Southern Belles, a Novel About Love, Purpose & Second Chances (9781310340970) (16 page)

We got through the rest of mass and Richie,
CeCe, and I decided to sneak out before our parents could get to
us. After mass, CeCe yelled down to her parents that she was going
to Trixie Rox with us and would be home later. My parents standing
next to hers looked at us. My father frowned and mouthed something
to my mother. I could see her trying to calm him down, with one arm
tucked around his, nodding her head and mouthing something back to
him.

“You’re welcome.” I heard a voice say just
behind me.

I turned to see Jewel right in front of
me.

“Are you psychotic?”

“I knew your parents didn’t know. And I knew
you didn’t have the courage to tell them. So, again, you’re welcome
for my help.”

I leaned in closer to Jewel before I felt an
arm pull me back.

“You crazy”—I started to say.

“Witch of a person.” CeCe finished my
sentence before ushering me to the door.

I turned to see Jewel’s expression fade from
a smile to a frown.

“We’re in church. She did you a favor in her
own little wicked way. Let’s go get some fries. I know the baby
will thank you for it.”

I was still reeling on the way to the Rox.
The audacity of that girl, I thought.

“I’ve never done anything to her. What is
her problem?” I shouted, not looking for a response.

“Char, that’s Jewel. It wasn’t personal. She
likes drama. You know that.” Richie said, from behind the steering
wheel.

“How is that not personal?” I demanded.

“I never said anything about her when she
got her dragon tattoo. I never bad-mouthed her. In fact, I thought
it was cool. She’s off my list…at least the good one anyway.” I
said, shaking my head.

“Char, that’s just Jewel. Besides, she’s
always been a bit envious of you. You’ve always stolen the
spotlight at holidays for some award or achievement you’ve won.
After a while it gets a little sickening. I don’t mean that in a
bad way—I just think that ah, other people, like her, get sick of
it.” Richie said.

CeCe smiled. “I’d like to go a round with
her.”

“Girl fight!” Richie yipped out loudly.

“Oh my gosh Richie; you are such a guy!”
CeCe laughed.

“I should hope so—at least the last time I
checked I was.” He quipped back sarcastically.

The lights were still on Trixie Rox and only
a few cars were in the parking lot. I hoped Trudy was working. I
needed to talk with her. I needed someone who’d understand how I
was feeling. Richie and CeCe were the best but Trudy had been in my
shoes.

“Hey guys, how was mass?” Trudy caught us as
soon as we came in the door. “Merry Christmas.” She added, walking
over with a coffee pot in one hand and the other hand out to give
us hugs.

“Merry Christmas,” we chimed back in
sync.

“It was okay; CeCe almost got us kicked out
for telling some old people off.” Richie said laughing.

“Whatever Richie.” CeCe retorted.

“Oh and Char’s pregnant.” Richie said.

“Richie! Keep your voice down!” I said
feeling embarrassed about the few people remaining in the small
diner who could have heard.

“What? Everyone knows now.” He said
innocently.

“Richie, the whole world doesn’t need to
know.” I said trying to save face.

“Char, what happened?” Trudy asked, sitting
down with us in the booth.

“Before we left for school I met a guy named
Skylar. I thought he was my soul mate. It turned out he wasn’t but
I didn’t know that at the time. I found out I was pregnant about a
month later after I tried getting a hold of him numerous time with
no luck.”

“Wow, Char. Do your parents know?” She asked
kindly with empathy in her eyes.

“Yes, they found out tonight—just before
mass because my cousin, Jewel, ousted me in front of our entire
family and Father John.”

“Ugh—that must have felt terrible.” Trudy
said grimacing. “I’m sorry Char. At least they know now. That was
the hardest part, in the beginning, for me—was telling my parents.”
She said reaching for my hand. “How’d they react?”

“My dad said he was going to ground me and
is very angry.”

“That’s normal. He’s probably just worried
about you. My parents were really upset for a while. It got better
by the time Charlie came. It’ll get better Char; just hold on. They
won’t stay angry forever.”

“Well, I’m not the only one with news,
here.” I said looking at Richie.

“What?” He said impishly.

