opened the door. Couples stood all around the room, talking and socializing. Some women had large stomachs, some, like me, had not started showing yet. The room went quiet when I walked in. People stared and murmered to each other.
I smiled to them and gave a small wave.
"Hello." They all ignored me and went back to their conversations. I bit my lip and walked to the corner of the room. A slender black woman who was around 25 years old walked over to me with a bright smile.
"Hi."
"Hello." I replied, smiling. The lady stuck out her hand for me.
"My name's Effey. Effey Goodman. What's your name?"
"I'm Clair Williams. It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too." The lady said, shaking my hand up and down. I sighed and looked around the room.
"So, is it just me or do they hate us?" Effey laughed in a high pitch voice and nodded her head.
"Yeah, these folks are just a little uppity up, if you know what I mean."
"Uppity up?" I asked, looking at a group of people. Effey smiled and said,
"They just don't get the concept of single women. They don't think you should have children if you don't have a father around." Then she stopped and tilted her head. "And you know what? They're the same people who shun us if we get an abortion. Say it isn't right."
"You can't win with these people." I said, smiling. She smiled brightly and nodded.
"Exactly." A woman in grey sweatpants and a purple tank top clapped her hands and shouted loudly,
"Class time, everyone!" Everyone formed a circle. Effey turned to me and asked,
"Wanna be partners?"
"Sure." I shrugged and followed her to two mats on the floor.
The instructor smiled and said,
"Alright, since I see some new faces, let's go around the circle and say our names and how far along you are!" She pointed to a woman with brown hair and six tons of make up sitting next to an average guy with brown hair. The woman said,
"Diana Quilten, 6 months."
"Hannah Springs, 4 months."
"Cara Singh, 8.5 months." It got to Effey. She perked up and said,
"Effey Goodman, 1.5 months." I smiled and sat up.
"Clair Williams, also 1.5 months."
"Did you two synchronize it?" A woman with dyed red hair cackled. Effey turned around and gave her the finger.
"Fuck you, Donna. At least it didn't take me three husbands and a boyfriend to get knocked up." Everyone else in the class ooed. I smiled and said,
"Thanks, Effey."
"Yeah, no prob." She said. The instructor said,
"Let's get started, shall we? Ok, touch your stomach, or your partner's stomach, and take three deep, slow breaths..." Every one did as asked. I closed my eyes and felt my lungs fill up with air as I did what she said. After that, she said,
"Ok, now talk to your partner's stomach. Say only words of encouragement." Effey leaned over and touched my stomach.
"Don't do drugs. They make you do weird things." I giggled and looked at Effey for permission. She nodded and said,
"It's fine, Clair. It's all part of the class." I nodded and set my hand against her stomach. I shrugged and said,
"Don't...crash your car, I guess." Effey frowned and said,
"Really?"
"I don't know what to say!" I laughed. She shook her head and giggled.
"I think we're going to be good friends."

After class was over I walked out next to Effey.
"So, what are you majoring in?"
"Criminal psychology." I stated. She nodded and said,
"Ain't that dangerous, though?" She looked at me. I shrugged and said,
"Someone has to do it."
"True. Hey, wanna get a snack next door? I'm hungry."
"Sure." I agreed. We walked to the coffee shop next door and stopped in line. I sighed and said,
"So, what do you do?"
"For work? I'm a hotel maid at the Holiday inn." She ordered a bagel and I ordered a cupcake. We took our things and sat at a table.
"Is that what you're doing for now, or for a while?" I took a bite. She shrugged her shoulders.
"There isn't much else out there." She ate some of her bagel. I shook my head.
"No, there's always something. You could be anything you want." She smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
"My mamma told me I should be a News lady." She looked up at me. I smiled and said,
"Yeah. All you'd need is a four year degree in journalism." Again, she shrugged.
"It's kind of late now. What with being pregnant and all."
"But that's the biggest reason why you should go," I stated, hearing my mother's words echo in mine. "For your baby."
She thought about it and nodded.
"Ok, I guess I could try."
"Thats the spirit." I stated, eating some frosting. Effey smiled and pointed to me.
"So, what's the story?" I frowned and asked,
"About what?"
"How you got pregnant?" She ate another bite of the bagel. I chewed slower and looked down.
"Not much to tell. I had sex, and that's about it." I looked back up. She smiled gently and looked down.
"I met a man," she started. "He was a good man. Smart, funny, charming. The whole package." She stopped, her smile fading.
"What happened?" I asked. She smiled again and said,
"I thought I loved that man. And I gave him everything. My heart, my soul, my body. And one day, I found out I was pregnant. And that's when he showed me his true colors." She looked up, her eyes suddenly tired, strained. I nodded and said,
"What did he do?" She chuckled under her breath and said,
"Nothing much. Like you said. I had sex, and that's about it." She finished her bagel and stood up to leave. I quickly turned around and said,
"Effey?"
"Yeah?" She stopped and turned to me. I opened my mouth, closed it, opened it again and said,
"I'll be at lamaze tomorrow." I stared for her reaction. She smiled, nodded, and replied,
"I'll see you there."

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I hope you liked it, enjoy the next one, and I am sorry if anything is misspelled, icant spell for my life. Tha ks, bye! :).