Chapter 15
Today was the day Lucy was going to find out if her husband was the father of her child. She didn't even know why she was doing it, she just felt like she had to know.
Barbara picked her up and Misty watched her leave, wondering why she failed to say goodbye. It was better if she didn't. She didn't really want to talk to her anyway and she wondered what her secret was to overcoming morning sickness and go on all these shopping sprees.
Misty didn't feel like doing much of anything…
Once she was inside the car, Barbara drove off towards the clinic and they had a casual conversation about how much she was really beginning to hate Misty and her concerns over what she had found in their bedroom the night before.
"You think…they're…"
"No!" Lucy protested, then sat back in her seat. "Well, they could be. I mean, I don't know. Brock doesn't seem any different. We're still having sex."
"Is it good sex?"
"When is it not?"
Sighing, Barbara shook her head. "Just be careful, Lucy. You know he's a player."
"Well, it would serve me right. I did cheat on him."
"And he's never going to find out about that!" She looked her way and turned into the clinic parking lot.
Lucy was deathly afraid of doctors, even though she was married to one, and she was even more afraid of needles. It made her feel uncomfortable and she thought twice of backing out, but before she could really make up her mind she was already in the waiting room, carrying on a conversation with her sister.
"I really hope this brat is Brock's." Lucy spoke up.
Barbara flipped through a magazine. "I thought you said it didn't matter. You were going to pass it off as his anyway."
"Well, I am. But what if it comes out and looks nothing like Brock. Or worse. What if it's Ash's and it looks exactly like him?" She folded her hands in her lap. "If Brock has any suspicion at all, he'll question it. I know him."
"Relax." Barbara patted her knee and put down her crinkled magazine. "Brock's little swimmers are probably stronger than Ash's. Plus, you've had sex with Brock more. The chances of it being Ash's child are very slim."
"Yea, I guess you're right."
It was an agonizing fifteen minutes until a nurse finally called her to the back. The exam room was small and she sat herself up on the small table, wishing she would have asked Barbara to accompany her back there, but she hadn't and she felt very alone.
Her thoughts wondered while she waited on the doctor. They wondered back to the night she had with Ash Ketchum. And finally, they wondered back to all the fights she had with Brock about refusing to have his children.
She suddenly felt very guilty. That was no way to show him that she loved him. Brock was a very prideful man and having his own wife refuse to give him a child probably bruised his ego.
Shaking her head, she berated herself. Don't do that, Lucy! She scolded herself. It's your body! You don't need to feel guilty about not wanting children… Finally, the doctor swung open the heavy door and smiled. He was young and handsome and gave perfect, dazzling smile. He reminded her a lot of Brock. His skin was dark, his eyes were beautiful and he was remarkably attractive and seemed to light up at the sight of a female patient.
"Hello, I'm Doctor Ross Proctor." He offered his hand and he gave her a firm, but gentle handshake. He wasn't her usual gynecologist, but she wasn't complaining; he was very easy on the eyes.
"Lucy Harrison."
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Harrison." Ross sat down on his rolling stood and opened her file. "We're here for a paternity test, hm?"
Blushing, Lucy nodded. She wondered if he was judging her.
"Alright." Ross stood up and wrote something quickly inside his file.
"Uhm, Dr. Proctor….how does this work exactly?"
"It's very simple really and virtually painless." He explained. "We just take a small amount of DNA from the placenta and compare it to the presumed father's DNA. It's very simple, but I must warn you, Mrs. Harrison, there is a small amount of risk to your baby."
"There is?"
He nodded, but didn't look too concerned. "Don't worry, though. I've done it a million times and never had anything bad happen. We just have to say that as a precaution."
"Oh…"
"Do you have a sample of the father's DNA?"
Lucy searched through her purse and pulled out a hairbrush that belonged to Brock, which she had sealed in a plastic bag. "Will that work?"
Ross studied it closely. "Ah! Yes. Some of these hair fibers have roots. This will work fine. This is your husband's?"
Lucy nodded.
"Alright, now Mrs. Harrison, lay back and relax. I'll get a nurse and we can begin the procedure now and you'll have your test results in at least three days."
She laid back on the table and closed her eyes. Three days was too long to wait, but she didn't have much of a choice. She found herself really wanting to know. It had gotten to her. The whole thing of carrying a life inside her and she wanted to know who that life belonged to.
Either way, Brock was still going to be it's father.
Lola Harrison was surprised to hear the knock on her door just after dinnertime. She was expecting visitors and she was a little put off by their rudeness, until she opened the door. It was Brock and she was more than delighted to see him.
