Page 79 of Under the Influence

I can’t stop crying after Duke leaves the homestead. Ike and Otto get agitated, assuming I’m the victim of a bad man. Feeding off my emotions, Oana starts crying. My parents finally put on “South Park” to distract us from our tears.

At midnight, I become convinced I’m not pregnant. Panicking at how I got upset over nothing, I become upset again.

Ma-Journey locates another pregnancy test. One trip to the bathroom later, I accept I need to accept I’m pregnant.

Not long after my second test, Otto and Betty walk over to their house. Ike and Oana head to bed a half hour later. I remain up, sitting between my parents like a scared kid.

“I’m tired,” Pa-Donovan says at two. “I need you to sleep. Will rocking you in my lap help?”

I laugh before the tears return. “I’m a bad kid.”

Ma-Journey sighs. “Going full Earlham broke her.”

“Just temporarily,” Pa-Donovan replies. “Edith went too long being sensible. She has no resistance to this drama bug. Once she builds up a little immunity, Edith will be back to normal.”

Though I resent my parents talking about me as if I can’t hear them, I still cling to their hands when they want me to go to bed. My ma and pa end up in my room, sitting in chairs and playing on their phones while their grumpy twenty-six-year-old baby girl fusses.

“I’m ordering pastrami,” Pa-Donovan tells Ma-Journey as I fight my fatigue. “Extra pickles.”

“I want the Italian. No pickles.”

The smile they share steals my panic. My parents are rational people. If they aren’t upset, I shouldn’t be, either. Just like that, I crash into sleep.

My dreams are chaotic and overly horny. I spend most of them searching for Duke so we can get naked and rub our bodies together. I wake up with an ache between my legs and a foggy brain.

In the kitchen, I find Ike kissing Oana’s flat belly and saying goodbye to his baby. I smile at my brother’s excitement and how Oana giggles in a relaxed way. They started their relationship in such an odd way, yet they’re magic together.

Outside on the back deck, Otto watches Betty act out a story that involves her beating up a giant man. His loud laughter wins howls from the dogs running in the yard.

Pa-Donovan joins me at the window and wraps an arm around my shoulders.

“Feeling better?” he asks when I smile up at him.

“Yes. I got so wound up yesterday. The drama kept spilling out of me. But I woke up normal today.”

“Best to let the drama out a little at a time to avoid going full Earlham.”

I study my dad and think of him following me to Dunphey. “Were you seriously not angry when you saw me with Duke at the hotel?”

“Sure, I was pissed at you for sneaking around when this guy was in our circle. I thought maybe he was hiding it because he was using you. Then, I remembered how you tend to run men through their paces before you let them close. If Duke was lucky enough to spend the night with you, he must have done things right. That meant he was special. So, I backed off and let you be. But if things went wrong with your first night together, I still wanted to be nearby to kick his ass.”

Hugging Pa-Donovan, I like how he’s willing to both trust me and watch my back.

“Duke messaged me this morning,” Pa-Donovan says after nudging me toward the kitchen so I’ll eat. “He said you hadn’t responded to his texts, and he wanted to make sure you were okay. We talked about sandwiches. He’ll be here around noon.”

“Where’s Ma?”

“She’s talking to Meemaw Christine about the baby situation. Poppy is bound to get lightheaded and start fainting all over the place when she learns Tuesday was part of a ruse.”

My laughter draws the focus of Ike and Oana. They watch me butter an English muffin.

“You copied us,” Ike tells me, and Oana smiles. “People are going to think our family can’t handle birth control.”

“Apparently, we can’t.”

Ike shrugs. “I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“Me too.”

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