Danielle Steel - the Wedding (2000)

I'm pregnant. Sam almost choked on the words as she said them. I'm having a baby’ . She just sat there and cried quietly, as Allegra stared at her for an instant and then hugged her.

Oh, sweetheart ‘ oh, God ‘ How did that happen ‘ ? Who did it? As though it had been something that had been done to her, and not something she had shared in. But Allegra had never heard her mention anyone's name, and certainly not a steady boyfriend.

I did it, Sam said, taking the full blame upon herself. She looked desolate, as she tossed the shining platinum hair over her shoulders.

Not all by yourself, Allegra said, unless things have changed a whole lot lately. Who's the father? What words for a seventeen-year-old child: father ‘ mother ‘ not just Who is the boy? It really brought home the idea that she was having a baby, a child, a living, breathing person.

It doesn't matter, Sam answered glumly.

Oh, yes, it does, Allegra insisted. Are you involved with someone at school? Without even knowing him, Allegra wanted to kill him, but she was pretending to stay calm, for Sam's sake. Just listening to her, her heart was pounding and her mind was racing. But Sam only shook her head in answer. Come on, Sam, who is it?

I don't want you to do anything about it if I tell you.

Were you raped? Allegra asked in a rasping whisper, but Sam shook her head again.

No, I wasn't. It's my own fault. I did it willingly. I was so impressed with him ‘ I thought ‘ I don't know, she said, tears flooding her eyes again. I guess I was nattered. He was so worldly and so grown-up. He was thirty. A thirty-year-old with a seventeen-year-old girl? He should have known better, at least, and he obviously hadn't even had the decency to use protection.

Were you a virgin? Allegra asked, overwhelmed with concern for her, and Sam shook her head, and didn't offer further details. Allegra knew she wasn't promiscuous, but she was also almost eighteen years old, and there had obviously been someone before who mattered to her. She didn't want to press her on anything but the present. How did you meet him?

He was the photographer on a shoot I did, she said miserably. He's French. I thought he was so cool because he was from Paris. He treated me like I was a woman of the world, and he was really handsome.

Have you told him yet? Allegra could hardly wait to get her hands on the guy. He'd be lucky if they didn't have him deported. They could have him put in jail for statutory rape. She could just imagine their father. But Sam was looking bereft as she shook her head yet again.

I don't really want to anyway. But I called the agency and they said he went to Japan or someplace. He was just passing through, and they didn't really know him. He wanted the pictures for his own portfolio before he went to Tokyo. Nobody knows how to find him. It doesn't matter anyway, I never want to see him again. He was okay, but he was kind of a jerk in the end. He offered me some drugs afterward, and when I said I didn't want them, he called me a baby. And now she was having one. His name was Jean-Luc. But no one even knows his last name.

Jesus Christ. Allegra was sputtering, she was so mad. Is that how they run their agency? They ought to be put in jail too if that's how they deal with minors.

I'm almost eighteen, Al. I should at least be able to handle a modeling gig without having my hand held.

Apparently not, Allegra said sternly, and then reminded herself that she didn't want to be unduly harsh on her. Sam was in enough misery, and Allegra wanted to help her. That had to remain her focus. And at least her sister had had the guts to come to her with her problem. I assume you haven't said anything to Mom yet.

I really don't want to, Sam said, and Allegra nodded. She wouldn't have wanted to at Sam's age either, although their mother was usually incredibly understanding, and some of their friends had always gone to her with problems, rather than their own mothers. But her mother had been so wound up about the wedding and her show lately, that Sam just hadn't been able to bring herself to tell her.

So what are we going to do about this mess? Allegra asked, with a sinking heart. As far as she was concerned, at Sam's age, there was only one solution. She couldn't see her sister ruining her life by saddling herself with a baby. I'll take you to my own doctor tomorrow. Maybe we don't even have to tell Mom. I want to think about this before we decide, Allegra said, thinking it over.

I can't, Sam said stubbornly, and Allegra looked at her in confusion.

You can't what?

Go to the doctor with you ‘ not to get rid of it anyway.

Why not? Allegra's face filled with terror. You're not going to keep it, are you? Sam, you don't even know who the guy is. You can't have this baby all by yourself. It's just plain stupid. Why was she getting sentimental about this? She suddenly thought of Carmen and her acting like it was already born because she'd seen the fetus on a sonogram, and she wondered if that had happened to Sam already too. Bonding.

I can't get rid of it, Al, not with an abortion anyway.

Why? Her family had strong morals, but they were reasonable generally, and they weren't Catholic. Allegra couldn't understand it.

I'm five months' pregnant.

What? Allegra almost fell out of her chair when she heard the words. Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner? What have you been doing for the last five months? Dreaming?

I didn't know, Sam said honestly, tears spilling onto her cheeks and from there to the table. I swear. My periods are so irregular, I just thought that maybe it was from too much exercise or dieting, or exams, or worrying about getting into college ‘ I don't know. I never thought I could be pregnant.

How could you not even suspect? Isn't it moving or something? Does it show? She glanced at her, but she was rail thin and wore baggy clothes, so Allegra could see nothing.

I sort of thought I was just gaining weight, and I've had this enormous appetite. And then she looked even more miserable. It didn't move till last week. And then I felt it. I thought maybe I had cancer and it was exploding inside me or something. The poor kid had no idea. There they were in the civilized world, in one of the most sophisticated cities in the country, and poor Sam thought she had a tumor. Talk about denial. Allegra felt desperately sorry for her, but the problem was so complicated now, it really required some serious thinking.

You'll have to give it up, I guess. Sam just stared at her, numb. She couldn't even conceive what the it was. They had offered to show it to her on a sonogram, and she had refused to see it. She didn't want to know its sex, or know anything about it. She didn't want it to be there.

What am I going to do, Al? I'll have to run away if I don't tell Mom and Dad soon. That was a frightening thought. The whole situation was a disaster.

You can't do that.

I don't know what else to do. I thought of running away all last week, but I wanted to talk to you first. The very thought of it made her shudder.

We have to tell Mom. If she really has a fit, or they throw you out or something, you can come and stay with me till you have it. She looked up at Sam again then. When is it due? This was beyond awful. And this wasn't Carmen. It was her seventeen-year-old sister.

In August. Al ‘ will you help me tell them? Allegra nodded and the two sisters held hands across the table. And a few minutes later, Allegra noticed two women with buzz cuts smiling at them approvingly. They thought she and Sam were lovers. It was the only thing that had happened so far that actually made her smile, and she mentioned it to Sam as she paid the check finally. It had been some lunch. She had acute indigestion.

When do you want to tell them?

Never, she said honestly. But I guess I'd better tell them soon, before it starts to show or anything. Mom has looked at me funny a couple of times when I took too many helpings of breakfast. But she's been so busy with the show, and the backyard, and you and everything, I don't think she's really noticed. And Dad doesn't have a clue. He still thinks I'm five years old and should be wearing pigtails. But they both loved that about him. In spite of being worldly-wise in so many ways, there was an innocence about him that really touched them. He believed the best of all of them, and of most of the people he knew. He rarely said anything unkind about anyone. And Sam knew this was going to break his heart. She would have done anything not to tell him, but she knew she couldn't.