Free Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess Page B

“I’ve talked myself hoarse and it’s gotten me nowhere. I know Charles made mistakes. He’s sorry and has promised it’ll never happen again, okay? If you think he’s stupid enough to get himself sent back there, then you don’t know anything at all!” She scowls. “I’m not leaving him, no matter what anybody says. I promised to stand by him for better or for worse, until death did us part. Get it through your heads: I meant it.”
    The clock over the sink ticks like a bomb.
    “So there’s nothing he could do that would drive you away,” my grandmother says, knotting her hands together on the table.
    “No,” my mother says without hesitation. “He’s my soul mate, I love him and…well, as a matter of fact, we’re trying to have another baby.”
    “What?” my grandmother says.
    I’m up and out of my chair. “You can’t be serious!”
    “Of course I am.” My mother’s eyes are lit with an odd sort of triumph. “Charles has always wanted a big family and what better way to show faith in our marriage than to have another baby? A son would be wonderful, don’t you think?”
    “Sure, Mom, a son would be perfect,” I say. “And convenient, too.”
    But this time my mother doesn’t rise to the bait. Doesn’t lose control. Doesn’t do anything but smile because she knows she has us and there’s nothing we can do about it except pray for sluggish sperm and withered eggs.
    I plop back into my chair.
    “Have you taken your age into consideration?” my grandmother babbles, clinging to the edge of the table like the house has tilted and she’s trying not to fall into the abyss. “A woman your age is in a higher risk category for certain birth defects….” She meets my mother’s unperturbed smile and forges on. “It’s such a huge, irreversible step, Sharon. What about your career? Are you planning on being a stay-at-home mom this time?”
    My mother’s laugh curdles my stomach. I realize what she’s going to say before she even speaks and I cannot bear to hear it.
    “Mother, be serious,” she drawls. “Charles and I have already talked about this and since I’m the only one earning a decent salary, he’ll stay home with the baby. Meredith can help after school. She’s going to be sixteen soon and it’s time she learned a little responsibility.” She glances at me. “So now you see why it’s important to put the past behind us. I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone yet, but I didn’t know how else to make you understand how strong our commitment is to each other.” She slips into the chair across from me, face glowing. “Don’t you see? This baby-to-be deserves a whole family—”
    Leah Louisa clears her throat. “Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself? You’re not pregnant yet. And, well…Charles just got out yesterday!”
    “You’d be surprised at how much you can accomplish in ten minutes,” my mother says and actually giggles. “Talk about absence making the heart grow fonder!”
    Someone moans and I’m not surprised to discover it’s me.
    “Sharon, please,” my grandmother says, casting me a pointed glance.
    “Relax, Mother,” she says, smirking and leaning back in her chair. “Meredith’s a big girl. She knows how babies are made, don’t you, Mer?”
    I nod, numb and weary. “ ’Course I do. Same guy that taught you taught me.”
    Her hand flashes out and slams into the side of my face.
    My head explodes and the kitchen swims in kaleidoscope seas.
    “Sharon!” My grandmother jumps up. “Meredith, are you all right?”
    I make a strange sound and put my hand to my throbbing face.
    Leah Louisa grabs my mother’s arm and jerks her to her feet. “That’s it. Get out.” Her fair, mayoral persona is nothing but a memory.
    My mother twists free and stares at her. “All right, stop. I’m sorry.”
    “Sorry doesn’t change what just happened.”
    “But—” my mother says.
    “There are no buts!” My grandmother snatches the dirty plates from