Page 100 of Whispered Sins

“Looks great, Mom,” I said as I sat down.

She gave me a tight smile and began serving the spaghetti on our plates. We began eating our meal in silence, as if we were playing the silent game. The first person who spoke lost.

“So, what brings you all the way home?” asked my mom after a few minutes.

“I just didn’t like how we ended things over the phone,” I said. “I hoped we could make things right before…you know.”

“The baby.” My mother’s tone was unenthused.

“Right.”

Her eyes fell to my bump. There was no love or excitement behind them. I instinctively covered my stomach with my arm as if to protect the baby.

“How far along are you?” asked my father curiously.

“Almost five months.”

“Wow.” His eyes grew wide. He seemed more interested than my mother.

“I know. It’s going fast.”

My mom looked from me to my father as if she didn’t like what was going on between us.

“And the father?” she asked pointedly.

“I thought I told you he won’t be in the baby’s life.”

“Jesus Christ,” muttered my mother.

“I know you’re disappointed…” I started.

“Why are you here, Addison?” asked my mother sharply. “I thought we already told you on the phone we won’t be financially supporting your poor decisions.”

“I know that. I’m fine financially. I actually just got a raise,” I lied.

My mother looked appeased for only a moment before digging back into me.

“Probably not enough to support you and a baby. Do you know how much raising a child costs?”

“I know, Mom. I’m going to make it work.”

“And the father…he can’t support you?” asked my father.

“I don’t really want to talk about him,” I said softly.

“Probably because he is a deadbeat,” said my mother with disgust.

Hardly, I thought.

“You don’t know the situation,” I argued.

“I know enough to know that you’ve made a terrible mistake and are here for us to bail you out.”

“That’s not true,” I said.

“Now, now,” said my father, looking at my mother.

“Don’t ‘now, now’ me, Roger. Your daughter has made a mess of her life.”

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