Chapter 127
IN EARLY FEbrUARY, Laura announced she was pregnant. She did it at our monthly CAWS meeting, which we had begun to hold in the movie theater on the compound because the group was getting too big to accommodate at anyone’s house except Mary Lou’s.
I had just given the treasurer’s report and we’d gotten through old business when Mary Lou asked if anyone had any new business.
Betsy announced that Vista Mare was putting together a Girl Scout troop and needed at least two mothers to sign up to be troop leaders.
A gal named Darla said the soap opera discussion group was looking for more members.
And Beverly announced that she’d heard from Rita, who had given birth to a healthy baby girl named Jessica, a few days after Christmas.
Just when it looked like we might be wrapping up, Laura raised her hand and waited for Mary Lou to call on her. “I have some new business,” she said with a nervous grin, and I knew right away what she was going to say. “I’m pregnant.”
The room erupted in hoots and hollers, and even Mary Lou seemed pleased to toss Robert’s Rules of Order out the window and celebrate this good news. “It’s about time you got some good news,” she said, and came out from behind the lectern to give Laura a hug.
During the social hour after the meeting, I gave Laura a big squeeze and told her that I had suspected she was hiding something from me.
“We wanted to wait until the end of the first trimester,” she said, a little breathlessly. “I hope you’re not mad.”
“Why would I be mad?”
“That I didn’t tell you.”
“You’re allowed to have secrets,” I said.
She let out a thin laugh. “I guess we’ve all got them.”
I told myself to ignore the comment.
“I know you probably think this isn’t smart,” she said. “Getting pregnant now.”
“Why?”
“Because of the babies with the birth defects.”
“What do I know about anything?”
“You told Janet, that night at the wardroom, that you thought she should move home.”
“That is most definitely not what I said,” I insisted. “I said I didn’t know what she should do.”
“Well, the implication was that you thought she was a dummy for staying put.”
“Are you sure you’re not just worried that you’re a dummy for staying put?”
She gave me an incredulous look.
“I’m not saying you are a dummy. Just that you’re worried you’ll feel like one after the fact?”
Her shoulders sank. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Look,” I said, “I don’t think we should put our heads in the sand…” She was getting ready to argue with me, so I plowed ahead. “But we’ve also got to keep living our lives, and you and Bobby have wanted a baby for a long time.”
“So long,” she whispered, and I watched her eyes well up with tears.
“You deserve to be happy,” I said as I pulled her in for another hug. “And you’re going to make an incredible mom.”