(BBW = Big, Beautiful Woman)
Ryan and Raven have lived next door to each other their entire lives and were best friends as children, but when they reached adolescence, their lives went in different directions and they drifted apart. Now in their early 20s, Raven, once a chubby girl and now a BBW (big, beautiful woman), has had her life come crashing down around her, but Ryan's there to see her through it.
Mature themes in Part 1 include mention of pre-marital sex, pregnancy outside of marriage, mild profanity, depiction of domestic violence, mention of abortion, and childbirth.
Part 1 includes the following chapters:
Chapter 1: Backstories
[Warning: This chapter has a violent scene at the end. That portion of the chapter may not be suitable for all readers, especially those who have been victims of violence or are easily triggered by depictions of violence. There’s a second warning in the text just before it gets ugly, so that you can easily skip that part.]
Ryan Andersen and Raven Parrish had known each other their entire lives. They were born only a few weeks apart and their families were next door neighbors on a suburban cul-de-sac. Raven was much younger than her siblings, and for several years Ryan was an only child; eventually becoming the oldest child. There were no other children anywhere near their age in the immediate neighborhood, so the two were natural playmates from the very beginning.
Ryan had dark blonde hair, was tall, slim, and handsome, and was the quiet and serious type. Raven had dark brown hair which she liked to keep long, and was always on the plump side but very beautiful. She was outgoing and talkative and was always looking for fun. But despite their differences, they always enjoyed playing together. Like children everywhere, they would occasionally play house, where Ryan was the husband and father to Raven’s dolls, and of course Raven was the wife and mother. To Raven, this was just a game, but even at a young age, Ryan took it seriously and imagined himself someday actually being married to Raven and having children together. And he never forgot this, ever.
As they grew older, they enjoyed other activities together. Ryan’s family went to church, while Raven’s didn’t, but they didn’t object to Ryan’s family bringing her with them, so the two were often in Sunday School together. Both were in recreational soccer leagues, and so they would often practice their soccer moves on each other in the middle of the cul-de-sac. It’s safe to say that the two were best friends through their pre-school and elementary school years.
When they reached adolescence and started middle school, everything changed. Raven, with her personality, got into the popular crowd, and once she developed breasts, hips, and a round ass, had no trouble attracting boys, and she loved the attention. It didn’t hurt any that she became a cheerleader. She was never in the top tier of popularity; she wasn’t homecoming queen material and wasn’t hot enough to interest the quarterback of the football team, but she was definitely in the second tier.
Ryan wasn’t a part of the popular crowd, and had no desire to be. But neither was he an outcast, either. He played on the school soccer team, and got into student government, both of which were in his favor, and he was liked well enough by everyone. He also became a Boy Scout and kept his grades up. But to Raven, he had become like a nerdy brother who was holding her back socially, so the two drifted in different directions.
These differences continued into their high school years. By then, Raven had quite large breasts; she was easily a DD, and so many guys didn’t mind too much that she was also overweight at 5 feet, 3 inches, and about 175 pounds. She dated one jock after another and was sexually active. Her school grades were a low priority. Ryan dated a few girls who like him were attractive but not extremely popular, but he remained a virgin. By the time he was in his junior year, he had earned the rank of Eagle Scout and was vice president of the student council.
Raven seemed to always end up with the bad boys – the jocks who drank and used drugs, had fast cars or rode motorcycles, and didn’t know how to be a gentleman to a lady. She got the impression that they were interested in her body, but not really in *her*. They took her for granted, expected her to put out, and in some cases were emotionally and even physically abusive to her. She’d end it with one guy but then get involved with another just like him.
Ryan, on the other hand was always a perfect gentlemen to the girls he dated. But this worked against him. The girls’ mothers always thought the world of him; they were mature enough to know what a great catch he was. But, to the girls themselves, he was too nice, too clean cut, too vanilla. A church-going, A student Boy Scout just didn’t get their hearts aflutter. And so his relationships never seemed to last very long, and it was always the girls who dumped him. But maybe it was just as well; none of these girls were Raven.
