~*′`*~
Darion pulled up to my parents’ house that afternoon, and I steeled myself. I’d given up on finding something in common with my mother. But we were talking again.
I didn’t know what I’d expected coming here. Certainly not that we’d be chummy friends, shopping for jeans that didn’t make our butts look big. But something.
I didn’t really know how to do this daughter thing.
Mom opened the door before we even got out of the car. She stepped onto the porch, my father behind her. He must have come back sometime this week. I hadn’t been in the main house in a few days, sneaking off early in the morning and returning late.
Like a teenager, I realized. Maybe I hadn’t grown up at all.
Mom enveloped me in a huge hug when we got to them. Dad shook Darion’s hand.
“You must be the doctor we’ve heard so much about,” Dad said.
I raised an eyebrow at him over Mom’s shoulder. I hadn’t said much at all to them about Darion.
“Nice to meet you, sir,” Darion said.
Now the teenager in me was really coming out, because I snorted. Sir? Darion was in his thirties! He didn’t have to call anyone sir.
Mom let go of me and turned to Darion. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
We went inside. When we had settled on Mom’s hideous floral sofas, she asked, “Are you going to stay a while?”
Darion answered without hesitation. “I have my rounds covered for a couple days. Then I do have to get back.” He took my hand. “You’ve been such a comfort for Tina that she’ll have to decide for herself whether she’s ready to leave or not.”
He was good. Mom beamed at him.
“A little early for a cocktail,” Dad said, “but we do have some beer.”
“I’m fine, thank you,” Darion said.
Dad sat down, and I figured that was it. End of any conversation or common ground. We could not be more different from the two people who had raised me, Mom in her cotton dress, and Dad in his business casual even at home.
But Darion was on it. “So, when did Tina start painting? She’s quite good.”
Mom was perfectly happy to prattle on about my whole history of art. I started feeling sleepy partway through her spiel, but Darion was attentive and alert.
“Let me go find some of her finger paintings,” my mom said, standing up.
I held out my hand. “That isn’t necessary,” I said. “We’ve probably got more pressing issues.”
She sat back down, sending a concerned look at my father.
Darion took my hand. When I didn’t speak up, he did. “We’re still in the planning stages of the wedding. I’m sure you’ll want to come out for that.”
“Just a JP thing,” I said quickly.
Darion nodded. “But I’m sure they’ll want to be there. Along with my father and sister, and I believe you met Corabelle.”
“She was a delightful girl,” Mom said. “Went to so much trouble to come down.”
“She is,” Darion said. His eyes met mine, as if to ask, anything else?
“And I’m pregnant,” I blurted out. “So, we’ll probably do the wedding sooner rather than later.”
Mom sucked in a sharp breath.
“Well, then,” Dad said. “Maybe we should have that cocktail after all.” He got up and headed to the liquor cabinet.
This made me laugh out loud. “Really, Dad?”
Darion pulled me close to his side. “We’re not very far along. And we’ll make sure we have the best specialists watching for another cervical issue or premature labor.”
Mom was pale. “Do you think it could happen again?”
“I’ve looked into the issue pretty thoroughly since Tina told me about Peanut,” Darion said.
This was news to me. He had on his doctor face, the one that assures parents of kids with cancer that they are doing everything possible.
It was a good face.
“It’s a pretty simple stitch that they place around her cervix,” Darion said. “It’s very effective in keeping everything closed during the high-growth period of the baby’s gestation.” He looked at me warmly. “I’ll personally oversee everything that is done.”
“Oh, Tina, how lucky you are to have a doctor watching you now.” My mom rushed over to me and pulled me to her in an awkward hug. “It’s going to be just fine. I know it.” She released me to turn to my dad. “We’re going to have to fly out for the wedding, and then again when the baby is due. We can find a place to rent for a few weeks. If we skip our vacation this year, we’ll be able to swing that.”
They talked excitedly about their plans. For a moment, I felt regret that I’d come here and involved them. They’d be all up in my life again, just like when I lived here.
Darion accepted a drink from Dad and they shook hands. Mom embraced him. I watched all this, feeling awkward and weird. They liked him. They liked my life.