Chapter 1
Hazel
Today’s the big day. I’m going to tell Jeff tonight! A family is everything I have even wanted aside from my dream career as a teacher. I have known about the pregnancy for about a week or so now, but I haven’t had to chance to tell Jeff. He has just been going through so much recently with the loss of his maintenance job at the elementary school. He needed work and was becoming depressed just sitting around the house, so I pleaded with the principal, and they gave him a position there. I really thought things were getting better, but then a few weeks back, he lost his job. He has constantly said that he didn’t feel good or that he was too tired to go to work, then he complained that his checks were short, and he was getting ripped off. I got to a point where I just thought he was unhappy with everything in life at that point.
However, it’s Friday night, and he messaged me earlier and said that he has some great news to tell me, so after parent teacher conference tonight we will talk. I am beyond excited. After the last parent had left for the evening, I cleaned up my classroom that my rowdy little kindergartners had made a mess of, then set off to the bathroom to freshen up my make-up and hair, so I could look my best to tell him the big news.
I’ve got my red curly hair tamed, my ringlets look glossy and beautifully curled. I decided after a long day I would do a smokey eye and red lipstick to make me feel a bit more upbeat. I needed to hide the bags under my eyes and the paleness I noticed from being sick. There is a lingering nagging in the back of my mind that is a little upset that Jeff hasn’t noticed or simply cared that I have been sick. I was sure that he would figure it out by now, but it makes the surprise all that much better. I have my favorite emerald green wrap dress on. I’m not a skinny girl by far, I am a plump size 16 with boobs and ass to match. I can’t even remember the last time I had a thigh gap, if ever. This dress is gorgeous and compliments my figure. I’m not ashamed of being a curvy woman. He, I’m just as beautiful as the other women out there, but I’m not in denial either. I know I’m a big girl and I’m okay with it. We were all made to be different. If we were all the same, then it would be robotic and that is not a life I would want to live. I need diversity, culture, and adventure in my life.
By the time I pulled my old pinto car onto the street we live on downtown, I noticed there were a lot of cars lining the road. Getting closer to the point of chaos, I notice it’s our house. My gorgeous two-story cottage core home with sage green paint and a stained oak porch has people pouring out of it. My beautiful yard, which has a stone walkway and a flower garden I have filled with yellow roses, is trashed. There are red solo cups littering the steps and the grass. I’m sure the neighbors are going to say something if not call the police. This was supposed to be a perfect night just us and the news I have that I am dying to tell him. I wouldn’t even have been upset if he had told me he was going to throw a party, but the fact that I worked so hard for this perfect house for our future and our family is being disrespected is upsetting. Who knows, maybe it’s the hormones. I finally found a spot to park a few houses down, I took a deep breath and exited the car. I can hear the beats to the song scars as I prevail. I could sing that song in my sleep. It is one of Jeffs favorite songs.
I make my way around the trash and the people occupying my house in search of Jeff. I make my way inside, as soon as I am in the corridor, I see the steps in front of me. To my right is the dining room, which is filled with my gorgeous plants. To the left is the living room packed with people all over the furniture and trash covering every surface. Smoke fills the air, it is gagging me. I don’t see him anywhere. I'd searched the entire downstairs at this point, so i decided to go upstairs, but as I was walking up the stairs that lead to the second floor, I looked to my left, and I could see into the living room. Theresa's group clustered around the coffee table, and they were snorting powder in my goddamn house! I swear when I find him, I’m going to lose my s**t. After teaching my sweet little ones all day, this is not what I want to come home to. I get to the end of the hall on the second floor to the door that leads to our room. The music is so loud I can’t even hear myself think. I turned the knob and open the door. I went to step in, but I was stopped right there in my tracks with my heart on my sleeve and my stomach in my throat. Its Jeff, my Jeff, on our bed with his d**k buried in a skinny blonde. I gasp out loud and my hand flies to my face. Jeff's eyes met mine and everything is a blur. I turn, and I run with tears streaming down my face as I faintly hear Jeff yelling my name over the bass of the music.