~
I stood in line for an hour. I never realized a five am flight would be was so popular. I suppose it was because all the people who flew for business between New York and Boston would be taking the early flight so that they could get home to their families.
I exchanged my ticket to get an earlier flight for a hundred bucks. The only seats left were in first class. So I would be taking it to ensure I was long gone before he woke up and found my note. I knew he’d be pissed and I didn’t want that but I knew it was going to happen anyways.
I was pregnant. Me, the girl who faithfully took the pill everyday, was pregnant. When they asked me when my last period was I told them. They asked if it was normal and it wasn’t. So me, the girl who took the pill regularly and has only been with two sexual partners was pregnant. To make things worse it was a good possibility that it was not Xavier’s.
If it was Xavier’s I am sure he would try to do the right thing for me and his child but for the rest of my life I would feel guilty. He made it clear he didn’t want kids. So I was running home to try to clear my head and decide whether I would keep my baby or not. Then I had to decide whether to tell Xavier and even worse I may have to tell a man who hit me that I was carrying his child.
I walked onto the plane and sat in my big cushy seat and closed my puffy red eyes. I put on the earphones and tried to fall back to sleep.
I was almost asleep when I felt someone moving into the seat next to me. I pulled my legs in so that they could have room to move. Normally I would give a nice smile and say good morning but it wasn’t a good morning. It was a horrible morning.
The plane started to taxi and I sat my seat back in the upright position. I glanced over to my left and into the most intense set of blue-green eyes I had seen. His hair was a mess and his expression unreadable. But I did know he wasn’t happy.
“You have an hour and twenty minutes to tell me what’s going on. You should be aware that I’m pretty sure I can figure it out and that I cannot believe you are pulling this shit on me.”
He was beyond angry, he was livid.
I nodded and swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”
“Keep going Taelyn.”
“I’m doing this because I love you.”
His eye brows shot up as soon as the plane left the ground. My very sensitive stomach did a flip.
“I have an appointment later this afternoon. The clinic I went to Tuesday doesn’t have ultrasound equipment. I didn’t know--.”
“Hold up! You’re sick and you couldn’t tell--.” He stopped talking and I’m pretty sure realization set in.
A smile crept up on just the corner of his mouth. “So you weren’t leaving me for him?”
My stomach lurched and I reached for the vomit bag. He grabbed my hair and held it back as I threw up several times. When I sat back the flight attendant took the bag and handed me a cold clothe.
“You left because I told you I didn’t want kids. Taelyn, I also told you I didn’t want to get married but I gave you a ring and fully intended on switching hands. Wait.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a ring, I assumed a belly button ring with a very large dangling emerald. “I was gonna propose to you tonight. A little unconventional I know but that’s us--.”
I sat up and reached in front of his seat for the bag and he grabbed my hair again as I threw up.
“Irish if you hadn’t just thrown up I’d be kissing your beautiful red lips right now. The lips of the girl that I am gonna marry and that will have my--.”
“Xavier please stop. No more, it’ll only make this harder.”
“Don’t you hear me? I love you. I want this. Say--.”
I blurted out, “I don’t know if it’s yours.”
And then the tears began to fall.
The flight attendant was back she took the barf bag and gave me two more and a bottle of water. He hadn’t said a word and I couldn’t look at him.
The pilot announced that we were at twenty five thousand feet and would be landing in an hour. The flight attendant came back with a blanket and a pillow. I thanked her as I wiped my eyes. I pulled my legs up and closed my eyes facing as far away from him as I could. I didn’t want to see him hurt and I didn’t want to see him angry. I just wanted for this day to be over and for him to go back to New Jersey and lead a happy life.