Booby Trapped and Baby Proofed (12 page)

Harrison busied himself with paperwork, checking medical forms and logging in tuition checks. He heard the other instructors as they taught class. Bill and Frank went easier on the older guys because their bones weren’t as strong as they used to be and the movements were limited.

By four, he’d finished, talked to Angel, and then started preparing for his class. At six, he looked down at a class of about thirty students, all decked out in their white do-baks. Cute, he thought. Only one child cried and he stopped as soon as another child talked to him.

Tyrone, Everett’s son, was also in his class. Tyrone was tall for five and took to the lessons like a trooper. The class ended at seven and parents took away their offspring so they could go home to dinner and perhaps study. He arrived at the day care at seven-thirty to pick up his own little ankle biter and then they went grocery shopping because they were running low on vegetables.

Harrison had promised Angel some chicken. He made it the last stop so the chicken could be warm when they reached home.

Angel arrived carrying a SpongeBob DVD with a smile.

Ethan made a mess of himself eating the mashed potatoes and gravy and had a fit when Angel put him in the tub and washed his hair. She lost some brownie points in Ethan’s heart for doing this, but she won them back when she put the SpongeBob movie into the DVD player.

The three of them sat in the den and watched together.

“I never thought I would be doing this,” Harrison said, trying to figure out what kids saw in this cartoon.

“SpongeBob is cool,” Angel said. “Kids love his voice, his color, and all the other characters.”

“Why?” Harrison asked. “It’s silly.”

“Not to kids,” she said. “And it does keep them occupied.”

Ethan hadn’t moved from his seat except to laugh.

“Do you think he understands what he’s watching?” Harrison asked.

Angel shrugged. “He is laughing at the right parts.”

Harrison raised his arms. “I’m for anything that keeps him happy, but I would like him to watch Sesame Street.”

“He gets to watch that twice a day at the day care,” Angel said. “He needs some SpongeBob to relax after a busy day.”

Harrison chuckled and shook his head. “What about me? I’ve had a busy day too.”

“Later,” she told him with a saucy little smile. “I’m sure we can find a little adult entertainment on the television.”

Ethan’s fever didn’t return that night. In fact, he went to bed after the movie ended. True to her word, Angel found Harrison an adult channel after they tucked Ethan into his bed for the night.

Chapter Nine

Harrison counted heads of the children assigned to him as he got off the school bus at the petting zoo. Besides Ethan, Angel had assigned him Roy and another little boy named Tony. Her excuse, kids behaved better on field trips when they hung out with their friends. He didn’t know if that was true or not, but he didn’t want to press his luck.

The kids really got a big kick interacting with the sheep, guinea pigs, goats, rabbits, and miniature horses.

Ethan liked feeding grass to the horses and playing with the rabbits. Harrison captured as much as he could on video, all the while glad that the zoo didn’t have any snakes for him to worry about.

By lunch, they carted a bus load of excited kids back to the day care and he even enjoyed the time he got to bond with Roy. The three kids laughed and ran around, literally wearing themselves out. Both he and Ethan took a nice relaxing bubble bath when their day finally ended. And for the first time in a long time, Angel didn’t come over to visit because she kept sneezing while they were at the petting zoo and didn’t want to affect him or Ethan.

They fended for themselves, man style, with vegetable pizza. Harrison had to cut Ethan’s pizza up in tiny pieces, which he discovered was a waste of time since Ethan only ate the vegetables and left the crust.

Harrison settled down to watch a baseball game on television after Ethan went to sleep. And by ten, he too settled down. But he felt as lonely as hell without his beautiful African American princess beside him.

****

Angel was still sneezing the next day and couldn’t go to work. Harrison dropped Ethan off at the day care center and drove home to get her to take her to the clinic. Of course she put up a pretty big fuss and told him she could go to the clinic on her own.

“Nonsense,” Harrison told her. “That’s what lovers are for.”

Angel pouted like a child and Harrison smiled smugly because he’d won the argument. She climbed into his car, sneezed, and secured her safety belt.

