Alba sat at her mother's kitchen table, hands wrapped around a warm cup of tea as her mom fiddled around in the kitchen with her own mug.
"I'm so happy you finally took some time to make the drive up here." The older woman gushed, finally coming around and sitting in front of her daughter.
They were spending some time catching up before her older sister showed up with her two kids. Alba had to get the news out to her mom now that she had her alone. She took a deep breath as she wondered for the thousandth time just how she was going to do it.
She wished she could talk to Steve. He'd been gone for almost two weeks on a mission in southeast Asia with some other members of his team, and according to Tony he was 'dark', which meant no phone calls or outside communication.
Alba's mom, Marlena, put down her cup resolutely and gave her daughter a thorough stare. She fidgeted uncomfortably as her mom's gaze lingered on her face.
"You look different…like you're glowing."
"I've just…been trying this new facial in town. But I did meet someone new. Through work. Sort of." Alba babbled. Her mom took the bait, arching her eyebrows delicately.
"Tell me."
"His name is Steve. He's a military man." I mean, it's not like it's a lie, Alba told herself.
Marlena clapped her hands together and smiled. "You'll have to bring him around sometime." She gave her daughter a long, doting look. Alba felt guiltier by the second, having to physically bite her lip to keep her mouth shut.
"Your father would be so proud of you, mi amor. You're a big lawyer know, putting all these criminals in prison. They were talking about you on the news a couple of weeks ago, during the last trial. Your face was on NBC!" Alba laughed nervously at her mom's excitement. Would she still be happy after what she had to say?
"Mami…before Mere comes, there's something I need to tell you."
Her mother's smiled dimmed. "Don't talk like that, you're scaring me."
Alba took a deep, calming breath. It's not like she hadn't done this before. "I'm pregnant."
Silence.
Her mom blinked. "You're what?"
"I'm pregnant."
"You're what?!" Alba flinched as her mom screamed in her face.
"Okay, I think you heard me that time."
"You're pregnant? How can you be pregnant?!"
She ran her hands through her hair, giving her mom a nervous look. "Well, when two people love each other, or get drunk—really drunk—"
"That's not what I meant!" Marlena shrieked. "You're not married. You just broke off your engagement, Alba. Oh, having a child out of marriage." Alba rolled her eyes and resisted the temptation to remind her mother that this was the 21st century.
A thought occurred to Marlena. "Do you even know who the father is?" Her mom fanned her face. "We're gonna end up on Maury." Alba sputtered a laugh, stopping short when her mom glared at her.
"Calm down, Mami. I know who the father is. It's Steve. I was just telling you about him."
Marlena's head swiveled wildly. "So where is he?! He's a man to get you pregnant, but he can't even come and meet your family? At least Marcus would've shown his face."
Her daughter bristled. "He couldn't come because he's on an assignment."
"So he's deployed? How did he get you pregnant if he's deployed—"
Alba's patience snapped. "He's not deployed! He's on an assignment. I know he would be here if he could. And yes, maybe we're not married but we don't have to be. We're still having a baby. You're going to have one more grandchild, congratulations!"
Alba left her mother wide-mouthed at the kitchen table and stomped out of the kitchen, using the back entrance of her old childhood home and trudging into their backyard, taking a seat on the rickety swing her and her sister used to play on as children.
The large backyard was welcoming and silent, the refreshing crispness of autumn cooling Alba's flushed cheeks.
Her phone began vibrating in her back pocket, and she almost ignored the call but changed her mind at the last second. She could use the distraction, anyway.
"Hello?"
"Alba." She froze and ripped the phone from her face, taking a look at the Caller ID.
"Steve? When did you get back?"
"Sometime last night. I tried calling your office to check in, but your receptionist said you took today off. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," She assured him. "I made the drive up to Connecticut today. Just told my mom."
He must have sense the tension in her voice, scratching the back of his head ruefully on the other end of the line. "That bad?"
Alba laughed dryly. "I'm sitting in my backyard all by myself because I can't stand being in the same room as her."
"Do you want me there?" Steve asked carefully.
"No. I'll be fine. If my mom doesn't come around by tomorrow I'll come home first thing in the morning." No point being where she wasn't wanted.
"Okay. I have to go in for a debriefing now. Call me if you need anything, okay? I can be up there in a couple of hours." Alba let out a small smile as she hung up, only to look up and find her older sister making her way across the yard.
She sat down on the swing next to Alba's without a fuss.
"What happened? Mami looks like she's just seen a ghost. She won't talk to me."
"It's because I told her something she didn't like." Her big sister gave her a rebellious grin. Always the one to challenge the rules, Mere reveled in pushing the boundaries.
"Are you retiring early? Taking a year to travel the world? Are you eloping in Vegas?"
"I'm having a baby." Alba said, avoiding her sister's gaze. She didn't notice the way Mere froze up and stared at her, bug-eyed.
Alba was startled out of her reverie as her sister threw her arms around her neck and pulled her in for a hug. She leaned back and stared down at her stomach with an amazed look.
"You're going to be a mom. Oh, Aly, I'm so excited." Mere started tearing up, which got Alba tearing up, and before either of them knew it, they were both crying in the backyard.
"How far along are you?" Her sister sniffled.
"I'm about twelve weeks. In a few days I'll reach thirteen." Alba said happily, her mouth curving up in a wide smile. "We went to our first ultrasound last weekend."
"Did you bring pictures?"
"Yeah, they're in the house. I left them in my bag." The sisters trudged up the stairs together and into the kitchen island where Alba had left her purse.
Her mom was in the other side of the house, entertaining her two grandchildren, Lucy and Ryan, and pretending her daughter hadn't dropped the biggest bombshell she'd had all year.
Alba presented the grainy, black-and-white pictures to her sister and they fawned over them together.
"Oh, it's so cute. How's the morning sickness?"
Alba shrugged. "I get a little here and there, but nothing that I can't manage. The waves of sleepiness that I get—that's another story. I keep falling asleep everywhere." They laughed, not noticing how their mom trailed behind them quietly until she spoke up.
"What are you guys looking at?" She asked innocently. Alba, always one to avoid confrontation, tried stuffing the pictures back in her purse. The last thing she wanted was for her mom to go off in another bout of anger.
But Mere snatched the pictures right back and waved them under their mother's nose.
"It's the baby. Aly had her first ultrasound last week. Look at the baby." Marlena's face softened. In the middle of this, there was an innocent baby. Not to mention her own, brilliant youngest daughter. Her baby.
"Have you uh—had any cravings?" She said conversationally, feeling guilty for the way Alba glanced nervously in her direction before answering.
"I've been craving some beef stew." Marlena poked her head in the fridge and poked around, finding some frozen beef she'd gotten on sale and slapping it on the counter. She found the other ingredients and started cooking wordlessly. If her baby had a craving, she was gonna get it.
"Stay for dinner, okay?" Alba nodded wordlessly as her mom got to work in the kitchen.
Hey guys! So, finally starting to get some of Alba's crazy family. For those of you missing Steve, don't worry! He'll be back next chapter!
Thoughts on Alba's family? Was her mom too much?
As always, I can't wait to hear back from you guys!