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“SON!” J.R. bellows as he pulls Will into a hug. “Charley.” He squeezes me tight and lifts me slightly off the ground before setting me on my feet. “You look lovely as always,” he tells me as he begins walking towards the kitchen. “Come, your mother is almost finished with dinner.”
Will and I walk hand in hand to the kitchen to find Drew sitting at the bar talking to Diana. Diana has an apron wrapped around her waist, with slippers on her feet, and if I wasn’t seeing it with my own two eyes I wouldn’t have believed it.She’s so domestic. No heels?
“Oh, honey!” Diana says as she makes her way over to us. “I’m so glad you came.” She kisses Will’s cheek and it’s almost as if it’s a completely different Diana.They’re trying, Charley.
“Charley. You look lovely,” she says, pressing a kiss to my cheek and I stiffen slightly.This is so…awkward. Are we just pretending that nothing has happened between us?
“Thank…you, Mrs. Montgomery.”
“Please, Diana.”Diana? Really? I don’t know what it is this woman is selling, but I’m not buying it.
I look at Drew and he hasn’t said anything to Will, and Will doesn’t seem that interested in saying anything either.
“Hi, Drew.” I give a small wave and he stands to make his way over to me.
“Charley,” he says wrapping his arms around me and squeezing me.
The kitchen is silent, the awkwardness amongst five people, four immediate family members, and one transplant almost stifling. “Ummm, where’s your bathroom?” I ask, wanting out of this completely tense situation, and knowing that Will can probably better diffuse the situation without me present.
“Down the hall to the left, baby. Do you want me to take you?”
“No, I can find it…I’m good.” I smile before taking off down the hall. I close myself in the bathroom, locking the door behind me, and lean against the door. I press off the door and drop the lid to the toilet down so that I can sit, crossing my legs and putting my head in my hands.
Make the best of this situation, Charley. They’re trying. I know it’s weird, but they are trying to be nice. You have a baby on the way, and they are the grandparents. Play nice. For now.
I look down at my stomach. “I’m only doing this for you, little one,” I whisper. After a few minutes, I figure it’s time to get back out there. I open the door to see Will standing in front of the entrance, his eyes boring into me.
“Are you okay?” he whispers as his hands find my hair, tucking a group of strands behind one ear.
I nod. “Are you?”
“Yes, come. I want to tell them…are you okay with that?”
“Yes, I’m ready if you are.”
We make it back to the kitchen to see the three of them talking. As soon as we enter the kitchen their attention turns to us.
“Before we sit down to dinner, we want to talk to you about a few things,” Will announces.
“We should move into the living room while we wait for everything to be ready. Everything should be ready soon.” Diana urges us as she removes her apron from her waist. Will pulls me through the kitchen and through a few rooms until we enter the living room. Everything is beige and tan and just so…clean.It makes me wonder what happens when anything is spilled. Room after room, everything is pristine and untouched like the space is for show and not for really forliving. He sits down, pulling me as close as possible to him. Drew sits in the adjacent loveseat and his parents sit in the two chairs across from us.
“I hate that you’ve reduced us to this,” he says after a moment. “You have my fiancée shaking like a leaf beside me because you make her so goddamn nervous.” He turns to me and I’m slightly embarrassed to be put on the spot. “Baby, are you okay?” he whispers and I nod.
“I’m okay if you’re okay,” I whisper back and he smiles before kissing my lips.
“I’m not doing this bullshit with any of you,” he says looking at his family. “I’m not bringing my family here ever again if you don’t start putting in some effort. And I don’t mean telling her she looks nice or faking pleasantries. I mean a real and valiant effort,” he says. “Because…we are bringing a baby into the world, and I’m not doing it amidst tension and animosity.”
Drew smiles, having known this all along. J.R.’s eyes widen as he chokes a little on his drink and Diana presses a hand to her chest.
“A… baby?” Diana asks, her eyes wide with an emotion I couldn’t quite define.
“Yes, Charley is pregnant. We are having a baby.”
“Oh my…a baby?” Diana asks again, and I nod as I see her attention has turned to me.
“Wow, son…congratulations!” J.R. says as he stands to his feet and pulls Will to his feet in response. “That is wonderful news. How far along are you?” he asks me.Is he drunk? Who is this man?
“About eight weeks,” I say with a smile, my hand immediately going to my stomach.