Ryan was accepted to the flagship state university, but it was close enough to home that he continued to live with his parents and commuted to his classes. He chose to major in accounting, which was a lucrative field that suited his personality well. But he found that as a commuting student, it was hard to meet girls, and so his social life was very much lacking in the girl department.
Raven’s grades weren’t good enough to get into that school; instead, she went to a less prestigious college with lower academic standards that was a couple of hours away from home. There, she got into the same kind of crowd and into the same kind of relationships that she had in high school. Raven really didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life, and so she didn’t declare a major, instead just focusing on the general classes that every underclassman had to take, and choosing a few elective classes in fields that she thought might be interesting.
And so, towards the end of the fall semester of her sophomore year, despite the precautions they were taking, Raven became pregnant by her current boyfriend Logan, another typical abusive jock type. She didn’t realize this until after winter break and they were back for the spring semester, when she started experiencing the typical early symptoms of pregnancy and got tested at the student health clinic, where her suspicions were confirmed. Raven was afraid to tell Logan, because she knew he’d be furious at her, as if it were only her fault. And she couldn’t bring herself to tell her parents, either. So she did nothing.
But Logan knew something was up and he wasn’t happy. Raven was more moody and distant. She often complained of not feeling well, and he personally observed her running to the bathroom to throw up on a few occasions. She seemed to have to pee an awful lot. She just wasn’t fun to be around any more. Just before spring break she was nearly four months along, and while she could still hide her bump under clothing, Logan managed to get a peek at it, and he put two and two together. He confronted her.
[Warning: If you’d rather not read the dark, ugly part, now is the time to skip to the next chapter. Suffice to say that Logan didn’t take it well and got violent.]
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“You’re not f***ing pregnant, are you?” he asked, obviously very agitated.
Raven knew this was not going to go well at all, and was afraid, but she couldn’t deny the truth. “Yes”, she said sheepishly.
“How far along?” he demanded.
“I don’t know, maybe three or four months”, she said through tears.
“And when were you going to f***ing tell me?” he demanded in a rage. By now he was up in her face and she was cowering, trembling, and crying.
All Raven could say through her tears was, “I don’t know. Please don’t hur…”. That was all she got out before he punched her in the face. She crumpled to the floor and put her hands up to block any further blows as she looked down and started sobbing.
“Well, you’re going to get a f***ing abortion, bitch!” he screamed at her, not leaving any room for debate.
“No!” she sobbed. “No abortion! I can’t do that!”
Enraged, he began beating her without mercy. She screamed in pain. “Shut up, you f***ing bitch!”, he yelled at her. She screamed for someone, anyone to help her. Logan realized she was making too much noise, and someone was going to call the cops. He took off, still enraged.
Heard her they did, and several people within earshot called 911 and reported the disturbance. By the time the police arrived, she was bloody and unconscious, and they called for paramedics. They rushed Raven to the hospital, where she was found to have a severe concussion, a broken jaw, other broken bones in her face, and a broken arm, among other injuries. The doctors could see that Raven was about four months pregnant, but fortunately, the unborn baby did not seem to have suffered any injury.
Raven’s parents got the call that she had been badly beaten and was in serious condition at the hospital near her college. Visibly shaken, they left the house and practically ran for their car to make the two hour drive. Just then, Ryan arrived home from wherever he had been, and saw them in their driveway. He called out to them, “Is everything okay?”, though it was obvious that something was definitely not.
They replied, “No, it’s not!” and as he came closer they told him what they knew. Needless to say, Ryan was also very upset at the news, but not as much as they were.
Ryan quickly assessed the situation. He replied, “You two are clearly in no condition to drive anywhere. I’ll take you there.” They realized he was right, and Raven’s father tossed him the keys to his car. En route, Ryan called his own parents to tell them where he was and what had happened. Ryan’s mother told the three of them that she would be praying for Raven and would start their church’s prayer chain so that others could be praying for her as well.
Logan wasn’t difficult for the police to find, and he was soon arrested and brought up on numerous charges relating to the beating, as well as for resisting arrest and drug possession.
