For Our Son: A BWWM Parenting Romance For Adults Page 9

  "I know what you mean. It was certainly closure for me. I don’t think I’ll wonder or worry so much about him anymore…once I find out the transplant went okay, anyway."

  "Yeah." Ryan settled back and said no more.

  At the airport, Ryan and Grace checked their luggage, went through security and turned in their rental car in record time. When it was time to board the airplane, Grace looked over at Ryan and wondered if she’d make it the entire flight without bringing up the subject of the previous night. Should she just bring it up and get it over with?

  "Ryan—"

  "Grace—"

  "Oh, sorry, you go first,” Ryan relinquished.

  "No, that’s okay. What were you going to say?" Grace asked.

  "I was just going to ask you how you were getting home from the airport,” Ryan stated.

  "Oh. Morgan’s picking me up."

  "Oh." Ryan fidgeted for a moment. "Can I borrow your phone? Mine is low on battery.”

  As Grace handed over her cell phone an awkward silence fell over them, for they both knew whom he was about to call.

  When Ryan got ahold of Sophia, she was irate. She screamed profanities at him and called him a liar before he even had a chance to get a word out.

  "Sophia," Ryan spoke softly and turned his back to Grace. "What’s going on?"

  "You two-timing jerk! I called that hotel you were staying at and they said you stayed with Grace! You liar!"

  "What are you talking about?" Ryan pretended not to know. He couldn’t believe that this was happening. What were the odds of the hotel disclosing that information?

  "Are you sitting there trying to tell me that you didn’t share a room with that bitch?"

  "That’s exactly what I’m trying to tell you."

  "Then why would the hotel say that, huh? What have they got to gain by telling me that you and that slut shared a room?"

  "Sophia, calm down,” Ryan said quietly. "I’m on the plane right now. If you pick me up at the airport, I can explain everything. You’re totally wrong."

  Ryan sounded so calm and sure that Sophia quieted down long enough to agree to meet him at the airport. Ryan’s heart was pounding as he pushed the button to end the call. Hesitantly he looked over at Grace, but she wasn’t looking at him. She had her eyes closed with headphones on. Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. He tapped her and handed back her phone.

  "Thanks." Grace didn’t look at him. Despite the headphones, she had heard every word of his end of the conversation with Sophia, and from what she could gather, he had some explaining to do.

  As Grace dosed off and on, Ryan sat beside her thinking up an elaborate story to tell Sophia. He considered telling her the truth, minus the sleeping with and having sex with Grace part. After a few hours, he decided that was probably his best bet. However, as the plane descended towards JFK International, he had changed his mind. His new plan was to simply deny everything.

  ***

  Morgan kept her eyes glued to the television monitor providing information on Grace’s flight. The plane was twenty minutes late and Morgan had grown tired of people-watching. Ever since all the terror attempts on public transportation, Morgan hated airports and train stations. When a woman with oversized dark sunglasses plopped down beside her and began turning pages in a magazine she wasn’t even looking at, Morgan got nervous. When the woman turned the pages so ferociously that they ripped, Morgan didn’t hide her curiosity.

  "I’m sorry." The woman noticed Morgan staring at her. "I hate airports."

  "Me too," Morgan agreed.

  The woman took off her glasses to wipe her eyes and Morgan gasped. "Are you okay?" she asked of the woman’s bloodshot and puffy eyes.

  "Yeah, I just…" The woman resituated herself. "My friend called me just as I was leaving the house. She thinks her boyfriend is cheating on her. She was all emotional, which caused me to get emotional…you know how that gets."

  "Yeah. I also know all about cheating boyfriends." Morgan rolled her eyes.

  "Really?" the woman seemed really eager.

  "It’s almost like I wear a sign: ‘Cheater? Walk this way’." Morgan pointed at herself.

  The woman found this amusing and she leaned in towards Morgan as if she was comfortable with this stranger she hardly knew. "How do you know for sure if your boyfriend’s cheating? My boyfriend – I mean, my friend, isn’t really sure her boyfriend is cheating, but she’s suspicious."

  "Well that gut feeling is usually the first sign. Does your friend think she knows the person her boyfriend is cheating with?"

  "She’s pretty sure, yeah."

  "Well, I’ve found that whenever I’ve seen my boyfriend with the person I thought he was cheating with, if he was really quiet around her and didn’t talk to her much, he was cheating. If he was really friendly with her then he wasn’t cheating."

  "Really? I would have thought it would have been the other way around."

  Morgan shook her head. "No, because if he’s cheating he feels like he has something to hide. He thinks that if he’s nice and friendly to her that you’ll figure it out, so he’s cold and distant. On the other hand, if he doesn’t have anything to hide, he sees no harm in being nice and friendly."

  The lady next to Morgan nodded as she began to understand the comparison. "I’ll have to keep that in mind…for my friend."

  "I’m Morgan, by the way."

