The Girl with The Pink Bat

Ray snorted. "Yeah, right, and I'm the Queen of England. I don't believe you. Listen, Amy, you are not selling anything I want to buy. Please, leave us alone."

"No, I'm here because you ruined my life."

"*I* ruined your life?" he repeated incredulously.

"Yes, you. My own father fired me after you told him why you broke up with me. He told me I had to find a job because he was not supporting me anymore. There was a huge investigation in Daddy's company and a lot of employees were terminated. Most of them got divorced. They all blamed me."

"Figures," I said.

The stupid Barbie glared at me.

Ray stood up and slid his arms around my waist. "Not my problem. You made your bed now lay in it, if it's not too crowded. Goodbye, Amy. Please get professional help."

"This is not over," the bitch shouted as we left. "You ruined my life, Ray-Ray, and I'm going to ruin yours! I mean it!"

CHAPTER 20

"Do you want a boy or girl?" Ray asked me. His hand rested protectively over my ever-growing belly.

We've been home barely twelve hours, coming straight to our place from the airport. We both fell, albeit without grace and tact, into bed once we walked in the door.

The long weekend spent at the resort had provided nurturing time. It was a lovely romantic break. Our spirits were refueled.

The sun was just peeking through our place's window and the only thing missing was the sound of birds chirping. It was the fairytale part of this whirlwind adventure that I thought I'd never see, but maybe secretly hoped for. I held up my left hand so the sun could hit my ring just right. The light danced, creating a prism of colors and shapes on the ceiling. I used to do this when I was a child, playing with my father's watch while my mother washed dishes. I'd giggle each time she'd bat away the light acting as if it was some bug bothering her. I hoped to create those moments with my child.

"I don't know. I just want a healthy baby, but either one has perks. With a little girl you can dress her in pink," Ray said.

"Pink?" I snorted. "That's not going to happen."

Ray shook his head, smiling, "What about a princess outfit?"

I reached out and slapped his arm, laughing.

Ray was silent for what seemed a long time. Deep in thought. A small frown between his eyes.

I elbowed him gently.

He moved and sat next to me. His lips pressed against my temple, my cheek, and then the side of my lips before he snuggled into the crook of my neck. His hand spread out on my bump, his fingers started to tap along my skin.

"Tomorrow, I have an appointment for a checkup with my gynecologist. Will you be there?" I said.

"I'll do my best. I'll drive back to Middletown as fast as I can."

"Please, be careful," I said with a shiver. "I can ask Mom to come with me if you can't make it."

"I'll be there. I promise."

I flipped out and then proceeded to cry for no reason.

I felt like a fool. File this in the 'I have lost my mind' chronicles.

+++

At six o'clock, I was sitting by myself in a doctor's office full of pregnant women. I knew most of them, but not enough to make conversation. They looked at the ring on my finger then at the empty chairs on either side of me and shook their heads. Their husbands sat there without a care in the world, reading some old magazine. Their job was done. They fertilized the egg and made their mandatory monthly appearance just to keep their wives happy. I wanted my husband to do the same thing.

"Ray, where are you?"

The office door opened and for one brief second I allowed my heart to beat a little faster thinking it was Ray; that he was here and wasn't going to miss this appointment. What I didn't account for was the instant letdown when yet another pregnant woman and her husband walked in, hand in hand. I hated admitting it, but that was what I wanted. It was what I needed and desired deep in my heart.

"Kara Clarke?"

I looked up at the nurse standing in the doorway holding my file. She smiled, waiting for Kara Clarke to stand and make her presence known. I wanted to rewind the last twenty minutes of this day and not tell the receptionist that my name had changed.

I stood up slowly and was met with looks from the other women. They judged me openly. I held their gazes defying them to look into my eyes with a judging look.

They weren't thinking that my husband was busy, and he couldn't get away from work. No, they were thinking I was doing this on my own.

I had no doubt there were a few husbands here that were forced to take time off from their days to be at their wife's side, as they should be.

Ray was fairly new at his job, and he couldn't do that.

I looked at the office door one more time before making my way to the nurse. She smiled again when I passed her, the door shutting loudly behind us.

"This way," she said in her 'I'm-so-happy-to-be-doing-my-job' voice. We stepped into a room and she shut the door behind me.

