Page 64 of Interference
She looks over at me and smiles.
“Come on, you owe me breakfast.”
sixteen
Brett wanted to be here, but I couldn’t let him. I needed to do this for me.
Walking into the swanky restaurant, I’m relieved when I find both of my parents sitting at the table waiting. I had almost convinced myself that they hated me and wouldn’t show.
When I approach the table, my mom stands to hug me as my father moves to pull my chair out for me.
I greet them before sitting down. Once we are all settled, a server comes over to take our drink order. We go ahead and order food as well, already knowing what we like from this place. My parents frequent here a lot when they are in the area.
“So how is school?” my dad asks as if there is nothing else to talk about.
“It’s good. Still getting good grades,” I tell him.
He nods. “Good. Good.”
I can tell they don’t know how to bring it up, so I do.
“The pregnancy is going well, too. I had my first appointment and got to hear the heartbeat. There is nothing else in the world that can compare to that moment. The doctor said he or she is healthy and thriving.” I smile to myself a little as I think about it.
“Wait until you hold that bundle of joy in your arms. That will top hearing its heartbeat for the first time, but only by a slight margin,” Mom tells me, making me look up at her.
“I can’t wait. I’d like you to be there. I mean, if you can. I know you’re busy,” I ramble, but she stops me.
“Of course I will be there. I won’t let you go through it alone.”
“I’m not alone, though,” I remind her. “Brett will be there too.”
Dad clears his throat. “I looked him up. He’s from a good family. They have ties and money. You chose well.”
I frown. “I didn’t choose him for that. I like him for who he is, not what he can offer me.”
Dad’s cheeks turn pink. “I didn’t mean it like that, Emery.”
“I don’t know how you meant it because neither of you have really spoken to me since you found out I was pregnant. So let’s stop the bullshit and be real. Now that things have settled, how do you feel?” I ask them point-blank, my stomach churning as I wait for their answer.
“We were surprised, but we always knew we would be grandparents one day. I’m excited to be a grandmother,” Mom tells me.
“I wish you had gone about it differently, but I will support your decision to keep the baby,” Dad adds.
“What about the fact that I still plan to go for gold? That hasn’t changed,” I tell them.
“We will support you. We were rash when we said that we would pull financial support. We still want you to reach your dream. I will do whatever I can to get you there. Your mother and I can help with the baby so you can practice. Actually, that’swhy we are here. We are getting a condo nearby so that when the time comes, we can do everything we need to here,” Dad informs me, shocking the hell out of me.
“Wow. You don’t need to do all of that. I mean, I wasn’t planning to take Brett’s money, but I can get a job and figure the money out,” I mumble.
“You need to focus,” Mom chimes in. “You can’t do that with a job, a baby, and a boyfriend. Let us do this for you. We were wrong, honey. We are trying to make amends.”
Tears fill my eyes. “I didn’t want to disappoint you. This wasn’t the plan, but I’m not upset about it. Being pregnant has opened my eyes. I still want to go for gold, but it isn’t the end of the world if it doesn’t happen. I’m happier now than I have ever been in my life.”
“Because of that boy?” Dad asks.
I nod. “Brett is a good man. He treats me so well. I know you probably hate him for getting me pregnant, but he wasn’t the only one there. I was too, and I also made a mistake, but I can’t even call it that because it brought me this, and my child will never be a mistake.”
I place my hand on my stomach, sending all the love in the world to my baby.
