Bragging Rights

Chapter 1

"Why are we here?" Patina looked around the room in confusion.

"It's yours." Larissa reached out to hug Patina. Patina fell into Larissa's embrace and cried tears of joy for the first time in almost a month.

All the crying Patina had done in the last three weeks was from the pain of losing her baby and her long-time boyfriend, Cameron. Her biggest regret was the loss of her child.

"We’re not ready to be parents," Cameron said after the initial shock wore off. Patina had just told him she was pregnant.

"Who’s ever ready to be a parent?" Patina asked Cameron through her tears.

"Successful people plan for their kids, Patina. This was not planned." Cameron stood up and paced their bedroom floor.

"We've been together for six years, Cam. We've talked about kids, and…"

"We talked about having kids in the future, Patina!" Cameron's frustration caused him to raise his voice. He felt himself panicking a bit.

"We're thirty, Cam. This is the future."

"My parents are going to kill me." Cameron was talking more to himself than to her.

"You're a grown man, Cameron! Why are you worried about what your parents will say or do? We're getting married, right? I thought you loved me," Patina was feeling the anger seeping into her pain.

"What?" Cameron looked at Patina like he'd forgotten she was in the room. He was caught up in his own thoughts.

"Are you even listening to me, Cameron? Why do you care what your parents think? This is your life, our lives."

"This is not how I planned my life." Cameron reached up and grabbed the top of his head with both hands.

"Well, I'm pregnant, Cameron. There's a baby growing inside me, so let's deal with it."

Cameron stopped pacing, and Patina watched his expression soften as he came toward her. He sat next to her on the bed and put his arm around her shoulder. When he spoke, his voice was calm and caring.

"How far along are you?"

"About five weeks." Patina relaxed and put her head on Cameron's shoulder. She was glad that he was warming up to the idea of their baby.

"That's not far along at all," Cameron reflected. "No, not really," Patina said as she allowed herself to relax even more.

"Not even really a baby."

"What does that mean?" Patina asked as the warmth she was feeling started cooling off quickly.

"I mean, we can always have a baby later. Right now is just not good for us. We're at the height of our earning poten…"

"I know you're not going to ask me to get an abortion, so we can stay at the height of our earning potential," Patina shot up to a standing position. When Cameron tried to gently pull her back on the bed, she yanked her arm out of his grip and started pacing the floor.

Whatever had softened in Cameron was again hard as steel, and he got up from the bed and stood in Patina's path. She had to stop quick so as not to bump into him.

"As far as I'm concerned, this discussion is over. You have a choice to make." Cameron walked out of the room.

A moment later, Patina heard the front door being opened and then slammed shut. At first, she was so angry she couldn't cry. She just stood with her arms wrapped around her ribs and started to shake violently. It must have been the shaking that loosened her tears because she wailed like a wounded animal, melted to the floor and cried so hard she almost hyperventilated.