This was routine. I took a seat in the chair until I was told to change into the thin piece of fabric that doctors called a gown.

"I see you recently got married. Congratulations." The corners of my mouth turned up in the fakest smile I'd ever had to plaster on my face. She reached for my arm, slipping the blue blood-pressure cuff up my forearm. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. I haven't had morning sickness in a while."

"Are you sleeping okay?" she asked, without making eye contact. I knew she was in a hurry, she had a waiting room full of patients, but a little acknowledgment would have been nice.

"I don't have any problems sleeping."

"I'm horny all the time and my husband fucks me to sleep."

"Your husband won't be joining you today?"

I shrugged and looked up at the ceiling lights, giving me an excuse to have watery eyes.

I hated what these darn hormones were doing to me!

"He'll try, but he works in another city," I said, as nonchalantly as possible.

"Stand on the scale please."

I slipped off my shoes and stood on the scale. I watched, in horror and delight, as the number increased. Gaining weight was a necessary evil. The higher number should make me feel happy, but it didn't because at the forefront of my mind was that skinny Barbie doll bitch draping herself all over my very husband.

"Did you drink your water?"

"Yes."

"Could you hurry up? I'm peeing myself."

It was true. Pregnancy brought on the urge to pee worse than a beer-guzzling contest. Not that I ever participated in such a contest.

"Okay, go ahead and lie back on the table, Kara. The technician will be in first to do your ultrasound and then the doctor will be in. Be sure to tell the tech if you want to know the sex or not."

The nurse was gone before I could say anything. I lay back on the white paper and let my legs dangle over the end. I jumped when the door opened, followed by a young male technician.

He smiled brightly when he saw me. I tried not to stare, but I couldn't help it. His eyes were bright blue.

"I hear we're looking at your baby today."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious! Why did everyone talk to me as if I were a ten-year-old girl?"

I nodded, my voice nowhere to be found. He sat on his stool and rolled over to me, pulling the ultrasound machine behind him.

"I'm going to lift your shirt and put on this gross and very cold goop on your skin."

I shivered, not when he touched me, but when the blue blob hit my skin.

The technician put the wand on my stomach and hit a few buttons. The room came alive with the sound of the baby's heartbeat. It sounded like a hundred horses were galloping all around me.

"Now that we've heard the heartbeat, let's see your baby."

Before I knew what was happening the ultrasound machine was pushed into the technician and the wand was hanging from my leg.

"Ooops," the technician said. I looked over my shoulder to find Ray staring at me. The grin on his face told me that he was happy to be here, to see me, but it quickly morphed into something else; concern? He stepped over to me and kissed me full on the lips.

"Sorry about that, man. I'm Raymond Clarke. The father."

"No problem."

"Hi, Super Mom," he said, kissing me again. "Sorry, I'm late."

"Hi." I couldn't help but blush. A warm feeling all over me. "It's okay."

Ray moved so he was on the other side of me and picked up my hand. He kissed my ring before locking his fingers with mine.

"Have you seen our baby, yet? "I want to know if my baby has ten fingers and toes."

I rolled my eyes.

"No, Mr. Clarke, we were just about to look."

I faced the screen. "Can we see the baby now, please?"

The technician fumbled with the wand a few times before setting it back on my stomach. The baby's heartbeat filled the room again, relaxing me.

"What's that noise?"

I looked over at my husband and saw his eyes wandering. This was why I wanted him here, not only to be by my side but to experience this together.

"That's our baby," I said, quietly, my voice breaking.

Ray's face broke out into the most mesmerizing grin I'd ever seen. More than when I said yes to his marriage proposal.

He kissed me hard, holding my face to his.

"I need to record this sound," he said, pulling away. He let go of my hand, took out his phone, and held it in the air. I wanted to laugh out loud at how silly he was being, but knew this was something I'd listen to over and over again.

"There you go. I think I've got it."

"I hope so," I said, knowing I'd need to hear the heartbeat again once I got home.

"Do you want to know what you're having?"

Ray and I stared at each other, both our faces morphing into smiles.

We both looked at the technician and nodded.

CHAPTER 21

"You know, Kara, we need to decide if we're going to tell people what we're having." He helped me into the car and shut the door. When Ray got in, my hand automatically found his.

"We are having a baby girl," I said excitedly. I couldn't be more thrilled.