“You know what. You didn’t tell me you were
dropping out of school or that you got the lead role in Fiddler’s
Roof! And by the way, congratulations Richie, that’s
wonderful.”

“Oh that—yeah, I figured you were a bit busy
dealing with your own issues to put mine on you too.

I slugged Richie in the shoulder,
lightly.

“Ouch! You’ve got to stop hitting me
girl—especially since I’m not allowed to hit you back!” He looked
at my belly and said “your mom’s a bit violent—you better listen to
her. You let Uncle Richie know if she’s acting up and I’ll get her
for you.” He said, smiling.

“Richie, you should have told me. I’m not
too busy for you, ever. And thank you for sticking up for me with
mom and dad.”

“Anytime—unless you keep beating me.” He
said, moving closer to CeCe.

“Well, what can I get for you all? It’s on
the house since we have things to celebrate and it’s Christmas.”
Trudy said, pulling out her order pad.

“Oh Tru, thank you.”

She walked away towards the kitchen. Cheese
fries would be out soon with milkshakes and hot chocolate. We
laughed and talked about the last week. CeCe shared that her mother
had gotten a new car from James for Christmas and was still
learning to drive it. It was a manual and she had almost run over
the geese next door, after she missed their driveway. CeCe said
that she was sure she still had whiplash from another time when her
mother threw the car into second gear abruptly. Richie told us all
about the play and the cute girls cast beside him. He said he was
putting school on hold for now and that eventually he’d go back.
CeCe and I promised to be there opening night to cheer him on. I
could tell he was so happy; acting was his element.

The conversation went back to me again. We
talked about school and about how I’d balance motherhood. I didn’t
want to quit school. I didn’t want to put it on hold either. I was
afraid that if I quit I may get to busy and never go back. I had to
make something of myself. Hopefully, Grandma Rose could help me
with the baby if I went to the local community college. I still
didn’t know what I was going to do for money though. I had hardly
anything saved and needed to start making some money fast. I’d have
to find a job soon so I could make some money before the baby came.
I didn’t want to live off my parents. I knew they’d let me stay
with them but I didn’t want to be a complete freeloader. I was
going to need diapers and all kinds of baby stuff.

“Here you go—an extra-large order of cheese
fries, two chocolate milkshakes, one hot chocolate and three bowls
of home-cooked chili.” Trudy interrupted.

“Tru, it smells great! Thank you.”

“You are all so welcome. Merry Christmas.”
She said as she slipped in the booth with us. We were the last ones
now and the closed sign was hanging in the door.

“So, Char are you going to be staying with
your parents?” Trudy asked.

“Yes, I think so. There’s no way I can be so
far away from them now.”

“That’s a great idea. You’ll need them.”

“Well, we are short staffed right now—Bonnie
left after she met Julio and they moved to Atlanta. Do you know
anyone who might need a job?” She asked, looking at me.

She had to have been reading my mind. I
didn’t know how I was going to support this baby and I couldn’t ask
my parents to pay for my mistake.

“Really, Tru? I need a job desperately.”

“Can you start Monday?”

“Of course I can. I have an appointment next
Thursday to meet with the OBGYN—is that okay?”

“Absolutely, we can start you off three days
a week and see how that goes.”

“Oh good, I am hoping that maybe I can go to
school locally.”
“Okay, just don’t wear yourself out.” She cautioned.

“Thank you so much Trudy. I really need
this.”

“You’ll be busy, but you should be able to
make some money to put away for the baby.”

“That’s what I need.” I said, feeling
another sense of relief.

Now that my parents knew and I had a job, I
had overcome some of my worst fears, other than my biggest fear of
living a life of solitude, penniless, with dreams deferred.

We finished up eating and I talked awhile
with Trudy about my uniform. Richie and CeCe giggled quietly as
they caught up with crazy stories. About a half hour later we all
walked out of the diner together. We waited for Trudy to lock up so
she didn’t have to leave alone. We hugged and thanked her, again,
before pulling away from the lot as she drove in the opposite
direction. Richie dropped CeCe off and then drove us home. All the
lights were off at home and we crept in quietly. It was now about
three AM. My mother was asleep on one of the sofas. The Christmas
tree lights were still on, casting a soft glow over her face.
Richie headed up to his bedroom. I leaned over and pulled the chord
for the lights out of the socket. I pulled the throw over my mom
and whispered “I love you” before turning towards the stairs.

