Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
ALLIE
Having Margie at my apartment is turning out to be a nice experience. Not only is she quiet and respectful, but I haven’t washed one dish since she’s been here.
On Saturday night, we ate pizza, watched movies, and did our best to ignore the circumstances that have made us roommates. On Sunday, she caught up with her homework while I read a book. Which brings us to today.
“Morning, sleepy head,” I say as I walk out of my bedroom and into the living room.
“Morning,” Margie replies as she busily folds up the bed and puts the cushions back on. She sounds more resigned than excited.
“Are you nervous about going back to school today?” I ask while filling the coffee pot with water and coffee grounds.
“Terrified.” She lays my new tasseled throw over the back of the couch before sitting down.
Most of our conversations have revolved around how her parents are taking things. I have yet to delve into the treatment she’s receiving from her peers. “Are your friends giving you a hard time?”
She offers a half-shrug. “They’re trying to be there for me, but the truth is that none of them can understand why I won’t just make the problem go away.”
“Everyone thinks they know what they’d do in a situation,” I tell her. “Until they’re faced with it themselves.”
She snorts. “If I had to put money on it, I’d guess my situation will have the entire senior class keeping their knees together for the rest of the year. I’m like a walking abstinence ad.”
I pull a cup out of the cabinet and pour the first cup of coffee that comes down, which in my opinion is the best one. “Why don’t you grab your stuff, and we can head downstairs and get you a hot chocolate and a muffin for breakfast.”
She stands up with a little more excitement. “That sounds delicious.”
“It’s important to get enough calories in your body while you’re making another person,” I tell her. “We’ll also have to make sure you get enough protein. Do you like eggs?”
She makes a face that indicates she’s not a fan, so I tell her, “I’ll pick up some protein powder later, and we’ll make sure you have at least one shake a day.”
“You’re being so nice to me, Miss … Allie.” Margie grabs her backpack from the front closet, while adding, “You’ll never know how grateful I am for you.”
Turning off the coffee pot, I pick up my purse and respond, “You’re not on your own, Margie.
I’m here to help.” I don’t even think about there being an end to assisting her, either.
She’s a young girl who feels completely alone, and she’s bringing an innocent child into this world. They need someone.
Once we’re down the stairs, I hold the door open for Margie to walk into Rosemary’s. Teddy is at the counter which gives me the opportunity to introduce my new friend.
“Allie is in the house!” Teddy calls out endearingly.
“Good morning, Teddy.” I smile at him before gesturing toward Margie. “This is my friend Margie. She wants to be an actress.”
Margie’s expression of awe immediately turns to one of panic. It shifts again when Teddy winks at her and says, “Maybe we’ll be in a movie together someday.”
“I … uh … hm …” Margie has lost her ability to string together a sentence.
“She’s still a senior in high school,” I tell him. “But she wants to go to Northwestern someday.” I know that if she keeps the baby, that won’t be anytime soon, but I want to remind her that her life isn’t over. She can still work toward her dreams. Nobody can take that from her.
“I went to Northwestern!” Teddy says excitedly. “It’s a great school. You’ll love it there.”
“I, well, the thing is …” Margie finally says, “I can’t go.
Teddy nods knowingly. “It’s expensive, for sure.” Then he shares, “I didn’t pay off my student loans until I played Alpha Dog in the first Wonder movie.”
Margie blurts out, “I can’t go to college because I’m pregnant.”
Teddy doesn’t respond right away, but when he finally speaks, he says, “Breakfast is on the house!”
“I’m not exactly celebrating,” Margie tells him.
He offers a short shrug. “Nevertheless, your baby needs breakfast. What can I get you?”
Even though Margie’s smile looks pained, she says, “I’d like a pumpkin-spice hot chocolate and a blueberry muffin, please.”
Teddy turns his attention to me. “How about you, Allie? What would you like?”
Lifting my coffee cup into the air to show him I made my own, I say, “I’d like a blueberry muffin, too. And I’m paying for both of us.”
He hurries to retrieve our muffins out of the case before steaming Margie’s drink. When he hands everything across the counter, he says, “On the house means on the house.”
“You’ll never make any money if you don’t charge me,” I tell him. Seriously, I’m starting to feel like a charity case.
Teddy puts his hands behind his back indicating that he won’t take my money. “Good thing I’m a movie star then, huh?”
“Thank you,” Margie says while taking her order. “I really appreciate this.”
