Andy's Nightmare

15. Expectations

Saturday morning arrived and Andy woke from a peaceful dream, although she couldn’t remember a thing about it. All she knew was the peaceful and calm feeling that she woke up feeling. She remembered there were times in school when she was stressed that she would dream of talking with her father and wake up feeling as if she had truly had a conversation with him, but this was different. She couldn't remember anything about this one, only the peaceful feeling that she woke up with.

She chose a loose-fitting pink dress and went down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast before getting some writing done this morning. She had only written a couple of pages the day before because she had been preoccupied with her upcoming dinner. But now she had to focus her brain for a couple of hours, which passed quicker than she expected. She had set an alarm to go off an hour before she was to leave for their home. She had written and rewritten but only completed five pages before her alarm went off, but she would get back to it later this afternoon or evening.

For now, it was time for her to get ready to leave to have lunch with Kyle and Kim.

She drove the short distance to their home on the outskirts of town in a small subdivision. They lived in a nice two-story house of gray brick. It wasn’t anything elaborate, but it was comfortable. They weren't flashy or exorbitant.

Kim answered the door in a pair of jeans and a red T-shirt.

She said that Kyle was in the back with the grill, so we went to the backyard where they had a small picnic table set up on the patio.

They had a large, fenced-in backyard, which looked to be a safe place for a child to play outside for hours.

Kyle was dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a short-sleeved polo top. He seemed right at home at the grill. He was grilling burgers and chicken. They decided on both because they didn’t know what she would prefer. There were also some foil pouches on the grill that she believed might be vegetables.

"Andy, would you like some iced tea or lemonade?" Kim offered.

Andy replied, "I've been trying to avoid most caffeine when possible since the doctor said too much isn't good for the baby. But lemonade sounds good. Thank you." It was cool and refreshing today since it was starting to warm up during the afternoons now.

Kim apologized that it wasn't freshly squeezed, but from a mix, but the lemonade was good just the same.

They sipped on their drinks as Kyle cooked at the grill and the ladies talked about work.

Kim went back into the house for something and Kyle turned to ask her if she had any allergies to worry about.

“None that I know of.” Andy answered. She wasn’t sure if it was because of something he was cooking or added to the meat. Or if it was for future reference with the baby.

“That’s good,” he said, lightheartedly. “We don’t want to end up taking you to the hospital because of one.” He laughed at this, which made Andy relax and smile.

Kim came outside with a tray of sliced tomatoes, onions, lettuce and pickles as well as ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise for the burgers.

She looked over at the grill, and she saw Kyle wink at Kim as she passed him with the tray of condiments. Kim smiled a warm smile, which showed how she felt. After she put the tray down on the table attached to the grill, and she was passing Kyle again, she reached out and ran her hand across his back and leaned in to kiss his shoulder. It seemed genuine and Andy didn’t question their love even after the brief encounter. But she also remembered the way Kim talked about him over dinner the other evening.

Andy smiled, but also wondered if she would ever feel that way.

She had a nice afternoon with the two of them.

Talking with them was easy, and seeing the affection the two shared even after the things they'd gone through with the tumor and hysterectomy, gave her the confidence that they would be great parents to the baby. Before she left, she let them know that she had already made up her mind. She would call Ms Fredricks on Monday and tell her to draw up the papers.

After they were done eating, they discussed some of the things that would be expected before the birth and during the rest of the pregnancy.

They had already agreed to pay for her living expenses for the next 6 months if they were chosen, even though she would be due in less time than that. They would pay all the doctor and hospital bills associated with the pregnancy and delivery and possible postpartum care.

Since they had only booked the hotel for one week for them to meet with the possibility of it lasting until the baby was born, she suggested that a small apartment might be much less expensive than the hotel. They agreed that was something that they would pay for, plus a stipend to cover utilities and other living expenses. They would continue to pay for the hotel until she found an apartment. And then they would pay the rent for 6 months for an apartment, up front and if she chose to stay in town, she could take over the lease at that time.

She offered to let them come to the doctor’s appointments as well, so that they could see ultrasound photos and hear the heartbeat. And they could get any updates on how she and the baby are progressing. Kyle wasn’t sure if he could take time off to go to all the appointments, but he definitely wanted to be there for the next ultrasound and for the delivery and would try to be there for all the appointments that he could get off work for. Andy was hoping that they would want to take an active role in the remainder of the pregnancy and be there for the delivery, so this was all reassuring to her.

They knew that there would be lots of other things that the lawyers would have to iron out, but things were looking up.

Although she didn’t want to keep the baby, she asked them to keep in touch with her.

She had talked to Ms Fredricks about open adoption, not only so that she could choose the parents who would raise the baby, but because she wanted to make sure that the child would be OK as he or she was growing up.

She didn’t want to be a part of the child’s life, but wouldn't mind updates or pictures occasionally, if the adoptive parents were OK with that. And that was something that they had agreed to before meeting her. Those updates were to be sent through their lawyers as the child grew. And if he or she wanted to meet once they were an adult, that would have to be decided at that time.

Andy knew that this was a request that most adoptive parents may not wish to agree to, but it was something that she wanted and used it in screening potential adoptive parents for the baby. She didn’t want to be part of his or her life because she didn’t feel that she could be with him or her without resenting how they came to be.

She still hadn’t decided if she was going to tell them how she became pregnant. She told them that the father had left before finding out that she was pregnant. That wasn’t necessarily a lie, because he left for prison and had his rights terminated because of the assault and r**e.

She saw the tears well up in Kim’s eyes as they said their goodbyes. From their talk at dinner, this was all that she could have wished for.