A melancholy breeze drifted over her face from the half opened window beside the bed. Despite being awake, Izzy laid still, lost in the images that replayed under her closed eyelids. She was afraid that if she moved, they'd fall from her grasp, and she'd find it was all just a dream.
She'd barely slept the night before, her mind so consumed with all of the plans she and Donny had made together. He was coming at ten o'clock that morning so they could tell her parents their decision. Her whole life was on the verge of changing completely.
Releasing an elated little squeal, she opened her eyes and hugged her pillow tightly, kicking her legs up in the air. In just a day's time she'd gone from a girl to a woman.
Soon she'd be Mrs. Barrett—Mrs. Donald Barrett. She'd whispered the name to herself so many times the night before, it felt like it had always been hers. The sound of it was tantalizing to her ears.
It was Saturday, still early enough that only her mother would be downstairs, banging about in the kitchen. She turned on her back with a happy smile, but it was quickly knocked off of her face by a little kick in her stomach.
She glanced over to make sure Maria was still asleep in her bed across the room, then pulled up her nightgown to stare at her bare belly under the quilt. To her horror, she could see it rise slightly with the small movements from the inside. She snapped the gown down, her heart shifting to a quickened pace. She was so excited about getting married, she'd almost forgotten the looming baby issue. There was no way her parents wouldn't find that out, especially when she happened to have a baby a few months after they were married. The thought put a little damper on her bright mood.
Her stomach turned, and a wave of nausea forced her out of the bed, washing away what was left of her happy state. Her feet skidded across the wooden floor as she staggered down the hallway towards the bathroom, her hands spread on either side of the wall for balance. Her traitorous stomach was forcing bile up into her throat, and it burned horribly. Reaching the small bathroom just in time, she flung the door closed and locked it, throwing herself at the toilet. Her insides felt like they were turning upside down as she gagged into the open hole. After a few minutes, she stood weakly on wobbling legs, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror above the sink.
She looked horrid. Her hair curlers skewed, eyes red, her skin pale and drab. Hot tears sprang up and rolled down her cheeks. She was going to be an ugly, elephant-legged bride on her wedding day, and to top it off, she'd be spewing chunks on her wedding night. This baby was going to ruin everything.
An overly anxious string of knocks forced her to pull herself together.
"Izzy!" Maria's obnoxious whine called from behind the door, " Hurry up and get out, I have to pee!"
Izzy bent and splashed water on her face, ignoring Maria's muffled pleas. She had to pull herself together. She couldn't change it. Donny would be there soon, they'd work it out. Everything would be alright.
She took her time brushing her teeth as Maria screamed and banged on the door. The little monster deserved to suffer for the scare she'd given her the day before. With a deep breath, she opened it and strolled out nonchalantly. Her sister's squawking followed her down the hall.
"I'm telling Mama on you!" Maria spat as she slammed the door behind her.
She went back to her room, pulled her hair out of the curlers, and slipped on a plain yellow dress before venturing down the stairs to face her parents. She stopped for a second, her heart fluttering anxiously as she spied them seated at the kitchen table along with her older brother Ricky, and younger brother Sam.
Her father smiled when he spotted her, his favorite coffee cup in his hand. "Hey Izzy, you're just in time. Your brothers and I were debating whether or not extraterrestrials exist."
"Oh, Patrick." Her mother slapped him playfully with a kitchen towel before setting down a plate of steaming pancakes on the table. "It's all a bunch of nonsense. Don't fill their heads with it."
"Oh, but it's real!" He father jiggled his thick eyebrows, his coffee cup swinging around dramatically. "They drive around in these doodads called flying saucers, and when they come out, they're green with big eyes, like huge caterpillars."
"It's true," little Sam said enthusiastically, pointing to the morning newspaper. "Says here, the government knows all about it."
Izzy smiled and tousled his thick brown hair. Sam was eight years old, and she had a particular affection for him. She pulled out a wooden chair and eased herself into it, her stomach still unsteady.
