Anne Haven - Because Of The Baby

And sometimes her perfect, overachieving sister could be a royal pain.

This Friday morning, Anita feared, was going to be one of those times. Especially after she told her the news. Without a doubt Melissa would flip.

Oh, she wouldn’t shout and wave her arms in the air, or swear, or do any of the things most people did when they flew off the handle. No, Melissa would stay completely calm. Her very noticeable lack of a strong response would signal her flipped-outedness.

Through the kitchen window of her ground-floor apartment Anita saw her sister’s white Honda pull up in the parking lot.

She’d been washing dishes from breakfast. She rinsed the last plate and wiped off her hands.

Melissa had almost reached the front stoop when Anita opened the door. They greeted each other with the genuine affection they shared—despite the issues between them—and Anita ushered her inside.

“I made some herbal tea to take with us,” Anita said, “since I noticed you stopped drinking coffee last month.”

“Thanks, that sounds great.”

“Just let me get a wool sweater. It’s a bit nippy out today, isn’t it?”

When she returned from the bedroom, Melissa had retrieved the two insulated travel mugs from the kitchen counter. She handed one to Anita. “What’s Troy up to this morning?”

“Working for his brother at the hardware store. Didn’t I tell you?” She grabbed her backpack and keys from the dining-room table and they headed outside. “He started working there to pick up some extra cash.”

“Mmm. I don’t remember hearing about it.”

They passed Melissa’s car. They were going to shop at a little commercial area a mile or so away, and Melissa had suggested walking in order to get some exercise.

Anita shrugged as they reached the street and started off down the sidewalk. “I probably forgot to mention it. I’ve been…distracted lately.”

“Painting a lot?”

“No, it’s just…” She swallowed. How did you tell your younger sister, who’d never made a mistake in her life, that you’d gotten yourself knocked up? “Anyway, um, Troy had to leave before you got here. He said to say hello and he’ll see you on Sunday at Dad’s.”

Melissa glanced at her. “He’s going to be there?”

So far Troy hadn’t made a lot of appearances at the Lopez family dinners. Their old-fashioned father hadn’t quite accepted the man who was living in sin with her. She and Troy had decided to take it slowly instead of forcing the matter.

But now everything had changed.

“Melissa,” she began, “Troy and I have some news…” Damn it. Her voice sounded high-pitched and shaky, but she had to go on. “That’s why he’s coming to dinner on Sunday—so we can tell Dad together.”

“What kind of news? Do you mind telling me now or did you want to wait?”

“No, I don’t want to wait.”

Melissa watched her for a moment as they walked along the busy street. “So…?”

“So, it’s just that—well—I know you’re not going to like this,” she blurted, “but I’m—I’m going to have a baby.”

Silence met her announcement. She was afraid to meet her sister’s gaze, which was silly.

Anita flipped up the spout on her travel mug and took a long gulp of tea. She kept waiting for Melissa to say something in that composed, even voice of hers but the silence continued, stretching out between them. They crossed an intersection and walked half a block.

Finally she risked a glance.

Good Lord, she thought. Her sister’s face had gone pale. All the blood had drained out, giving her a deathly look. She was really upset. It was even worse than Anita had expected.

“Mel?” Anita asked.

Her sister cleared her throat. “Um, this is a surprise,” she said. Her voice sounded funny.

“I know, but it just happened.”

“It…wasn’t a planned pregnancy, you mean?”

“No, it wasn’t.” Anita heard the defensive edge in her voice, but she couldn’t help it. Cripes. She wished this didn’t have to be such a huge, awful, upsetting thing. She wanted it to be no big deal—if not a wonderful, joyous, exciting thing…

“And Troy is the father?” Melissa asked.

She crossed her arms. “Of course he is. I’m only a few weeks pregnant.”

“I’m sorry,” Melissa said. “I didn’t mean to insult you. I just wanted to be sure I understood.”

“Well, you can be sure.” She sounded petulant. Stupid to let herself get like this, she thought. Hadn’t she wanted to convince Melissa she could be a mature adult? “Look,” she said, sighing, “I didn’t mean to say it like that. But I’m positive Troy’s the father. I haven’t been with anyone else since early spring.”

“I see.” Melissa stared down at her insulated mug, still sealed shut. “How does he feel about it?”

“Very good, actually. He’s happy. So am I, for that matter.” And I wish you were, too, she thought. Jeez, Melissa, why can’t you just be happy for me?

“What are your plans?” Melissa asked.

“Well, I’m not having an abortion, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Are the two of you going to get married?”

“I don’t know. Maybe, but later. I don’t want to have a hasty wedding just because I’m pregnant.”

Melissa didn’t reply. She took a sip of tea, her movements a bit too precise as she opened the spout and raised it to her lips. “Mmm,” she said. “This is good.”

“Thanks. It’s my own recipe. Helps with the morning sickness.”

“You—have morning sickness?”

“Yes. Doesn’t everyone? At least the first trimester, I mean?”

Melissa paused, her expression unreadable. “Actually, no.”

“Oh.” Anita shrugged. “Well, I’m one of the lucky ones, I guess.”

“They say it helps to eat several small meals. And to take your time getting out of bed in the morning.”

“Okay, I’ll try that. Someone also suggested those wrist bands for motion sickness.”

“I’ve heard that, too.”

Why on earth, Anita thought, were they talking about something as unimportant as morning sickness right now? Especially when Melissa still looked as if she’d been attacked by a bloodsucking vampire.

How inane.

“You know,” Melissa said, “if you and Troy got married, that might be the best thing for the baby.”

And it would certainly be easier on Dad.

Of course she didn’t say it, but Anita heard the unspoken message. Though he didn’t attend church every Sunday, their father was still very Catholic. His beliefs remained traditional. It had been bad enough when Anita announced she was moving in with her boyfriend. For her to have a baby out of wedlock…

She inhaled deeply. “Look, I know it’s going to be hard for everyone to adjust to this. But I’m not ready to get married. In the long run I think it will be better for everyone, including the baby, if its parents don’t rush into a premature commitment.”

She braced herself to hear Melissa’s excruciatingly logical, well-measured, intelligent concerns. To hear her point out how poorly timed—how very premature—this pregnancy was. And, after all, if she and Troy were going to keep the child, to accept this sudden change in their lives and raise their son or daughter together, then why not go ahead and marry?

Anita knew she couldn’t explain why she felt the way she did. She wasn’t even sure she wouldn’t be ready to marry Troy before the baby came. She just knew she didn’t want to do it right now.

And she wasn’t going to do it just because society said she should.

Surprisingly, though, Melissa didn’t say a thing. Her face was still bloodless and pinched—attesting to her ongoing freak-out—but she made no attempts to reason with her.