Nina's Stillwater Calendar

Tuesday, November 13

Teenage Marriage, Part V: The Belly Glance

I've had enough talk of moving and I never finished my reminiscences on getting married as a teenager so let's get back to my teenage wedding. And no teenage wedding would be complete without endless speculation about whether the bride is knocked up. No one can just ask because that is rude (Although, come to think of it, people asked lots of other questions I would have thought off-limits as well. Well, that's for another post.). Some ask about the bride's health or whether the couple has any plans for a family. But most just stare at the bride's belly. The more determined ones try to get a good look from various angles. I suppose I should have been grateful that people were staring at my belly instead of a little further up, but I wasn't. At least I know a little further up is supposed to have a jiggly layer of fat.

I didn't mind the roundabout questioning and belly glances at first. But that was only because I am pretty dense and didn't realize what was going on. Finally, after a rather odd round of questions about my health and family plans, a friend told me what people were really asking. I felt torn. On the one hand, I was insulted that people thought I would marry a guy just because I was knocked up. On the other hand, here was a golden opportunity to play a prank on dozens of people without any expense on my part.

When Scott and I went to Target to register for wedding gifts, I grabbed the scanner they use for gift registries and made a beeline for the maternity clothes. I wasn't engaged to a fool. Scott saw my face, looked where I was headed, followed my thought process, and grabbed me before I could scan anything. Then he kept a tight hold on my arm until we were safely outside of the Target parking lot. My mother offered to take me back to Target when Scott wasn't around so I could scan some maternity stuff. But I was engaged and 'in love' and 'didn't want to go behind his back', etc. Of course, now I am more mature and I don't play pranks like this anymore. I have learned my lesson. Now I make sure Scott doesn't find out what I'm up to until it's too late.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I love your sense of humor. It reminds me of, well, me. Yeah I know! Scary Huh?

Mamapierce said...

Hysterical. I can totally visualize Scott doing just that...so funny!

Anonymous said...

So...are you hinting to us that you just pulled a prank and Scott doesn't know yet??? And you should have totally taken your mother up on her offer. Besides, even if you had been pregnant when you got married, it was nobody's business but yours and Scott's, even if it was public knowledge. People just need to learn to butt out of other peoples' lives until invited in. That's my three cents.

KC

maggie said...

I totally remember you talking about wanting to do that prank, and always thought it was really funny. I never thought that people actually were assuming you were pregnant, though.