Chapter 2: Stirrings
Raven’s parents and Ryan arrived at the hospital, and a doctor apprised them of her condition. She was in serious condition but her injuries weren’t life threatening. By then she was conscious, but her jaw was wired shut, one eye was swollen shut, and the other nearly so. The doctor told them they could very briefly visit her. Ryan hung back, but her parents insisted that he join them.
“Raven, honey, it’s Mom and Dad,” Mrs. Parrish said as she took Raven’s hand. Raven weakly squeezed her mother’s hand. “Ryan is here with us, too,” her mother added. Ryan thought he could faintly make out Raven attempting to smile. “We’re here for you now,” she continued. “We just want you to know how much we love you. Ryan’s whole church is praying for you. So you just get some rest now, and we’ll see you again when you wake up.”
Raven’s mother let go of her daughter’s hand. But Raven extended out towards her father and Ryan, clearly indicating that she wanted to hold someone else’s hand. Mr. Parrish grasped her hand, and while very much choked up, managed to get out the words, “Be strong, sweetie. I love you!” and he released his grip. Then Raven held out her hand again, obviously for Ryan. Ryan took her hand as the others had done, but didn’t know what to say. It seemed to him that she was holding onto him pretty tightly for being in her condition. Finally, Ryan said, “Get well soon, Raven.” Raven continued to hold his hand for another minute afterwards, until she had no more strength to do so.
After they left Raven, they were met in the waiting room by a police detective. He introduced himself and told them that they had arrested Raven’s boyfriend Logan on felony charges for having done this to her. He would need to speak to Raven when she was up to it and get her statement. In the meantime, he hoped for Raven’s speedy recovery.
By then it was getting late, but neither Raven’s parents nor Ryan wanted to leave. One of them could stay in Raven’s room with her in a reclining chair; the other two would have to camp out in the waiting room. After discussing it further, they agreed that Mrs. Parrish would stay in the room with her, and the two men would find a room at a hotel. Raven’s parents planned to stay with her indefinitely, and they were going to need a place where they could sleep and shower, so they might as well go ahead and get a room now and have a more comfortable place to sleep than waiting room chairs.
Ryan and Mr. Parrish returned the next morning to the hospital. Mrs. Parrish was sitting in the waiting room. She told them, “The doctor is in there with her now. He didn’t want me in there for some reason.” So the two men sat down next to her and waited for the doctor to come out.
A short time later, the doctor came out to talk to them. “Raven’s condition is stable, which is good news,” he told them. “She’s conscious and alert. However, there’s one more thing you should know about her. She’s given me her permission to tell you this. But,” he said, looking at her parents, “you might want to have her friend here take a walk while I tell you.”
Raven’s parents glanced at each other, and her mother replied, “No, it’s okay if Ryan stays.”
The doctor shrugged and said, “Suit yourself. Raven is about 16 weeks pregnant. As far as we can tell, though, the baby wasn’t injured in the attack.” He stopped to let that news sink in. Her parents again exchanged glances, but no one said anything, so the doctor continued. “From what I can gather, her boyfriend attacked her upon learning of this. Also, she’s apparently had no prenatal care thus far. I strongly advise you to get her seen by an OB/GYN as soon as she’s released from the hospital.
“Raven is going to need a long time to recover from her injuries. We’ll probably need to keep her here for a week or more. After that, she’ll still need quite a while to recover from her concussion, and her jaw is going to have to stay wired shut for some time. She’ll obviously need to be on a liquid diet during that time.
“It’s going to be fairly challenging to communicate with her since she can’t speak, and even nodding or shaking her head is going to be painful. Right now one of her hands is immobilized in a cast, and the other has an IV port sticking out of the back of it, so it won’t be easy for her to write. Is she left handed or right handed?” Her parents replied that she was right handed. “That’s good, because it’s her left arm that’s broken. Once the IVs come out, she’ll be able to fully use her right hand to write or text. In the meantime, we’ve taught her how she can answer yes or no questions. One sound means yes, and two means no. She might grunt or moan or tap something to make the sound; whatever she’s up to doing. Do you have any questions for me?”
