The Story of Us

Chapter Two

                                          

      Two years later Nicole and Jackson were still together and are planning to get married just as soon as they can save enough money.  Jackson has had a difficult time keeping a job so saving money has not been easy. Now that Nicole and Jackson moved into a small apartment together, it will become harder to save money for a wedding.

      Jackson got a job working at a brick making plant and Nicole is working at a nail Salon with her Cosmetology license that she earned during high school at the local vocational school. Life on their own has been going rather well the couple of months.

      Then one day Jackson came home from work really early, a stack of bricks fell on his foot earlier that day at work. He broke his big toe. Jackson was sent home, and was told that he could have the rest of the week off, but he had to be back to work that next Monday. Jackson ended up not going back to work on Monday, like he was supposed to, and then he got fired. Nicole is now the only one working. Jackson said he was trying to find a job with his education in auto body repair, but wasn't having any luck. They had rent to pay and Jackson's truck payment to pay. Nicole paid for both for a couple of months, but money was fairly tight, they could not afford to stay at their apartment any longer if Jackson was not working as well. They decided to move in with Nicole's parents until they could get another place on their own.

      A couple of months later, Nicole was in a very irritable mood. Nicole was also very emotional and was crying over the littlest things.

     "What’s wrong?" asked Jackson.

     "I think I might be pregnant!" said Nicole shakily.

     "Are you upset about it?"

     "Well, no. I really love you and I really want to have a baby with you. It's just that we aren't married yet, and I am kind of scared." 

     “As long as we love each other that’s all that matters. I will always be here for you. I love you and I think that this is wonderful. We will get through everything together.” said Jackson compassionately.

     Nicole was scared to tell her parents, especially her father. They waited a few weeks before telling anyone. Nicole’s mom was starting to get worried about Nicole, because she was sleeping all the time and was not eating very well. One evening, Jackson told Nicole’s mom.

     "Nicole is pregnant."

     "Oh, my! Are you really?" asked her mother.

     "Yes.” Nicole said as she started to cry.

     "Are you happy about it?"

     "Yes, I was just scared to tell you.” said Nicole.

     "Well, I think it’s wonderful as long as it’s want you want.” said Nicole’s mother.

      Right then, they all heard Nicole’s father come in from work. Nicole's mother said, “You better let me tell him.” as she walked into the other room to tell Nicole's father.

      Just a couple of minutes later Nicole’s parents walked into the room. Nicole's Father gave Nicole a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and shook Jackson's hand and told them both Congratulations. Nicole was so relieved that her father wasn't angry. She thought for sure that her father would be doing some yelling. She was wrong. She was very happy that she was wrong.

     Nicole's parents thought that they should be married before the baby was born. Nicole’s parent's arranged everything and they were married on May 20th 2000. Nicole was about four months pregnant.

                                                                        ~********************~

     Jackson was able to find a new job, so they moved into a small trailer that would have been a wonderful place to start their family. Nicole was having a difficult time with her pregnancy, and was extremely tired all the time. She just wanted to sleep as much as she could. Which is what she needed to do, in order to keep herself and the baby healthy. Nicole barely ate anything because she couldn't hold anything down. Every single day she felt sick at her stomach all day, it wasn’t just morning sickness, it was all day sickness! Just smelling food made her sick and she had no energy.    

     Jackson worked at a trucking company and was gone all the time. When Jackson would come home from work, he would be in a really sour mood. He would tend to take all of his frustrations from his workday out on her. He yelled at her for not doing the dishes or the laundry that day. He would tell her that she was faking how she felt so she wouldn't have to do the housework. He made her feel really bad about herself, and she had no idea how to change the way she was feeling. But, she still loved him more than anything, and wanted him to understand how the pregnancy was making her feel and have sympathy for her, and maybe even help out with some things that she was having difficulties with. She was, after all, having his baby!