Not My Daughter

Chapter 10

Lily was in the lunchroom, at one end of a long table with Mary Kate and Jess. Other students sat nearby, but the empty chairs they had left meant they were giving the three girls space.

'It guess this is how it'll be,' Lily said, 'but I'm okay with it. They've always seen me as good little Lily, the principal's daughter. They don't know what to make of me now.' She thought about it. 'I kind of like that.'

'I wish my parents weren't so upset,' said Mary Kate. 'We may have underestimated their reaction.'

'Y'think?' Jess remarked.

Lily knew. 'My mom's hurt, like I deliberately disobeyed her. But I never thought of it that way.'

'My mom's furious,' Jess said.

Lily knew her mother was that, too, and it worried her a lot. She had hoped that her own control of the situation would smooth things over. She really had thought this through. Getting pregnant wasn't something you did on a whim.

And in the end, she had to be optimistic. 'They'll come around. Once they get over the shock, they'll realize a baby's a baby, and that we have each other, which will make it easier. Look at our moms and PC Wool. No one of them could have created the business on her own.'

Mary Kate finally smiled. 'Can you imagine our kids taking it over someday? Honestly? I don't think it's a little Jacob in here. It's a girl who'll be best friends with your daughters, just like our moms and us.'

Lily thought so, too, but she had pictured a fourth. 'Maybe that's why Abby blabbed. She feels left out.'

Jess leaned back and peered across the room. 'She's still sitting with Theo Walsh. What happened to Michael?'

'Second guy's a charm?' Lily asked, though she knew what Jess was thinking. They had agreed that the fathers wouldn't be involved, but that didn't mean they didn't matter. If you were planning to have a baby, you needed a father with good genes. Theo Walsh was marginal.

'Uh-oh, here she comes,' Mary Kate murmured.

'Hey, guys,' Abby said, sounding more confident of their welcome than she looked. 'How's it going?'

'It's going great,' Jess said before Lily could answer. 'No thanks to you. What you did to Lily was awful.'

Looking contrite, Abby said, 'I feel bad, Lily. I didn't plan to tell. It just came out. I'm sorry.'

'Being sorry doesn't make it better,' Jess said, but Lily pulled out a chair and made Abby sit.

'Do you hate me?' Abby asked her.

Lily couldn't. Hate implied a permanent break, and Lily didn't want that. She felt for Abby. Abby always seemed to be on the outside looking in-like she had a big name and plenty of money, but wasn't comfortable with either.

That said, Lily was hurt. 'When we agreed to do this, we talked about how important it was to keep things secret and stay totally loyal to each other. It may be hard for you right now-'

'That doesn't excuse it,' Jess cut in and might have said more if Mary Kate hadn't touched her hand.

Abby stared at Jess. 'You don't have a clue.'

'I do. It didn't happen right away for me. So maybe you have to work to make it stick. Maybe you have to try five guys before it does.'

Lily hushed her.

But Abby was glaring. 'Maybe I won't try any guys. Maybe I'm waking up and realizing what a stupid idea this was.'

'And who came up with this stupid idea?' Jess shouted.

'Shhh.'

'No, Mary Kate,' Jess argued. 'It was her idea, and now she's backing out.'

Abby stood up. 'I was upset, and maybe I said things I shouldn't have that day in the hall, but do you think you're any better? I should try five guys? That's disgusting. And you think you're ready to have a baby? You have no business being pregnant! Lily, yes. Mary Kate, yes. But you? I feel so sorry for your baby.'

She turned and stalked off, leaving a stunned silence in her wake-and no fewer than a dozen riveted eyes on Lily, Mary Kate, and Jess.

'They were juniors,' came Lily's breathless voice, 'and they must have heard every word Abby said. I could see it in the way they were looking at us. What do we do, Mom? Should we say it isn't true?'

Susan was walking down Main Street, head low against the wind, phone to her ear. She was coming from a meeting of community service organizations in advance of the holiday food drive. There were serious issues this year relating to new FDA requirements, but they were quickly forgotten.

'No, Lily,' she said, trying to stay calm. 'Don't lie. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. They may not have heard as much as you thought. Where are you now?'

'Still in the lunchroom. We have five minutes before class.'

Susan picked up her pace. 'Go ahead to class. Try to act normally until we know for sure that anyone did hear. Tell Mary Kate and Jess to do the same. Are they okay?'

'No. Mary Kate is trying to find Jacob. He doesn't even know she's pregnant. What was Abby thinking?'

'I don't know, Lily. But Abby is the least of our worries.' There were so many other things to consider if word was out. 'You all go to class. If you hear people talking about Mary Kate and Jess, let me know. In the meantime, I'll strategize.'

Actually, what Susan was thinking was that in the meantime she would pray that those juniors hadn't heard.

But she was barely back at school when she was approached in the lunchroom by a cluster of girls. 'We just heard something really weird, Ms. Tate,' said one, and the others quickly chimed in.

'Is Mary Kate Mello pregnant?'

'And Jessica Barros?'

'All three?'

'Where did you hear this?' Susan asked.

'Kaylee's sister heard it from someone who heard it last lunch. Is it true?'

Susan tried to look unworried. 'Well, it's a frightening thought. Let me get back to you, okay?' She lingered for another sixty seconds, casually working her way to the door. Once in the corridor, though, she hurried to her office. Her assistant was just replacing the phone. The look on her face confirmed the problem.

'Who was that?' Susan asked.

'Allison Monroe. She wanted to report what her students are saying.'

Allison taught introductory Spanish, mostly to freshmen. Susan considered her a friend, which gave credence to her report.

Knowing she had to act quickly, Susan said, 'Would you ask Amy Sheehan to come up here? Tell her it's urgent. Same with Meredith Parker.' Meredith was the school counselor. 'If my daughter or either of her friends show up, let them in, too.'

Entering her office, she closed the door and leaned against it for a minute. This was the calm before the storm. It was time to plan.

But first she had to tell Sunny and Kate. She made the two calls; each was short and upsetting. Amy arrived, with Mary Kate on her heels, and by the time Meredith arrived, Lily and Jess were there, too.

Amy, bless her, relieved Susan of the responsibility of formally spilling the beans by asking a startled, 'You're all three pregnant?'

The girls stared at each other. Mary Kate was the first to nod.

'How far along?' Amy asked.

'Eleven weeks,' said Mary Kate.

'Ten,' Jessica said.

'Intentionally?'

There were three nods.