Chapter 3

I was glad I went to see my sister. She was so happy to see me. I bought her some flowers and a card from the hospital store. I stayed with her for a couple of hours. We talked about her family and I told her I met someone but the relationship was fairly new. She wished me the best. I realized I loved my sister. My feeling about life must be changing or maybe I was just maturing.

Her two daughters came to see her along with her husband. After we visited for awhile I went out to dinner with them.

They offered me the couch to sleep on, which I accepted. On Sunday morning I went to see my sister again before leaving for home. I got home and took a shower and went to bed. I had to work the next day.

I called Sheila Monday evening. She said she missed me. I told her my sister was doing fine and should be discharged from the hospital today. I asked her what she did over the weekend. She mentioned she went out with friends on Saturday and spent time at home Sunday.

She didn't elaborate who she went with or where she went. I decided to not talk about it and just trust her. On Thursday I talked to her and asked her about the fish fry on Friday and she told me she thought we should skip a few weeks. She was tired of going there every Friday.

That was all right with me and we went to other restaurants. On Saturdays we began going to different sports games. I wasn't much for the crowds but Sheila liked it. She even convinced her Mom and Dad to go to a game with us. I think they were beginning to like me. It was nearly two months before we attended another fish fry. Sheila acted a little different but still greeted a few of the guys with a hug. They asked us where we'd been and I told them we were just trying out different restaurants.

We didn't go back for the fish fry for a few weeks. I went to Sheila's on a Friday to pick her up. She looked nervous for some reason. She had been talking to Olivia when I had arrived. Olivia looked at me and left the room. She didn't say hi or bye. Something wasn't right.

I asked Sheila where she wanted to go and she said to my trailer. She needed to talk with me. I knew something was bothering her but wasn't sure what it was. I had to wonder if it had anything to do with Olivia but I didn't know why. I never did anything inappropriate, and besides I never told anyone about my feeling when I was around Olivia.

We didn't talk on the way to the trailer. We went in and Sheila asked me if I could make some tea for her. I did so and got myself a beer. "Ok Sheila, what the hell is going on?"

"I took a pregnancy test a couple of days ago and it showed positive. I saw the doctor today and she said I am pregnant." She had tears in her eyes.

"I thought you said you took pills, what happened?" I asked.

"A few months ago I had run out and I missed taking them for about a week. I thought that I would be protected for that short a period since I have been taking them since high school. I started taking them again as soon as I got them. I guess it was too late."

She had tears in her eyes and I honestly wasn't sure what to do. I asked her if that was what she and Olivia were talking about when I showed up. She said it was.

"I'm telling my parents Sunday. I know they will be disappointed in me but I need to talk to them about what to do. I was hoping you would be there with me. After all, we did this together."

I knew she was right. Even though I wasn't positive I loved her I did like her an awful lot. I wasn't ready to ask her to marry me, but I knew I had to man up and take care of my responsibilities.

"Sheila, of course I'll be with you and we'll tell your parents together. We'll get married and start our own family. There's plenty of room in the trailer for now and we can save up and get ourselves a home."

She was crying and hugged me.

"That is of course if you want to marry me," I said.

"Of course I'll marry you. I love you Randy."

I told her I loved her too and that I would be the best husband and father I could possibly be. I decided I would do my best and take care of my family. I was actually getting excited about being a father. I was going to make this work.

We made love on the bed. I asked her about having sex while she was pregnant. She said the doctor told her it shouldn't be a problem. She could have sex right up to delivery as long as she wasn't hurting from it.

On Sunday I went to her house. We were all sitting at the table when I told Mr. and Mrs. White that I had something to ask them.

"What is it Randy?" asked her Father.

"I asked Sheila to marry me and she said yes. We would like your blessing."

I looked over at Olivia and she wouldn't even look at me. Mr. White said, "Are you two sure about this? You haven't known each other all that long and I'm fairly sure that you don't have your finances in order."

Mrs. White spoke up, "Don't you think you're rushing this marriage a little? Don't you think you should know each other better and longer before making such a decision?"

