Chapter 8 Krista #2
She shook her head vehemently, the tears spilling down her cheeks as she furiously wiped at them. “No, we’re not.”
“But—”
“I never want to see him again.”
Sighing, I knew it was pointless to keep trying. “Will you at least tell me who he is?”
She shook her head again, swiping the last of the tears from her face as she struggled to gain control. “It doesn’t matter. It won’t ever matter.”
“But—”
“No,” she snapped, her tone perfectly clear. This was not up for discussion, and it never would be.
“Okay,” I said gently. “We won’t talk about it ever again.”
“Good.” She sucked in a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut. “I just need you to be there when I start losing my nerve, okay?”
Surprised, I leaned away from her. “Um…are we talking about during the delivery, or when you want to tell everyone about the bastard who abandoned you?”
“The second,” she murmured, breathing through a contraction.
“Will you tell me?”
“Nope.” She tilted her head back, breathing out in one long breath.
“Better?”
She nodded, blinking back tears. “It’s going to be fine. He doesn’t matter. Not even a little.”
“Are you sure about that? I mean, what if he wants to know about the baby?”
She shot me a look, irritated that I even suggested it.
“Okay, never mind.”
“I just want to get through this and know that I’m doing what’s best for my baby.”
I wasn’t so sure that keeping the father from his child was what was best, but it wasn’t my place to say a damn thing, and since I didn’t know who the father was, I couldn’t say a thing if I wanted to.
“What do you need right now?”
She huffed out a laugh, relaxing into the bed. “Sleep.”
“Well, I don’t think you’re getting any of that anytime soon, but I can definitely keep you entertained until the baby comes.”
“You can tell me about that hot man of yours.”
That had me laughing. “One, he’s not my hot man. Second, there’s nothing more to tell than what I’ve already said.”
“But you have his boss’s number. You could call him up and find him.”
“If I wanted to, which I don’t. Trust me, this is for the best.”
“Somehow, whenever someone says trust me, I always think there’s a lie in there.”
“Like, trust me, the father doesn’t need to know?”
She narrowed her eyes at me, shooting me an evil look. “You know, I think it’s time for you to leave.”
“You can’t make me. You’re stuck in a bed, attached to the epidural, and if you want the drugs, you can’t move.”
A smirk slid across her face right before she said, “Mom, did Krista tell you she slept with her husband before he left town?”
I spun around, gasping in horror when my mother nearly dropped the cup of coffee she was carrying.
“Krista!”
I spun back and glared at my sister. “Bitch.”
“Whore.”
“You slept with him and then shoved him out the door?” Mom gasped. “Why would you do that?”
“It was good sex! That’s it!”
“But he’s your husband!”
I was so going to kill my sister. “I didn’t know he was my husband!”
“So, you just let any man between your thighs?”
“Me? I’m not the one who’s about to push a baby out of her vagina!” I said, pointing a finger at my sister.
“Hey!” Lizzy snapped. “I’m in labor! You can’t gang up on me!”
“You didn’t have to spill my secrets,” I argued.
Mom sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. She looked exhausted and run-down. Honestly, it was no surprise since she took care of all of us like we were still her babies at home.
“My girls. You were supposed to be my pride and joy. Now, one of you is knocked up by some man, and the other is married to a man who already ran away.”
I winced at the description. We really were disappointments.
“Mom, you’re not really upset, are you?” Lizzy asked, her chin quivering.
Mom smiled, grabbing her hand. “Only that you won’t tell me who he is. I’d like to kick his ass.”
“Mom!” I gasped, having never heard her say anything like that before.
“Well, he hurt my little girl. What kind of man abandons a pregnant woman?”
“He doesn’t know,” Lizzy sighed.
“Still, it’s abandonment, and I won’t think differently. And as for you,” she said, turning her glare on me. “Was he at least good?”
I nearly choked on my spit, surprised by the question. “Um…”
“Two weeks before my wedding, I ran away with your Aunt Rose. We went to Wisconsin,” she giggled.
I glanced at Lizzy, wondering why she thought Wisconsin was some exotic land.
“We were so wild back then,” she beamed as she stared out in the distance.
“Mom, why did you run off?”
Her eyes came back to mine with a conspiratorial wink. “To have some fun. I was about to be a married woman. I didn’t want to go through life wondering if this was really what I wanted.”
I gaped at my mother, shocked that she had a wild side. “Mom, tell me you didn’t—”
She nodded, blushing bright red. “It was only once, but he was so handsome.”
“Mom!” Lizzy gasped. “You cheated on Dad?”
“Oh, cheating is such a harsh word.”
“Uh…no, it’s not. Cheating is exactly the word you would use.”
“He knows about it,” she huffed. “I told him as soon as I got back.”
“And he didn’t care that you ran off and slept with another man?” I practically shouted.
“Oh, he cared, alright,” she blushed again.
Her words washed over me like pig sludge on a warm day. All those warm, fuzzy feelings I had after sex were washed away in the blink of an eye. “Ew!”
“It was the best thing that ever happened to your father and me. We worked out our differences the night I came home, and there’s never been another man who could turn my head.”
“So…you’re saying sleeping with another man saved your marriage before it ever began?” Lizzy asked, looking just as green as I felt.
“Honey, don’t pretend that just because I’m older that I never lived. I was young once, too. I had desires and needs just like every other woman, and I still do.”
I clapped my hands over my ears, not wanting to hear another word. “Nope, not listening. Sorry, but you are not supposed to have sex!”
“How do you think you were conceived?” she asked, ripping my hands from the sides of my head. “Did you think the stork brought you?”
“No, but I also don’t want to think about you and dad still doing it!”
“Yeah, I have to agree with Krista. No child needs to know about their parents…doing that.”
Huffing out a sigh, she got to her feet. “I just thought we could have an honest discussion. You know, it’s not like my girls ever come to me with anything they need to discuss, and it’s not right. I know what it’s like to have wants and needs.”
That might be true, but we never had that kind of relationship before. It wasn’t like I could just suddenly start talking about sex with her. She never even had the birds and the bees conversation with me.
Not that I needed it.
My brothers had talked about sex so much growing up that I had more knowledge than any sixth grader should have. You would have thought by the age of ten that they were all fully versed in how to please a woman.
“Mom, I appreciate you wanting to talk about things with us, but it’s not normal,” Lizzy said gently. “You’re our mother, not our friend. Not in that way, and frankly, I’d like to keep it that way.”
“Not your friend,” Mom whispered. “Well…”
“Mom,” I said, getting to my feet, but she was already out the door.
“That wasn’t how I meant it,” Lizzy sighed.
“I know. I’ll go after her.”
“No, just give her a minute. Besides, she sort of deserves it after she just gave us an info dump on her sex life. I don’t think I’ll ever be the same.”
I agreed with her on that point.
“Maybe you can let her have these conversations with her grandkid. She can scar someone other than us.”
She winced, shifting in the bed.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just thinking about how much my kids are gonna hate me when they find out I traded my comfort for theirs.”