Page 69 of Under the Influence

My pa asks me, “Why wouldn’t you tell him?”

“He isn’t sure he wants more kids.”

My pa glances at my ma before scowling at me. “That seems like a huge stumbling block.”

“I wanted to give us a chance to be a normal couple before he had to make the choice.”

“But you’re pregnant,” he says and hugs me. “He should know.”

“Lying stresses you out,” Ma-Journey adds. “That’s why you got upset today.”

“I can’t tell him tonight.”

My pa holds me against him and sighs. “Tomorrow then. He’ll come to dinner like we planned. You’ll tell him the truth. If he gets upset, you’ll give him time to adjust. That’s what your ma did with me when I got rattled about our relationship.”

Ma-Journey frowns. “That’s not how any of that happened.”

“You’re remembering it wrong.”

My parents scowl at each other while I tug Ma closer. “I need lots of affection. I’ve flipped out a lot today.”

“She went full Earlham,” Ma-Journey tells my pa.

“You were overdue,” he says and chuckles at my ma’s expression. “But you’re okay.”

“Why are you so cool with this?” Ma-Journey asks. “I thought you’d be angry about them sneaking around. Also, Duke’s in his forties.”

“So is Bullet Train. But at least, Edith is older than Tuesday, and Duke isn’t a hitman.”

“If Duke and I live together, it’ll be in Basin Rock,” I announce and begin to cry.

“Are these Earlham tears or preggo tears?” Pa-Donovan teases while hugging me. “Just relax. You seemed happy when I spied on you. Focus on that.”

Ma-Journey bursts into laughter, winning a grin from my pa. “You lying queef,” she says and playfully punches his arm. “You rode all the way to Dunphey to keep an eye on our baby girl.”

“Once I saw who she was with, I probably could have left. I decided to stick close just in case she had second thoughts and needed to drive back in the middle of the night. I paid the front clerk to tell me when you were coming and going.”

As they share a chuckle at my pa’s stalker ways, I wipe my eyes and enjoy their amusement. Their loud chuckles draw my brothers from Ike’s room.

“What’s happening?” Ike asks.

“We’re accepting how our family is bigger now,” Pa-Donovan explains.

Otto announces, “Duke McGraw is too old for Edith.”

“Not really.”

“He’s an outlander,” Otto insists while Betty nods supportively to his grumpy declarations. “He doesn’t come from our town. No outsiders.”

“He’s got a house, money in the bank, and won’t expect us to hide our illegal behaviors,” Ma-Journey replies and pats Otto’s jaw. “Let’s be supportive, so your sister won’t cry anymore tonight. She’s bordering on dehydration at this point.”

My family huddles up around me and takes turns patting my head. I laugh at their sympathetic gestures, feeling like maybe all my drama has been over nothing.

After all, my pa and ma aren’t angry like I expected. Duke wasn’t upset about exposing our relationship to everyone. Were all my worst-case scenarios nothing more than a battle between my sensible side and my Earlham brain?

DUKE, AKA DADDY GETS HONEST

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