However, her mother's intuition had led her to know that her oldest son's life was in turmoil. "Brock, honey, come on it. It's chilly out there. You'll catch your death."
"Mom, I know you weren't expecting me." He walked in, but she stopped him.
"Your boots are filthy. Take them off and leave them on the porch."
Sighing, he did so and walked onto the clean, bright pink carpet in the foyer in socked feet. His father sat in the living room, his face buried in a newspaper while his little sister and brother played with hot wheels on the floor.
Lola sat down at the kitchen table. "Do you want me to get your father?"
"No, Mom, actually I just came to talk to you…about…something." His jaw tightened and he twisted in his seat, as if he was five years old and got caught sneaking a cookie before dinner. "Something that isn't even for me to talk about."
The older woman ran her fingers uncomfortably through her short brown hair. "You know you can talk to Mommy about anything, don't you, baby?" She grabbed his hand and kissed it reassuringly.
He grinned and shook his head. "Mom, stop. I'm not a little kid anymore."
"Oh, I know. You're a very handsome man now." She smiled and he noticed the little wrinkles near her eye. Since when had his parents gotten so old? He looked into the living room and noticed Flint had gotten a pot belly. Probably from all the beers he had when he was younger…
They were really starting to look like grandparents to him.
"Alright, so Lucy's pregnant,"
"Oh, Brock! That's wonderful! I can't wait to tell your father. I--"
"Mom! Wait…that's not all." Brock stopped her and she plopped back down in her chair, ready to listen. "I know you don't approve of this and you can be disappointed in me if you want, but…I really have no one else to talk to about this, except you…so…"
"Honey, I won't judge you. You're my baby." Lola placed her hand over his again and he took a deep breath.
"Misty's pregnant, too, Mom."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" She chortled gleefully.
"What?" He was shocked and knew right away that his mother clearly didn't understand. He didn't think she would.
"Well, now they can play together! It will be so cute! Oh, wouldn't it be super adorable if one of you had a little boy and the other had a little girl! Oh! I hear wedding bells!" She laughed and danced around the kitchen. "Oh, being a grandma is going to be so much fun. I--"
"No, Mom. Listen to me!" He interrupted her rather loudly and she recoiled. "Misty's pregnant, too. By me!"
Shock filled her blue eyes and she gasped. "Oh my…how did…I mean…It's not Ash's?"
"No. Ash didn't even sleep with her. He's with a guy named Tracy now."
"A guy?"
"Yes. He's gay. That's part of the problem, too." He stood up from his seat and raked her fingers through his thick dark hair. "Misty's been hurt enough by Ash already. I'm just doing more damage to her and Misty doesn't deserve that. Mom, you know how much I love her."
"I know you do, Honey." Lola touched his face and smiled. "Boy, you're getting more like your father each and every day."
"Yea, well…" He muttered bitterly. "Unlike Dad, I had an affair on my wife. And you know what the bad thing is?"
His mother looked up at him and shook her head.
"I don't regret it. I mean, I've never felt so alive in my life. When I'm with Misty, I feel…" He sighed and shook his head, looked down at his hands then back to his mother. "It's hard to describe."
"I know what you're talking about." She smiled and straightened the wrinkles out of his shirt. "But you do know you have to take responsibility. And I also think you should go to confession on Sunday morning."
"Oh, c'mon, Mom. You really think I should go to confession?" He questioned in a high-pitched tone, as if she had just told him to take out the trash or change a diaper.
Lola nodded and looked up at him. "You got two women pregnant at the same time. You know I strongly disapprove of breaking your wedding vows, but you're a grown man, Honey. I can't choose what path you take. Maybe if you get a little closer to God, he'll lead you in the right direction."
"Whoa!" Forest came barreling down the stairs with a wide-eyed grinned. "Two women, Brock? You're like my idol!"
"Forest Harrison, you keep your mouth shut about this or I'll tell the Reverend you want to lead Sunday School for the next year. You understand me?" Lola shot her second oldest son a look and he straightened his posture.
"Yes Ma'am." He responded, rather disappointed. When she looked away he smiled at Brock and laughed, then disappeared into the living room.
He shook his head and grinned. "Thanks…for talking to me, Mom."
"I'm always here, Baby." She wrapped her arms around his broad frame and stood on her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you Sunday. Bring Misty along, too. If she's having my grandchild I'd really like to get her coming to mass with the family."
Misty woke up Friday morning, relieved that she didn't feel nauseous for once. It was mid-morning and she figured Brock had already gone to work and she faced an agonizing day of girl-talk with Lucy who hadn't seemed able to relax since Tuesday afternoon when she left the house without saying a word.
