Chapter 16

Two weeks later:

I was whistling to myself as I got out of my Jeep and went into the house. I found my mother in the kitchen sitting at the table. She had a strange look on her face. Since we had returned from vacation, we had been inseparable. Of course she had to go back to work, but every free moment we spent together. We no longer questioned our love for each other or even discussed whether it was wrong or right. We knew how lucky we were and that we would always be together. Nothing in this world would ever change that. We had, however, discussed options for us when I went away to school, including her trying to find a job near the college or me finding a college closer to home. Neither seemed practical, so we were still in a quandary about what to do. Fortunately we didn’t let that get in the way of our love, or our constant lovemaking. Unfortunately we have been using condoms for sex, which both of us dislike, but we wanted to be safe. Mom had an appointment with the doctor today to get a prescription for birth control pills. Because of the doctor’s appointment, that look on her face worried me.

“Hi,” I said.

“Hi,” she returned without enthusiasm.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, suddenly scared. Had the doctor found something wrong ... a lump on her breast or some such thing?

“Sit down, Jerry.”

This was serious, I thought as I pulled out a chair and sat at the table close to her.

“You know I had an appointment with the doctor today for birth control pills.”

“Well as part of the physical, he did some blood tests.”

What’s wrong, my brain screamed, but I knew enough to keep my mouth shut until she got out what she was saying. I saw my mother take a deep breath and there were tears in her eyes. I was almost shaking now.

“Jerry...” she said and paused.

What is it, my mind screamed?

“Jerry, I’m pregnant!”

I almost fell out of my chair. Suddenly my head was spinning and I felt like I might throw up. I was silent for a long time, just staring at my mother. Then I her tears trickling down her cheeks and I realized I had to pull myself together.

“Are you sure?” I asked, stupidly.

“Yes.”

Suddenly I was on my knees hugging my sobbing mother. “God, I’m so sorry, Mom,” I said as tears started streaming down my cheeks.

“It’s not your fault, sweetheart,” she said between sobs.

“It’s as much my fault as it is yours,” I said.

“Well, we can argue about that, but it’s not going to help.”

“What are we going to do?” I asked.

“I don’t know.”

“I mean, there are doctors that can do something, right?” I said.

She looked at me with shock, but then her eyes soften. She knew that I wasn’t thinking straight and that neither of us could do something like that. “That is not an option for us,” she said, placing her hand on my face softly.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I said and kissed her hand.

“Maybe we could move somewhere where no one knows us. I could get a job and we could live as husband and wife.”

My mother smiled for the first time. “I like that idea, but I don’t think it’s really possible.”

Suddenly an idea dawned on me. My face brightened. “Mom, what about Stephanie?”