The Parrishes both shook their heads and thanked the doctor for the information and he left to tend to tend to other patients. The three of them just sat there for a minute to let everything sink in. Ryan was the first to speak. “That poor girl,” was all he could think of to say. Then he added, “She didn’t deserve any of this.” Her parents just nodded in agreement.
Raven’s father said, “Before we go in and see her, let’s make a game plan.” He turned to his wife. “I think one of us should go home and pack some clothes and other things we need for both of us. I mean all three of us, including Raven. We can take Ryan home at the same time. Would you rather go home and get what we need, or do you trust me to do it?”
“Neither,” replied Raven’s mother. “I don’t want to leave her side, but I also know you have no idea what Raven and I would need”. I guess I’ll take Ryan home and get our stuff while you stay here.”
The three of them then went in to see Raven. “How’re you doing, sweetie?” said her father. Raven held out her right hand palm down and wobbled it, indicating she was doing only so-so. All things considered, that was pretty good. “I’m going to stay here with you today while your mother goes home and packs some clothes for us. We already have a hotel room, and so we’ll be here with you as long as you’re in the hospital. Ryan is going to ride back home with your Mom.” “Bye, Raven, honey. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” said her mother as she patted her shoulder.
Raven looked in Ryan’s direction and held out her hand to him. He approached her bed and held out his hand to take hers. But instead, she motioned for him to come closer, which he did. When he was close enough, she tried to reach to give him a hug. Oh, that’s what she’s wanting, he thought. He gingerly tried to reciprocate without touching her anywhere that might hurt. It was an awkward half-hug, but the sentiment was clear. Ryan said to her, “My spring break just started, so I’ll be back to see you soon.” She responded with a thumbs-up sign.
Ryan and her mother then left. Raven wondered why the subject of her pregnancy hadn’t come up. She figured the doctor had to have told them by now. She was sure they were going to be miffed about it. But she failed to realize that that was the least of her parents’ worries right now. She wondered if Ryan knew, and what he thought about it. She then started feeling really tired, and drifted off to sleep.
On the drive home, Mrs. Parrish said to Ryan, “Thank you so much for driving us last night. We were too upset to be able to drive safely, and the last thing we needed was for more of us to end up in the hospital.”
“It was fortunate I was in the right place at the right time, and I was happy to help,” Ryan replied. “My mom would call that God’s timing. Anyway, I’m glad I came, because she seemed happy to see me,” he added.
“I noticed that, too,” said Raven’s mother. “You know, it’s a shame that you two didn’t end up together. You’re such a fine young man. I don’t know why Raven could never see that.”
“The story of my life,” said Ryan. “Girls’ moms always like me just fine. The girls, not so much.” He then changed the subject to something more comfortable to talk about.
Chapter 3: Connecting
Over the course of the next week, Ryan made several trips back to the hospital to see Raven. Her parents were tag teaming, trying to have at least one of them with her at all times, but when Ryan was there they’d usually take advantage the opportunity and both take a break together. Raven was glad they let her be alone with Ryan. When her parents weren’t there, she’d motion for him to come hold her hand. She would then hang on to his hand for dear life the entire time he was there. She couldn’t speak, so Ryan did instead. He told her all kinds of stories about his life ever since they had drifted apart in middle school. Ryan was afraid he was boring her, but she enjoyed catching up with him. Her life wasn’t nearly as interesting as his, nor was it anything to be proud of. The hours seemed to pass quickly for both of them.
Eventually, Raven was well enough to be discharged, and her parents brought her home. She still had her left arm in a cast and her jaw wired shut, and she was very sensitive to light and noise as she recovered from her concussion. But she was rid of the hated IV port, and she could finally express herself by writing or texting.
The first thing she wanted to know was what her parents were thinking about her being pregnant. She wrote out on a pad of paper, YOU KNOW I’M PREGNANT, RIGHT? It was easier to write in all caps.
“Yes, we know, honey”, replied her mother.
YOU DON’T CARE???
