“She’s home!” My mother ran to the front door and immediately hugged me.
“Hey!” I faked a little bit of enthusiasm.
“Did you pick a major yet?” My father was behind her with his arms folded across his chest.
“No…” I sighed.
“That’s the only time you get to ask her!” My mother turned around and shook her finger at my father.
“I had to ask!” He walked over, and despite not being happy with my response, he still hugged me.
“Welcome home. We haven’t converted your old room into an office yet, so you can stay there.” He squeezed me a little tighter.
“He’s kidding—we’re not doing anything with your room until you have your own place,” my mother grumbled under her breath.
“Thanks…” I leaned back from his embrace and sighed. “I’m a little tired from the drive, so I may need to lay down for a bit.”
“That’s fine.” My father patted my shoulder. “We’ll come get you when dinner is ready.”
I wasn’t just tired—I was exhausted. Part of that was the constant worry that never went away. I had no idea how I was going to sneak away and see Everette. I didn’t want to delay our reunion, nor did I want to wait until the end of my trip to tell him about the baby, but I didn’t have a good excuse for visiting our neighbor. Amelia decided not to come home for Thanksgiving—she didn’t think it would be worth it until Christmas since she was so far away—so I couldn’t even use her as an excuse for leaving the house. All I could really think about was my bed and a very long nap, so I went upstairs and delayed all of the inevitable discussions for a little while longer.
A few hours later
“Holly? Dinner is ready.” My father tapped my door until I woke up.
“Thanks, I’ll be down in a few minutes.” I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes.
I’m fairly famished at this point—but I sure would like to sleep a little longer.
I got dressed as quickly as I could and picked up my cell phone. I had a message from Everette asking if I had arrived and another one a few minutes later letting me know that he saw my car in the driveway. I replied and let him know that I was home safe but wasn’t sure when I would be able to see him since my parents were home. That was the truth and a delay tactic on my part—I was going to tell Everette about the baby as soon as I got the chance—I just didn’t know when that would be. My parents weren’t going to let me run off the first night I was back, even if Amelia had been in town.
“College must be hard work—you were out like a light.” My father chuckled as soon as I got to the table.
“Yeah.” I sat down and sighed. “I think it was the drive that really did me in…”
“I got you a soda.” My mother motioned to the can in front of me. “We’ve got tea if you’d prefer that instead.”
“Actually…” I looked down at the table. “I think I’ll just have some water.”
They’ve never had Sprite in the house, so I’m sure that hasn’t changed while I was gone.
“Did you kick the soda habit?” My father raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I figured you’d be guzzling energy drinks by now like all those young people I work with.”
“No.” I shook my head back and forth. “It’s usually water or Gatorade these days.”
Even if Gatorade does have enough sugar to make Everette’s doctor side to get twitchy.
I kept in contact with my parents and talked to them on the phone regularly, so I didn’t have any major news to share—well, none that I could share at the dinner table. A lot of what we discussed was just recaps of those conversations, and it felt like I was just lying to them. I was talking about options for majors, classes I might take the following semester, and grand visions of a future I wasn’t sure I would actually have. The real conversation was going to come later, and I wasn’t looking forward to ruining Thanksgiving for my family. Everette was spending Thanksgiving Day with his family too, so I had to either tell him before he left or try to hold everything in until the holiday was officially over.
I probably won’t be able to tell him tonight, and I don’t know if I’ll get to see him tomorrow—maybe it would be better to wait until everyone has digested their Thanksgiving dinner…
I was torn. The main thing I wanted to avoid was seeing Everette without telling him the truth. I didn’t want it to be a secret that lingered between us when there was an opportunity to come clean. That felt like it would be the worst option. I stayed downstairs with my family for a couple of hours after dinner, but the bed was calling my name, even if it was early. I wasn’t lying when I said I was tired, and they didn’t raise any objections when I told them I was going to bed early. I went upstairs, got ready for bed, and barely got laid down before I saw my phone light up on the nightstand beside me. I had a message from Everette.
Everette: Do you think you can sneak out tonight after your parents go to bed?
Holly: Wow, you’re encouraging bad behavior now?
Everette: I just want to see you.