"A baby girl... I hope she looks like her mommy," Ray exclaimed. "We have to share the happy news with my family."

"We don't have to do this right now," I said.

"Why not? The sooner the better."

Ray leaned over and kissed me before starting the car. He drove in silence with a big smile on his face. After a while, he stopped the car in front of my parents' house. I thought I saw the curtain moving.

"What's going on, Ray?"

He wiggled his eyebrows and said, "You'll see."

He opened the car's door and held out his hand for me.

We walked to the front and Ray opened it again. The lights were off. I clutched at his hand and we walked inside.

The lights flicked on, and I let out a blood-curdling scream at the hoards of people yelling at me. "Surprise!"

The room was filled with a large group of people. Some were my family members, some were friends, and some were my co-workers.

My heart pounded a thousand beats per second, as I tried to catch my breath.

There were pink and blue balloons decorating the house. I noticed that the women were in pink gowns, while the males were dressed in blue.

A gender-reveal surprise party. A smile made its way to my face and I struggled not to cry.

"Welcome to your baby shower slash gender-reveal party," my sister said, rolling her chair towards me.

Jenny put her arms up to hug me. Leaned down and hugged her back.

"You know I hate you right now," I whispered in her ear.

"Yep," Jenny said. "Enjoy it!"

We separated and I was immediately pulled into another hug by my mom. When we finally pulled back, I turned to Ray to see him watching me, his Cheshire cat grin getting larger.

"That boy is in love with you. That's the way your father used to look at me," Mom told me.

My heart soared with her words.

"He still does when I'm not a pain in his ass," Mom added.

We both laughed. In moments like this, it was very easy to love my mom.

"So, it's a boy or girl?" Jenny asked, in a loud voice for everyone to hear.

"It's a girl!" I shrieked, pumping my fist in the air.

Everyone clapped and cheered. All blue decoration vanished in a few minutes.

"What are you going to call her?" Dad asked me.

I looked at Ray. He shrugged and smiled at me, a smile that meant 'I have no idea'.

I heard that question over and over again. The main reason was everyone had an opinion about what our baby should be named.

After a while, my father moved the party to the backyard garden. It was a gorgeous day, food and drinks were spread out on several tables and people seemed to be enjoying themselves.

I saw my husband scanning the yard and hoped that he was looking for me. When our eyes met, his face lit up. He walked straight towards me. His smile became bigger, his eyes brighter, the closer he got.

"You could have told me they were going to throw a surprise party," I fake scolded him.

"If I had told you, it wouldn't have been a surprise," he winked at me and took a sip of his beer.

"I could have dressed better."

"You look gorgeous, Kara."

"I'm fat," I wailed.

"Fat is not the word I'd use to describe you." His grin revealed pride and love.

"No wonder I love you so much," I told my husband, putting my arms around his neck.

"Kara, I plan to follow through with everything I said on our wedding day. I promised you then and I promise you now, I'll cherish you, I'll protect you and I'll be only yours. The only thing that can separate us is death and we're going to live until we're old and grey and our great-great grandchildren have to come and visit us in a nursing home."

I nodded as I wiped away a tear. "You say the sweetest things."

"You bring out the best in me, love. You're beautiful and sexy," he dropped his voice to a whisper. "So sexy that I've got a hard-on just thinking about you. I don't want to hear that you're fat or not beautiful because you put every woman here to shame."

For a while, I had questioned why I married Ray. It wasn't impulsive even though it seemed like it at the time. I married him because I wanted to. I wanted a new chapter in my life. And I wanted Ray to be part of it.

I never thought I'd find someone to fill that void in my life, but I had.

"How's Little One behaving?"

I tilted my head, and asked, "Little One?"

"That's what I call her... our baby. At least until we pick a name for her. Do you like it?"

"I love it."

He hugged me and we kissed.

Ray explained to me that he refused to pick names before the baby was born. One of those superstitions was a fear that if he picked names before the baby was born, it wouldn't be born.

Suddenly, I got the distinct feeling I was being watched. Sort of like an itching or tingling on the back of my head. I turned slowly towards the house.

A young woman was standing there. Her features transformed from a beautiful Barbie doll to something grotesque and unrecognizable.

"Amy!" I gasped.

"Kara, what's wrong?" My father asked me.

I pointed to Ray's ex who was walking towards us.