“Of course we care. But we’ve had bigger things to worry about. And now that you’re home, the doctor wanted us to get you in to see an OB/GYN right away, so I’ll call mine and make an appointment for you.”
NO ABORTION, Raven wrote.
“Well, you don’t have to make any decisions just yet. We have plenty of time to weigh our options.”
NO ABORTION!!!, Raven wrote a second time, this time underlined and with exclamation points.
Raven’s mother changed the subject. There was no sense upsetting her right now. But she couldn’t understand why Raven was so adamant. Abortion seemed like the most expedient solution to her. But Raven had had enough exposure to Christians to know that many of them equated abortion to murder. She saw their point. There was a helpless, innocent human being growing in her womb. The circumstances it was conceived in weren’t the baby’s fault. She didn’t know what she was going to do with the baby, but Raven was certain about what she would not do.
The second thing Raven wanted to know was what Ryan thought about her pregnancy. So when he came over to see him, she asked him the same thing.
U HEARD I’M PREGNANT?
“Yeah, I was there when the doctor told your parents.”
U PROLLY THINK I’M A SLUT.
“I don’t think anything like that.”
WHAT DO U THINK?
“I think you just got into a bad situation, that’s all. I’m not going to judge you.”
I DON’T WANT TO ABORT.
“I’m glad. I don’t think you should.”
WHAT DO U THINK I SHOULD DO?
“Well, you only have two other choices, I think. Either keep the baby or put it up for adoption.”
I KNOW.
“Well, it’s going to be completely up to you. I think either of those choices is a good one. But you’d be raising the baby as a 19 year old single parent. The father might be in prison for a long time. Even when he gets out, I assume it’s over between you two.”
IT’S WAY OVER. I HOPE HE ROTS IN HELL!!!
“Anyway, it’s not going to be easy to raise a kid by yourself. It’ll be hard to go back to college with a baby to care for, and working won’t be much easier. But I’m sure it would be very rewarding, too.
“But here are some other things to consider. If the kid looks like its father, and maybe even if it doesn’t, you’re going to be reminded of him every time you look at your kid. When the guy gets out of prison, he might want visitation rights. You might have to deal with him every time he comes to see or pick up or drop off the kid. He could be part of your life forever. Or he could even try to abduct the kid. That’s what those Amber Alerts are usually about.”
OMG. I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THAT.
“If you put the baby up for adoption, I think you can choose who will adopt it. You can give it a better home that you could provide. And then you can put that loser Logan out of your life forever.”
DON’T SAY HIS NAME! I NEVER WANT TO HEAR IT AGAIN!
“Sorry. You’ll never hear it from my lips again.”
THX. I’M GLAD I TALKED TO U ABOUT THIS.
“I’m glad I could help.”
Ryan went home and talked to his own mother. “I told you that Raven is pregnant, didn’t I?” She replied affirmatively. “She doesn’t want an abortion. I think she might decide to put the baby up for adoption.”
“That’s good”, his mother replied. “Does she know who she wants the baby to go to?”
“No, she has no idea yet. She’s just starting to think this through.”
“I might know of someone,” said Mrs. Andersen. “You know the Harpers at church? They’ve been trying to have a baby for years now. I could ask them if they’d consider a private adoption.”
“That would be great if you could do that. But please don’t mention Raven’s name. I don’t think she’s ready for that yet.”
Ryan made a point of going over to see Raven regularly, and she appreciated his company. When she wasn’t using her hand to write, she wanted to hold his hand. Neither of them knew where this was going, and at this point it didn’t matter. Raven badly needed a friend, and Ryan was glad that he could be her friend once again. As the weather got warmer and Raven became less sensitive to light, she liked to sit on the swing on her parents’ front porch, hoping that Ryan would see her and come over, or that she could at least get a glimpse of him.
After a couple of months, Raven was able to get the cast off her arm and the wiring immobilizing her jaw removed. She was visibly pregnant now and wearing maternity clothes. Her breasts had gotten much larger, too, up to about an H-cup, and she was also heavier in the butt and thighs. Ryan very much liked her new shape. Actually, that was putting it mildly. Ryan found himself thinking of Raven’s new girth when he pleasured himself.
