Author's note: I can honestly say that I had fun writing this chapter. I just want everyone to remember that, no matter what happens, I appreciate all support, and all feedback. I will never abandon this story, and it will be finished, no matter how long that takes. This chapter, though partially grounded in real experience, is wholly fictional. Thank you for reading. If anyone has any ideas, questions, or just comments, let me know in a review and I'll answer you directly, and in the story. Thanks for the support. Please enjoy this next chapter.
"I can't do this."
Olivia looked up from her case file, having been resting on the sofa when Casey rushed out of the bedroom, her dress unzipped, her hair still wet from her shower. "Do you need help with the little zipper?"
"That's not funny, Olivia!" Casey cried, struggling with the zipper. She had just bought this dress two months before, and she was already outgrowing it. Unfortunately, that was the least of her problems. Sucking in her breath, the attorney managed to zip the dress, hoping it didn't bulge in all the wrong places. She sighed, sitting on the edge of the sofa, pushing Olivia's legs aside. "This is insane," she murmured. "This can go wrong in so many ways."
Olivia sighed, closing the file and placing it on the coffee table. "Honey, are you having second thoughts? If anyone should be nervous, it should be me. I'm the one who is meeting them for the first time."
"I know," Casey answered with a sigh. "But you don't understand, Olivia. My parents have always been very loving and supportive of me, and there have been few things in my life that they have been truly angry or disappointed in me for. But this is completely different. I'm coming to two good Catholics, one of whom is a former military man, and telling them that I am pregnant out of wedlock, and that I am marrying a woman."
Olivia nodded. "I know," she replied. "But what changed, Casey? You were excited about it earlier. You practically jumped up and down the other night at dinner when I agreed to meet them. What changed?"
Casey considered her answer very carefully. If it came out wrong, it could potentially make Olivia feel like she didn't want her to meet her parents, and that wasn't the truth at all. Finally, shaking her head, the redhead managed an explanation that, at least in theory, sounded logical. "What changed is my phone call with my mother the other night. When I asked if I could introduce someone to them, my mother practically salivated. I could hear her smiling on the other end, and then she asked me if this was a man from work. A man, Olivia. A man! She thinks I'm bringing a man, and I didn't have the emotional fortitude to tell her otherwise."
"Oh, that's just great, Casey! I'm going to be showing up on their doorstep and they are going to be looking at everything but me, trying to find this tall, dark, and handsome stranger you are bringing home."
"On the bright side, you qualify for two out of three of those descriptors."
"Why only two? And which one do I not qualify for?"
"I'm not going to call you handsome, Olivia. I don't care what you wear in bed. You're too beautiful to ever be called handsome." Casey sighed. "But that's not the point. The point is that my mother is either going to be furious with me or fawn all over you the way she used to with my friends. And I'm not sure which one is worse."
Olivia nodded. "I understand. But I am proud that you want to introduce me to your parents, and nothing they say or do can make me stop loving you. Yes, I would appreciate their support, and I would love to see your father walking you down the aisle, because I know how much you have always wanted that. But know that, regardless of what happens at dinner tonight, I'm always going to love you. Nothing can change that. They can throw a bible at me, and recite a thousand scriptures, and I will still love you with every bit of my heart. Understood?" Casey opened her mouth to speak, but Olivia kissed her to silence her. "Go finish getting ready. I promise this will be as comfortable as possible."
Casey, knowing she had no arguments left, though unable to quell her last minute nerves, reluctantly turned and walked back into the bedroom to finish getting ready.
Two hours later, among the cacophony of forks clinking against porcelain, quiet sips from everyone at the table, and the practically palpable curiosity radiating from Casey's parents, a distinct aura settled around the evening. Everything had gone well enough, thus far. Olivia and Casey's father had briefly spoken about politics, which was odd, given Olivia's anti-political stance, but Casey appreciated the effort she was making.
Her mother had briefly chatted about new fashion trends, and Casey fought back the urge to tell her that Olivia wasn't like any of the friends she had ever brought to dinner- their relationship status aside. But Olivia, despite her lack of interest in such frivolities, managed to fake an interest so well that Casey's mother didn't even notice, and instead only babbled on.
As everyone finished their second course, and the housekeeper cleared the plates and prepared to fetch dessert, Casey's father cleared his throat from the head of the table. "Casey, it's great to see you come home once in a decade or so," he stated, taking a rather large sip from his wine goblet. "Your mother tells me you have news?"
Casey flinched in her seat. So much for finding the proper icebreaker. She glanced at Olivia for a moment, and felt Olivia subtly take her hand under the table. "Yes, I have news," she began carefully.
"Does it have anything to do with the fact that you're pregnant, but not married?" her father interjected. "Casey, I thought we raised you better than that. You should know better than to rebel like that."
"Dad, I'm almost forty," Casey answered. Leave it to him to think she had gotten pregnant to rebel against him. The way he spoke, one would think she was sixteen and dating his law clerks again. "Sir," she finished, the word echoing on her tongue. She nervously took a sip of her water. Her carefully rehearsed speech had suddenly evaporated from her mind.
