Chapter 2: Look Mom, No Condom!
That night, Amy decided she had to tell her family – at least her mom and Lauren, that was.
"Do you want me to be there?" Bruce asked.
"I think I need to tell those two on my own," Amy insisted. "Once I decide to tell the rest of my family, I'd prefer if you were there, too."
"Sure," Bruce said, nodding his head. Amy walked toward the door of her office, and Bruce said her name again, stopping her. "We'll make this work. I won't let you down."
"I know you won't," Amy agreed, then left her office.
The drive to her house seemed to take ages, as Amy thought about how to break the news. She imagined what her family would say, and how she would handle things from that point forward.
Finally, she arrived at her house, and reluctantly shut off her car. "It's now or never," she muttered to herself. She managed to make it from the car to the house without chickening out, and saw her mom and Lauren sitting in the kitchen, eating ice cream.
She opened the door to be greeted by Lauren. "Hey, Mom. Guess what?"
"What, noodle?" Amy asked, her mind focused on her own news.
"Victor and I are going to the Snowflake together."
"What's the Snowflake?" Amy asked, confused.
"The school dance," Lauren replied. "Duh."
"That's great, honey," Amy said unenthusiastically.
"Is something on your mind, Amy?" Maxine asked. "You seem preoccupied."
"Um, yeah. There's something pretty important I need to tell you," Amy said, nervous.
"What is it? You didn't get fired, did you?" Maxine asked.
"No, it's nothing to do with work." She paused, then rethought her words. "Well, maybe it does have something to do with work."
"Amy, you're just going in circles," Maxine said, annoyed. "Would you just come out and say it?"
"It has to do with Bruce," Amy said, still hedging the issue.
"Is Bruce your new boyfriend?" Lauren asked.
"Well, not exactly," Amy said, still avoiding telling them.
"Don't tell me you married the man," Maxine exclaimed.
Amy gave her mom a shocked look. "It's nothing like that."
"Then wh- Oh my God," Maxine realized. "Are you sure?"
Amy nodded her head, unable to speak without crying.
"Oh, honey," Maxine comforted, pulling Amy to her for a hug.
"What's going on?" Lauren asked, confused.
Amy pulled away from Maxine, wiping tears off her face. "I'm going to have a baby."
"But you aren't even married!" Lauren exclaimed. "You can't have a baby if you're not married! Oh my God, what is Chanel going to say? I'm going to be so unpopular. Thanks a lot, Mom." She attempted to storm away, but Amy stopped her before she could.
"Hey, this is not about you and it sure as hell isn't about Chanel," Amy barked at her. "It is about me, and if you want me to get married, then you'll have to get used to Bruce being your new stepfather because he's the baby's father." Amy finished her statement, nostrils flaring.
Lauren practically fell over at Amy's statement, but then righted herself and stormed off.
Amy flopped down on a stool, rubbing her forehead. "I've just alienated my daughter," she moaned.
"Amy,
you need to calm down," Maxine told her. "Stress isn't good for…for the baby."
She looked at Amy sadly. "Does Bruce know?"
"Yeah, yeah.
He was the first person I told," Amy informed her. "I thought it was kind of
important that he knew before anyone else."
"You mean, in case you decided to get rid of it," Maxine said softly.
"No,"
Amy spat, disgusted. "I told him because he's the baby's father, and we're
going to raise it together."
"I'm sorry. I just thought…"
Maxine started.
"You just thought what?" Amy asked angrily. "You just thought that I'd have an abortion because I'd be having a child that was half-black? Oh, God forbid we have anymore bi-racial family members. You didn't even want Ned."
"That is absolutely not true!" Maxine insisted. "I was just surprised, that's all."
"Yeah, surprised that it wasn't a perfect little white baby like you expected," Amy spat. She stood up suddenly. "I'm going to call Bruce, and then we're going to go tell Peter and Gillian, who I'm sure will be thrilled for us." She stormed out of the kitchen as well, leaving Maxine sitting at the counter, her hand over her mouth, shaking her head.