Ryan was finished with his classes and exams for the semester, and was about to start his summer job as a lifeguard. Meanwhile, Raven was now getting physical therapy to rehabilitate her arm and jaw. Her physical therapist thought swimming would be a good, low-impact exercise Raven could do on her own to strengthen the muscles in her arm. Raven realized she could kill two birds with one stone by going to the pool when she knew Ryan would be working. Ryan always enjoyed it when she came to swim.
Despite the circumstances of her pregnancy, Raven liked the way it made her feel. She felt less self-conscious about being overweight as she now had a good reason for gaining weight. She liked that she had to eat for two and didn’t even have to think about dieting. As a result, she packed on quite a few more pounds than just pregnancy weight gain. Her new and expanding curves made her feel feminine… womanly… fertile, and she found that to be arousing. And above all, she noticed the way Ryan was now looking at her, and she liked that very much.
One evening when they were sitting on the swing together, Raven’s baby started really moving around in the womb. She said to Ryan, “The baby is really moving around right now. Want to see it?” Sure, he said. She lifted up her top, exposing her huge belly. He could see it moving around. She took his hand and placed it on her belly where most of the movement was happening. He wasn’t aroused so much by the movement he was feeling, but more by the way Raven was letting him touch her in such an intimate way.
Raven’s mother, pleased that her daughter was spending so much time with such a fine young man, asked her about it. “You and Ryan seem to becoming very close friends again. I’m glad to see it. Are you developing feelings for him?”
Raven was surprised that she actually didn’t mind the question. “At first I was just glad to have him as a trusted friend. But yeah, I do think I’m falling for him. He’s been so good to me when he’s had no reason to be. I’ve barely given him the time of day for what, eight or nine years now. He’s a breath of fresh air compared to the guys I usually fall for.”
Meanwhile, Ryan’s mother had smoothed the way for Raven to meet the Harpers. They hit it off very well, and were comfortable with each other. The Harpers consulted a lawyer about drawing up adoption papers. The lawyer asked them whether the baby’s father was also willing to give up rights to the baby. That question hit them like a ton of bricks. No, they said. He’s in jail awaiting trial for severely beating Raven. We didn’t even think about him having any rights. The lawyer explained that without his consent, the whole deal would fall through. If Raven gave up her rights and he didn’t, he’d have sole custody of the baby, even if he were incarcerated. The Harpers were devastated at this news.
Their lawyer assured them that this was fairly routine in private adoption cases, and that usually the father willingly gives up his rights to the child. He told them he’d contact the father’s defense attorney and try to arrange for that to happen. He did that, and sent a document for Logan to sign that would allow the adoption to proceed. The defense lawyer took the document to Logan and explained it to him. Logan didn’t take it well. “I’m not signing anything that f***ing bitch wants me to sign!” he exclaimed.
The lawyer laid it out for him. “It’s too late for her to get an abortion. If you don’t allow the baby to be adopted, she’ll have no choice but to keep it and raise it herself, and you’ll be responsible for paying child support for the next 18 years. Your chances are not good for getting even partial custody of the child, and it’s possible that you’d be given no visitation rights at all. You could be on the hook for paying child support for a kid you’re not even allowed to see. If you don’t pay, there will be no end to your legal and financial troubles. Your best strategy is to make this go away by signing the document and letting the adoption proceed. Then you’ll never have to think about the child or the mother again.”
“Give me the damn form!” Logan growled, and he angrily signed his name. The document found its way back to the Harpers and there was no longer anything stopping the adoption.
The time came for the baby to be born in early September. No, not on Labor Day; that would be too cliché. It was actually a few days after Labor Day when Raven began having sporadic contractions. These continued for a few days after that, and then on Saturday afternoon, her water broke. As luck would have it, neither of her parents were home; they had gone to run what they thought was a quick errand together. No big deal, Raven thought. It’s not an emergency, and they’ll be home before long. She called her mother to give her a heads up. “Mom, will you guys be home soon?” Raven asked. “My water just broke.”
