AllFreeNovel
Share Us
. . .
Maren
With All Due Respect, Sir
Silence.
Awful, ringing silence that makes me wish the floor would open up and swallow me whole.
I fight the urge to cry. I feel like I’ve cried a lot recently, and I’m tired of it. I want my parents to see that I’m excited about this baby, not sad or scared.
Nervous, yes. Shocked, sure. But more than anything, excited. I’m a grown woman now, and they have to trust that I know what I want.
I want to be a mom. I want to be with Tuck. And I have to show my parents that I’m unwavering in my commitment to those things. Falling apart would just make them freak out more.
“You’re joking,” Mom says at last, but her eyes are glassy.
Tuck shakes his head. “No, Leigh, we’re not. Baby is due May twenty-fifth, which puts us just shy of ten weeks.”
Dad opens his mouth, then closes it. Opens it again. “I honestly don’t know what to say.”
“I’m excited,” I say, my voice shaking along with the restof me.
“We’reexcited,” Tuck says.
“Is this why y’all are together? Because Maren got pregnant?”
“No.” Tuck clears his throat. “Well, we were friends before it happened?—”
“So you’re saying y’all weren’t dating when you...” Now Dad’s clearing his throat. “Did whatever you, uh, did.”
“I think it’s clear what they did, Mark.”
“Mom.”
“What?” She turns to me. “I can’t believe you let this happen.”
“I was there too,” Tuck replies darkly. “I’m also at fault.”
Mom ignores him. “How many times did we tell you to finish school first? Get your career off the ground? You’re too young.”
Dad nods emphatically, setting a forearm on the table to lean toward me. “Way too young.”
Okay, now I’m really shaking. But the emotion coursing through me feels different all of a sudden. Like my sadness is morphing into something else.
Something that feels a hell of a lot like anger.
“Maren is young, yes.” Tuck grabs my hand and holds it. “But she’s incredibly mature, and she already has a strong sense of who she is and what she wants. She’s got ambitious plans for the future, which is one of the many reasons why I adore her. This baby doesn’t change that.”
Dad’s face turns pink. “Like hell it won’t. We know firsthand how a baby puts things out of reach.”
“But my situation is different, Dad,” I say. “I already have my degree. I’m not dropping out of my master’s program either, so I’ll have a second degree by the time the baby gets here.”
“And what exactly do you think you’re going to do with those degrees when you have a newborn to care for?” Momshakes her head, a sad look on her face. “A baby is going to put you so far behind, sweetheart. I just—I’d hate to see that happen after how hard you’ve worked.”
The server approaches with our first course. Tuck, being the consummate host he is, thanks him. We sit in more terrible silence as the server, plus a small team of helpers, set the food in front of us. I vaguely notice how beautiful the presentation is: soft burrata cheese with apples, arugula, and candied slivered almonds, all drizzled with a decadent balsamic glaze.
I wish I was hungry.