"She's Ray's ex," I said, in a barely audible whisper. Dad turned and looked at where I was pointing.

"GUN!" he shouted out.

"GUN!" Other voices yelled louder.

The bitch raised the gun and pointed it at me, "I'm going to hurt you, Ray-Ray, as you hurt me. I'm going to ruin your life just as you ruined mine."

Most of the people didn't have a clue what was going on.

Ray turned in slow motion. He saw his ex pointing a gun at me and jumped to push me out of the way just as the gun fired.

A single shot rang out, echoing loudly through the yard.

Ray dropped to the ground. My ears felt like they had been filled with cotton and there was a panicked scream bursting out of my chest.

The bitch dropped the gun at her side and fell to her knees like she was a puppet and someone had cut her strings. "Look what you make me do, Ray-Ray. This is all your fault. Now we are even," she said. And laughed a psycho laugh.

CHAPTER 22

Floyd ran straight to the bitch and kicked the gun away. Then, he pulled her to the ground and held her there.

Dad called 911.

My feet were heavy, but I needed to run to Ray. I need to be there with him. With my husband.

My mother wrapped her arms around me, holding me tight to her chest. "Calm down, sweetheart, think about the baby."

"RAY!!!" I screamed out for Ray as Jenny's husband rushed to his side. He applied pressure on his chest to stop the bleeding.

Jenny rolled her chair to be at my side and squeezed my hand.

"Liam got First Aid training from the American Red Cross," my sister explained to me, "he knows what to do."

"LET ME GO!!" I yelled to my mother.

"RAY!" I screamed again, but Mom didn't let me go. "Ray, please don't die on us," I pleaded with a whimpering voice.

I could hear Liam's worried voice. "This is bad, this is really bad, I need more towels to try to stop the bleeding."

Someone ran inside the house.

I heard sirens wailing not so far away.

Someone ran outside to direct the emergency personal.

I couldn't do anything but cry and call my husband. Hot streaks were running down my cheeks and pooling into my shirt.

The paramedics arrived and started to work on Ray as he still had a pulse.

"He's been shot," Liam told them.

"He needs me," I said, struggling with my mom to set myself free.

"Right now, he needs them more, Kara," Mom said, running her hand up and down my side. "He needs them, okay? They need to help him."

My father's eyes, the ones that were always calm as still water, were frantic and dark. I pressed my hand to my chest as something inside me broke.

"Is he going to be okay?" I was unraveling, like twine from a spool, falling away from myself into disjointed pieces, tangled and messy.

The paramedic looked over his shoulder and back at me. "I don't know."

I fell into my mother's arms, clutching at her dress, as sob after sob rolled through my body.

I was going to kill the psycho bitch.

"Someone bring me my bat!" I yelled. "I'm going to crush that bitch's head with it!

Mom held my arms, while she patted my back, "Later, sweetheart, later. Now your husband needs you."

Sheriff Thomas, who had arrived shortly after the ambulance, walked straight to the bitch, and cuffed her, then read the bitch her rights. Floyd and Dennis talked with the sheriff while he dragged the bitch to the squad car, and threw her inside.

Her eyes were void of any emotion.

"Deputy Wallace will get statements from you all," the sheriff said, raising his voice, and he drove away.

The paramedics placed Ray on a stretcher and secured him in the ambulance. Liam went with them.

"You must fight, Ray," Liam told my husband. "You have a wife and daughter on the way. Do you hear me? You have to fight to stay with us."

My father talked with the deputy and rushed my mother and me into his car. Once the door was shut, we were speeding behind the ambulance. The very one that was transporting my husband.

My mother rested my head against her chest. Her leg bounced up and down. The edge of his phone was pressed against her lips.

"We need to call Ray's parents, Kara."

"I don't even have their number. They are... They are in..." I shook my head, realizing that I didn't know where they were. "They were on a cruise, but they should be back in Boston by now. Ray never gave me their number."

"Okay, we'll worry about that later, sweetie," Mom said, patting my back gently. "I'll ask someone to bring Ray's phone to the hospital."

I felt like such a moron for not knowing. I should know things like this. Like his blood type, I didn't know that. What if he needed a transfusion?

Before I knew it, Dad was opening the door and tugging at my hand. He pulled me through the glass doors and to the nurses' station.