I shrugged. “You know.”
“What? Because you had sex?”
“Yeah.” This was so embarrassing. I wished I could crawl under the sofa and hide.
“Remember my own story with you? I had you when I was in college and they helped me raise you at first. They’ll be thrilled to have another baby around. That’s not to say the baby won’t be your primary responsibility. We’ll be your helpers, not the main caretakers. That is if you want to keep it.” His blue-green eyes that were so much like my own froze me in place.
A hand splayed over my chest. “Keep it? I could never… yes, I’m going to keep it. I made it, so it’s mine.”
A soft smile turned up the corners of his mouth. He had a way of comforting me with those small grins of his. “Fine. And what about Stuart?” He rubbed a finger over the bruise that had already formed on my jaw.
“Do I have to give him a say in the matter?”
“I’ll check with my attorney, just to be safe.”
I reached for my mom’s hand. “Mom, you haven’t said anything.”
“Your father has pretty much covered everything that’s on my mind. One thing though, and take heed of this. Your life will never be the same. You’ll not be a single, carefree young woman anymore.”
My head dropped. “I know. I’ll have to give up my dream of being a graphic artist.”
Mom asked, “Why would you think that? A baby won’t stop you from getting your degree. That’s where your support team comes in.”
Dad grabbed my shoulders and said, “English, don’t forget you were only four months old when you came to live with me, so I understand what it is to be a single parent. It wasn’t until you were six that Mom came into our lives.”
How had I forgotten that? Mom had been my first-grade teacher, which was how she and Dad had met. They’d ended up getting married, and that was the best thing ever.
“Yeah, I remember. Then you two can be my teachers.”
“I think your father will be the better one,” Mom said. “He has all the experience in being a single parent.”
“I believe you should finish out this semester, and then transfer to a local college at home to complete your degree,” Dad suggested. “But I wish you’d consider pressing charges against him. He deserves it, munch, after what he did to you. And you don’t want this happening to someone else, do you?”
My gut clenched at the thought of someone else going through this. “No, I don’t want that. But if I press charges, then it will be in the court records that he’s the father of this baby. That’s something I absolutely cannot have.”
“That’s an excellent point. Normally I would push for you to press charges, but I don’t want that man to have any hold on your child, our grandchild, so in this case, I agree.”
Mom nodded. “I agree too. English, everything happens for a reason and one day you’ll understand why this did. But promise me something?”
“What, Mom?”
“Please don’t give this baby a Star Wars name.”
Finally, something brought a grin to my troubled face. I’d insisted all my siblings have Star Wars names or nicknames. Hence, my brother—Beckley Bridges, named after my father—was called BB2. I had twin siblings named Finn and Rey, but AM—for Anna Monroe—was lucky enough to have escaped that nomenclature.
“Hmm. Pretty sure I’m past that.”
Mom held her hands in a prayer pose, looked up at the ceiling and said, “Thank you, Lord.”
Chapter One
English—Eight Months Later
Thanksgiving Day. Of course that was the day my baby decided to make her grand appearance. And yes, I was having a girl. I’d been nervous about how she would make her entrance into the world. My brothers and sisters had told me she would be just like me—bossy. That was unfair. I only bossed them around because I was older than BB2, the next Bridges child, by eight years and the others even more.
The contractions began before we put the turkey in.
Dad asked, “Should we continue?”
“Well, yeah, everyone has to eat, even if I can’t. Besides, Banana and Geepa will be here.” Banana and Geepa were my grandparents on my dad’s side. I’d never known my mom’s parents because they’d both died when Mom was young.
“She’s right, Beck,” Mom said.
They prepped the turkey and Mom told me to shower and make sure I had everything ready. “You never know if you’ll go slow or fast.”
I took her advice and it was a good thing, because two hours later I was huffing and puffing in the back seat on the way to the hospital. Mom and Dad took me, but Dad would be kicked out for the actual birth. At first he protested.
“I’ve seen your mother give birth before.”
“True, but not your daughter. That’s beyond creepy, Dad.”
Mom agreed. “She’s right, Beck.”
“You two are the creepy ones. I wasn’t looking at it like that.”
I waved a hand. “Doesn’t matter. I think it’s creepy. End of story. Besides, it’s my baby, not yours.”
“I’ll remember that when you need something.”
I spun around to see him grinning.
“Gotcha!”
I punched his arm with my middle knuckle stuck out a bit.
“Ouch!”
“That’s what you get for being mean.” Then I stuck my tongue out at him.
Rey skipped in the room then. “What’s going on?”
This conversation wasn’t for her eight-year-old ears. “Nothing much.”
“Then why are you pouting?”
“I’m not.”
I chuckled to myself at the memory of that conversation as I showered. Another contraction hit and I decided when I finished, I’d start timing them. I wasn’t concerned, only curious.
My bag was packed with all the things Mom and the doctor had recommended. I dressed and went back downstairs. The kids were in high gear and it made me anxious over how it would be with a new baby here.
“Why the long face?” Dad asked.
“All this commotion. How will the baby even sleep?”
His booming laughter practically vibrated the dishes that Mom had set on the counter. “Hey, Sheridan, English is worried about the baby sleeping through all the noise.”
Mom joined in on the fun.
“I don’t see what’s so comical.”
“That’s because you were once part of all this commotion when Anna Monroe, Rey, and Finn were born.” Dad flung out his arm, indicating the wild bunch of kids.
I hadn’t thought about it much, but kids never do.
“They managed to sleep just fine. It’s why we bought another sound machine. Remember?” Mom asked.
Guilt coated me like an unwanted cocoon. My parents had spent so much money on my baby already, and she hadn’t even arrived yet. It would take me a lifetime to be able to repay them.
“Now what?” Dad asked, tipping my chin up.
“It’s just that you two are doing everything for me. I wish I could help.”
“Don’t worry. You will be. I remember when you arrived on the doorstep in that awful box and Geepa laughed because you needed a diaper change. He left me standing there, not knowing what to do. It didn’t take long for me to get the hang of it. That is after I got pooped on a few times.”