Gerri Hill - Pelican's Landing

“Ready to order? I’m assuming you’ll have your usual?”

“Yep. And my mother will have the same. Two teas.”

“Okay. It’ll be right out.”

“Oh, Emily. And I need an order to go.”

“For Jordan? The usual? Extra rice, no beans?”

“Yes, thanks.”

“I guess you must come here a lot if they know what you order each time,” her mother said.

“At least once a week, sometimes twice,” she said. “Either that or Subway. I get a turkey sandwich with mounds of banana peppers on it. I don’t know why I’ve been craving peppers and spicy food.”

“Everyone craves different things, I guess. I was predictable and ate a jar of dill pickles nearly every day.”

“So far, no pickle cravings,” she said.

Her mother folded her hands together, a gesture Annie knew signaled an end to their small talk.

“We want you to move back home with us.”

Annie frowned. “Why?”

“You need to be with your family, that’s why.”

Annie leaned forward, eyebrows raised. “What about all of your worries? What will the neighbors say? What about your friends at church? What about all that?”

“I was…in shock, Annie. You, of all people, getting pregnant? I handled it poorly, I know.”

“Poorly is an understatement, Mom. You turned your back on me,” she said bluntly.

“That’s not true. I asked you not to move out. I asked you to stay.”

Annie shook her head. “I’m not going to argue with you. And thank you for the offer. But no.”

“No? Why not? You’ll need some help, Annie. Once this baby is born, you’ll need my help.”

“And you’ll be welcome to come out to Pelican’s Landing to help, if you’d like. I know Loraine will be there.”

“Pelican’s Landing?”

“The house on the bay. Where I live,” she said. “Surely you saw the sign when you came over for dinner.”

“Who names their house?”

Annie smiled. “Jordan said her grandmother named it before the house was even built. The pier apparently attracted pelicans. It still does.”

“And Loraine? Mrs. Sims?”

“Yes. She’s offered to help. In fact, she gave me some money for new clothes,” she said.

“Are you already running low on money? The baby’s not even born yet, Annie. What will you do when—”

“Stop,” she said, holding up her hand. “I’m not low on money. She offered to help, is all. She’s very nice.”

“Well, considering it was her son that got you into this mess, I would hope so.”

“Mess? I suppose you could look at it like that.” Annie shrugged. “I’m actually getting kinda excited. I don’t see it as a mess.”

“You know what I mean.”

Annie was thankful their lunch arrived, saving her from commenting. Really, her mother was too much for her to deal with.

“This looks good.”

Annie nodded and shoved a forkful into her mouth. The sour cream and cheese melted in her mouth and she moaned with pleasure. Yes, she could eat this every day.

“Annie, will you at least consider moving back with us? Please?”

“Why, Mom? I love where I am. It feels like home to me now.”

“You are living with a… lesbian ,” her mother spat. “Do you not care what people are going to say about you?”

“Oh, God…are we back to that again? First of all, who is going to say anything about me? People from your church? How would they even know about Jordan?”

“Rockport is not a big town, Annie. Of course people know. Her parents are as well known as anyone in town. You think people don’t know about their daughter?” Her mother leaned closer. “I heard that was the reason she never comes back here. Because her parents don’t want her around. They’re afraid it’ll affect their business.”

“Gossiping, are you?”

Her mother had the grace to blush. “I simply overheard someone talking.”

“Right.” The enchiladas were so good. Too bad she’d lost her appetite. She put her fork down. “Listen, I don’t care what people say about me. They don’t know me. They don’t know Jordan. I’m happy there, Mom. I’m almost thirty years old. I have no business living at your house.”

“You have no business living with that woman.”

Annie met her gaze. “What are you afraid of, Mom?”

“I just think it would be best for all concerned if you moved back home.”

“You mean, best for you,” Annie said. “Look, I want you in my life, Mom. I want you there when this baby is born. I want you involved in that. But I will not put up with your constant badgering over it. Jordan is…she’s there for me, Mom. No matter what, she’s there. I trust her with my life. And her parents are going to be there for me too,” she said. “So I really, really wish you’d get over this already. Because I want you there for me too.”

Her mother stared at her. “It’s like you’re throwing your life away. Why, when Derrick came to see you—”

“I was wondering how long it would be before you brought Derrick’s name up.” Annie pointed her finger at her mother. “It’s none of your business, Mom. Derrick and I talked. He knows we’re not ever getting back together. I’d hoped he had passed that on to you.”

“He’s a good man, Annie. You need—”

“I don’t love him,” she said. “Don’t you know that by now? Why would I go back to a man I don’t love?”

“Security, for one.”

“I’m sorry, but my happiness means more to me than that.” She held a hand up and waved at Emily. “A to-go box, please.”

Her mother looked at her plate. “You’re not eating?”

“I’ve lost my appetite.”

“And I suppose you blame that on me.”

Annie laughed. “You’re too much.”

“No, you’re too much,” her mother said. “You won’t even try.”

“Try what? What are we talking about now? Try with Derrick? Try moving back with you? Try getting along with you? What?”

Her mother reached across the table and took her hand. “Annie, where did we go wrong?”

Annie rolled her eyes. “Really? That’s your next move?” She pulled her hand away. All of this drama because she was pregnant? She cringed, imagining what her mother’s reaction would be if she knew she and Jordan were sleeping together.

“It’s like you don’t care, Annie. You don’t care about us.”

“Do you hear what you’re saying? Because I’ll say it back to you. It’s like you don’t care, Mom. You don’t care about me .”

“Nonsense.”

Annie held her hand up. “This is getting us nowhere.” She gave a relieved sigh when Emily brought over Jordan’s lunch bag and her to-go box. “Thanks,” she said, quickly scraping her mostly uneaten meal into the container.

“So you’re leaving?”

“I can’t possibly take another minute of this very enjoyable lunch,” she said sarcastically. “Thank you so much. It’s always a pleasure when we have these talks.”

“So you’re going to walk away? We haven’t solved anything.”

Annie stood and tossed the money Jordan had given her onto the table. “I wasn’t aware there was anything to solve. I’m happy. You said so yourself. You said I looked happy, I looked radiant.” She bent down, looking her mother in the eye. “So let me be happy. Please.”

She turned and left her mother sitting there, not realizing she was shaking until she was outside. She headed across the street to the store, wishing now that she’d not blurted out her feelings to Jordan. Because right now, she really, really needed a hug from her. The last thing she wanted to do was to talk.

She nodded at Staci as she walked to the back and pushed the door open. She glanced toward the office, seeing Jordan sitting behind the desk. Jordan met her gaze as she entered.