"Mom, I'm pregnant. I missed my last two periods and saw the doctor at the hospital this week. There is no doubt, I'm about three months along," said Sheila.

Her dad shook his head. "So what are you expecting to do now?"

"Sir, we thought we'd get married as soon as possible and we can live in my trailer. It's clean and there's plenty of room. We figure we can start saving up for a down payment on a house for the future."

Sheila spoke, "Mom, Dad, I know this hit you guys hard but Randy and I love each other and we can make this work. I was figuring we could get married next month before I showed much more. If you like it could be a private affair."

There wasn't a lot to say after that. I felt bad that Olivia wouldn't even look at me. We finished dinner and Sheila and her mom went in the living room to make some quick wedding plans. I talk with Mr. White and told him I'd be a good husband to his daughter. I would always put her first.

We didn't go out much for the next month. I would go to the Whites' house and they planned the wedding. Olivia was the maid of honor and I asked my brother Stan to be my best man. Sheila invited some of her female college friends and a lot of her relatives to the wedding.

I invited my siblings and they all came. It really made me feel pretty good. I invited Butch from the bar but no one else. I didn't care to have any of the bikers there.

It was a lot smaller wedding then Sheila had dreamed about but it was very nice. I felt kind of funny being in the limelight but Sheila loved it. The food was great and Sheila looked beautiful. Her wedding dress covered any baby bulge that would have showed.

My sisters were really happy for me and made me happy when they said they thought I'd make a great dad. I would know all the things not to do. They said it in a joking way but it really was true.

Olivia didn't talk much to me since the announcement. I danced with her at the wedding and she wished me the best and hoped I had made the right decision. All in all it was a beautiful wedding. Sheila only drank a little wine because of the baby. She wasn't overly happy about that.

We took a weekend jaunt to a nearby city for a honeymoon. We did have to be back at work on Monday. Over they next few weeks we would move more and more of Sheila stuff into the trailer. I couldn't believe she had so much clothes and things.

My trailer was three bedrooms and one was full of just her things. Another we started getting ready for the baby and then there was our bedroom. I found out soon enough that Sheila wasn't much of a cook. We would eat out most of the time or go to her parents' for dinner.

We made love often but it seemed to wane the farther she got along in her pregnancy. I just figured this was expected. We would talk a lot about our futures and what we would do after the baby was born. It was something we hadn't talked about earlier.

Sheila's Mom said I didn't have to call her Mrs. White and Carol would be fine. We became better friends as the pregnancy proceeded. She could see I was really trying to be a good husband to Sheila. I helped her in everyway I could.

Since Sheila and I both worked, I told Carol that I needed to learn how to cook some simple meals. She laughed and called Olivia into the room. She told me that Olivia was a great cook and could show me and Sheila a few pointers. Olivia didn't seem too happy about it but she did come over a couple of times a week and showed me how to make simple dinners like spaghetti and a few other dishes.

I always arrived home first and we would start dinner. Sheila would show up an hour later. As much as I hate to admit it, I loved the time I spent learning to cook with Olivia. She was always smiling and laughed at my mistakes.

After the three of us ate dinner Olivia would go home. She said she had to finish her homework. Sheila and I would cuddle and watch TV. The bigger she got the less she wanted to go out. I told her she looked beautiful, pregnant and all.

We stayed away from the club for months. Sheila didn't want to go there with her big belly. I told her she wasn't the only woman to ever have a baby but she didn't think it was funny.

We found out we were going to have a baby girl and started working on names. Some seemed really bad but we kept coming up with some till we decided on Victoria. I knew I would be calling her Vicky.

Sheila was really getting quite bitchy with me. I figured it went with the pregnant territory. I got blamed for just about anything she could think of. I didn't argue with her because I knew she was having a hard time with being pregnant. Olivia had talked to her and told me what they talked about.

Sheila hated losing her figure. She was so vain. She couldn't drink or smoke her weed, which she only did once in a while, but not being able to do it made her angry. I stopped smoking once we got married. I decided I didn't need it and I was going to be a father.

Olivia also told me that Sheila didn't like the way men looked at her. I had no idea why she would worry about that. I thought she had a glow about her and it was rather sexy.