  "I’m Sophia. Nice to meet you."

  Morgan was grateful for the conversation that ate up some of the wait time. When she looked up at the monitor again she saw that Grace’s flight was unloading. She stood up as she saw her friend coming down the escalator. Morgan stood up and waved so that Grace would see her.

  Ryan and Grace caught sight of Morgan at the same time. She ran up to greet them both.

  "Same old Ryan,” Morgan said as she gave him a hug. "How was the flight?"

  "Too long," Ryan answered.

  "I’m exhausted." Grace hinted to Morgan. She wanted nothing more than to grab her bags and get out of there.

  Ryan looked over and noticed Sophia watching him. "I’d better get going,” he said to Grace and Morgan.

  "Yeah, okay…" Grace looked at him for a quick moment.

  "Okay…" Ryan returned.

  Morgan looked between the two of them. She was confused and she felt like a third wheel. "Grace, want me to grab your bags?" she asked.

  "No. I’ll come with you." Grace walked towards the baggage claim. She turned and offered a half-hearted wave to Ryan. "Bye."

  "Later." He turned and walked towards Sophia.

  Sophia couldn’t help but notice the lack of eye contact and the non-existent farewell between Grace and Ryan. She had already made up her mind. Regardless of what Ryan said, Sophia was convinced that she knew the truth.

  Chapter sixteen

  Grace had been worried that her parents wouldn’t take too kindly to her moving off-campus next semester. She had put off telling them for fear that they would refuse to support her, forcing Morgan to put off her plans of moving. However, ever since she’d returned from California, Grace had a new perspective on the issues in her life and moving into an apartment wasn’t one of them.

  Much to her surprise, Grace’s parents didn’t mind the idea of her moving off campus. Her dad said it could actually prove to be cheaper if she split the rent and found the right type of roommates this time.

  Grace was sure it would be a reduction in price. Morgan had strict financial constraints. Though her father had offered to help her, Morgan wanted to make sure that she didn’t get in over her head.

  Morgan was excited to hear that Grace had moved forward in their plans to co-habitate. Time was running short and Morgan was getting concerned that Grace was going to back out on her. As soon as Grace called that all systems were go, Morgan insisted that they go apartment hunting that instant. Grace didn’t really feel like it but she felt she owed it to Morgan for being so patient.

  Once they started looking in the area they both
agreed upon, Grace began to get more into the idea of apartment-shopping. Both girls immediately fell in love with the first apartment building they came to, but it was extremely out of their price range. They realized they’d have to considerably lower their sights. That made apartment hunting much more tedious.

  By lunchtime, Morgan and Grace were spent and they hadn’t found anything they could agree on. Either the price was right and the apartment was wrong or the apartment was perfect and the price was wrong. They decided to take a break for lunch before hitting the pavement again.

  "We should be taking pictures of this moment." Morgan slapped her knee. "Our very first apartment."

  "Yeah, well, we have to actually get an apartment to have a very-first-apartment,” Grace said dryly.

  "I know, but we should capture the search. I’m going to start taking pictures on my phone."

  Grace shrugged. She just wanted this entire day to be done, but she couldn’t tell Morgan that. It would only hurt her feelings.

  "Is something wrong, Grace?" Morgan slumped against her chair. Grace’s somber mood was deflating Morgan’s joy.

  "I’m just tired. I think I’m still jet-lagged,” Grace said.

  "I’m so sorry! I didn’t even think about that. You just got back…okay, we’ll look at one more apartment and then we’ll call it quits…okay?" Morgan pleaded.

  "Yeah, sure. No problem." Grace was glad to see an end in sight.

  After lunch, Grace and Morgan walked over to the drugstore to grab a prescription Morgan had ready. While Morgan was waiting for it, Grace slipped down the family planning aisle. She considered buying a pregnancy test, but the prices were outrageous.

  "What are you doing?" Morgan came up behind Grace.

  "Oh, uh…" Grace scooted slightly to the right. "Just checking their prices on tampons…but I forgot my coupon."

  Morgan laughed. "You are the perfect roommate for me…a penny-pincher!"

  Grace laughed and followed Morgan up to the register to pay for her camera. And once again, they were in search for the perfect apartment.

  The last apartment they found was a little further out than they’d hoped, but it was gated and it was clean. It was a small complex that seemed to be mainly composed to middle-aged people.

  "So far, so good, huh?" Morgan smiled as she and Grace made their way towards the rental office. Grace preferred not to get her hopes up.

  The manager, a stout woman in her forties, was very friendly and anxious to show them an apartment. They expressed interest in a two bedroom, one bathroom and were happy to see that this model possessed two bedrooms that were basically equal in size. The slightly smaller bedroom had a large walk-in closet, so the trade-off seemed fair.

  It seemed perfect, but things rarely were, so both Grace and Morgan cringed as they asked for the price. It was within their range. They couldn’t believe it.

  "Are you serious?" Morgan asked excitedly.

