spirit 2007-2-10 18:24
[story] My Angel
<b>PART 1</b><br/> <br/>Okay. I took a deep breath. It’ll be fine. It WILL BE fine. It’ll be blue and I’ll be fine.<br/><br/>It’ll be blue…<br/><br/>I picked up the pregnancy tester and took a look. <br/><br/>Shit. It was pink. P-I-N-K, which meant I was not fine.<br/><br/>Someone was knocking on the bathroom door. “Hey, have you finished using the bathroom? I need to use it too!” It was my housemate Janice. <br/><br/>I have been living with Janice for six years now. Four years in college dormitory and two years in this small apartment after we graduated. Although Janice insisted that her name should be pronounced as “jan-nees”, I kept on calling her “jan-nuts”. <br/><br/>“What time is it now?” I yelled to her.<br/><br/>“7:49.” she yelled back.<br/><br/>Shit. I’ll be late for work. I threw the pregnancy tester in the trash bin and opened the door. <br/><br/>“You’ll be late for work.” Janice said as-a-matter-of-factly.<br/><br/>“I know. Are you going to school today?” <br/> <br/>“No, Professor Mattey is busy today. He asked me to go to his office tomorrow.”<br/><br/>Janice is a PhD student studying psychology at NYU. I work as a financial analyst in an investment bank. And I was supposed to be at the office 14 minutes earlier.<br/><br/>“Okay then. I’ll see you tonight.” I grabbed my bag and rushed to the subway station. <br/><br/>After checking 114 emails and answering 58 voicemails, I sat down at my cubicle and ate a cheese and egg sandwich. It was my 15-minute lunchtime. I was browsing a website containing gossips in Hollywood when I read this title:<br/><br/><i>Julia Roberts is pregnant again!</i><br/><br/>Pregnant? Wow, she just had a pair of twins not long ago! Lucky lady… Wait. Pregnant? Pregnant! My gosh, what am I going to do?<br/><br/><b>PART 2</b><br/>My supervisor didn’t leave time for me to think about the big question. He called me into his office after lunch and gave me a pile of files.<br/><br/>“Study them, Maggie. I’ll need a presentation by the end of this week.” He was talking to me without actually looking at me. I promised to myself I would never ever do that to my subordinate if I had any subordinate. I would be the most wonderful supervisor in the world. I would kindly talk to them and joke with them and help them if they need anything…<br/><br/>“Yes, Maggie?” my supervisor looked up at me suspiciously, “You need anything?” <br/><br/>“No, Sir. I’ll look through the files.” I closed his door and carried the pile of files to my cubicle.<br/><br/>I worked until eight that day. I was so tired that I didn’t even want to eat.<br/><br/>When I got home it was already 8:30pm. Janice was sitting in the living room.<br/><br/>“Oh gosh, where’ve you been? I’m worried about you.”<br/><br/>“I’ve been working. What’s the matter? I thought you were going out with James tonight.” I took off my jacket.<br/><br/>“Yes, I was planning to… but I cancelled it…” She sounded strangely. “Are you okay, Maggie?”<br/><br/>“Of course I’m okay, except that I’m hungry. Have you eaten yet?”<br/><br/>“Well, yea… a little bit. I cooked some pasta, do you want some?” She got up and went into the kitchen.<br/><br/>Janice handed me a plate of pasta and I sat down and ate. She was looking at me carefully.<br/><br/>“What’s the matter, Janice? Do I have anything on my face?” I stopped eating. “I couldn’t eat if you’re looking at me like this.”<br/><br/>“Well, I’m sorry… Maggie…”<br/><br/>“What is it, Janice? What’s bothering you? You bought some stupid books and now you can’t pay for the rent this month? It’s okay. You could pay me back next month.”<br/><br/>“No, it’s not that… Maggie, are you…”<br/><br/>“Yes?”<br/><br/>“Are you pregnant?”<br/><br/>I couldn’t eat any more.<br/><br/><b>PART 3</b><br/>Janice was sitting opposite to me at the table. And she asked, “Are you pregnant?”<br/><br/>“Yes. I suppose so.” I answered her after a while.<br/><br/>“Suppose so? Maggie, you have to be serious! This is not joking!”<br/><br/>“I know! I know! But what can I do?”<br/><br/>“Maybe you could take the test again?” Janice suggested.<br/><br/>My second test result was still pink. <br/><br/>I sat down on the toilet cover and Janice sat down by the edge of the bathtub. “What are you going to do?” she asked.<br/><br/>“I don’t know. Might be I’ll just go for abortion…” my voice faded away. “It isn’t murder, is it?” I asked Janice.<br/><br/>“Well… If you’ve already decided, then I suppose it isn’t murder.”<br/><br/>“I’ll call Dr. Whitney tomorrow.” I decided.<br/><br/>Janice gave me a hug. She is a good friend.<br/><br/>I set up an appointment with Dr. Whitney the next day. <br/><br/>On the way to Dr. Whitney’s office, I saw a baby girl. Her mother was about 45. She was wearing a Channel one-piece with a pair of Ferragamo shoes. The baby was wearing Ralph Lauren baby suit and was sitting in a trolley.<br/><br/>I forgot how the baby looked like, but an idea got stuck into my mind: the mother didn’t look like a mother but rather look like a grandmother!<br/><br/>I don’t want to be like that.