Mellie was good, no- great at pretending. She pulled herself up over the next two weeks and helped get the campaign into full swing. She was miserable, but you wouldn't know it. All of this changed with a knock on the door one Saturday afternoon. Mellie opened the door and her jaw dropped seeing both of her parents standing on the steps.
"Well you just gon stand there little girl or you gon let your old parents in" her father exclaimed with his thick North Carolina drawl.
"Momma, Daddy what are you doing here?" She said stepping out of the way to let them in.
"You haven't been returning our calls, you moved out here to LA LA land and we haven't heard hid nor hair of you in ages. We came to see if you were still alive!" Her mother said pulling her into a hug.
"Momma that's a bit dramatic" she said pulling away quickly. She couldn't let her wall down. Her father leaned into kiss her cheek as Fitz walked into the foyer, stopping in his tracks.
"Rex, Victoria what a surprise!" He said greeting his in-laws.
Mellie was the only child of Rex and Victoria Young. She was truly a perfect blend of both of them. Victoria was a stunning brunette woman who looked younger than her years. Victoria was a socialite and a member of every high society there was well bred and educated. Rex was a typical southern gentleman. He was tall, distinguished, and formidable yet had kindness about him. He had salt and pepper hair and the same big deep blue eyes as Mellie. Rex and Victoria gave Mellie the very best of everything, they were considered "old money" but Rex was a prominent lawyer in Asheville North Carolina.
Rex always kept Fitz at a bit of a distance. He could never quite warm up to him. There was always something about him that made Rex question him. When Fitz and Mellie began to seriously date Rex had expressed his unfavorable opinion regarding Fitz . It was not well received by his wife or daughter. Rex, in time did soften when he saw how happy his daughter was. Rex could tell that she was head over heels for Fitzgerald Grant III. Victoria loved Fitz. She loved that he made her daughter happy. That was enough for her. Rex just always wanted the best for Mellie, always pushed her to follow her dreams, never to settle.
"So will one of you tell us what has been going on?" Victoria asked as Fitz lead them all into the living room.
"I'm confused… what do you mean?" Fitz asked. Mellie stood speechless trying to deflect her parents stares.
"Like I said we haven't heard from you- you're abrupt on the phone when we do get you…" Victoria went on. Fitz turned to Mellie looking for explanation. She drew in a sharp breath.
"Momma that's not true, I've talked to you. Things have been really busy…"
"Since you were too busy to catch up over the phone we came in person. We missed you, wanted to make sure everything was alright." Rex said pulling Mellie into a hug. Mellie was so small in her fathers arms she buried her head into his chest breathing in the familiar sent of his cologne. Part of her wished she could stay in his arms forever and have him protect her from the world. She felt like a little girl again. It made her heart hurt.
"Darlin, I'm sure things have been busy, cant imagine all you must have to do with running a campaign and a law firm" Victoria said as she took a seat on the couch. Fitz locked eyes with Mellie for the first time as he took a seat across from Victoria.
"Well actually… I'm taking some time off so we can focus on the campaign" Mellie said avoiding eye contact with either parent as she and Rex remained standing.
"You did what?" Rex asked surprised.
"You just made partner a year ago and you up and quit?" Rex continued, with anger growing.
"Daddy I didn't quit, I just said I'm taking time off for the campaign." She explained
"Partners don't just take time off, they get replaced and I didn't realize you were the one running for Governor " Rex said raising his voice.
"Now, now Rex, you let her be" Victoria chimed in.
"I will not let her be. This is the most ridiculous thing I have heard in some time now!" Rex continued.
"Rex, its just for a little while- We all know how important Mels career is to her, shes an amazing lawyer and is just –"Fitz began to chime in.
"Fitzgerald, I could really use a cocktail after my travels would you be a dear and show me where you keep things" Victoria interrupted him and stood to grab Fitz by the arm quickly leading him out of the room. Fitz started to hesitate but he didn't know what the right thing to say or do was, he could tell the look on his wifes face was not one he had seen before.
Mellie stood in the living room in front of her father. She felt five years old.
"Daddy please don't do this…"
"I'm not doing anything, I am just absorbing all that I am hearing. The news that my only child, who has worked so hard her entire life, who has dreamed of becoming a lawyer, who was the youngest partner at her firm and the first woman partner ever…would just one day up and quit because her husband woke up one day and decided he felt like being Governor" Rex fumed. His words hurt, but the look on his face hurt more. The look of disappointment, it was always the worst thing he could do to her was give her a look of disapproval. She adored her father and his opinion meant the world to her. She knew this would be his reaction, that's why she had been avoiding telling him.
"Daddy… its not like that.-" Mellie started
"OH MY STARS!" Victoria yelled from the kitchen. Mellie turned to see Victoria entering the living room holding Mellie's ultrasound in her hand.
"YOU'RE PREGNANT!?" Victoria beamed and pulled Mellie into a hug as Mellie gave Fitz a look of "how could you"
"Honey, we left it on the counter, she saw it when we were making drinks" Fitz said apologetically. Victoria took her daughters face in her hands.
"I just knew something was up! I just knew it!, I knew we had to come out here. Darlin how are you feeling? I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Victoria cheered. Mellie took in a sharp breath.
"Momma, it's really early yet, I'm only 8 weeks…"
"Oh my stars as I live and breathe, Rex do you believe it, we are going to be grandparents!" Victoria exclaimed. Mellie looked at Fitz and her mother who were wearing identical smiles. She turned around to face her father and was met by his blank stare.
"Well there you go, isn't that just the icing on the cake" Rex said coldly. The pit in Mellie's stomach returned followed by her now familiar waves of nausea thanks to her impending bundle of joy. Victoria was too elated to recognize Rex's tone and had forgotten the tension that made her and Fitz leave the room in the first place.
"Now we really need those drinks, we need to celebrate!... Darlin you should sit down and rest" Victoria ordered as she and Fitz left the room again.
Rex and Mellie stared a moment. "A baby now too?" He spoke breaking silence.
"Daddy, what's wrong with me having a baby? I'm not some teenager who got knocked up in the back of a pick up truck. I am a grown woman and I am married, this is what married people do." she defended.
He stared at his daughter before answering.
"There is nothing wrong with you having a baby. I will love this baby, just as much as I love you. I just don't know what's happening to you. This is not the Mellie I knew. My Mellie would never have pulled away from her momma and I like you have been the past few months. She's been worried sick about you. My Mellie never would have settled for being a wife and mother. You graduated top of your class in Harvard, top of your class at Yale, you studied at Oxford. You are brilliant, beautiful and spectacular. You were given the best of what we had to offer but you have also worked for every thing you have ever gotten. You have always been driven, you have always had goals and I just can't understand what would make you give all that up to play the good political wife. That is not the Mellie I know, that is not the girl we raised… Does he even want this or does his daddy want it for him? …I've seen this before with people… I just don't want you to give up pieces of yourself. I don't want you to one day wake up and regret the choices you made." He explained. It was like a knife in her heart, for many reasons, mostly because he was right.
"Daddy…that's not fair. I love Fitz. I am his wife, I am proud to be his wife. You make sacrifices and compromises for your spouse. He is going to be an amazing Governor. We are on the road together; I believe in him, we are partners. I still have dreams, I still have goals, they just are different now." She said confidently, scripted as if this was a mantra she told her said often. Rex sighed and walked closer to Mellie taking her face in his hands. Her body tensed.
"Baby girl… I hope you know what you're doing." He kissed the top of her head and walked out of the room.
Mellie stood motionless. Her armor was cracking.