Chapter 106: Back Home Again

Sophia and Warren were on the Massachusetts Turnpike headed for Oceanview. It was the middle of May.

"Remind me never to drive from Wisconsin to Massachusetts with a pregnant woman ever again," Warren grumbled good-naturedly.

"Was it that trying, dear?" Sophia smirked at him.

"It's just that I think I wore out the brakes. I've heard 'honey, pull over' so much in the last two days that I think I'll be hearing it in my sleep."

"Fine. You try sitting in a car for two days with a fetus sitting on your bladder."

"For that, my dear, the person carrying said fetus would have to be sitting on my lap. And, as delightful as that sounds, it would, no doubt, hinder my driving."

"Pig!"

"You know it." He grinned at her. "So, now that we're at home, are we finally going to schedule another ultrasound?"

"Already did it. Talked to my doctor at home last week. We have an appointment next Tuesday, with ultrasound."

"Great"

"So... are we gonna find out?"

"Find out what?"

"You know," Sophia grinned, "the ol' pink or blue thing."

Warren thought about that for a minute. "You want to?"

"I think so. It would make buying stuff easier."

"I suppose."

"Don't you agree? You wouldn't want to buy pink stuff and then have a boy, would you?"

Warren grinned. "Sophia, what color is the shirt I'm wearing?"

"Pink," Sophia said with a giggle.

"Right. I'm an ice dancer. I cry at sappy movies. I'm not a gender-role kind of guy."

"Hmmm. I never thought of it that way, but you've got a point."

"Although, I will agree, for a baby, you might have to do some of that. Because you sure as hell can't tell what they are by looking. If we have a girl and dress it in blue, nobody will know it's a girl and assume that we have A Boy Named Sue."

Sophia cracked up at that.

"However, I would like to know," Warren admitted.

"What do you want?" Sophia asked.

"It really doesn't matter. If I was pressed, I'd probably say girl."

"Really?"

"Really. I like girls."

"Uh-huh," Sophia smirked.

"Boy would be fun, girl would be fun. I don't care. What about you?"

"The same. As long as it's healthy. I would like to know, though," she grinned, "so we can play the what-to-name-it game."

"True."

They pulled up in front of Sophia's house. Ellen and Kate were there to greet them.

"Well, if it ain't Grandma and Aunt Kate!" Warren teased.

"You just stop it," Ellen grinned at him. "Hi, honey," she said to Sophia. "How are you feeling?"

"Not bad, considering. I have, however, become on intimate terms with every bathroom between Madison and Boston. Yeesh."

"Ah, the ol' bladder pressure. I remember it well."

After Warren and Kate loaded Sophia's stuff downstairs, Ellen fixed them all lemonade.

"So, how are you adjusting to this?" Ellen asked.

"You know what? I'm getting excited," Sophia admitted. "Even with the whole we're-too-young thing, it's exciting."

"I've been excited from day one," Warren said. "Course, I don't have to carry the little bugger."

"You're right," Sophia smirked.

"Hey, Kate," Warren said, "Sophia tells me you've changed your college plans."

"Yeah," Kate said. "I'm going to the Massachusetts College of Art. I decided to try to be an actual painter before settling for teaching art."

"Great," Warren said. "What made you change your mind?"

"A lot of things. I wouldn't mind teaching, but it's not what I really want to do. I want to paint. Plus, Mrs. Bennett--she's my art teacher at the high school--she entered a couple of my paintings in a state-wide show for high school students, and they got raves. I also got raves from the admissions department at Mass Art. All that convinced me that I might be able to actually make a living at this."

"I think that's fantastic," Sophia said.

"Plus," Kate said with a sly grin, "I figure if two part-time scrub ice dancers can win a medal at the Olympics, anything's possible."

"HEY!" Warren shouted in mock-indignation. "I resemble that remark!"

"Listen, Missy, when you get judged the second-best painter in the world--and have a silver medal to prove it--then you can crack wise," Sophia teased.

"Well, I was judged number one in the state, in watercolors--second in oils. Of course, there were no Russian judges on the panel."

"Lucky for you," Warren grinned.

"So, how's Dave?" Sophia asked.

"Uh-oh. Touchy subject," Ellen interjected.

"Really?" Sophia was surprised.

"Things are not so good," Kate confirmed. "He doesn't agree with my career decision."

"Why on earth not?" Warren asked.

"That's a good question," Kate replied. "I can't get a straight answer out of him. I don't know if he's jealous that I have the guts to try this and he doesn't, or if he just doesn't think it's a good risk to take. He won't say, but he clams up and changes the subject whenever my painting comes up. And this is new, he used to be completely supportive. It's caused an enormous strain. We haven't broken up yet, but..."

"Wow," Sophia said.

"I should have seen this coming," Kate admitted. "I should have seen this coming when he was having so much problems with Dad being an ogre."

"What does one thing have to do with the other?" Sophia asked.

"Dave doesn't like upset. He's a very orderly person. He likes his ducks all in a row. Going out with a girl who had a father that didn't like him was an upset. His girlfriend throwing caution to the wind is an upset. I love that part of him--I need it, in fact--but he has trouble dealing with the fact that I am not always like that."

"I'll talk to him when I see him," Warren said firmly.

"Ah, Warren, I don't know if that would be a good idea," Kate said worriedly.

"Yeah, it would. Trust me. I'm more orderly than Dave. At least, I used to be. I'm not anymore. I still try to be somewhat orderly, but going with the flow can be very rewarding. Pookie over there taught me that. Dave needs to here that."

"OK," Kate agreed. "As long as you're gentle."

"I always am!"

Sophia was helping Ellen make supper when Dan walked in.

"Dan!" Sophia yelped. "Hey! How's my favorite stepfather?" She wrapped him in a bear hug.

He barely returned it. "Hi Sophia," he said formally. "Good to see you back. What's for supper?" Ellen told him, and Sophia withdrew, confused.

He was like that all through supper--when he talked to Sophia, which wasn't much, he was clipped and restrained. Immediately after supper, he withdrew to his study.

"What's with him?" Sophia asked her mother.

"Don't get me into it. That's something you're going to have to discuss with him."

"OK," Sophia said, and walked over to his study. She knocked on the door, and entered as he yelled, "Come in."

"Hey, Dan. You up for a game of chess?"

"No, thank you."

"How about some TV? The Sox are on. Warren's at his folks, so you're the only other baseball freak around to watch it with," she joked.

"No, thank you."

Sophia thought for a minute, then closed the door. She marched over to the chair next to his desk.

"Sophia, I'm busy."

"You can be busy in a minute. Dan, what is with you?"

"Nothing is 'with' me. I'm just busy."

"Ah. Were you busy at supper, when you could barely say a civil word to me? Were you busy when you first came home, and I hugged you, and you reacted like I had the plague? Dan, I thought we settled things between us last summer."