Chapter 31: Back
Sitting in bed holding her and Ozzie at the foot of the mattress, Daryl rocks back and forth and hums sweetly to her. It's been two hours and he just feels like shit. The April rains have begun again and the pitter patter of rain hitting her window makes Beth relax more and more.
"I'm sorry for what I said." Daryl confesses. "I shouldn't have yelled at you."
"It's in the past Daryl... I said some pretty terrible things too."
"Yeah, but I chalk that up to the hormones."
"No I mean before that....in Paris. I'm an asshole."
"No, yer perfect."
"I'm far from perfect. I'm bossy, manipulative, a whole bunch of things."
"We all are...we we weren't we'd be mindless, emotionless, brainless zombies waiting for a meal or to be killed."
"Did anyone ever tell you you have a way with words?" She looks up from his chest and he chuckles.
"As a matter of fact I've been told I am a poet.
"Wah??? No...hit me with some poetry."
"No..."
"Yeah...come on. It'll make me feel better."
"Okay...um...okay."
Below the hill,
A pond lay blue,
Above my eyes,
The sky lay gray,
Where I find a meadow,
A flock of deer call home,
And where I here a song,
A friendly sparrow calls.
Below the heavens,
The Earth lay scattered,
Above the seas,
The space is full,
Where I lay sleeping,
Dreams perform skits,
And we're I awake,
My eyes find you.
Looking out at the wall in front of her bed, Beth wipes a tear away and applauds him.
"That was beautiful....fuck these hormones." She wipes more tears away and he kisses the top of her head.
"Told you I was a poet...and you doubted me."
"I'm sorry I did."
They fall back to silence and Ozzie sits up and looks at them.
"Shit, I'm sorry buddy." Daryl says to the dog, who gets up and heads out to the living room. "I gotta go feed him...."
"Okay." Getting up, Daryl leaves Beth in bed and as he goes to leave he looks at her once more before leaving. Staying in bed, Beth feels the pang once more that was missing for two months. Now she smiles and lays back down in bed, having received her best friend back.
The next day, Beth wakes up to the smell of pancakes and sausage. Scratching her head, she almost forgot her and Daryl made up. Getting out of bed, with a bit of trouble, Beth goes out to the kitchen and finds Daryl cooking breakfast and feeding Ozzie a bit of burned pancakes.
"Morning..."
"Good morning...how are you and baby feeling today?" Daryl cheerily asks as he flips another pancake. He's been missing her kitchen, let alone her.
"Fine, both of is." Ozzie comes over and lays his head on her lap as she sits at the table. "Hello, cutie pie. Hello!"
"Really? Baby talk to my dog? Rude. Degrade him and his regolness..."
"He's fine. He responds better."
"Here's a few to start you off. What do you want to drink?"
"Water please. Can you bring me that pull bottle too?"
"This one?"
"Yeah. Need to take my prenatal vitamins."
"Holyshit... that's a horse-pill." Daryl says as he watches Beth pull out a pill the size of Junior Mint only slightly bigger.
"Haha, it's fine. It helps her grow an be healthy."
"Couldn't ya just swallow an orange?"
"No...that's bigger." She blankly sad and Daryl flips another pancake. Eating some if her breakfast Beth looks at the calendar. "Tomorrow's month number seven."
"Really? This is moving way too fast."
"Says you, you don't have something sitting on yer bladder."
"True.So a June baby...figure a name out yet?"
"Not really...I can't get passed the names that are unisex. Dylan, Ryan, Riley, Kerrigan, Bryce... it's too hard."
"Don't get upset on me, but all those names are terrible."
"Well screw you!" She says as she stuffs her face. "Naming a child is hard."
"I didn't say it was easy."
"I also kinda like Rebecca, Emily, Rosie, Ruby, Chloe..."
"No..."
"What! What is wrong with you?"
"Okay...Im sorry...my opinion doesn't matter anyway...remember?"
Looking at her plate, she starts to feel sick and gets up. rushing to the bathroom, she start throwing up and Daryl turns off the stove tops and how to her. Pulling her hair back, he feels terrible that he's done this too her.
"God, it needs to stop." She says as she spits into the toilet and he helps her up.
"I thought morning sickness was only in the beginning."
"No...it can happen the whole pregnancy...and it does." He washes her mouth out and looks up at him. "Thank you."
"No problem."
They finish their breakfast arguing about names and it feels like nothing's changed.
YOU ARE READING
The Baby Arrangement
RandomBeth Greene, a single successful 25 year old, has had problem after problem dating the male population, that her dreams of getting married and having a baby seems to be out of reach. But when the idea for insemination pops into her sights, her only...
