"I still don't see it." Roger said from a chair in Maureen and Joanne's living room. He was holding the sonogram picture and turning it this way and that, and then back again.
Maureen laughed as she slipped a pair of simple diamond studs in her ears. "Roger, you've been looking at that for over a week now."
"And I still don't see it." Roger replied, now holding the picture sideways.
"Your hopeless." Maureen told him as she walked over to stand behind him. She traced the baby's outline on the picture for the up-teenth time with a freshly painted fingernail.
Roger's face lit up. "I see it!"
With a roll of her eyes and a deep laugh, Maureen headed back towards her bedroom. "You're hopeless, Davis, utterly and completely hopeless."
For his part, Roger was memorizing the outline, tracing it with his own finger. He was going to love rubbing it in Mark's face. Camera boy couldn't find the baby either. When Maureen came back out he looked up at her. She was dressed simply, or at least as simply as Maureen could get, in a pair of jeans, plain black tank top, and a valet blazer. With the blazer open the tank top stretched over her ever growing bump to make it more then clear that she was pregnant.
"So what are you going to tell them?" He asked referring to hers and Joanne's parents.
"That I'm pregnant and that Joanne and I are going to Boston to get married." Maureen replied even though she knew that wasn't what he meant.
Roger rolled his eyes. "What are you going to tell them about how you got that way?"
Maureen sighed. They would be sitting at a table with these people in less then two hours and she and Joanne were still fumbling with that part. It sure wasn't going to be the truth. She'd never told her parents she'd been raped. And the last thing she wanted was more people who could let the truth slip years from now in front of tiny ears. Whatever they told their parents tonight would set in stone the story of the baby's conception.
"You could always tell them it's mine." Roger offered.
She blinked as she turned to look at him. "Roger that's so sweet!" She walked over and hugged his neck and then sat on the coffee table in front of him and sighed. "Thank you, Rog, but…"
"It'll never work." He nodded. "There's no way they'd have allowed me to be a donor and your parents would freak out if they thought you slept with me. They'd worry you and the kid were infected."
Maureen nodded.
"You could tell them its Mark's." He offered next.
"Hell no!" Maureen replied as she shook her head, causing her mass of dark curls to come out of the clips that held it back. "That would just encourage them to push harder for us to get back together."
Roger laughed and held up his hand in time to block a thump to the head. "Ok, ok, bad idea."
With a sighing huff that only a true diva could pull off, Maureen got up and went to get her shoes. She was so caught up in figuring out what to tell the parents that she hadn't noticed Joanne come home or Roger leave.
"Honeybear?" Joanne said softly as she came up behind Maureen. "You ok?"
Maureen smiled as she leaned back against her lover. "Yeah, I'm ok. Just lost in thought."
"It'll be ok." Joanne reassured her. "No matter what happens, it'll be ok."
An hour and half later the two women were on their way downtown to meet their parents. The taxi ride was a quiet one. They simply sat there holding hands and thinking. When they finally got to the restaurant Joanne paused outside the doors. "Sperm bank?"
Maureen nodded as she buttoned her blazer. "Only choice we have."
"We could tell them the…" Joanne began.
"No." Maureen replied, cutting of the rest of that sentence.
Joanne just nodded, took her lover's hand, and then led her into the restaurant. As the hostess walked them to their table they could see that both sets of parents had already arrived, and that all four of them looked confused, their mothers even looked worried, or was that fear?
"Sorry we're late." Joanne said as she pulled out Maureen's chair and then sat next to her. "We got a late start."
In truth, Maureen had gotten sick. She had morning sickness, but when she became nervous or scared it tended to creep into day and night sickness too. "My fault," She smiled weakly, "I wasn't feeling well."
"Are you alright dear?" Mrs. Johnson asked worriedly.
Maureen smiled at her mother. "I'm fine, Mom."
When the waitress came over everyone ordered their drinks. Maureen ordered a sparkling water with lime, which got an odd look from her parents. She smiled at them and shrugged. They chatting causally for a little while about everyone's comings and goings, the tension slowly building. Both sets of parents knew there was a point to this dinner and they were all starting to wish the girls would just get on with it. Finally after the plates had been removed and before dessert and coffee were served, Joanne reached over and took Maureen's hand.
"I know you all know we're here for a reason." She began. "Thank you for being so patient." She glanced over and Maureen before looking at her parents then Maureen's. "Maureen and I are getting married."
There was silence at the table.
Maureen swallowed the lump in her throat before looking at the Jeffersons. "I know you're both very leery of me and after the party at the country club I can't blame you. I'd like to apologize for that by the way. I wasn't ready for something so serious then, and honestly, the whole thing scared the hell out of me."
"And you're ready now?" Mrs. Jefferson asked flatly.
"Yes, I am." Maureen answered honestly.
Mrs. Johnson looked at her daughter carefully before asking, "Maureen, are you sure this is what you really want?"
"Yes I'm sure." Maureen answered. She looked into Joanne's eyes before looking at their parents again. "A lot of things have happened over the past few months." She squeezed Joanne's hand. "When our friend Angel died, I realized I wanted what he had, I wanted that kind of love, to have someone to live for. Then we nearly lost Mimi and I knew that if that had been Joanne, that if I'd lost her, I'd die too. We've been working things out for months, and it hasn't been easy. We're both stubborn and we both have strong personalities that clash sometimes, but that's part of the reason we fit so well together. We balance each other out. I love her."
Joanne had the brightest smile on her face. She caressed Maureen's cheek before turning to look at her parents. "This is the real thing this time."
"How can you be sure?" Mr. Jefferson asked.
Joanne looked at Maureen who nodded. With a nod of her own, Joanne looked once more their parents. "We're not only getting married. We're having a baby."
Four sets of eyes went wide.
"Don't you think that's all just a little too much right now?" Mrs. Jefferson asked. "What if this doesn't work the way you think it will? Maybe you should wait before…"
"I didn't say we're thinking of having a baby." Joanne cut in. "I said we are having a baby."
Maureen bit her lip before standing up and unbuttoning her blazer.
There was silence.
Maureen sat back down slowly.
No one said a word until the waitress came with coffee and dessert. "Will there anything else?"
Joanne shook her head as she fished for her wallet. "No, thank you." She handed the woman her credit card. "Could you box this please?" She asked indicating her and Maureen's desserts "We'll be leaving now."
The waitress nodded and took the two desserts back.
She was somewhere between angry, hurt, and disappointed as she pulled two self-made innovations out of the pocket of Maureen's blazer. With a controlled tightness in her voice Joanne put one each in front of her father and Maureen's. "That's all the information about the wedding. It's in Boston in two weeks. Whither you come or not is totally up to all of you."
The ride home had been just as quiet as the ride to the restaurant only the tension was different. Instead of feeling nervous and even a little scared, there was anger and hurt in the air. Maureen managed to make it to the apartment before she finally reacted.
"I can't believe them!" She yelled, tears in her eyes. "My fucking parents! And yours, they didn't even ask us how, I bet they all think I cheated on your and got myself knocked up. You'd better believe that you'll be getting a call telling you to get out before I trap you."
Walking over Joanne put her arms around the red faced, tear streaked woman. "They'll accept this or they won't, it won't change anything, Maureen."
"You'll resent me if you lose your parents over this." Maureen replied with fear in her voice.
Joanne shook her head. "Never, whatever happens is their choice. You and the baby, Maureen, you're my family, your what I want. You and the baby are what I live for. I love you."
Maureen accepted the soft kiss and calmed down. "I love you too."