<br/><br/>Of course I could have the abortion now and put all my efforts into my career. And when I could afford Channel one-piece and Ferragamo shoes, maybe I could have a baby… But… NO. I’ll look like a grandmother and I’ll be too old chasing my baby around the park…<br/><br/><b>PART 4</b><br/>After returning back from Dr. Whitney’s office, I felt relieved. I’m going to be a mother! Janice could be my baby’s godmother! Everything is so exciting!<br/><br/>Janice was waiting for me at the living room. “Is everything fine?”<br/><br/>“Well, Janice, I didn’t do it.” I smiled.<br/><br/>“Really? That’s great! You’re going to have a baby!” She jumped up and hugged me.<br/><br/>“Yes. I’m going to have a baby and you’re going to be a godmother!”<br/><br/>“Oh, Maggie!”<br/><br/>“Yes, Janice!”<br/><br/>Later on she made me sit down and asked me, “Who’s the father, Maggie? Are you planning to tell him?”<br/><br/>I thought for a while. “He’s only a booty call. I don’t think I’ll let him know…”<br/><br/>Janice remained silent for a few minutes. “So you just want to raise the baby by yourself?”<br/><br/>“Um, yes, I think so. I’ll be having a raise next week. It shouldn’t be a problem…”<br/><br/>But in my mind I did think it could be a problem. My pay could be enough for an adult and a baby, but then I’ll have to give up buying clothes from Barney’s…<br/><br/>Well, maybe everything does have a cost.<br/><br/>“Maggie, you’re very brave.” Janice said.<br/><br/>“Yea, I suppose so.” I smiled. “What would you do if it happened on you?”<br/><br/>“I don’t know. I think I would call James at once.”<br/><br/>We laughed.<br/><br/>At least James would still be responsible for Janice’s pregnancy… Suddenly I felt a bit sad for myself.<br/><br/>“I’ll make you a cup of hot milk. You should give up coffee and start drinking milk, Maggie.” Janice walked towards the kitchen.<br/><br/>“What? Coffee? Giving it up?”<br/><br/>“Of course! Even if you don’t care for your baby, I care for my godchild! Coffee is bad for pregnant women!”<br/><br/>“What?”<br/><br/>“Yes. I’ll write you a list of things which you shouldn’t be doing tomorrow.”<br/><br/><b>PART 5</b><br/>Janice did write me a list of “CANNOT DO” things the next day.<br/><br/>1. No drinking coffee. <br/>2. No drinking alcohol.<br/>3. …<br/><br/>What? I don’t want to have a baby any more…<br/><br/>Carrying a baby was harsh. I felt fat and heavy. I kept sweating. My legs were sore at night and I couldn’t sleep at all. The worse was that I couldn’t drink coffee in the morning! I stopped going to parties because I got jealous when I saw people drinking cocktails. I stopped going to gym because I couldn’t handle the machines any more. I stopped going on dates because… Well, who would be interested in a pregnant woman if she weren’t carrying his baby?<br/><br/>Janice made my pregnant life better by throwing a wonderful shower party. I got lovely gifts from friends and coworkers. I also got a pair of skinny jeans. A card was attached to them, “You’ll wear them and we’ll crash parties again!” I couldn’t stop laughing.<br/><br/>And finally my baby was born. She was healthy and she looked exactly like me. I felt that all my past nine months were worthy.<br/><br/>I called her “Angie”, my little angel who shone on my life. <br/><br/>Half a year later I was taking a walk with Angie in a park. I had already become an associate and I had two fresh graduates working for me. I looked at them every time I talked to them. I also had another raise three months ago so our lives were comfortable. James and Janice were planning to get married at the end of this year when Angie could walk by then. They wanted her to be their flower girl. <br/><br/>I sat down on a bench and put the trolley next to me. There was a guy sitting on the bench already. He was reading <i>War and Peace</i> and he looked kind of cute.<br/><br/>“Are you the babysitter?” he asked me.<br/><br/>“No, I’m the mother.” I smiled.<br/><br/>We chatted for a while and he asked if I would like to go for a cup of coffee. <br/><br/>I smiled and I said yes.<br/><br/>It was a lovely afternoon and the sun was shining brightly.<br/><br/>
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glassHeart 2007-2-10 18:47
<p>Such a touch story! Maggie is so brave to be the young mother. However, i am a bit upsad that the baby do not have a father. Hope the War and Peace men will be. Nice story and nice ending. </p>
鱼儿 2007-2-10 21:11
<p>sure it is! Nice~[em07]</p>
spirit 2007-2-13 16:54
Thanks! It's been a year since my last story... Haven't written a story for so long that my pen was a bit dry... :)<br/><br/>Somehow I wonder if I would do the same thing as Maggie did if a similar situation happens to me... Well, it seems to be a good debating topic... <br/>[em07]
kimkim 2007-2-13 17:20
<p>It is quite hard to express myself in english, therefore i think you have did a good job. will the story be continue?</p>
spirit 2007-2-14 06:40
No, kimkim, the story has already finished...<br/><br/>I don't want to write a "too long" story because... I don't like writing long stories... <br/>[em01]<br/><br/>You could imagine what will happen in the story, though. <br/>[em07]