"Steven!" her mother cried. She shook her head at Casey. "Ignore your father, honey. He's just cranky because our house in the Hamptons isn't quite ready for us yet." She shot Casey's father a quick glare that dared him to butt in, but he wilted. He was a tough military man and even tougher former District Attorney, but there was something about the way her normally calm and easygoing mother scolded him that silenced him instantly. "Go on, sweetie."
Casey took a deep breath, inhaling sharply. "The pregnancy is only part of it," she answered, finding her opening. "I may have conceived the baby out of wedlock, but she will not be born that way." Casey hadn't bothered to tell her family about her assault. They had called her a million times when they saw the paper, but she hadn't bothered to answer.
"Oh? This gentleman came back around and is willing to marry you? That's great news!" Steven boomed.
Casey shook her head. "No, Sir," she murmured. For all of her life, she had been forced to call her own father sir, and in situations like this, it seemed too formal, too stuffy...too impersonal for this type of conversation. But if she wanted a positive reaction from him, she would have to play to his ego. "I will be married, but not to the man who fathered my baby. I will be married...to Olivia."
An uncomfortable silence settled over the room, and Casey felt, more than saw, her parents' gaze swivel over to Olivia. After several long, uncomfortable moments, Deanna Novak cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, you are marrying.." She looked at Olivia for a moment, staring as if taking in every detail, from Olivia's dark brown hair to her olive skin, to the scar on her eyebrow, and everything in between.
Before her mother could say anything else, her father slammed his wine goblet down onto the table. "So you started with an affront to your upbringing by getting pregnant outside of marriage, and now you bring this, this woman into our home and announce that you are marrying her? A marriage is between a man and a woman, Casey. You know that. You used to believe that. What, did you run out of men to sleep around with and decided to switch to a larger pool of choices?"
Casey felt her heart leap into her throat and the tears sting the back of her eyes. She hadn't expected her father to be happy, exactly, but that was too much. He was using her news as an excuse to shame her, and she wasn't going to deal with it. She stood up abruptly, the water in her glass shaking. "No, Sir," she answered, this time her voice full of contempt, albeit broken with sadness. "A marriage is between two people, regardless of who they are, and I marrying Olivia because I love her, and because she loves me."
Casey bit back the tears, willing herself not to cry in front of her father. I came here asking for your support, but I see now that you are too bitter and old fashioned to ever approve of things. God forbid you approve of your only daughter's happiness. Oh, forgive me, I took the Lord's name in vain. I'm such a bad little sinner." She scoffed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry that I ever expected you to care about how I feel. I'm not your trophy child. You can't project the perfect family just so you can be re-elected again, Dad. You're retired, and it's time you start focusing less on your constituents, and more on your family." She looked over at her mother. "The dinner was fantastic, Mom. Thank you." Casey turned away and left the room, unable to look at her father any longer.
As she reached the front porch, she felt Olivia's arms around her. "I'm sorry," Olivia whispered. "I should have declined the offer."
Casey shook her head, turning into her and resting her head on the older woman's chest. "It's not about you," she said quietly, her voice breaking. "He's never been happy with anything I do. Any time I made a mistake, he would ignore me, then pay off whoever he could to keep it a secret. He has always criticized everything in my life as an affront to my upbringing. That is his favorite put down. I shouldn't have expected that to change."
The front door opened before Olivia could respond, and the porch flooded with light. "Casey?" her mother's voice rang out. She paused when she saw Casey crying in Olivia's arms. She sighed, gently ruffling Casey's hair the way she used to when Casey was younger. "Honey, I am so sorry about what your father said in there. He is in shock, as I am. But he had no right to talk to you like that, especially after..what you've been through." She glanced at Olivia for a moment. "I don't pretend to understand...this. But if you're happy, that's what matters to me. You're my baby girl, no matter how old you are, and I love you with every ounce of my being. I will talk to your father. But know that, for now, you have my full support." She extended her right hand. "Welcome to the family, Olivia."
Olivia shook her hand, while still holding Casey with her free arm. "Thank you, Mrs. Novak," she answered quietly. "I appreciate the dinner, and the support, but for now, I am going to take Casey home. She needs to get off of her feet, and she is very hurt by what her father said to her."
"Will you two stay here for the night?" Deanna asked. "Please? I already had the housekeeper prepare the room on the off chance that Casey would be staying. And um...you're welcome to share the bed with her, if you like..."
Casey lifted her head from Olivia's chest, hating the fact that her face must be reddened and blotchy from crying. Olivia sighed, brushing a stray lock of hair out of the younger woman's eyes. "How do you feel about that?" she asked gently. "Do you want to go home, or do you want to stay here with your mother and..your father?"
Casey sighed, hating being treated like a two year old, but also appreciating it, on some level. She looked from Olivia to her mother and back again. And in an instant, she knew what she wanted.