Ivy's Twisted Vine Redux Latrivia Nelson (best selling autobiographies .txt) 📖

door. As he walked to the other side of the truck, he stopped and took out his cell phone. He couldn’t wait another minute to call Brooks.

“Yeah,” Brooks said coughing as he answered the phone.

“Man, you haven’t gotten rid of that damned cold, yet?” Nicola asked looking up at the clear blue skies.

“No.” Cough. “Why the hell are you so damned happy?”

“I just left the doctor’s office with Ivy. Well, I’m still in the parking lot actually, but I just left the doctor.”

“And?” Brooks didn’t seem to see why being in a parking lot was such a big deal, but he was sure that Nicola would tell him.

“She’s having twins,” he said hitting the truck.

“Get out of here,” Brooks said laughing. “Damn man, congratulations! Are you happy?”

“Yeah, I think am,” Nicola said looking at the ultrasound picture again.

“That’s good, man. I think.” Brooks was even confused at what Nicola wanted at that point.

“The possibitlty just blows my mind. Obviously, you can

understand why.”

“Yeah…shit. You need to move out of town now, before it’s too late. Child support in Shelby County is a bitch.” Brooks laughed. They were on two totally different pages. “No, I’m just messing with you man. Well, twins…that makes the possibility of them being yours a lot greater.”

“I know. I don’t want to say anything to Ivy about all that yet. It could just be a coincidence. They run in her family, too.” Nicola said tucking away his new picture in his wallet.

“You sound real excited for a man uninterested in a family,” Brooks mocked Nicola.

“Maybe, but I just had to let someone know the good news. I don’t know. This morning when I woke up, all I could think about was how I didn’t want to be here, but now, I’m really glad that I came.” He was somewhat embarrassed by his new excitement.

“Just promise me one thing, man.” Brooks blew his sore nose and sighed.

“What?” He really didn’t want to hear what Brooks had to say, but he listened attentively. Resentfully.

“Promise me that you won’t loose sight of the fact that Ivy is another man’s fiancée and that there is always the possibility that those twins, regardless of the coincidence, are another man’s children. I don’t want you to wind up getting hurt in the end.”

Nicola lowered his voice. He really didn’t want Ivy to hear what he was about to say. “It’s not the girl that I’m here for, Brooks. I just really want to be apart of this experience, just in case the kids are mine.” He could feel his spirits coming down. “Like I told you the other night, what Ivy and I had was temporary. I’m not even interested in her, especially now. I just want to do what’s right by her, because I did sleep with her.”

“Alright, that’s commendable” Brooks said hearing frustration in his friend’s voice. “I don’t mean to bring you down, but it’s my place as your friend to try to keep you grounded.”

“I’m not going to get hurt. Damn, you act like I’m in love or something.” He breathed heavily and looked at his watch. “Look, I’ll be down the precinct by three. Call me if you need me.”

Chapter Thirteen: Comparisons

Chapter 13

COMPARISONS

“I’ve decided not to hide my pregnancy anymore,” Ivy explained to her mother as they walked through the Wolfchase mall.

At first, Ivy was concerned about the contempt that others would have for her pregnancy. She was after all the former Ms. Bryton-Ritz College, a title that carried great weight at her school and in her community. She was a new employee at Yveson and Letehwich, which required a great deal of time and effort. But more importantly, her own self-image did not reflect that of a young, possibly single mother. She had always pictured herself conquering the world and then eventually settling down to have children. Now, she had to both at the same time.

In dealing with her new reality, Ivy tried feverishly to hide her secret. And as much as possible, she avoided anyone outside of family and Trina. But the more she bonded with small beings resting in her womb, the more she refuted giving in to the great expectations others had placed on her and that she had placed on herself. She was starting to realize that she could recreate herself to be a stronger, more aggressive creature.

“Do your professors know about the situation?” Sadie asked. Although Sadie had been extremely worried at first, now she relished in the thought of beautiful grandchildren to dote after and love unconditionally. She missed having children in the house and the pitter-patter of little feet.

“No. I just tell them that I have to go to my doctor’s appointment or that I’m not feeling well. I didn’t want them running back telling everyone on campus. But now, I really don’t care.”

“Pretty soon, they’ll notice anyway.” Sadie stopped to look at the Anne Taylor window display. She definitely needed new clothes now that Madison was coming to stay for a while. “It’s high time for you to embrace this pregnancy and forget other people.”

“You’re probably right. But I’ll cross that road when I get to it,” Ivy said rubbing her stomach.

**

Later that evening after Ivy had put away all of her new clothes, she sat in the floor of her closet crying softly. Get a grip on yourself, Ivy commanded herself to listen. Wiping her eyes, she took a deep breath. It was nights like this when she was alone in the quietness of her room that her past came back to haunt her. She could hear Nicola’s voice whispering in her ear and feel his hands at the base of her back. She could see his dark brown eyes staring her in her face and his body hovering over hers in the silence of his bedroom. And when she tried to close Nicola out of her mind, she would see Grey begging her back, holding her close, putting that ring back on her finger and