She wondered if it had anything to do with that certain piece of clothing she found under the bed. If she was going to have an affair with Brock, she at least needed to be more careful.
This morning, Lucy was no different. She sat at the table drinking a hot cup of peppermint tea to try and settle her nauseous stomach and when she saw Misty she jumped a little.
"Good morning." It was a shocking greeting coming from a woman who had barely said two words to her in the past three days.
"Good morning." Misty greeted her back and pulled a box of cereal for the cabinet. She didn't like cereal and she despised cocoa puffs, but for some reason she couldn't get enough of them since she found out she was pregnant.
Lucy sipped her tea and watched her as she sat down across the table from her. "Morning sickness didn't hit you this morning?"
She shrugged. "It will later."
Suddenly, Lucy's cell phone vibrated against the marble surface of the cabinets. It was a loud, jarring sound it almost made her jump out of her seat.
Misty couldn't figure out for the life of her what was making Lucy so jumpy. Every little noise made her almost jump out of her skin.
Fumbling for her phone, she finally flipped it open and answered. "Hello?"
"Luce, it's me…" Barbara said, sounding very serious. Misty could see that Lucy's face had turned almost completely white at the tone, but she couldn't make out what Barbara was saying from the other end of the line.
Not that she was listening.
"Barb…" She said, trying to sound calm and casual. "What's up?"
"The test results came in the mail. Don't worry, Scott didn't see them. I didn't open them, I wanted to wait until you got here."
"Oh, a-alright. I'll be there in a few minutes," she said. "Bye." She stood up and grabbed her purse from the coat rack. "I'll be back later."
"Oh…alright." Misty was a bit relieved. She'd much rather be alone then spend all day having small talk with Brock's wife.
In ten minutes, Lucy was pulling in front of her younger sister's house. Scott was busy washing his car, taking advantage of the last few weeks of warm weather they would have, but she failed to stop and say 'hello'.
Suspiciously, he watched his sister-in-law rush through the front door without knocking.
Barbara was busy taking curlers out of her short blond hair when her older sister had appeared in the foyer. The stark white envelope that she wasn't sure she wanted to open sat on the kitchen table. "Scott's outside right?" She asked.
Lucy nodded. "He looks busy, so I guess we should open it and find out before he comes inside."
The envelope felt heavy and thick and as she tore open the top of it, she prayed. While she was praying, she wished she would have done a whole lot more of that in church on Sunday mornings like her mother-in-law had told her to do.
Lucy pulled out the document and most of the pages were numbers and figures that she just didn't understand. The last piece of paper was the one she wanted and she discarded the rest. Barbara held her hand as she began to read the letter to herself.
Suddenly Lucy broke out into sobs and sank to the floor. "No! No, Barbara! This…can't be!"
"Oh my God…it…it isn't Brock's?"
Looking up at her, Lucy shook her head. "What am I going to do? I'm having a child by a man who doesn't even like women!"
"You're going to keep a secret. That's what you're going to do!" Barbara warned her, patting her on the back. The front door opened and she heard Scott let out a sigh of relief.
"What's going on girls?"
Lucy spun around and hid the letter behind her back. No doubt it Scott found out, he would tell Brock. The two of them were somewhat friends, despite that his wife couldn't stand the be in the same room as him.
"Uh…nothing." Barbara gave him a mock-relaxed smile and fluffed her curled hair before waltzing over to him and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Just girl stuff."
Misty was awakened by a light tap on her door. Groggily, she pulled her head up from the pillow and looked towards her door. "What?" She asked, slightly irritated.
"It's eight-thirty. Mass starts at nine-thirty." Brock stood outside her door fixing his tie.
Immediately, she was awake. She had forgotten she had told Brock she would go to church with him. He had told her he had told everything to his mother and she was fine with that, but she knew how Flint Harrison was, and she just hoped he wouldn't find out.
Not yet anyway…
She was a bit nervous about going to church with Brock and Lucy. It was just an all-around awkward situation. Going to a Catholic mass with the man you've had an affair with, along with his wife and entire family. It just wasn't how she preferred to spend her Sunday mornings, but she loved Brock and she'd do it for him.
She put on an elegant dress that she noticed was just a little hard to get into and combed her hair. After applying her make up she stepped out and saw Brock across the hall, poking his head into his own bedroom.
"Are you sure you don't want to go?" He had asked Lucy and she could hear her angry reaction.