Mrs. Parrish replied with concern in her voice, “Honey, I don’t know when we’ll be home. We’re on the Interstate and there’s a huge wreck that happened just ahead of us. There are big trucks turned every which way and one of them’s on fire. Nothing’s moving and we’re between exits.” Raven asked her what she should do. Her mother replied, “Call the OB/GYN and tell him your water has broken and how far apart your contractions are, and he’ll tell you how soon you need to get to the hospital. Are you having regular contractions yet?” Raven replied that she didn’t know; she hadn’t been keeping track. “Well start keeping track. Check the time when each contraction starts and write it down. “Anyway, you should see if Ryan or his parents are around and let them know you might need a ride. If you can’t get a ride any other way, you can always call 911. We’ll get home as soon as we can, but honestly, it could be hours.”
Raven called the doctor but he wasn’t immediately available and would call her back. While waiting, she texted Ryan but he didn’t reply. When the doctor did call back, he told Raven that she should get to the hospital within the next hour or two, or sooner if her contractions were 15 minutes apart. By then, she had had a few more contractions, and she told the doctor that they already were 15 minutes apart, so he told her to go ahead and head for the hospital.
Raven then called Ryan. “Hey, Rave, what’s up?” he answered.
Raven replied, “I texted you but you must not’ve seen it. Are you at home? I need a ride to the hospital. My water broke, and my parents don’t know when they’ll be back. They’re stuck on the Interstate behind a big wreck.”
Ryan said, “No, I’m not home. I just left the gym, and I didn’t see your text. That explains why the traffic is so bad. Everyone must have bailed off the highway and are coming through town instead. I’m on my way home, and normally I’d say I’m about ten minutes out, but it’s going to be longer than that.” Raven asked Ryan if his parents were home, and he replied negatively; they were spending the day visiting his grandparents who lived about an hour and a half away. “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Ryan told her.
Raven texted her mom to keep her updated, first telling her that Ryan was on his way home to get her, again when he showed up, and again when they pulled up to the hospital. It took Ryan a half hour to get to Raven, and then it took them another half hour to get to the hospital with all the traffic. By the time they arrived, her contractions were ten minutes apart. Raven was surprised to find the Harpers, the couple that would be adopting her baby, waiting for them at the hospital. They had wanted to be present to witness the birth of their new son. Raven had completely forgotten about letting them know she was in labor, but her mother had assumed as much and contacted them herself.
At the maternity ward, they put Raven right into a labor room. Of course, Ryan stayed with her. Raven called her mother and updated her, but her parents were still trapped between exits. Raven said to Ryan, “I may need you to come with me into the delivery room. Do you think you’re up for that?”
Ryan looked surprised. “Me? What can I do in there?” Then he remembered the line from Gone With the Wind. “I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout birthin’ no babies!” he said.
Raven had gone to childbirth classes with her mother, who was supposed to be her delivery coach. She said, “I know you don’t. It doesn’t matter. I know what I’m supposed to do. I just need you in there for moral support.” Ryan was uneasy but he told her he would stay with her.
An hour later, Raven was wheeled into a birthing room, with Ryan right behind her. Ryan wisely chose to try to ignore what was going on below Raven’s waist and just stayed up near her head where she could see him. He really didn’t know what he was supposed to do, but he held her hand and tried to encourage her as best he could as her contractions became more frequent, more intense, and more painful. A half hour later, he heard the newborn baby take its first breath and start crying. It was a healthy baby boy.
Ryan stayed with Raven as she was taken to the recovery room and then to a regular hospital room. Eventually, her parents arrived, and Ryan figured this was a good time to make his exit. He started to say goodbye to Raven, but she wasn’t letting him off that easily. “Come here and give me a proper goodbye,” she said as she held her arms out for a hug. Ryan got close enough for her to reach him, and she pulled him in close. “Thank you for being there for me today, and staying with me through all of that. You’re a wonderful friend, Ryan,” she said. Then she added, “I’m sorry I took you for granted all those years,” and she kissed him on the cheek. In her mind, Ryan was already more than just a friend; it just wasn’t the right time to say it out loud.