“I love you too Char.” She said back.

I was surprised. I thought she was sleeping.
I stopped and turned. She was now sitting up. She must have been
waiting up for us, as usual, when we were out late.

“You know we are going to need to talk about
this more. Your dad is very upset and I’m not happy about the
situation you’ve put yourself in but regardless we love you and
will help you through this.” She said calmly.

“Mom, I’m so sorry I disappointed you. I
would have told you sooner. I was just so afraid to disappoint you
and I didn’t know how to tell you.” I said quietly.

“I know honey.” She said walking over to me
in the darkened room.

“Mom, I’m afraid.” I said as she hugged me
tightly.

“I know you are. I also know that it’s not
going to be easy for you but you’ll make it through.”

I could feel the tears flowing down my face.
I needed my mother. I needed her to tell me that she’d be there for
me when others had abandoned me. I wanted to feel like a little
girl again—one that was protected, by her parents, from all the
evils and pain of the world. Children, when they have good parents,
know they’ll be safe, that everything will be okay. I have good
parents, angry parents, but good parents…or maybe just worried,
good parents. I needed to know my mom would stand beside me and her
hug let me know she’d be there, as always, to love me.

“Do you think dad’s ever going to forgive
me?” I asked, sniffling back some of the wetness from my
nostrils.

“In time, he will. He’s angry but that’s
because he loves you more than any man on this planet and only
wants the best for you like I do. But, he’s your father and more
than anything we want you to be happy. Decisions like the one you
made led you to this point in life. Those decisions create a more
challenging life than we want for any of our kids. Just like the
Bible says, we want you to be married happily first before having
kids so that we know you have someone who is committed to you and
who will love you for you. We want you to marry a person that will
be there in the good and the bad times to share them with
you—especially when you’re raising children. Parenthood is not
easy. However, it can be very rewarding. You and your brothers,
imperfectly perfect and wonderfully made have given us some of the
most amazing memories and joy anyone could hope for in a lifetime.
I know this baby will do that for you too—we just wanted you to
have someone to share this little person with first.

“I know mom. I wanted that too. I still want
that but I don’t know if that will happen.” I cried harder as my
mom pulled me over to the sofa to sit down. “I feel like a huge
failure and the possibility of me doing something…anything
extraordinary with my future is bleak now.”

“Honey, don’t count yourself out yet. You
have a lot to offer. You are a gift and this baby will be one too.”
She smiled as she wrapped her hands around mine. “You need to get
some rest. Once that baby comes you’re going to be busy.”

“Thank you mom.”

She bent over and hugged me once more. “I
figured with the timeframe of when you met Skylar that the baby is
probably due sometime in June or late May. Is that right?”

“Yeah, I’m due June seventh. I’ve already
seen the OBGYN a few times, at campus, and everything looks good. I
have an appointment next week with the one around here. Will you go
with me mom?”

“Yes, I will honey. I have one more week off
school. Have you felt the baby move yet?”

“No, not yet; I was really sick for most of
the last school semester and am just starting to feel better.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better honey.
Go get in bed. I’ll see you two in the morning.” She smiled,
slightly.

“Good night mom, I love you. Thank you for
not choking me.”

“Are you kidding, I don’t want to do that to
my first grandbaby…even though I’m still a bit young to be
one.”

“Thanks mom, I’m glad to know you love me
too.” I said sarcastically. “It’s nice to know you’ll wait to knock
me off until after the baby’s born.”

“Oh honey you know I love you and you’re not
going anywhere. You’re going to be up for two AM and four AM
feedings. This nana will help during normal hours. I’ll help but
you are responsible for raising this baby.” She said in a firm but
loving way.

“I know mom. I already got a job at Trixie
Rox, working part-time. I start next week. I also thought that
maybe I could sign up for some classes locally. I don’t want to
stop school; I’m afraid that if I quit now I won’t go back.”