"I agree with mom." Ricky reached a long freckled arm across the table to grab a stack of pancakes, earning a disapproving look from their mother. "It's total nonsense. Just sells papers." He pushed his thick glasses up on his nose. Like Maria, he had a shock of red curly hair that he attempted to keep hidden under a baseball cap at all times.
Ricky was going to college to be an accountant. He was a whiz at math and graduated high school the year before at the top of his class. He'd always been serious, a no nonsense type of guy.
"So what about you, sweetheart?" Her father struggled to hold his cup steady enough for her mother to refill it. "Do you believe there are such things as extraterrestrials?"
The existence of extraterrestrials was the furthest from Izzy's mind. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, changing the subject. "Donny's coming over at ten o'clock."
"Oh, well now," Her father's eyebrows fell, his expression instantly serious. "What's the occasion?"
Her mother set down the coffee pot, and walked over, hands on her hips.
Izzy turned an empty glass in her hands, the nasty bile threatening to erupt back into her throat. "We'd like to talk to—both of you," she said in a suddenly small voice.
"Oh," her mother said, then, "Oh!" Her hands flew up to her face.
Her father set the coffee cup down on the table with a thud, his eyes darkening. "If it's about getting married, you're too young."
Izzy swallowed hard, staring down at the flowered table cloth. "We're in love, Daddy, and I'm finished with school."
Her father's mustache twitched. "Just how much does he make at that garage anyway? Not enough to take care of you, I'm willing to bet. You don't jump into these kinds of things, Isadora. Give it time! You're much too young right now."
Izzy forced herself to look her father in the eyes, her body overheating, bringing with it a wave of nausea. "I'm not jumping, Daddy. Donny and I have dated for a year."
A long, painful silence followed. Izzy shifted her gaze to her hands, biting her lip. Her brothers eyed both her and their father, waiting.
"We'll discuss it at ten," her father said with finality.
***
Ten-fifteen.
Izzy chewed on a nail nervously, trying to keep herself from staring at the front door. She'd finished all of her chores, and was pretending to watch television with her little brother and sister.
Ten-thirty.
He was running late. Maybe, he'd misunderstood the time. She needed to call him.
She shuffled into the kitchen and grabbed the receiver off of the stand, taking steady breaths as each digit spun on the rotary dial. It took three painstaking rings before Donny answered.
"Donny?" She breathed a sigh of relief. "Donny, it's Izzy. I—I was waiting for you to come over. You—or I for that matter, must have had the time wrong. It's alright, of course. You could come over now, that would be just fine."
There was a long pause behind the receiver.
"Donny?" Her voice faltered.
"I'm not coming over, Izzy." His voice had a hardness she'd never heard before.
Her hand trembled on the receiver. "What?"
She pressed the phone tightly to her ear. Something was wrong. Dread crept through her veins, her chest tightened.
Silence. She could barely breath.
There was a sigh on the other end. "It's over Izzy."
Her legs gave way forcing her to lean against the wall, slowly dropping to the floor, the receiver still frozen to her ear. She pushed herself as far into the corner as the cord would reach, curling her knees up against her chest.
"Why would you say that?" she whispered, raw with emotion.
"Oh, come on Izzy, you know why."
She cringed at the anger in his voice.
"Nobody gets pregnant after just one time, I'd be a fool to believe that baby is mine."
His words cut deep into her soul, breaking her completely.
"You told me you were going to marry me," she cried helplessly, gripping her hair with her other hand.
"I wasn't in my right mind," he clipped.
"The baby is yours," she sputtered between sobs. "How could you say it's not yours? You're the only one I've ever been with. Please Donny. Please believe me! I love you!"
"It's over Izzy."
There was a click on the other end and the dial tone flooded Izzy's ears. She held tightly to the phone for several seconds, shock rendering her motionless. Tears streamed down her face, splattering onto the kitchen tile.
She hurt so badly, she thought she would die right there on the floor. She wanted to die. There was nothing left to live for.
A movement caught her eye in the doorway. With swollen eyes she glanced up. Maria stood, her face as white as a sheet—mouth wide open with shock.
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