Friday, July 27, 2012

NaNoWriMo Revisited- Part 3



I hope that you have enjoyed the first two installments of Marrying Dad. You may get caught up by clicking on the links below:

Marrying Dad- Part 1
Marrying Dad- Part 2

Today I am including part three. Enjoy! Oh, and let me know what you think!

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Marrying Dad- Part 3
by Raychelle Muhammad


     When I was eight, I noticed a real change in my parent’s relationship. Suddenly, my father was home for dinner every night. He seemed genuinely happy to be there. The vibrancy returned to my mother’s face. She started going to the beauty shop and taking me along, too. It was like a girl’s day out. We would get our hair washed and styled. Then, mom would stop in at the nail shop for a manicure and pedicure. She was happy—happier than I could remember for sure. I thought it odd that she was sick to her stomach for about a month. During the week, I sometimes had to get my own breakfast before school because Mom said that the smell of anything and everything made her sick. My best friend, Jazzy, said that it sounded like Mom was pregnant. Jazzy seemed to be “in the know” about everything that eight-year olds shouldn’t know. Her mom started having babies at sixteen and Jazzy had three older siblings. Her oldest sister is seventeen and she tells Jazzy almost everything. Whatever Jazzy doesn’t get from her sister, she gets from eavesdropping. To this day my best friend hasn’t changed one bit. She has always been incredibly resourceful. Jazzy’s skill set would prove to be invaluable to me in more ways than I could count.
     At dinner one night, Mom announced that she was pregnant. She and Daddy were beaming. I pretended to be surprised since Jazzy had already schooled me on how this baby business works. Mom was about two months along and she was starting to show. I must say that I was pretty excited. Maybe Grandma was right after all. Daddy was spending more time with us and had already started cleaning out the guestroom to make room for my new brother or sister. Then it hit me. What if the baby isn’t a boy? Grandma told Mom to pray for a boy. What would be so wrong with having a little sister?
     Several weeks went by before we could find out the baby’s gender. Conversations around the dinner table went from talking about my day at school to all about the baby. Mom’s appointment for the ultrasound was in a week—or so we were told.
“What time is your doctor’s appointment next week?” Daddy asked.
“I’ll call to double check in the morning. Don’t you have that big presentation coming up?”
“Yes, it’s on Thursday. The partners will cover for me though if it conflicts.”
“You don’t have to do that. It’s just a checkup.”
“I thought that we would be finding out the baby’s gender.”
“No, it’s too soon.”
“Don’t you find out at 12 weeks?”
“It is possible, but you know that I am not 12 weeks yet.”
“Are you sure? I thought you said…”
“Well, of course I am sure. If you insist, we can go over the dates again after dinner.”
“Either way, I’m coming.”
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Would you like to read what happens next? Leave your feedback in the comments section below.

Keep your pen to the paper! Remember, inspiration is everywhere...


1 comment:

  1. Yes, still left wanting to find out more, is it a boy or girl? Will it keep their marriage together? Having a child rarely has that affect.

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