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Merry
Lying to Slade had been awful and stupid. He was going to find out, eventually, and my goose would be cooked, but it couldn't be helped. I wasn't ready to tell him the truth.
Hell, I didn't even know what the truth was. I only knew I was closer to making a decision than I had ever been, and I had the unexpected encounter with Mariah to thank for that.
Mariah was ultimately a life lesson on not judging a book by its cover. In class, she was gruff, uninterested, and even a little mean, but one on one, she had been an angel, in more ways than one, and I hadn't been able to get our encounter or her plight out of my head, all day.
I even felt guilty, because in truth, I hadn't wanted to take a break from shopping to sit in the bathroom of an ice cream parlor, lending support while a teenage girl took a pregnancy test. But the universe knew better than me, and those few minutes had been the best of my entire day.
The bathroom in the ice cream parlor had two stalls, a tiny old style red leather loveseat, and a small sink. I sat down on the loveseat, and Mariah sat down next to me.
"Aren't you going to take the test?" I prodded, nodding at one of the empty stalls. "I mean, that is why we came in here."
"I know, I'm just scared."
I squeezed her hand. "Someone might come in. Better to just get it over with, so you know. Besides, whatever happens, I'm here for you."
Her eyes filled with tears, and she nodded, clutching the bag tighter as she let go of my hand and marched towards the back stall, closing the door behind her.
I tried not to listen, as the bag crinkled when she opened it, and tried to block out the sounds of the cardboard box ripping open. With nothing else to do, and wanting to give the illusion of privacy while she conducted her business, I pulled out my phone and begin playing on it.
I couldn't help but listen, though. I knew when the stream stopped and when she set the test on the back of the toilet to wait. I held my breath when she flushed and bit my lip, standing as the door to the stall opened.
The relief on her face was undeniable. "Negative!" she cried, a little too loudly. "I'm not pregnant."
She rushed me, knocking me back onto the loveseat with the force of her hug, and I hugged her back just as tightly.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you," she wept.
I knew she wasn't talking to me, so I stayed silent.
Finally, she extracted herself from my arms and sat on the couch beside me.
"I'm so relieved," she wept.
I only nodded. "Probably want to use protection, next time," I warned, trying to be the adult in the equation, even though I had little room to talk.
Mariah shook her head. "There ain't gonna be a next time. Not while I'm still in school. I have plans for my life, and I can't believe I almost let them get ruined just because a football player was paying some attention to me. I'm so disappointed in myself."
"I think it happens to most of us, letting temptation lead us off track in some way or another," I sympathized. "But you got lucky, this time, and you learned something, right?"
"Yes, ma'am!" She nodded emphatically.
I giggled. Nobody had ever called me ma'am before. "Just Merry," I corrected.
"Okay. Hey, Merry?" She turned to me with a soft smile. "I'm really glad I ran into you, today. And I'm really glad you're at the ranch. It's been so much better since you got there."
I stared at her slack-jawed. It was the last thing I expected her to say. "But, I yelled at you. I'm kind of hard and awkward, and I don't know the horses very well, and I'm kind of mean."
Mariah snorted. "Girl, you ain't seen mean. I've seen mean, and you ain't it. You're real, You treat us just like normal people. Everyone else treats us like they wish we didn't exist or like we are a glass about to break. Not you. You just treat us the same as anyone else. You're kind, when you need to be, but you don't put up with any crap, either. I like that about you." She was blushing and staring down at her feet. I could relate.
Finally, she looked up, gave me a quick hug, and stood. "I should let you get going. I know you probably need to help get ready for the party, tonight. But, I'm really glad you were here."
The memory brought a smile to my face. Who knew that what I had thought would be the hardest moment of my day would turn out to be the best?
I was glad Mariah wasn't pregnant. But as the day had worn on, and the memory had lingered, two thoughts had been on replay in my brain.
The first one was that Blake and Slade had been right. I was doing a good job. The kids didn't hate me, and I wasn't ruining their lives. Quite the opposite, if one were to believe Mariah.
The second one was why hadn't I grabbed a test for myself while I was there?
