Braylee was full of turmoil. “N-nothing. Well, actually.” She blew out a breath. “Today is going to be my first time going back to the house since…” she paused, “I—um—well since I decided to cut my hair.”
“And, it’s cute I might add. Did you cut it some more?”
“Come on Stephanie. I'm serious. You asked how I was doing, and now you want to joke around.”
“You are uptight. Take a deep breath.” Stephanie reached into her purse and pulled out her cucumber melon hand lotion. She twisted off the cap and put a dollop of it into her palms and rubbed them together. “I’m not an advocate of The Mask you wear but today you need to put that bad boy on. Daddy doesn’t need any more pressure on him. He has a long road ahead regarding his recovery without having the added stress of taking ownership of your relationship with Mama. However—I’ve told you before that you two have got to figure out a way to work things out.”
“Ugh. What in the world is that?” Braylee wrinkled up her nose and pressed the button to roll down her window. “That fragrance is going to give me a headache and make me nauseous.”
Bewildered, Stephanie looked at her hands. “What my lotion? I’ve worn this brand for years. You’ve never had a problem with it before. You’re acting like somebody who’s pregnant.”
Braylee remained silent. She kept looking straight ahead.
Her eyes widened. “Oh, my God. Are you pregnant? “You are! You went and got yourself knocked up by Alex.” Stephanie laughed out loud and shook her head. Then started singing. “I ain’t trying to say she’s a gold digger, but she ain’t messing with no broke broke…” Her giggles were almost uncontrollable. “Woo lawwd. This is too much.”
Braylee kept one hand on the wheel but reached out with the other one and smacked Stephanie on the arm. “Oh. Shut up! You’re going to find yourself walking the rest of the way to pick up Daddy. I have no idea how this could have happened.”
Stephanie couldn’t stop laughing, “Oh—I do. Somewhere down the line, you didn’t use protection.” She calmed down just a little bit. “Everybody thought I would be the one to get pregnant before marriage.”
Braylee gave her the death glare.
“Girl. That look only works for your clients.” Stephanie waved her hands back and forth. “That doesn’t scare me. How far along are you?”
Braylee bit the inside of her lip. “I’m almost twelve weeks.”
“TWELVE WEEKS!” She yelled as she glanced down at Braylee’s stomach. Her questions started tumbling out one after another. “How long have you and Alex been together? Six months? When did you find out?”
Braylee tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “I’ve known Alex more than a year.”
“But, you weren’t dating him all that time were you? You guys hooked up after that tornado.”
“Y-yes. It was around that time. I found out when I was admitted to the hospital a few weeks ago—after the explosion.”
Stephanie curled her lips up. “Wow. You don’t look it. Shouldn’t you be starting to show? I can’t tell. What did Alex say? Did you tell Lisa?”
“My clothes are starting to feel a bit tighter. He hasn’t said anything because I haven’t told him yet. I haven’t told anyone.”
“Are you serious? I know before Lisa? You are just full of surprises today. Why haven’t you said anything to Alex? That man seems to be gaga over you.”
“Really Stephanie? Where have you been the last couple of weeks? Bombs? Nate? China? Not to mention, there has been one disaster after another since we started dating.” Braylee sighed. “Honestly, I just needed a bit of time to wrap my mind around the pregnancy. You know there’s more to it than just being gaga over me.” She thought to herself that their father had been crazy in love with their mother and that was a mess. “This isn’t a disaster, Braylee; unexpected maybe but not a disaster.”
“You know what I mean. He’s fantastic with Cecily, but I just wish we had more time as a couple. We’re still getting to know each other. We haven’t even gotten around to talking about what we want in our future. He’s going to freak out. I know it.”
“I don’t think he’ll freak out. He might be shocked.”
“Oh—I know he’s going to be shocked. It’s complicated, but he doesn’t think it’s possible for him to have children. What if he acts like a jerk and doesn’t believe it’s his?”
“You’re scared. I get it. I even understand that you are nervous considering the amount of time you two have been dating but I don’t think he will disappoint you. He’ll be a great partner in this.”
“It’s not just him.” Braylee paused. “I can’t imagine that I’m going to be the greatest mother. I mean, I’m selfish; I work too much, and what am I going to do if this baby throws up on one of my designer suits?”
Stephanie looked thoughtful. “Yeah, that’s true. You are all of those things, and I can throw in a few more.”
Braylee pressed her lips together tightly, then spoke. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Oh come on. You know you are a mess. But, you’re going to be an excellent mother too. You’ve been taking care of us your whole life. Don’t let your relationship with Mama dictate how you’re going to be as one.”
“Mama has nothing to do with this.”
Stephanie’s face said yeah right.
Braylee sighed again. “I don’t know. My
