Chapter Four: Unexpected Circumstances
"Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal. Prepare yourself in every way you can by increasing your knowledge and adding to your experience, so that you can make the most of opportunity when it occurs."- Mario Andretti
Jasmine
Lying there, wrapped up in his arms, makes me nauseous, the smell of booze is strong and sour. My violent sobs fall upon deaf ears as I lay there afraid to move. Slowly, I get the courage to move, so I pick up his now limp arm and scoot away from him, carefully. Looking back as I walk to the bathroom I wonder how my life came to this. My reflection in the mirror reveals a small circular bruise on my cheek. I can feel the tears falling from my eyes as I wipe my face with a bath cloth. The physical pain is minimal, but the emotional pain and fear is overwhelming.
Shaking off a deep feeling of regret, I jump in the shower, figuring out what to say when someone asks about the bruise on my cheek. Stepping out of the shower brings me back to reality. I dress quickly and dry my hair. I grab my makeup bag and quietly make my way out of the bedroom door. Looking back at Jeff, laying there passed out, brings on an uncontrollable wave of nausea.
I rush down the hallway to the kitchen trash can, emptying the contents of my stomach. I draw in a couple of deep breaths to steady myself and reach over, turning on the kitchen sink. I splash some cool water on my face and rinse out my mouth. I hear stirring coming from down the hallway so I rush out the back door and jump in my car. I sit there for a moment with my eyes closed, getting my story together. A sudden thud on the window startles me. As I look up and to the left, I seeing Jeff standing there. He motions for me to roll down the window.
"Leaving without saying bye?” he asks.
"Y-y-you were still sleeping," I stutter as I see the look in his eyes soften.
"Jas, I'm so sorry. I promise, no more drinking. I can change, no, I will change," he says as his eyes fill with tears. He reaches in the window and softly strokes my bruised cheek. "Baby, I will make this up to you," he says leaning in to kiss me. I flinch and can see the pain and guilt in his eyes.
"I love you," he whispers, “and I will do right by you."
I give him a weak smile and take his hand, "I love you, too."
He walks away and my heart begins to slow its rhythm. I put the car in reverse and back out of the driveway. I make it to work and pull down the visor, staring at my reflection in the mirror. I pull out the concealer and begin to try to cover the blue splotch on my cheek. I finish and inspect my work in the mirror once more. I pull my hair back into a clip and head into work.
I hop on the elevator and hit the button for the fourth floor. As the doors open, I'm greeted by the calming scent of cleaner and the soft cries of the neonates. I put my purse in my locker and head to the front desk. I sit there in front of my computer, losing myself in my thoughts.
"Jasmine, Jasmine?" I look up to see my supervisor staring down at me. "Are you okay?” she asks.
"I'm fine," I reply plastering what I hope looks like a genuine smile on my face. She closes her eyes for a moment and draws in a deep breath. She opens them and studies my face. I see her eyes when they reach my cheek. She lifts her eyebrows and looks as though she's going to say something, but doesn't. She nods slightly and turns to walk away. I sigh and focus back on the chart in front of me. After what feels like an eternity I look up at the clock realizing it's after six. "Shit," I mutter to myself as I gather all the charts up; quickly making my way to the file room. I open the door and suddenly feel nauseous again. Barely making it to the trash can before the bile rises, a thought hits me. I steady myself on the copy machine and draw in a jagged breath. "No," I whisper to myself, frantically digging for my phone. Opening up my calendar, makes my heart drop. "No, it can't be." After shooting Jeff a quick text to let him know that I'm running late, and I head down to see Morgan in the lab.
"Please, Morgan. I need to know," I plead. She nods and sits me down in the chair, her eyes filled with concern.
"Where did that bruise on your cheek come from?"
"Oh that, I just slipped in the kitchen and hit the corner of the bar," I reply knowing she's not buying my lame excuse.
"How long have you been feeling sick?"
"I've been feeling drained for a couple of weeks but the nausea didn't start until this morning."
She bites her bottom lip and pulls up my sleeve to place the tourniquet on my arm. Her face drops when she sees the blue ring circling my wrist, "Jasmine?" I shake my head and she sighs. "Make a fist for me." Watching her pull out the syringe brings on another wave of nausea, so I close my eyes and draw in several deep breaths. "Okay, all done," she says removing the tourniquet. I nod and place pressure on it until she places a bandage over it. "I'll text you as soon as the results are back," she says. I leave thanking her again and hoping that I'm wrong.
When I finally get home, Jeff greets me at the door. He is clean shaven and dressed nicely. The smell of his cologne wafts through the air and I smile. This, this is my Jeff, the one who swept me off my feet and saved me. He takes my hand and leads me to the dining room. Dinner smells divine and there's a beautifully wrapped box sitting in front of my plate. I sit down, anxious to know what is in the box. By the end of dinner I'm practically begging to open my gift.
"Fine," he says, "go ahead." With a huge smile on my face I carefully open the box. Inside is a thin gold chain with a small gold anchor pendant inlaid with rubies.
"It's beautiful," I whisper.
"Don't cry," he says, "you'll ruin your makeup and I still have another surprise for you." He comes around the table and kisses me softly. Pulling the necklace from the box, I hand it to him and pull my hair to the side so he can clasp it. I look down at the anchor and smile, watching the small stones shimmer under the candlelight.
Jeff leans down close to my ear and whispers, "I love you."
"I love you, too," I say, trying to keep my tears from falling.
He reaches around and places an envelope on the table. "What is this?" I ask excitement evident in my voice.
"Just open it," he says with a chuckle.
My hands are shaking as I tear open the envelope, revealing two tickets to Searching Aces. "Oh. My. God! When did you...how did you get these?"
"I have my ways," he says with a wink. Jumping up out of the chair quickly I hug him tightly. "Now, those tickets are for Friday night, but tonight I have something special. Go freshen up, we need to get going," he says looking at his watch.
I rush to the bathroom, ripping the brush through my hair and reapplying my lip gloss. In that moment, a familiar memory comes forward. As I look at my reflection in the mirror I see myself, only a couple years younger. About that time my phone vibrates in my pocket and my heart is hammering in my chest as I open the message,
Congratulations. You're pregnant.
Drawing in a deep breath I close my eyes, forcing myself to dry the tears starting to pool. When I open them up, I'm looking at myself, the small bruise still lingering on my cheek and his words are echoing in my mind. A knock on the door makes me jump.
"You okay in there?" he asks.
"I'm fine," I reply, trying to swallow the lump that has formed in my throat.
"Okay, I'm going to pull the truck around," he says.
"Ok," I manage to choke out.