Time To Waste

Chapter 22: Fawn

He had seen that little body on the grainy monitor and he had heard the heartbeat thumping loudly throughout the examination room. The reality of the situation had swollen his heart to bursting, and he knew that he had shed a few actual tears sitting in the doctor's office beside his girlfriend. The thoughts were racing through his mind in rapid-fire succession as he sat there, thinking first of his mother – who was elated to be a first-time grandmother – then his sister – who was already purchasing an entire Halloween-inspired wardrobe for her niece or nephew. He knew too that the pair were already planning a surprise Baby Shower for Jenna for some time in March, and knowing his mother and sister, this would be no simple, casual affair. In fact, he was prepared for the day when they confessed that they had invited all of Luzerne County.

He felt entirely overwhelmed and it all cycled back to one thing: what if this was not actually his child? Yes, a better man might say fuck it and, taking his own advice, make the best of it, but he wasn't a good enough man to do that; sorry, but he just was not that good of a man. He knew that if this kid popped out and Maury Povich announced that he was, in fact, not the father, he was going to run and run fast. He couldn't sit back and raise Rick's kid, or worse somehow, Ryan's kid. Not that he had anything against his friends, because he certainly did not, but he didn't want to be the stupid cuckold who was trapped for the next eighteen years financing someone else's sexual exploit gone wrong.

Needless to say, there had been some tension between he and Jenna after the last doctor's visit, which Chris was willing to admit was more than likely his own fault. The common-sense portion of his brain knew that Jenna could no more control who had fathered her child than he could influence the weather, but he was desperate, beyond desperate for an answer. She didn't want to know the baby's gender, and he was fine with that, because he didn't want to grow ever more attached to a child that might not be his own. However, the painful truth was that he was already attached, and though she didn't know it, he had spent a good portion of this morning crying in the shower. The tension and stress had simply mounted to a level that he couldn't handle, and without the ability to bleed it all out on-stage, he had gone into the steamy glass enclosure for a good cry.

In effect, that had inspired his current steamy plan: a getaway. He needed it and Jenna would love it, and now that he was home from the tour, he had all the time in the world to waste away with her wherever. So, much in thanks to Airbnb, he had rented them a cozy but modern little cabin in the woods that he knew she would adore. And, with a little coaxing, involving both financial incentives and vocal pleading, he had convinced the owner to decorate according to his plans.

That was exactly how, hours later, he found himself standing in the massive and luxurious bedroom of their new rental, or, theirs for the next four days. Jenna had gasped when they entered the master bedroom, discovering a huge California-king bed, covered in rose petals. The room also featured a stunning ceiling full of exposed wooden beams that were wrapped in thousands of fairy lights, and a floor to ceiling window opposite the bed that faced into the forest. 

Ignoring the scattered floral pieces, Jenna had tossed herself onto the bed with a squeal of delight, bounced twice, and then lay there staring out into the woods. "This is so peaceful," she cooed happily. "Where did you find this place?"

"Airbnb," he confessed as he sat gently beside her. "It was the first place I looked at and I thought it was perfect."

"It is," she beamed.

"We needed to get away," he admitted as he began to kick his sneakers off. "I needed to get away."