“I’m in a state of shock,” Eddie said, taking a seat on the other side of the room. “The last thing I expected was another man. I didn’t think you had the energy or interest for that. I didn’t think that was what you wanted.”
There were tears in Eddie’s eyes, and she couldn’t bear to look at them.
“You’re right,” she said.
“That’s not what I wanted.”
“Then why have you been seeing him? I don’t under stand, Grace. Do you want a divorce? Is that what would make you happy? I want to help you, and I don’t know how.”
Grace closed her eyes and felt her body sink lower into the sofa. It was all too much. Shelly was pregnant. Rory had chosen Daria over her.
She might never see Shelly again. She wished she could simply crawl into bed and bury her head under the pillow. But Eddie was questioning her, begging her for answers, and somehow she had to find a way to explain to him her behavior of the past few months.
She could think of no way other than to tell him the truth.
“Great beach weather,” Bonnie said sarcastically as she stood by the cottage window and stared out at the street. It was not raining, not yet, anyhow, but the clouds were thick, and there was a chill in the air. It had been this way for three days, the first three days of their week-long post-graduation vacation in Kill Devil Hills. The cottage was two blocks from the beach, a one-bedroom with a view of the street. It was the best they could afford.
Grace looked up from the book she was reading.
“Maybe tomorrow will be better,” she said, although she didn’t personally care one way or another. She was just relieved to be away from her mother and Charlottesville, where she’d had to mask her pregnancy. Here, for the first time, she was wearing actual maternity shorts and a top that ballooned over her abdomen. She was nearly eight months along, although she knew she didn’t look it, maternity clothes or not. A few of her classmates might have suspected something, but her mother attributed her weight gain to nothing more than her obstinacy. Her mother rarely spoke with her, anyway; she had not forgiven her for quit ting Brad’s modeling agency and for letting herself “go to pot,” as she put it.
This week at the beach was not simply an idle getaway for her and Bonnie, though. They were supposed to use this time to figure out what Grace should do. The only thing she knew for certain was that she was keeping the baby. She already loved it. She’d loved it from the moment she knew it existed. Her maternal instincts were very strong strong enough that she’d gone to a neighboring town for prenatal care, not wanting to take any chances with the health of her baby. The doctor there had tried to persuade her to put the baby up for adoption, but Grace was firm in her resolve. Her mother would have a fit, of course, and would most likely kick her out. But Grace was determined to find a way to take care of herself and her child, and Bonnie had promised to help in any way she could.
Bonnie flopped down in one of the ratty-looking chairs and put her feet up on the coffee table.
“I’ve already run out of books to read,” she said.
“You can borrow some of mine,” Grace offered.
“No offense, but I’m not very interested in reading baby books,” Bonnie said.
There was a sudden knock at the door, and Grace jumped. She couldn’t shake the fear that somehow her mother would find out she was pregnant and show up in Kill Devil Hills to drag her home. She stiffened as Bonnie got up and walked to the door.
A woman stood on the front steps.
“Hi,” she said with a smile. She was probably in her late twenties.
“I’m Nancy. My husband and I are staying in the cottage next door, and we don’t have a TV or radio. But we heard some talk that a storm was on its way in the next few days, and we were wondering if maybe you knew what was going on. Do you have a TV in your cottage?”
“Yes, a little one,” Bonnie said.
“We haven’t had it on much, though.
I don’t know what the weather report is. “
Grace stood up and walked to the door.
“You’re welcome to come over later when the news is on,” she said.
“Thanks, I’ll stop by around five, if you don’t mind,” Nancy said.
“We may leave if it’s going to be like this all week. We’ve been planning this vacation for so long, and I can’t believe how crummy the weather’s been.” Her gaze was on Grace’s belly as she spoke, and Grace felt torn between self-consciousness and pride.
“We’ll be here,” Bonnie said.
“There’s not much else to do.”
At exactly five. Nancy and her husband returned to Bonnie and Grace’s cottage, and the four of them sat in the living room watching the news on the small black-and- white television.
The husband’s name was Nathan, and he was an engineer with short, jet-black hair, dark eyes behind thick, wire-rimmed glasses and a bushy beard. He was very quiet, lying on the cottage floor, his back propped up against the sofa, as he focused on the TV. Nancy, though, was talkative.
“Where are you girls from?” she asked.
“Charlottesville,” Bonnie said.