He turns his full attention toward her. “When my wife, Faith, was pregnant with our twins, she ate more gingersnaps than an entire kindergarten class could in a year. You’re going to get cravings, and I firmly believe it’s the baby’s way of telling you what she wants.
When that happens, you come on in, and we’ll take care of you. ”
Margie looks like she’s going to cry but she somehow holds it together. As we walk out of the bakery she tells me, “I don’t know why I told him I was pregnant.”
“Maybe because you’re ready to accept it.”
After getting into the passenger side of my car, she says, “I just kind of freaked when you told him I wanted to go to Northwestern. I can never do that now.”
“Don’t put limits on your dreams, Margie. Maybe it won’t be next fall, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen someday.”
She takes a bite of her muffin and chews it slowly. After swallowing, she says, “I’m afraid to have dreams.”
Even though I can probably guess what her answer will be, I ask her, “Why is that?”
“My parents keep telling me my life will be over if I have this baby. They’re probably right.”
Starting the car, I pull out onto the street and tell her, “Did you know that Sofia Vergara had her son when she was still a teenager?”
“Who’s that?”
I nearly pull over to the side of the road so I can fully express my shock. Instead, I say, “She’s the Latina actress from that television show, Modern Family.”
“Oh, I know her! My mom and I watched that show over the summer together.” She asks, “How in the world do you think she became famous after having a baby so young?”
“I don’t know her full story. I just want you to realize that going down a different path than you thought doesn’t mean you can’t get where you want to go.”
Margie snorts. “I can’t imagine how I can be a single mother and make enough money to take care of my kid while still following a dream like stardom. It seems a little out there, you know?”
I turn into the high school parking lot and park in the faculty area. “My dad used to always tell me to reach for the stars. He said you can’t have something if you can’t imagine having it. You need to figure out what your dream is and then you need to start visualizing the result you want.”
As we get out of the car, Leah comes running across the pavement. She throws herself into her sister’s arms and cries, “I miss you! I want you to come home!”
Ruffling her sister’s hair, Margie tells her, “I can’t, twerp. Mom and Dad are really mad and I need some space to figure things out.”
“I know.” Leah sounds so dejected, my heart breaks for her.
“You can come over to my place and see Margie anytime you want,” I tell Leah. “I live in the apartment above Rosemary’s.”
My student looks at me with a combination of gratitude and sadness. “It’s really strange at home without Margie.” Looking at her sister, she adds, “Mom and Dad are barely speaking at all.”
“Good. I don’t want this to be easy on them,” Margie declares.
As we walk into the school, my new roomie goes one way and Leah and I go the other. “I didn’t get my homework done,” she confesses as we near my classroom. “I’m sorry, but like I said, it’s been tough at home.”
“I imagine it has,” I tell her. “Why don’t you spend lunch in my room and work on it.
If you turn it in today, there won’t be a penalty.
” As much as I want to give her a free pass, that won’t benefit her in the long run.
It’s better if she learns how to focus her time now because by the look of things, her family situation is only going to get more difficult.
“Okay.” Even though Leah doesn’t sound excited by the offer, I know she’ll come in and give it her best shot. If I’ve learned one thing about the Flynn kids, it’s that they’re not only smart, they’re determined.
The day moves slowly and by the time it’s time for basketball practice, I’m ready to go home and crawl into bed.
Margie walks into my room looking equally worn out.
“I was going to ask if you minded if I went back to your place to sleep instead of waiting for basketball practice to end, but I don’t think I can walk without lying down on the sidewalk. ”
“Pregnancy is exhausting,” I tell her before offering, “Why don’t you curl up on the bean bag chairs at the back of my room and take a nap here?”
In lieu of verbal response, she drags herself across the room and plops down on the first cushion.
While she looks comfortable enough, I pull another chair over to her. “Put your legs up here. You’ll sleep better.” She’s sound asleep in seconds.
As I leave my room and walk toward the gym, the craziest image pops into my head.
And by crazy, I mean truly insane. I ponder it for a few minutes before remembering what I told Margie—if you can’t imagine something, you’ll never have it.
My problem is that life has repeatedly shown me I can’t have what I want, therefore the thought of hoping again seems almost futile.
I remind myself that my future does not have to look like the one my mom sees for me. I have a purpose beyond doing everything the way she did, and I’m determined to start exploring my options.