A Hope and a Chance(98)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“So it’s a problem?” She implied.

“No!” I shook my head. “I’m not saying that. You’re putting words in my mouth.”

“You’re the one who said it.”

I ran my hands through my hair, reminding myself that I was in desperate need of a shower. “Jesus, would you stop freaking out for a second? I’m trying here, but you’re not making it easy.”

“None of this is easy,” she cried.

I slid off the couch, crouching down in front of her. My hands found her thighs and I kept them there, trying desperately to find the right words. “It’s easy, because it’s us, Hope.”

Slowly, she lifted her gaze until our eyes met. A smile formed out of the corner of her lips. “I don’t know what to do.”

I looked around the room. “You’re right. This place probably won’t be big enough, so we’re going to need at least a two bedroom apartment. I don’t see us being able to get out of our lease, but by the time the baby’s born we can start looking. I mean, at first they’ll sleep in our room, but -.”

She leaned forward and put her fingers over my mouth to prevent me from speaking. I watched more tears trickle down her cheeks. “You’re not mad?”

Mad? How could I be mad? “A year ago I thought I had no future. Look at me now. I’m playing ball again. I’m back in school, and I have the most beautiful woman by my side. The fact that you’re carrying my child would not make me mad. Hope, it’s not going to be easy, and I’m certainly going to be traveling a lot, at least until the season is over, but it’s temporary. It’s only a few months out of the year. I’ll be home with you when the baby is born, and we’ll figure things out.”

Hope interrupted, “Saying it out loud makes it real.”

I wiped the wetness on her cheeks away with my thumbs. “So it’s true?” I think I needed her to confirm, even though I already knew the answer.

“Yes. I’m pregnant. I forgot to take my pills. In fact, I forgot to refill them. It’s just that I’d needed to switch pharmacy’s and it seriously slipped my mind.”

I smiled, even though I was unsure how I felt about everything. “I’m not angry with you, Hope. We’ve been busy. I haven’t asked you about it either. You’re dad’s going to be pissed, but he’ll get over it. There’s nothing he can do anyway.”

“What if I can’t stay in school? What will we do about money?”

“For now, I’ll use my savings. After baseball ends I’ll get a job and we’ll save every penny. If I can’t finish my senior year after the baby comes it will be there waiting for me.”

“Are you sure you want this? There are other options.” She looked down, as if she was ashamed to talk about it.

“That’s not happening. If we need to move back into the pool house to save money we will. For now let’s just focus on school. We’ll get you in to see a doctor, and go from there.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

“We’ll figure this out, Hope. I promise.” I wasn’t so much worried about the baby, as much as I was afraid to tell her that we might have to live apart. It wasn’t going to go over well, and with this new surprise coming into play, I needed to make some serious decisions. Our futures were about to change again, but this time I’d be able to accept it.

He promised we’d be okay, but I wasn’t too sure. Chance was living his dream again. This pregnancy could end that for the second time. It petrified me.

We tried not to talk much about it due to the fact that he was playing in his opening game. My father and Buffy had made the drive to watch him. After meeting up with them we headed into the stadium and found our seats.

The early spring weather was crisp. I stuck my hands into Chance’s new WVA hoodie to keep warm. Chance was playing catch with a teammate, but stopped to wave at me when our eyes met. I threw him a smile back, feeling like I was the luckiest girl in the world.

Then I got my first taste of what it was like to be the girlfriend of a college baseball player.

A slew of girls, all looking to be my age, filling in the lower bleachers. They certainly weren’t wearing ball caps and planning on cheering because they loved the sport. Chance followed his teammates over to the side as they mingled with this group. I felt bile rising to my throat, even when he backed away, and ignored the catcalls.

It was difficult, even with him winking at me, and waving. I knew I couldn’t always be at the games, and soon I’d be fat. I worried that he’d be tempted by another, and I’d end up alone.

I suppose my hormones were making me think the worst. In my defense my last boyfriend had cheated, so it was all I knew. Chance’s faithfulness to me was reassuring, but one could only take so much before they broke down. There would be nights when he was on the road, and they’d tempt him.

I recalled him telling me about them before. I think I just never realized how obvious they were.

Aside from my ill feelings, Chance played a great game. He struck out once, but ended up hitting three RBI’s. His fielding was impeccable, and I understood why the scouts wanted him on their team. He was beneficial in his position, and proved to be a solid addition.

After the game we went out to celebrate. I kept my cool around my father, worrying about the pregnancy, and now Chance’s fan base. It wasn’t until we went home that I revealed my concerns. We’d both showered and climbed into our bed. Chance was still hyped from the game, and I could feel his excitement radiating off of him. He nudged me with his lips, before pulling me on top of him. “We should celebrate, baby.”

I straddled him, letting my fingers tickle his rock-hard chest. “I need to talk to you about something first, and you’re going to be pissed at me.”

“Don’t worry about those women. They’re pathetic, and I’m so over that. You’ve got nothing to be concerned about. I’m not on the lookout for a quick fuck.”

Just hearing him reiterate his previous statement made me calm down. I let my head fall down over him. “I hated seeing them.”

“Hope, what can any of them offer me that I don’t already have? I get that college is new to you, but it’s just school for me. I’ve hooked up with girls like that a couple times my freshman year, before I got a girlfriend. They’re looking for one thing, and I wasn’t falling for it. Compared to you, they’re nothing.”