Always Been You

~Lola~

I made myself some tea and went to my favorite spot, the balcony. I looked up at the sky, and I was disappointed that there were no stars. The only thing I could see was a thick and heavy-looking cloud. “It’s going to rain tonight,” I mumbled to myself, and I walked back inside. Last month, I started antenatal classes. It was fun to actually learn how to change diapers and how to hold a baby properly. I took out my phone, checked the time, and started to hear the sound of rain outside. It has been nice to have people around. Evelyn and Ruth are the best.

“Ma’am, if you wouldn’t like anything tonight, I would like to go to bed early tonight.”

“It’s okay, Evelyn; go rest. You need it.” I looked at the time and decided to go to sleep too since I’m going to antenatal classes tomorrow.

The morning sun poured in through the gaps in the curtains. I groaned and woke up. Heading straight to the bathroom, I took a shower, dressed, and headed downstairs. Breakfast was ready, so I sat down and started eating. After eating, I headed to the classes. I arrived five minutes late, and all eyes were on me as I walked in. They looked at me as though there was something wrong with me. I started to doubt myself. I was convinced there was something wrong with my face, clothes, or hair; otherwise, why would everyone, including the woman in charge of these antenatal classes, be staring at me? I checked my clothes and didn’t see any embarrassing stains or marks. My hand immediately went to my hair, then my face, to make sure nothing was wrong. I wanted to be sure nothing was sticking out. After accessing myself, I didn’t feel anything strange on my face or clothing, but why the stares? I went over to take my spot. Then I started to hear people whispering.

“She’s alone again today. Where is her husband?” said one of the women, and I could tell her husband was even bored.

“Oh my God, don’t tell me she is carrying a bastard. Pregnant out of wedlock.” The other one spoke as her hand flew to her mouth.

“Ladies, don’t you think you are being too much right now? How can you call a child a bastard? Besides, Mrs. Monroe is wearing a ring,” she said, but I couldn’t miss her smirk.

“I bet she bought that ring. She has no husband.” They all started laughing. I felt like pouring, but then I saw Mason walking in, and he took a stand beside me.

“Sorry, I’m late.” I looked at him, not sure if I should thank him or ask him to leave because I do not want these people to think my babies are Mason’s babies.

“What are you doing here?” He leaned close to me and whispered.

“I knew you would be here today, and people in this town talk way too much, and I know before you walk out of here you will be crying.” I looked at him with my already bloodshot eyes and smiled.

“Thank you. Do I have something on my face, my hair, my clothes?” Mason looked at me and just smiled.

“You look perfectly amazing, the hottest pregnant mama I’ve ever met.” How I wish he would stop making me feel better.

“Thank you.”

“You welcome.”

“Isn’t that, Dr. Blackwood? Wait, is she carrying Dr. Blackwood’s child?” Why can’t they fucking leave me alone? Women should be supporting each other, but these women just want me to go into early labor. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on what I was doing. After about 30 minutes, the remarks stopped. I took a deep breath and continued with the class. Once we were done, we headed to one of the restaurants not far from my shop.

“So, how are you doing?” Without even realizing it, I started crying. Why won’t everyone in this town just fucking leave me alone? Why does everyone want to know who my husband is? Is it a crime to be pregnant without a husband? Must everyone have a husband? Why do I have to go through the same crap every day? Where is your husband? Is your husband rich? Why are you driving an expensive car? Why do I have to answer everyone’s curious questions? Without even realizing it, I started crying. Why won’t everyone in this town just fucking leave me alone? Why does everyone want to know who my husband is? Is it a crime to be pregnant without a husband? Must everyone have a husband? Why do I have to go through the same crap every day? Where is your husband? Is your husband rich? Why are you driving an expensive car? Why do I have to answer everyone’s questions about my life? “Hey, hey, come here.” Mason hugged me and patted my back. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Why are people in this town so judgmental? I came here to find peace, but I’ll never find it if everyone wants to know what’s going on with my wife.” Everyone wants to know who my husband is. I am so tired.”

“Hey, look at me.” I turned my gaze to look at Mason. “Lola, you are a strong, independent woman. None of those women can achieve half of what you have achieved alone. You don’t need to have a husband by your side because you are strong and capable. But then, of course, if you need a husband, I can volunteer.” He laughed after saying that.

“Thank you.”

“Lola.” I hummed, “I’ve been thinking since the women in the antenatal classes are too harsh on you. Why don’t you ask Evelyn to train you? I mean, Evelyn has two kids, and she did a great job with them.” I paused.

“Evelyn has kids, and she’s with me 24/7. What time does she get to be a mother to her kids?”

“Well, you should try her; actually, Evelyn is my cousin. She married a man my uncle never liked. They arranged a marriage for her, but she married the man she liked. One of the reasons no one knows we are related.”

“I think I love Evelyn even more.”

Our refreshments arrived, and Mason started telling me about his childhood. It was fun hearing about his and June’s childhood. At least I didn’t get to talk about Dante and me. When our food arrived, Mason laughed as I ordered a bowl of noodles. As we were about to dig in, June arrived, and she started looking at my plate with eyes wide open.

“What?” I asked, and she shook her head.

“I had a meeting with a client from New York. While we ordered all the fancy dishes, she only ordered noodles, and she ate exactly the same way as you are right now. So, me being a nosy person, I asked him why he was eating noodles, and he said he and his wife would always talk over a bowl of noodles. He looked sad when he talked about his wife.” For a moment, I thought she was talking about my husband, Dante, but it was not possible. Dante is in New York, and I am here in Ozark.

“You finally got a client for that huge hotel?” Mason asked.

“Yep, a very loaded client. If I hadn’t seen a ring on his finger, I could have jumped on his boner.” I choked on my noodles.

“June!” Mason exclaimed.

“He kept going on and on about his wife, so I stopped hitting on him. If not, trust me, it’s been a long since I had some.” I coughed uncontrollably.

“Is she always like this?” I asked, and Mason laughed.

“Oh honey, she is worse. With a broken filter.” For some reason, June kept looking at me as though she was suspecting something. After our meeting, I headed home. Then Mason continued, “It’s going to be a long process, huh?”

“Trust me, it might take years as the current owner needs to fix the hotel, but guess what? Mr. Monroe offered the current owner money for all the costs, so even though they haven’t signed, it seems pretty much like a done deal.”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Oh wow, this buyer seems to be loaded.”

“Loaded, is an understatement. He is a God walking on the face of the earth. You should see the car he’s driving. Damn, the man is so hot with no broken pocket.” We laughed. Having June and Mason makes my life easier.