Chapter Thirty-Three: A Sharp Left Turn

Lani and I saw a lot of each other after my breakup with Kelly. I felt totally immersed in a warm, fuzzy blanket of sensation. But that little guy in the back of my head, that little punk that just couldn't let things be really just fine with me was whispering in my ear:

"She's way too good for you. You're a loser with no future. Give it time and she'll realize her mistake."

The worst thing was, I couldn't prove it wrong. But I had a lot of blind hope. And I just could not resist her charm. To my mind, she was as perfect a woman as I had ever met and I was going to enjoy the moment.

Lani worked at the local Bob's Big Boy as a hostess. I would slip away from my solo shift at the photo lab to go have coffee and pie and talk to her when it was slow. She was also going to travel agent school, and some of the other students had pitched in for a trip up to Mammoth Mountain for some skiing. Lani asked me to go along, and even though I had never stood on skis in my life, I agreed readily.

In the meantime she came over to the Strand to spend the weekend a few times, blending in pretty well with the domestic scene we had going. I was starting to feel like this could be a longer-term thing than I was used to.

One night I made sure everything was humming along OK at the lab and went up to Bob's for some dessert. Lani greeted me with a strange sort of expression. She took her break right away and came to sit across from me in a booth.

"I'm late." she said.

"Late...."

"My period. I missed the last one a few weeks ago and I think I'm going to see a doctor about it."

"Do you think you're...."

"I don't know."

Now here, ladies and gentlemen, is that moment one plays in his mind over and over, wondering what would have happened if he had said the next line just a bit earlier:

"You're not on the Pill?"

That's the one. So we lived in doubt for a while until she got the results back. See, back then there were no in-home tests, so we had to "be careful" when we went on the ski trip. We had a great time, and Mammoth Mountain had record snowfall. Here's a pic of Lani digging out the VW Bus we all rode up on.
It was also my 23rd birthday that weekend. I look back on it now, with two kids older than that and one nearly 19, Lani's age at the time, and all I can think is: way too young.

The day we went up the mountain I was scared shitless. I hadn't taken any lessons, knowing only that if I got in trouble I could "snowplow" the skis to stop. We went up the lift to the are called Gravity Chute, a double-diamond run. I barely survived getting off the lift and getting down to a flat area. Then it was down a single-diamond run to the lodge. Praise Mommy Nature for all the powder on the hill. It made those runs much easier. I snowplowed when I was going too fast at one point and the tips dug into the snow, catapulting me into the air and face-first into the white stuff. I stuck to the sides after that, making my way down to the lodge for hot chocolate, then booze. Back at the room we got a nice buzz on, (except Lani, who still Didn't Know), and went to the hot tub. It was the first one I'd ever seen, much less sat in. It was in the middle of all that snow and we took turns getting all heated up in the water and then rolling in the snow. That sucked every past ounce of energy out of me......almost.

We got back from the trip still feeling that thrill of early courtship, the issue of impending parenthood seeming more like an adventure than an awesome responsibility. Our discussion about it lasted all of five minutes. I told Lani that no matter what, I was very much in love with her and that I wanted to marry her. If she was pregnant we would get hitched soonest possible. I guess that's what passed for a proposal and to my surprise and great delight she said Yes. We were on our way into a truly exciting possibility. I felt like I could conquer the world.

The test came back bearing the news that changed our lives forever. We were in the family way. She called me at home to tell me the news. Joe had some people over, including a hell of a nice guy named Chip Jorgensen. I told them all and we decided to celebrate. Chip went with me to the Corner Store for beer. On the way back I asked for a drag off his cigarette. One puff and it nearly choked me to death. That was it for me and Death Sticks.

Now all I had to do was tell my parents and, oh by the way Ed could you tell Lani's folks as well? Sure. In for a penny in for a pounding, that's what I say. What a conversation I had with Mom! I paraphrase for the sake of humor:

"Hi Mom."

"Hello, Eddie, how are you?"

"Great, great. Say, remember that girl I told you about that I met a few weeks ago?"

"Who, Kelly? I thought you knew her longer than that."

"No, Ma. Lani."

"I don't think you mentioned her, no."

This ain't gonna be easy, man. Just let it happen!

"Well, yeah. I met her and I think I really love her. And I asked her to marry me. And she's pregnant."

"......................................................."

"Mom?"

"Oh, God."

See, Mom was only 43 and I think she might have considered herself a bit young to be a grandma. The rest of the conversation was mostly about the wedding. We wanted to be married on April 19 and it was already the end of February. Time to make those travel plans!

Now all I had to do was tell Merle and her husband, Neal. We arranged to go fishing down at the Ventura Marina one evening. I was standing next to Neal, poles dangling out over the water, the cold chill of fear running through my veins. Finally I turned to him:

"Neal, I want you to know that I love Lani very much. She's a very special person to me."

"I know what you mean, Ed, she's always been special to me, too."

"We want to get married."

"You two haven't known each other very long. Are you sure?"

"Neal, she's pregnant. I'm the father. The baby is due in October."

Merle overheard that last part and came over to us. She turned to Lani.

"You're going to have a baby?"

Lani nodded. We all looked at each other, then Neal gave Lani a hug and shook my hand. Merle was teary-eyed. Whatever I might have feared didn't come to pass and we started talking about the plans for April right away.

It was tough jumping over those first hurdles, but the really tough ones were dead ahead. As my guy John Irving likes to say: "Beware of the Undertoad."

Chapter 34: The Waiting Game