This time I sat in Dr. Hastings' office alone. I don't need anyone. I never needed anyone before and I sure as hell didn't need them today. I felt like myself for the first time in a long time... I wasn't sure what was going to happen between Taylor and I. He had choices to make and I wasn't going to pressure him. No matter how much I love him or he loves me, I wasn't going to intervene in any way. That was up to him. If I had to raise this baby alone then I was prepared to do it because, at the end of the day, the most important thing was my child's well being. Dr. Hastings came in like a woman on a mission. I tried to read her face.
"Hi Abby... How are you feeling? You look a bit underweight to me..." She started.
"Maybe. I've had a lot going on at home. I know it's no excuse and I need to try harder..." I pause briefly "I'm sorry, Doc, I don't mean to be pushy, but what does the test say?" I press. She looks at my chart and peers up at me over her glasses.
"Mr. Hawkins' is definitely the father..." She says quietly while reading over the results. She has no idea about Taylor and I other than, clearly, we slept together at some point... I start to cry uncontrollably; tears of happiness but also sadness for Dave. I know he'll be in a new relationship with someone more deserving of his love soon. That's Dave... The serial monogamist. Dr. Hastings comes around her desk and sits next to me, putting her hand on my back to console me. I finally wipe away my tears and hug her.
"Thank you, Doc. Thank you for everything... Are we done? I need to go..." I say searching for my purse.
"Yes, I suppose. I'll be seeing you soon for your check-up though. I'd like to see a bit more meat on your bones, Missy..." She scolds. I hug her again.
"Yes, ma'am!" I exclaim then bolt out of the office, waving to the various nurses as I leave. I get in my car and take out my phone. I dial Taylor.
"Hey, beautiful." He says.
"Can I see you? We need to talk." I reply.
"Yeah. Of course. Where?" He asks.
"Dave's? I'm on my way now..." I say pulling out into traffic.
"OK! I'm on my way." He says and we hang up.
I get to Dave's and see he's gone. Probably getting the girls. The girls... Oh god... I jump out and head to the pool house. I sit there and just wait. Before I know it I hear the door open.
"Babe?" Taylor says coming through the door. I jump up and greet him with a kiss then take his hand dragging him over to the sofa. He laughs. "What's going on, sweetie?!" I sit him down and take both of his hands and kiss them. He smiles big.
"OK... I have some seriously big news so brace yourself, baby" I say, staring him deep in the eyes. He nods at me and I immediately start to tear up sending his face instantly into worry. "Taylor... the test...the lab screwed it up and they had to redo the test..." I barely got the words out when tears began to streak his face. He nodded at me and I nodded back then he grabbed me, clutching me to his chest.
"Does Dave know?" He croaked, wiping his face off on the back of his hands. I nodded.
"He knows that they had to run the test again but he doesn't know the result yet..." I said, wiping my face on my shirt. I suddenly froze in thought. "What about Allison?" I asked him. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly giving me a funny look.
"Uhhh... Allison is divorcing me!" He said. He slightly chuckled as my face turned to complete shock. "Yeaaah, she saw you and I together and... she just knew. She confronted me and I told her the truth... I was going to talk to her about it when the kids were at my mom's today but she beat me to it. God, it felt like a fucking boulder being lifted off my chest. It's going to be an interesting next couple of months...Actually, that leads me to a something I'd like to ask you. How would you like to go look at some houses? In fact, if you're into it, we could go now... I don't think I should be here when Dave gets back, ya' know? I want you two to talk first before I see him again." I agreed and he and I hoped in his car and took off. We headed to Topanga...
"Holy SHIT, Taylor!" I yelled then slapped my hand over my mouth. "Sorry, Melissa..." I apologized, making our realtor giggle. We picked her because she was the listing agent for a house we both were drooling over and neither of us knew her. Time for a fresh start in our lives.
"Oh, it's fine! It's spectacular, isn't it?" She laughs patting me on the back. Taylor and I take each other's hand and beeline it to the back patio door looking out at the infinity pool and the spectacular view of the canyon.
"Fuck, dude..." We both whisper in unison which makes us laugh. I shake my head.
"We can't afford this, right? Right?" I ask in complete awe. Taylor can't seem to find words... "Besides, no fucking way you'll be able to touch your money until your divorce is final. No way." I rambled staring out.
"We had a prenuptial agreement... Hopefully, they won't freeze up everything for very long..." He stated pulling me into his embrace. I laid my head on his chest and we swayed while we stared out onto the beautiful landscape.
"I mean, I do have some money. I saved most of my tour money except for when I bought my car. I would be able to put a pretty decent dent in the asking price, I think, which of course we will come in lower at first. I could do that... I could do that!" I say excitedly taking Taylor's face in my hands and kissing him hard then pulling away quickly. "MELISSA!?!? I WANT TO PUT IN A BID!!!" I yell practically rattling the windows, sending Taylor into total hysterics. Melissa comes running in frazzled, looking like I scared the life out of her. "Oh, hi there. Um, I would like to put in a bid, please." I say softly while Taylor's smiling at me like I'm insane.
"OK! Let's head back to the office then!" Melissa said cheerfully and stepped aside allowing Taylor and I to lead the way. This is definitely our home...
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*** It was around 9:30 pm when I returned to Dave's. It was slightly dark in his house and I peeked through the glass door to see what they were up to. Everyone was asleep on the couch with Mary Poppins blaring away on the TV. I decided I go in and put Violet and Harper to bed. I had to rouse Violet because she's too big for me to carry anymore and she did so with little complaint. I was able to carry Harper up the stairs without an issue. Once I got them in bed, I came down to wake Dave.
"Dave... David... Dave!" I whispered lightly rocking him. He startled awake. "It's OK, D. It's just me..." I whispered, rubbing his shoulder.
"Where are the girls?" He asked groggily.
"I sold them to this nice gypsy man who came to the door." I whispered. Dave let out a hoarse chuckle then flipped me off. "I put them to bed, goofy. You should go too." I suggest. He puts his hand on mine then motions for me to sit down. I take a seat beside him.
"I suppose the fact that I hadn't heard from you all day answers my question about the test results, huh? How'd Taylor take it?" He asked rubbing his eyes. His voice sounded lighter than it had in a long time.
"He's over the moon." I say gently. I look to see he's off in space. "I'm sorry, Dave... But know this, you will always be a part of this child's life. Always. I'm sorry we didn't work out but you are still one of my best friends. I hope you still feel the same way about me..." I take his hand and he squeezes mine.
"Of course I do." He says with a soft smile then kisses my forehead then breathes deeply. "I think I'll head to bed." He finally says. "Goodnight, Abby..." He calls back as I watch him walk away.
"Goodnight, Dave."
**Hey guys! Sorry if this was a little boring... Gotta' get past these little details whether I like it or not! LOL! Thanks for reading everyone. xo!**
