Emilie's Baby

Twelve

Rowan

Dammit!

I was late for Emilie's surprise party.

I had actually been held up at the store trying to buy her gift.

Well, it was a little more than any regular birthday gift. It was an engagement ring.

I'd searched for weeks for the ring that would fit her just perfectly, something that was simple but also flashy in its own way, something that screamed Emilie's personality. I'd found it in a catalogue while we were waiting at the Doctor's office, and I ended up having to haul my butt back to the place and asking to see the magazine so I could find the makers. Luckily, the store was local, and they carried it in her size. They hadn't been able to get the perfect ring in until today. I was paying a lot for this damn thing, couldn't they have overnighted it?

Guess not.

Yes, I'm aware of how cheesy that is. Propose to her on her birthday in front of everyone? Talk about cliches. Frankly, I didn't give a shit.

My phone was ringing in my pocket, singing some obnoxious song that I had let Nick pick out for himself, and for the life of me, I couldn't balance the damn bag I had the ring in and the bag of baby goodies I had from my mother. I probably looked like a moron trying to juggle the bright blue bag with giraffes on it and the Taylor's Brothers bag, attempting to scratch for the large triangular shaped bulge in my pants pocket.

I grumbled under my breath and continued on my way to the car, barely paying attention to the shouts from others as I crossed the street. They were probably pissed about the basketball game on tonight.

Ten minutes later, after fumbling with my keys and dropping them in the floorboard a whopping six times, I was on the road and once again fumbling for my screeching cell phone, wondering if I should toss it out the window instead of answering it. Of course, that would only succeed in pissing Nick off and I wouldn't hear the end of it after I finally made it to the party.

For a moment, I wondered why I couldn't reach my phone until I realized that I'd gotten pissed off as I reached the car and pulled it out of my pocket, only to toss it in the passenger side.

Today wasn't really my day.

Briefly, I took my eyes off of the road to see how far over it was, and the quickly back on the road. Satisfied that for a few seconds more I would be safe, I glanced over, my finger tips grazing the black Otter Box skin. Finally, after a few narrow misses with a random mailbox or tow, I grasped my phone, looking down to unlock the screen.

The last thing I saw as I looked up was a bright red pick-up headed directly for me.