Teenagers, Love and Pregnancy

Chapter 17

The next month was a rough one. Ever since Kendall's little visit (and some definite proof that I still was majorly into him) loneliness had set in. Kelly was off at college, and so was Kendall. Both Mom and John worked most days, and that meant I was home alone most of the time, thumbing through baby name books and scrolling through catalogs of baby supplies online.

I was home alone one day, getting together the pieces of a baby scrapbook that I was going to surprise Kendall with after the delivery, when the doorbell rang. I stood up, pulled one of John's sweaters from back in what he called his "fat days" over my camisole, and went downstairs. When I opened the door, Joey was standing on the other side.

"Joey. Hi." I said. He looked at me awkwardly. I hadn't talked to him since last month, when he told me Kendall had been cheating on me, which had ended up being false.

"Hey Cam," he said. "Can we talk?"

"Sure," I said, as I led him to the front porch swing. We sat side-by-side, both of us staring out at the crisp October air in silence for a few minutes.

"I wanted to apologize to you Cameron. I know now that Kendall wasn't cheating on you. He posted a status explaining the picture two days after I Skyped you. I'm sorry for ever making you doubt him."

"It's okay, Joey. Really. I know you were just looking out for me and the baby."

"And please, don't think that I did it on purpose to make you hate Kendall or anything. I don't want that at all."

"I know," I replied. "You were drunk. I forgive you."

"I've felt so awful about it for a month," he said. "I don't know why I didn't have the guts to just come out and apologize."

"Really, Joey, it's fine. But I really appreciate you coming all the way out here to apologize," I said.

"I didn't come all the way out just to apologize, Cam," Joey replied.

"Oh?"

My mind raced. What could he possibly want besides to apologize?

"I came to see how you and my future godson were doing." He smiled warmly at my belly.

"I know one thing," I said with a laugh. "I'm ready to meet him, and he's squirming around like he's ready to come out!"

"So you're feeling bad?" Joey looked concerned.

"Not too bad," I said with a laugh. "My ob/gyn warned me that during the next trimester I was going to be really uncomfortable though."

"Man," Joey said, giving a low whistle. "Pregnancy bites."

I laughed.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? Cravings, puking, mood swings, acne, stretch marks, snoring, and all kinds of other good stuff. But I'm really happy being pregnant. At first, I was beyond nervous about having this baby. But now I know that he's a gift, and no matter how hard this pregnancy gets, I'm never going to regret it, and I'm always going to enjoy it." As I said the words, I cupped my hands around my now very big belly and felt as my son kicked.

"So why don't I take you and your bundle of joy out for something to eat? You hungry?" Joey asked.

As a matter of fact, I was starving, but I didn't really feel like driving myself to get some food. Knowing how awkward this would be, I said yes anyway.

"Sure."

"Alright," Joey said as I followed him to his car. "What are you hungry for?"

"Blueberry waffles with pickles," I blurted, even though I hadn't meant to. I blushed. Joey was going to think I was crazy.

"Fine," he responded, as though I had said something normal, like burgers. "Let's go to Waffle House. We can stop at the grocery store on the way and get some pickles."

"Seriously? You don't have to do that. You know that, right? It's just a stupid craving. It'll pass."

"Come on," Joey said. "To the grocery store we go."

An hour later we were sitting in a grease-coated booth at Waffle House, each of us with a plate of three blueberry waffles. A jar of pickles sat between us.

"This is crazy," I said as I stared at the jar, the poor, dead cucumbers floating around in vile-looking green juice. "I HATE pickles." But even as I said it, my stomach growled. Hate or not, those pickles looked amazing, and it seemed like my son REALLY wanted some, too.

"If you're craving them, try them. Go on," Joey said encouragingly.

I sighed and shakily grabbed the pickles. I gripped the lid and tried as hard as I could to open them.

"Having trouble?" Joey teased with a chuckle. "Here."

I handed him the jar and he popped off the top with ease. He handed the jar back to me and I reached in with steady fingers, gripping a slimy pickle. I popped it in my mouth and chewed.

"These are AMAZING!" I said instantly as I shoved a forkful of blueberry waffles into my mouth and chewed it with the pickles until the mixed together, creating a flavor combination I never thought would be so good. Joey laughed wildly.

The rest of our lunch went better than I ever thought it could. We laughed and joked like old friends, and I never thought things would go so smoothly. Even a couple of girls from my high school pointing and laughing at my baby bump couldn't bring me down. We were having a great time, and I realized just how long it had been since I'd laughed out loud.

"This was awesome Joey," I said as we climbed my porch steps. "I haven't hung out with anyone in way too long."

"You shouldn't have to be lonely in here all the time Cam just because you're pregnant and you didn't go to college. I didn't go either, remember? I'm waiting a year to mature. It sucks being at home while everyone else is gone, I know, but that doesn't mean we have to be bored and lonely. We should do this more often Cam. Like, weekly."

My breath caught in my throat. Weekly? Like, as in almost-dates? I wasn't sure if Kendall would like that. In fact, I was sure he wouldn't. And Joey? What was he thinking? That we were going to get back together now that Kendall was out of town?

"Joey. . .I can't have you falling in love with me again. I'm sorry, I --"

I was cut off by Joey laughing out loud. And he wasn't just chuckling. He was all-out, clutching his stomach, tears pouring down his face, turning bright red laughing.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know the idea of anyone falling love with me was that funny," I said hotly.

"Oh Cam, it's not," Joey said, still smiling, wiping tears from his face with one hand while putting the other on my shoulder. "You're perfectly loveable. But you have to get out of the mindset that every guy you talk to is going to fall for you." He smiled at me like one would a toddler who had just fallen on her backside.

"It's just, we have a history and --"

"It's been six months Cam," Joey said, still chuckling. "I'm perfectly happy being your friend and watching over this little man, without expecting anything more from you."

I instantly felt better.

"Alright then," I replied. "From here on out, we'll do something fun together once a week, so neither of us gets too bored."

"Perfect," Joey said, shaking my hand on it. "See you next week, Cam!"

I watched as he walked off my porch and into his car, in better spirits than I had been all week.