Forgetting Charlotte

Lucky's Grill

Chapter Eleven: Lucky's Grill

Exiting the main doors I walked up to the receptionist desk at the OB GYN and stood nervously on the floor mark that said "wait here for patient privacy". The blond behind the desk talked animatedly on the phone while I looked around the room at the swollen mothers to be. My hands inched up to my slight bulge and I wondered how long it would be before I resembled one of them. My hands jumped up to my swollen chest, which had tripled in size in the last 3 months, and a shiver went through my body.

"I'm going to be a whale!" I murmured to myself as I turned and made eye contact with a brunette standing behind me. Her eyes narrowed as I traced the ginormous outline of her belly. "Sorry, you look wonderful, you really glow." I stammered in embarrassment. I turned and ran towards the receptionist who had hung up the phone and was now waiving me over.

"Hi Ms. Boyd! How did your appointment go? Excited yet?" The perky blond looked up at me with large blue eyes. This was my fourth office visit in as many months but it still amazed me how abnormally large her blue eyes were, or how wide her smile got. That very smile shined up at me as I handed her the slip my doctor had just given me.

"Hi Susie. He wants to see me again in three weeks for my check up. Oh! And he wants me to make an appointment for my ultrasound, hopefully next Monday?" I watched the giant orbs scan the screen in front of her as Susie typed furiously on the keyboard.

"Uh huh, looking, looking, Bingo! I have a 3:30 appointment that just opened up. I will just fill your name right in, there! You are all set Ms. Boyd!" Susie gave me a megawatt smile which I returned with my meeker version. "I have you scheduled for Monday for the ultrasound and we will see you on the 22nd for your follow up!"

"Thanks Susie. You really are great. See you next time." I turned to walk away just as I heard Susie yell out.

"Anything for my favorite single mommy! I'll see you next time Ms. Boyd, take care!" I froze mid-step. I looked up at the brunette who had been standing behind me just as she smirked at me, gathering her enormous belly in her hands to walk over to the receptionist desk. I took long strides out of the office as I felt a burning sensation start to spread over my face.

I ran around the corner, away from any view of the office, and collapsed against the stucco wall. I took deep breaths while my mind went through a slew of emotions. I'm overreacting, nobody thinks that way anymore. Who cares if they are judging me, not me! Screw them, who are they to judge me? There are lots of single moms out there. The reality of these past four months sank in and my body started to shake with the oncoming sobs. I cradled my face as tears began streaming from my eyes.

"Charlie?" Oh no! Seriously how many times can I be embarrassed in a single day? "Are you okay?" I looked up at two blurry spots of blue. I wiped my eyes on my sleeve and looked back up to see David's blue eyes staring intently at me. He had placed a hand on my shoulder but seemed scared to step any closer.

"David, oh, I was just upset over..." I stopped midsentence as David's head cocked to one side. "Um, what are you doing here?" I wiped the clear mucus that had started to trail down my lips with my sleeve. I caught a glimpse of the snot trail on my arm and quickly hid it behind my back.

"Well I was on my way to meet someone for lunch when I heard a woman crying. I came to investigate and found you." David slowly pulled his hand back and ran it through his hair. "Is everything okay?"

I wanted to yell out NO! Everything is not okay! Your best friend knocked me up and then left me to be judged, I may have lost my dream job and I might possibly be working with the devils bride. I wanted so bad to share with someone just how close I was to the edge but, I just didn't have the courage. I sighed and said "Everything's okay, just pregnancy hormones. They make you all wacky." I waived my hands back and forth above my head.