"I told you! No. I feel horrible this morning." Lucy laid back onto the bed. "Just…go. Have fun with Misty." In reality, she felt just fine, but she couldn't bare to be around Brock's family, lying to them about who's child it was when she knew it wasn't his.
And Misty…
She didn't even want to face her. Yes, she wanted to get back at her for taking all of her husband's attention away, but when it actually came down to saying it out, she couldn't tell Misty that she was carrying Ash's baby.
After all, she wasn't too proud with having slept with a gay guy especially when she had a gorgeous husband like Brock. She just wanted to sleep her Sunday morning away.
"Is Lucy sick?" Misty asked, approaching him from behind.
Brock was dressed in a suit and tie and he wore the most enticing cologne. The last time she had seen him look so handsome was at her wedding to Ash. He turned around to face and raised an eyebrow.
"You look gorgeous." He whispered, after shutting the bedroom door behind him, then he placed his hands on her shoulders and just looked at her. "Misty, you don't know how much this means to me…and my Mom. She really wanted you to come."
"I'd do anything for you." She placed her hands on his shoulders and looked up at him and she knew he wanted to kiss her.
Brock ran his hands through her hair and smiled. "We better go. Lucy's not feeling well, so we better let her sleep. You hungry?" His other hand rested on her stomach and she smiled back.
"I'm starving. Do we have time to stop and get some food?"
"If we hurry." He headed down the stairs and out towards the car. Lucy got up from her bed and watched them. They didn't seem to be acting any different than they normally did, but she still didn't feel comfortable about what she had found in their bedroom.
She watched them drive off and she couldn't help just the slightest bit jealous. Sometimes she wondered if they shared some deeper connection since they had known each other since they were teenagers in high school.
Lucy had always been fond of Misty, but only because she knew she was infatuated with Ash. Now that he was out of the picture, there was a very good chance she could be after Brock and even though she was sure it wouldn't happen in a million years, it nagged at her.
Eventually, it got to her. She couldn't' stand it anymore - sitting alone in the house, thinking about what they could be doing, what they have been doing - it was driving her insane.
She got dressed and grabbed her purse and searched through the drawers for a checkbook. Grocery shopping had to be done anyway and she figured she might as well do it now instead of sitting here agonizing something as stupid as her husband cheating on her.
The red Ferrari roared down the highway and she let the cool fall air clear her head. The grocery store was next to empty and she had no problem swinging the flashy sports car into a parking space.
She had picked up a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, and paper towels and was headed into the cereal aisle when she saw someone who made her want to run the other way. It was Ash Ketchum, buying a box of fruit loops.
How ironic. Lucy thought.
It was too late to run away and act like she had never been there because he had already spotted her and was headed her way. She pretended to be looking for something, even though she was just trying to avoid his gaze.
"Lucy…"
She straightened her posture and looked at him, then acted shocked to have seen him. "Oh, Ash! I didn't even see you! How have you been?"
"Great." He replied with a smile. "Just doing a little grocery shopping. Tracy loves cereal. I'm not too big of a fan."
"Oh…" Lucy wasn't quite sure of what else to say. She had never been too go on carrying on a conversation with Ash, so how the hell was she supposed to raise a child with him? She suddenly felt sick to her stomach and wondered if it was just the morning sickness this time.
"So, uhm…" He stuffed his hands in his pockets and scratched his head. "Listen, I want to apologize…."
"For what?" She asked, tossing a box of cocoa puffs in her basket. "Y-you didn't do anything." She stammered.
"Well, for…running out on you like that." Ash followed her and her sly move to get away fast had failed. They made their way past the baby food aisle. Jars of mashed peas, applesauce, pureed fruits and formula. It all made her sick and she felt the anxiety rise within her again.
Why the hell was he following her?
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
"No, it wasn't fine. It was rude of me." He confessed, pushing his basket alongside of hers. "I mean, I slept with my best friend's wife, only to find out women absolutely repulse me."
"I repulse you?"
"No, no. Not you in particular. All women do." He shook his head. "I mean, doesn't having sex with a woman kind of gross you out too? Since you like men?"
"Can't say I haven't thought about other women." Lucy admitted with a smile. "But I'm married to the most gorgeous man in Landview. Now what would I want with a woman?"
"Exactly!" Ash followed her into the snack aisle. "Look, if you're not doing anything, maybe I could take you out for brunch? It's on me."
For a moment, she was dead-set on saying yes, but she realized how hungry she was. She didn't have anywhere to go after she left the grocery store and she knew Brock was going to be at church pretty much all morning.
Come to think of it, he was probably taking Misty out. Why shouldn't she go with Ash?
"Alright. That sounds good."
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