Falling for the Ghost of You(82)

More clothes? I paste a happy smile on my face and pull the shirt out, shaking it out to unfold it.

My smile sort of dies on my face when I see what's written in pink glitter on the front.

Big Sister.

For real.

I drop the shirt and gape at Mom—who is capturing my reaction on camera.

"Really?" I say. "Is that...?"

Weird words run through my mind: safe, legal, practical...none of them really fit the situation. I don't know how to react.

"I'm pregnant!" she exclaims gleefully.

"Well...congratulations!" I say, and I get up to hug her so she doesn’t think I’m not happy for her.

I include Bill in my smile, and notice he's red with embarrassment and pleasure. Mom reaches over and squeezes his hand. If Mom gets any happier, she may burst. I'm a little freaked at the thought of being a big sister for the first time, but I can get over it for her.

Oh, my god. A baby. Everyone's turning up pregnant these days.

"Have you seen a doctor yet? Everything's okay?" I ask nervously.

"Everything's wonderful, honey," Mom assures me. "They're going to monitor me a little more closely since I'm a bit older than the average mom." She makes a funny face. "But the doctor says so far so good!"

"Well...that's great. Just think--you'll have another kid to embarrass the crap out of after I've left the nest."

"This is true," she admits happily, pushing the sagging elf hat off of her eyes. "I'll still embarrass you when you come visit, though. Wouldn't want you to go through withdrawal."

"Thanks, you’re always thinking of me."

Bill gets an emergency call from work, which he has to take, and with an apologetic look at Mom, he disappears into the den.

There goes the father of my future half brother or sister, I think.

Hey, that baby could do a lot worse. I realize I really like Bill. I'm glad he seems pleased by the model pirate ship I got for him.

Mom wants me to try on the Big Sister shirt she got me. It ends up being a size too small. She keeps looking from my chest to her own petite one, frowning mournfully. I hope she doesn't ever consider getting implants after the baby.

"Violet, I have to tell you something."

Mom scoots over to me on her knees and hunkers down in front of me, looking me in the eye.

"What?" I ask fearfully. She looks so serious, it must be something bad.

"I talked to Zane."

I inhale sharply. My hands start to shake, and I have to suppress the sudden urge to pounce on my own mother and assault her with a barrage of questions. What did he say? How is he? Did he talk about me?

“Oh,” I say finally. “I…uh…why did you…what did you talk about?”

Mom raises an eyebrow. “Quite a bit, actually. Turns out I have a lot to say to the young man who took my seventeen year old daughter’s virginity.”

I am absolutely mortified. I can feel my face pale with the horror. “Mom!”

“Wait, it was—Zane was your first, right?”

The blood suddenly returns to my face with a vengeance. “Yeah, Mom. Ugh.”

“Hey, not like it isn’t weird for me, too,” she says, straightening her shoulders indignantly. “Zane is my stepson, after all. But…we came to an understanding—let’s just leave it at that. Anyway, he wanted you to have something.”

Mom hands me a little square-shaped box. I stare at her, stricken.

“Whatever it is, I can’t accept it,” I whisper, staring at the tiny foil wrapped present like it’s going to bite me. “We broke up.”

“He said he got it for you about a month ago, and he wants you to have it. No strings attached. He says you don’t need to contact him, or anything, and he’s not taking it back, so you might as well keep it.” She chuckles a little. “He knows you so well.”

I start to protest. “Mom…I—I…I can’t—”

“He loves you, you know,” she says softly. She grabs my hand and gently places the box in my palm. Then she lightly touches my cheek. “You love him, too, don’t you?”

So easily, the tears start falling from my eyes. “Yeah,” I half laugh, half sob. “I do.”

“Oh, Violet.” Mom reaches for me and hugs me sympathetically. “My poor girl.”

I pull back awkwardly. “I’m okay,” I say quickly, wiping my face. “So...do you know what this is?” I gesture with the box.

Mom grins mischievously. “Yep. And the only reason I’m okay with it is because of how he feels about you, and because I know he can so afford it. Come on—open it.”

I take a shaky breath. The box weighs almost nothing. Is it…a ring?