“Erm, you remember when Rory went to England a while back and he started seeing that girl?” Danielle looked so nervous Tasha wanted to cry for her.
“Ye-es,” replied her mother a little hesitantly. A change in expression seemed to suggest her mother suspected where this conversation was going or at least feared where her daughter was taking it.
“I was hurt and angry, so I started seeing this boy from school and I, we, got close...”
“How close?” asked a wide-eyed Deanna, surely knowing what was coming now.
“Real close,” replied Danielle who was beginning to cry. “Mom, I am so sorry,” she sobbed.
“Are you ill? Did he give you something, some kind of STD?” Deanna asked, edging ever closer to the truth.
With a simple shake of her head Danielle finally blurted out the truth, “I'm pregnant.”
A stunned looking Deanna hugged her daughter who cried gently. Tasha felt awkward and embarrassed despite the fact she was sitting in her own home. The scene unfolding in front of her was, or should have been, a private moment and now she felt she was somehow intruding.
It was Lizzie who spoke next as she joined the mother and daughter hug, totally oblivious to any intrusion.
“Hey, it's going to be okay you know. Now your mom knows you can decide what you want to do, can't she, Tasha?”
“Mmm,” said Tasha growing more uncomfortable by the second.
“Tasha, baby, sorry to interrupt,” called Jim from the doorway.
Tasha was happy to be interrupted.
“I think Connor wants an early lunch,” he told her bouncing their son in his arms.
Tasha was like a rabbit caught in headlights now, unsure whether to disappear upstairs with Connor or to just take him from his father.
“Do you mind?” Tasha asked Deanna who had turned to smile at Jim and Connor.
“Carry on, it's your house,” the other woman replied and with the words barely out Jim was dropping Connor into his mother's lap.
“There you go, buddy. Momma's got you and I’ll see you when you're done.” And with that he was gone again.
Tasha spoke softly to her son and kissed him until he was giggling before putting him to her breast to feed him, discreetly courtesy of the button down t-shirt she was wearing.
Deanna watched her closely as Danielle calmed down and then began to question her daughter.
“Why are we here for this, honey? Were you afraid to tell me? What did you think I was going to do? What do you plan on doing? I dread to think what your dad’s going to say,” she said and appeared to be ready to continue with more questions.
Tasha sat back, relaxing a little with her son in her arms feeding contently while she watched the exchange between mother and daughter. Deanna, understandably, tried to gain as much information as she could, all of the questions that any parent would want answering, who, where, when, why and how type of questions. Tasha didn't need to know all of that information and zoned in and out as she concentrated on feeding her son but came back into the conversation as Lizzie chipped in again.
“We thought because Tasha has had a baby recently maybe she could help Danielle decide what she wants to do.”
Deanna glared across at Tasha and because of Lizzie's phrasing Tasha actually couldn't blame her making her stiffen with anxiety.
“That's not quite how it was.” Smiled Tasha.
“Then how was it?” Deanna angrily accused Tasha somehow as she seemed to mimic her accent.
Ignoring the other woman's angst Tasha explained, “Lizzie was worried about Danielle who had confided in her, so came to me and when it became clear Danielle was confused and hadn't yet told you, Lizzie asked if they could bring you here. This is not my idea of fun and I feel awfully uncomfortable and out of place so if you want me to leave I will and if you want me to stay I will. I think Lizzie thought because I’d found myself unexpectedly pregnant and I am the most recently pregnant person she knows that I might be able to help. I did explain that my situation was entirely different, but Lizzie just wanted to help.”
“Sorry. This is just one hell of a shock,” said Deanna a little calmer now.
“I can imagine,” agreed Tasha, and although she couldn’t really imagine how Deanna felt she knew exactly how Danielle felt as she sat back again and the questions continued.
By the time Deanna had asked all of her immediate questions and received some answers she turned her attention to what her daughter was going to do next.