Harrison got into the driver’s seat and buckled up. He turned on the radio and then drove in the direction of the clinic.

Angel sneezed again and then groaned. “Damn animal dander.”

“You didn’t know you were allergic?” he asked.

“No,” Angel replied. “And it has my stomach upset too.”

“Poor baby.” He felt so sorry for her. She probably needed an allergy shot.

Harrison drove into the parking lot of the clinic and helped Angel out. She threw up before they made it to the front door.

“Uh,” she groaned. “Maybe I have the flu.”

He sighed. She’d been so busy taking care of them she’d neglected her own health. “I’ll take care of you, darling. I’ve had my flu shot.”

“I had one too. I can’t allow you to get sick.”

“Tough,” he said, leading her into the clinic. The waiting area was already crowded for so early in the morning. Harrison escorted Angel over to the triage desk to speak to the nurse. The nurse handed her some forms to fill out, made a copy of her insurance card, and got a co-pay out of her before she saw a doctor.

A half hour and several sneezes later, someone called her name.

Harrison helped Angel to the back because she still felt queasy and the nurse allowed him to help her into the room. He walked back to the waiting room, picked up a magazine, and thumbed through it while he waited.

****

Angel shivered on top of the examination table. She didn’t know why doctor’s offices had to be so cold. Someone once told her the rooms had to be kept a certain temperature to keep the germs away. But what sense did that make if patients caught colds in the process? Now that she thought about it, the idea was an ingenious way to guarantee return visits, which equaled to more money in the doctor’s pocket.

Angel didn’t understand why they needed a sample of her blood or urine just because she had a bad case of sneezing.

The nurse came in and took her vitals. “The doctor will be in shortly to see you, Ms. Robbins.”

“Thank you,” Angel said. She sneezed again.

“Bless you,” the nurse said as she left the room.

Angel read all the medical posters on the walls. There were on high blood pressure, migraine headaches, and diabetes. She also checked out the mini replica of a diseased lung on the counter and basically just looked around killing time until the doctor entered.

“Good morning, Ms. Robbins,” the doctor said. “I’m Doctor Shelly.”

“Hello,” Angel said, still trembling.

Doctor Shelly sat down in a chair, flipped open her chart, and asked her a series of questions. “What is the date of your last period?”

Angel actually had to think about the question. “February, I think.”

The doctor jotted down her answer.

Oh my God.
Angel sneezed again.

“Bless you,” the doctor said. “How long have you been sneezing?”

“About a day,” Angel answered. “I went to a petting zoo with some students from my day care center.”

“And how long have you been suffering from nausea?”

“On and off about a month.” It had started happening one morning when she got out of bed, but she didn’t think much about it.

“Are you sexually active?”

Angel sneezed again. “Yes, but what does this have to do with the flu?”

“I don’t think you have the flu,” Doctor Shelly said with a chuckle. “I think you’re pregnant.”

Angel raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“I won’t be sure until I get the results back from your lab work and until I examine you. But I’m about ninety percent sure you’re expecting a baby.”

His words registered in her head.
Harrison is going to be a father again. Oh God, how am I going to tell him
? She wondered how he would take the news. The doctor made her lie on the table so he could examine her.

****

Angel looked pale as a ghost when she stepped into the waiting room.

“Are you okay?” Harrison asked her.

“Yes,” she said. “The sneezing has stopped.”

“What did the doctor give you for it?”

“He sprayed my nose with nasal spray.” She walked to the exit and he followed.

They headed toward the parking lot. “Would you like to go get something to eat? Or is your stomach still upset? I know you probably won’t feel like eating if you have the flu.”

“I don’t have the flu,” Angel said, getting into the car after he unlocked the door. “And I’m famished.”

Harrison climbed into the driver’s seat. Angel was acting so strangely, like she was hiding something from him. “What do you want to eat?”

She looked at her watch. “Its noon, so breakfast is out of the question.”

“Not really,” Harrison said. “I know a place where they serve breakfast all day.” He winked at her and Angel smiled shyly.

Ten minutes later, they were seated in a restaurant browsing over menus. The waitress reappeared to take their orders.

