~ Chapter Six ~
Nina
sat across from her mother, the scraping of forks against glass plates the only
sound interrupting the burgeoning silence.
Should
she try to break it? A sigh escaped and she cleared her throat. “it’s good, isn’t
it?”
Green
eyes pinned her with laser-like precision. “It is.”
“Max’s
parents have owned this restaurant since they got married in the early nineties.”
Silence.
“Mom—I…”
Her
mother held up a warning hand. “Finish eating first.”
Nina
bowed her head. “Yes ma’am.”
Nina
chewed the Country-Fried steak, comparing its taste to what sawdust must be
like. The mashed potatoes weren’t much better.
Maybe
her brilliant idea hadn’t been so brilliant after all. She’d thought it would
come over a lot better if she at least had plans to marry, since her parents
were so religious. Apparently that wasn’t the case.
Max
hovered just out of sight and Nina had to hide a smirk. She could hear his mom
chastising him for not coming to their table to see if they needed anything.
The restaurant was empty except for them, being after the dinner hour and
before the night time rush.
She
couldn’t help the urge to hold up a hand. When Max’s eyes honed in on her, she
could see he wasn’t pleased.
His
steps hesitant, he shuffled toward her. “Could I get a glass of milk?”
Relief
fell over his features, most likely because she’d stopped his need to come
right up to the table, at least for the moment. She giggled as he scurried
behind the counter, into the kitchen.
“Oh
Nina, stop it already. You’re giving the boy a heart attack.” Her mom’s voice
held a hint of amusement.
Nina
was about to deny any wrongdoing, but when her Amber eyes met green orbs, she
stopped.
“Why
did you feel the need to lie to me, Nina girl? That boy is no more your fiancé
than mine.”
“I—I
thought it would be better if you thought I was at least planning on marrying
the guy I got in trouble with.”
Her
mother’s face clouded up like a sudden fierce thunderstorm, her eyes falling to
Nina’s growing belly. “Trouble? Is that how you see it?”
“Well,
yeah. I mean, it was an accident, Mom. I didn’t plan it. I never thought I’d be
one of those girls who get pregnant without being married.” Tears welled in her
eyes and she blinked several times in rapid succession to dispel them.
Disappointment
in every word, her mother said, “I thought I taught you better than that, Nina.
None of us are above sin, so I don’t know where you got the idea that you were.”
Nina
shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. I’ve always tried to be good. I got
good grades, I didn’t run around and I didn’t cause you any trouble. I wanted
you to be proud of me, Mom.”
“Nina,
I am proud of you. That doesn’t mean
I think you can do no wrong. Yes, your father is horribly upset, and rightly so,
but he will get over it. What I need
from you is the why. What happened? I don’t want the gory details, of course. I
just want to know what led to this pregnancy. Do you love him? Did things get
out of hand? I need to know.” Her mother’s voice raised an octave at the end of
the sentence and Nina saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes.
Remorse
filled her. This is what she’d wanted to avoid. Why she hadn’t contacted her
mother right away in the first place. “Mom, I’m sorry. I really am. I was
tutoring Max. Yes, I was attracted to him, but I never thought for a second
about doing anything about it. It just happened, I can’t change that. And no,
we’re not really together. In fact, he just found out about the pregnancy too.
I haven’t seen him in almost six months.”
Her
mother’s stare set her on edge even more. She might as well have sprouted
horns.
Silence
fell over the table as Max finally returned with the glass of milk. He set it
down and practically ran for the kitchen.
Her
mother’s voice was full of resignation when she spoke. “So what are your plans
for this child?”
Her
slender shoulders shrugged before she had the chance to rein it in. “I don’t
really know. I thought about adoption. I know there are plenty of women out
there who would love to have a baby but can’t.”
Her
mother’s red hair bounced up and down in vehemence. “You’ll do no such thing
Nina Marie. Regardless of what the circumstances were, you made this child and
you will take care of it. Do you understand me, young lady?”
Nina
nodded, hesitantly. “Yes, ma’am. But how will I finish school? I have so many
plans and—Well…”
“You
should’ve thought of those plans before you did this, Nina. But I raised you to
take responsibility for your actions. This isn’t some mistake you made that you
can get a quick fix for, child. For heaven’s sake, you’re going to have a baby.”
Her words ended with a watery sigh.
Nina
gave a slight shake of her head. “Yes, I know. I thought about that too. But
the truth is, I don’t think I can do this alone. I don’t think I even want to.”
“It’s
too late for that. From here on out all I want to hear from you are your plans
for this child. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes
ma’am, you do.”
And
just like that, Nina’s whole outlook on life changed. It wasn’t just her
anymore.
