Patting my leg one more time she looks at me with those pitiful eyes and exits the room with a handful of dirty laundry.  Anger absorbs me.  How could she not believe her son would be there for his child?  Did she really think he was that selfish?  He would surely prove her wrong.  Yes Trent has been selfish but I know he would be there for his child.  There is no question about it.  I believe in him.

Running into Trent’s room, I find him still asleep so I crawl in next to him.  Hopefully his mom doesn’t decide to have a little chat with him right now.

He wrestles when I wrap my arms around his waist kissing his back.  “Now that’s the way I like to wake up.”  He sleepily says turning around to wrap his arm around me pulling me closer.  “You better hope mom doesn’t find you in my bed.”  He jokes.

“She’s already doing laundry.”  I laugh.  There is never a piece of dirty clothes at any given time in this house.  I don’t know if it’s because she has three boys but she practically lives in that room.

“What do you want to do today?”  He asks.

I shrug happy to stay where I am right now.

“Sounds good to me.”  He smirks knowing what I am thinking.  “I can’t wait until we get to New York, to our place.  We can stay in bed all day if we want.”  He plays with my hand that is draped over his stomach.

“Not if your mom gets her wish.”  I bitterly say.  I was going to tell him in a better way but I am still angry that she doesn’t believe in Trent.

“What are you talking about?”  He sits up a little still holding me close.

“You’re mom thinks I should come back here when I am close to having the baby.”  I divulge.

“Really?”  He doesn’t seem surprised or upset.

“Trent, she wants me to come back to Belcrest and live during your season.”  I am trying to get the point across.  He doesn’t understand what I am saying.

“I know.  Maybe she has a point.  I don’t really want you in New York by yourself with the baby when I’m not there.”  He grabs my hands and I know where this is going.  He only grabs both my hands in his when he has something horrible to tell me.

“I’m fully capable of handling myself.  Plus Ian is out there, he will help me.”

“Maddy, that’s not the same thing.  When the season’s over I will come back and get you and the baby.  We will go back to New York together.”  I pull away from him but he grabs my hands tight in his.

“Absolutely not.  So, you can do whatever you want while I get stuck in Belcrest, the place I never want to be until you can come get me like some prince on a white horse.  I don’t think so Trent.”  I tug hard releasing my hands from his standing up slamming the door behind me.

“Maddy!”  I hear him shout behind the door but I don’t want to hear it.

I run down the stairs out the front door going to the safest place I know.

A few minutes later I hear the footsteps coming up the ladder.  He sits down next to me propping his elbows on his knees leaning against the hay barrel.

“I’m sorry Maddy.  I never meant for you to think I was leaving you.”  He sounds soft and regretful.

“I just feel like your life will remain the same and everything I worked for is nothing.  I will never be a designer.  You and your mom want me to stay in the one place I hate to raise our baby.  Trent this is not MY baby this is OUR baby.”  I sit cross legged playing with a piece of straw.

“You don’t think I know that Maddy.  I want nothing more than to raise this baby with you.  I’m sorry for being a jerk in there.  I honestly was just thinking of you and the baby, I swear.”  He puts his finger on my chin raising it up lightly brushing his lips with mine.  “We will figure this out together.”

“Ok” I say still unsure how this will go but happy we are on the same side now.

Two weeks later Trent and I are getting ready to leave for New York in a few days.  Mrs. Basso had me go to the doctor to get on pre-natal vitamins and make sure everything was ok.  They said it all looked good but to make sure I see a doctor when I get there to have the regular check-ups necessary.  They gave me an ultrasound letting them figure I was ten weeks along.

Trent and I decided we would go to New York and have the baby there.  After I delivered we would decide together what was best for us as a family.  He said if I wanted to come back here for a while that was fine but if I didn’t want to that was ok too.    He had already rented a one-bedroom apartment in the city before he found out that I was expecting so we would have to be looking for something bigger in the coming months.  I didn’t really care where we lived as long as I was with him.

Mackenna was picking me up for some girl time before I left.  Kenna’s dad was going to buy a shop for her to open her own photography studio down in the square of town.  She was so talented with not only candid but also posed pictures as well.  Even her landscapes jumped out of the page at you.  I was going to miss her so much and she is the only reason I have contemplated coming home after the baby.

Since I am with Mackenna, Trent is going out with Bryan.  It is nice to see their friendship come alive again.  Trent is lucky Brian is so forgiving.  After Mackenna and I go out to eat at my favorite restaurant, get ice cream at the Dairy Mart she drops me off at my house to pick up some things I had left there.  I figure my mom would be out so I could sneak in grab my stuff and then Trent is coming to get me after him and Bryan finish.

It isn’t surprising to find my mom’s house dark and quiet.  It is Friday night, the start of my mom’s weekend binges.  I don’t turn on any lights, I can’t bear to see the old ratty furniture and worn out shag carpeting.  There are empty wine bottles on the counter in the kitchen and the fridge is empty except for more wine and beer.  Rolling my eyes I go upstairs.  The third stair still squeaks and the railing is missing from when we painted five years prior.  At the top of the stairs I turn to her room.  Clothes strewed across the floor and bed.  More wine glasses and bottles on the nightstands along with beer bottles courtesy of her guests I assume.

Shaking my head taking a deep breath I walk the short distance to my room.   I can instantly tell she hasn’t stepped foot in her since I left.  Dust covers all my pictures, my dresser and even my bedspread and pillows.  Opening my closet where clothes are hung from high school I grab my bag in the back.   Trent should be here soon and I want to get out of here as soon as I can.  I take my purple flower photo box putting it in the bag along with some other mementos from high school.    I am scrambling in my desk drawer looking for the letter from my dad when I see a cars headlight in the driveway.  It must me Trent so I run downstairs to open the door for him.

Right before I get to the bottom of the stairs I hear a key in the lock.  Oh Shit, it isn’t Trent.  I slowly back up the stairs so they can’t see me figuring they will resort to her room soon and I can sneak out but that damn third stair.  My right foot hits it just as she wobbles past me on her way to the kitchen.  She looks over and continues walking so I think she is too drunk to see me so I continue my retreat upstairs.

“Madeline.”  She says continuing to the kitchen.   I freeze on the fifth step praying she passes out.   Her drunken partner walks by glancing my way at the stairs.

“Hey, I’m Bill.”  He puts out his hand for me to shake.  Is he kidding?  I roll my eyes walking by him to the kitchen.   He is wearing a silk button down shirt.  All the buttons are unbuttoned except for the bottom two.  His chest is filled with large amounts of black hair.  He has a sole patch and his hair is gelled back.  The cheap cologne fills my nostrils making me want to vomit.    “Alright then.”  He pulls his hand back running it through his hair.

“What are you doing here?”  My mom questions, opening a bottle of wine while handing her partner a beer.