  "I am. We don’t offer the amenities of the larger complexes. We don’t have a swimming pool, covered parking or a gym…just a small laundry room. Therefore we’re priced lower."

  "That’s fine with us." Grace smiled.

  "You girls came in at a great time. We have a great move-in special on a six-month lease." The manager pointed to a piece of paper offering a reduced deposit and a free first month.

  "That’s great. What do we have to do to get that?" Morgan plowed forward.

  "Well, I’ll just need to collect a fee to do a credit check on both of you and you’ll need to fill out an application." The manager went to a file cabinet and pulled out two applications.

  Morgan was chomping at the bit to get the process started. Grace was hesitant.

  "Um, Morgan, can I talk to you outside for a moment?” Grace asked her friend quietly.

  Morgan looked perplexed. She explained to the manager that they’d only be a moment and then Morgan followed Grace outside to her vehicle.

  "Are we leaving?" Morgan asked as she watched Grace get into the passenger side of the car.

  "No. I just need to talk to you,” Grace said as she closed the door. Morgan got into the driver seat and also closed the door.

  "Okay, Grace, you’re freaking me out. What’s going on? We’re looking at the best apartment deal in history here, yet you have cold feet?"

  "No, that’s not it." Grace looked down at the floor of the car. "I’ve done something horrible."

  Morgan sat back against her seat, awaiting the bad news. "Uh-oh. What?"

  "I could be…pregnant,” Grace whispered the last word.

  "Oh my gosh!" Morgan put her hands up to her mouth. "How late are you?"

  "I’m not exactly late. It’s too early to tell, but I didn’t want to enter into a six-month lease without telling you. I mean, my parents could refuse to support me if I was pregnant and I’d have no way to make the rent."

  "Wait a minute... Morgan’s mind was racing to catch up. "If you’re not late, why do you think you’re pregnant?"

  "I don’t think I am. I’m just saying that there’s a possibility. I had unprotected sex."

  "You didn’t use anything?"

  Grace shook her head. She felt so idiotic that she couldn’t even look Morgan in the eye.

  "Well did you at least know the guy? Because pregnancy could be the least of your concerns,” Morgan lectured.

  "I’m not that worried about that,” Grace admitted. But of course that led to Morgan’s next question…

  "Who were you with?" she asked. By her facial expression, Grace could tell Morgan already knew the answer.

  "Ryan." Grace confirmed.

  "I knew it!" Morgan yelled. "You two were acting so weird at the airport. And you kept telling me nothing happened…"

  "I’m not proud of it, okay?" Grace looked annoyed. "Aside from the fact that Ryan’s girlfriend is a total hag, she is still his girlfriend. I knew he had a girlfriend and I still did it…I hate when women do that to each other."

  "Yeah, well he was yours long before he was hers,” Morgan offered.

  Grace wouldn’t accept that as comfort. "That’s a total cop-out."

  Morgan was silent. She could see that her friend was upset and worried, but she couldn’t help but ask, "Grace, how could you get into this same situation twice with the same guy?"

  "I know. When it comes to Ryan I have a complete mental block for all things sane and rational,” Grace said.

  "The fact that both of you would agree to have sex with no protection…wait, does he know?"

  "About the no protection part or the possibly pregnant part?"

  "Both."

  "He knows about the no protection part. He pulled out, but that’s not fail safe."

  "And the possibly pregnant part…"

  "I haven’t talked to him since I got back."

  "Grace, you have to tell him!”

  "I’ll tell him when and if there’s something to tell. The only reason I’m telling you is because of this lease."

  "Well, it’s only a six-month lease, Grace. The lease would be up before the baby would be born…if you were…you know. And our parents are going to have to co-sign because we don’t have much credit. So, if your parents co-sign, then they’ll have to pay the rent anyway, right?"

  Grace shrugged. Everything seemed like it all had to be settled at the same time and she couldn’t sort her thoughts clearly.

  "Let’s just get the applications," Morgan suggested. "We’ll fill them out at home and bring them back. Then we’ll go from there. How long until you know if you’re late?"

  "Two weeks,” Grace answered.

  "Okay. So we’ll wait two weeks before we agree to anything. If the apartment is still here then it was meant to be. If it’s not…then it wasn't."

  "I’m sorry, Morgan,” Grace apologized. "I know how badly you wanted this and I’ve messed everything up."

  "Nonsens. It’s just life. It happens." Morgan shrugged.

  Grace waited in the car while Morgan went and explained to the
manager that they’d be taking the applications home to fill out and talk over with their co-signers. While she waited, Grace thought about what she’d say to Ryan if she were pregnant. She wondered if he was thinking about her at all. He hadn’t tried to call.

  Grace looked down at her hands. She could almost feel Ryan’s hand in hers. Whatever happens, Grace let’s remain friends. Ryan’s words were so fresh in Grace’s mind. Whatever happens…