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I would call his bluff and give him shit for being an asshole if he didn’t attach a picture of her pulling up to her parents' house. Holy fuck. She came back. She fucking came back. It’s like a zap of electricity from the paddles they use in the hospital has been used on me. My heart, which I haven’t felt beat since the day she left six months ago, is thumping like a damn drum. I can feel the adrenaline flowing through me, my mind and body not sure how to react first. Should I go to her? Call her? Give her a day or two to spend with her family? I am all over the place, but it is the next text message that helps me decide.
Lara: Uhhh… Mark…is that what I think it is? Did you know?
The next thing that comes through is a picture of her from the side and unless my vision and my sister's vision have gone caput in the last hour, the picture is worth a thousand words. She is standing in the butcher shop hugging her father and from the side it looks like she is pregnant.
Amazing how quick I can go from being practically euphoric to incensed. She is carrying my child, and she didn’t bother to tell me? Hell no. I didn't know. But I do now. If she didn’t want to be with me, she should have stayed where the fuck she was. Too late for her. She is never getting away again.
Chapter Three
TIFFANY
Why oh why do I have to be a person who values her family? I mean I could have been a person who wanted to get away and didn’t want to be in a small town where a sneeze reaches the mayor's office before a tissue can be retrieved. If that was who I was, this would be so much easier. Instead, I am standing in my childhood home in the foyer, looking at my mom’s face as she stares at my swollen belly, her mouth opening and closing, but no words coming out. “Surprise!” I shrug half-heartedly, trying to fill the silence.
“Yeah, I would say so. I don’t know…I mean. Oh boy. Does he know?” I could feign confusion about the he she is referring to since she could very well be talking about my dad or my brother, but I think we are way past subterfuge.
“No. Not yet anyway,” I say shrugging. The moment I step foot out of this house, and someone sees me from the side, he will know within a few seconds.
“I have no clue how you kept something so big to yourself this entire time, but my dear daughter, I am glad you are home. You and my grandbaby.” She rubs my tummy and the baby flips. I chuckle when she gasps and puts her hand on her mouth. “Oh my word. Was that?'' She stops and looks at me. I can’t help but smile at the wonder on her face and a lot of the tension I was holding just worried about my family’s reaction begins to lessen.
“Yes. She is a busy little girl, who loves it when someone rubs her,” I say, rubbing it myself. As expected, she begins to flip again, and I giggle.
“She? It’s a girl?” I nod, wiping away a tear. She reaches for me and hugs me once more. “You know he has seen no one since you left, Tiff. He walks around like a sad puppy, not smiling and speaking to no one. I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but the entire town knows you two are made for each other so whatever it is, fix it. That baby deserves a father, and he has a right to know. From you.” She accentuates before kissing my cheek and walking out the room. “Oh and go see your father,” she yells from the kitchen. Might as well get it over with.
I make the three minute drive to my dad’s butcher shop. Pulling up, I take a second and watch him through the window as he talks to Mrs. Stark. He hands her a package, and she walks out. I smile, remembering the days after school I would spend here with him, helping in the back and checking out people’s orders. My entire childhood is in this town.
I take a deep breath and get out of the car. Making sure my coat is around me to hide the little surprise I am carrying; I walk into the shop. “One second,” My dad calls from the back of the shop.
“Take your time. I just got here. Not going anywhere,” I answer back, stifling a giggle.
“Tiffany?” he says, his voice hopeful as he walks upfront and stands in front of me.
“Hi, Daddy.” He pulls me into his chest, and it happens so quickly that I don’t get to pull my lower half back or prepare him. I know immediately he feels my hardening stomach, especially since right now she chose that very moment to do backflips. “Tiff?” he questions as he looks down and moves my coat aside. His eyes come to mine, and I can read shock, disappointment and resolve. “Now I understand,” he says to me, bringing me back into his arms.
