It was better to just get it out of the way.Better to just say what needed to be said.
“That’s your sister’s baby?”The expression on her mother’s face couldn’t be readily decoded.
“Yes.”
“Come in.”
She and Clark went into the house, which was as pristine as ever.A shining altar to her mother’s anxiety.
“You can come to the living room,” she said, leading them to the couch.
They sat down, and she looked over at Clark, who wascradling Marjorie against his chest.She could feel the disapproval coming off her mother in waves.She wanted to shield Marjorie from it.And in a strange way, wanted to shield Melanie, too.Even though she wasn’t here.
She wanted to shield Melanie from her mother’s disdain.She wanted to protect everyone from what this moment’s revelation was going to bring.
Even her mother, though Ellie could feel that the conversation was going to go very badly.
She didn’t know how she knew that.Her mother was a master at hiding her true feelings.She was a master at smiling while inside she was seething.
“How old is she?”
“Just about a week.”
“When did you find out?”
“The day she was born.We went to the hospital because Melanie and … Melanie and Ty both called.”
“And what are you doing?Are you offering temporary placement?Why do you feel the need to tell me this happened?”
“Because we’re keeping her,” she said.“Clark and I.We’re going to raise her.”
“Oh, Ellie, you cannot keep letting your sister’s mistakes derail your potential.”
She sat there, stunned by her mother’s words.“Derail my potential?What does that even mean?”
“You know what it means.You could’ve gone to a more prestigious school.You could’ve aimed higher if you weren’t always dealing with Melanie’s mistakes.”
“How is this aiming too low, Mom?I’m taking care of my niece.I’m taking care of my family.”
“What aboutyourlife?You’re going to be stuck with a child that’s …” Her mom looked at Clark.“A Porter.Part of that family.You’re going to be stuck with them.Stuck with him.”
“Mom,” she said slowly.“I don’t see it that way.That there’s something wrong with the Porter family.Melanie has the exact same problems as some of the Porters.She and Ty chose their path.But they also chose to do the best, most compassionate thing for their child.They chose to do what needed to be done.”
“And we’re choosing to give Marjorie the best life possible,” Clark said.“I don’t need you to like me.You can treat me with all the disdain you like, but you will not treat this little girl with even an ounce of it.”
This was the first time her mom had heard the name.Had heard whom they’d named her after, and she didn’t even react.
“Mr.Porter …”
“I’m not here to be scolded.Ellie wants to maintain a relationship with you, and it matters to her.It doesn’t matter to me, though, so I would be careful about what I said if I were you.Because I might tell you some things about yourself that you won’t be able to forget.”
He stood up, and Ellie stood up with him.“It’s up to you, Mom,” Ellie said.“How involved we’ll be in each other’s lives.My first responsibility is to Marjorie.”
“You always chose your sister,” her mother said.“You chose her over me.Over our relationship.Look at what she’s done to you.To me.Everyone in town whispers about her.She’s the black sheep.She’s always manipulating you.Making you feel sorry for her.She’s made her choices.And she doesn’t need you to enable her.”
“I’m not enabling her.I love her.And maybe she needed me because she knew she didn’t have you.Knew she didn’t have Dad.But in any case, I’ve made my choices for my life.I love my job.I didn’t need to go to a better school.I didn’t need to live somewhere else.I don’t need to live my life to make you proud of your own.Marjorie certainly will never have to do that for me.”
Clark led the way out of the room, and she followed as quickly as possible.It wasn’t until she was out the door that she realized she was shaking.