“What will you have?” she asked Angel.

“Waffles, sausage, scrambled eggs, coffee, apple juice, and fresh fruit.”

Harrison eyed her curiously. “That’s a lot of food.”

She nodded absently.

“How about you?” the waitress asked.

“I’ll have the same,” Harrison replied, handing his menu to her.

The waitress walked off to place their order.

“Some of your color is returning,” Harrison said.

“I think that nasal spray did the trick.” She chuckled. “No more trips to the petting zoo for me.”

“What would you like to do after we eat; since we’re both have some free time on our hands?”

 “I don’t know. I really don’t feel like going to a movie or shopping. I’m probably going to need a nap after eating.”

“A nap can be arranged,” he said. Angel didn’t want to go shopping?
Yup, something is up
. “We can go for a walk along the beach and watch the boats.”

“I’d like that,” she said. “And then a nap. I’ll get dinner ready while you pick up Ethan.”

“I’ll see to dinner,” Harrison told her. “You need to rest.”

“But I already have the fixings for beef stew and corn bread.”

He wasn’t going to argue with her, especially since she had her heart set on cooking.

The waitress brought their food.

Angel attacked her food, pouring maple syrup over her stack of buttermilk waffles and sighing after eating the first bite. Her mother would have been proud of her because she ate everything on her plate.

Harrison paid for their meals and they walked to the car.

“I don’t feel so good,” Angel said once they were midway to the beach.

“Maybe I should take you home,” he suggested. They could go to the beach anytime. He would take her to her house and put her in bed so she could get comfortable. “I’ll fix the stew,” he told her.

Angel shook her head. “Have you ever fixed stew before?”

“Yes,” he said. “Believe it or not, I have.”

“Okay,” she said. “Maybe I’ll feel better later after a nap.”

They barely made it to the front door when Angel got the urge to vomit again. Harrison got out the way while she ran to the bathroom.

He supposed he should have followed her to hold back her braids, but he knew most people didn’t like others to see them being vulnerable. He opted instead to start dinner. Harrison walked into the immaculate kitchen, took the fresh ingredients out, and lay then on the counter. He heard the shower turn on and then off again about fifteen minutes later. With the stew cooking, he went to work on the corn bread.

He decided to check on Angel and found her asleep, buried up to her chin in covers. He smiled. She looked like a little girl. Harrison tiptoed out of the room and went back to the kitchen. She needed to sleep for a while to regain her strength and he could watch some television in the kitchen while he cooked.

Two hours later, he poured the stew into a container and cleaned the kitchen.

Angel peeked in around four. “Something smells good,” she said.

“I don’t think you should attempt the stew just yet. I fixed you some gelatin.”

“What kind?” Angel asked.

“Orange,” Harrison answered. “And I added fruit cocktail.”

“Did you fix that for me or for Ethan?” she asked, walking over to the refrigerator and taking out the big bowl.

“Both of you, but I don’t think he will eat it because the gelatin is sweet.”

“He’s a strange kid when it comes to food,” Angel said. “But he’ll have strong, healthy teeth if he doesn’t eat candy.”

Harrison grabbed two small bowls from the cabinet and two spoons from a drawer. Moments later, they sat across from each other eating the gelatin.

“Ethan doesn’t know what he’s missing,” Angel said. Five minutes after she ate it, she ran back to the bathroom to throw up.

This time, Harrison followed her and waited while she brushed her teeth and gargled. She looked startled when she exited the bathroom and found him seated on her bed.

“Maybe I need to take you back to the doctor,” Harrison said. “You’re not sneezing anymore, but you can’t keep anything in your stomach. You sure you don’t have the flu?”

She sat down next to him. “I don’t have the flu.”

He braced himself for the bad news. All day long he felt she’d been hiding something from him. He could deal just so long as she didn’t tell him she had cancer. He didn’t think he could deal with losing another woman he loved to the deadly disease.

“I’m pregnant,” she said.

Harrison sat in silence for a moment while what she’d just told him sank in. “You’re what?”

“Pregnant,” Angel said. “About two months.”