Chapter Six
Quick Recap from Chapter Five-
When they walked in, Brock noticed that Reba was shaking. He stopped her before they entered the office.
"Reba, I want you to know, no matter what she says, no matter what he says, I'm not leaving. Nothing anyone can say will change my mind, okay?"
Reba nodded, hoping the lump in her throat would soothe quicker. "Same here, Brock. I know myself just enough right now to know that."
Smiling reassuringly, Brock kissed his one and only love on the head and turned to open the door…
Dr. Baker was sitting at his usual seat. Barbara Jean was across from him, legs crossed and reading a magazine. She looked up as Reba and Brock entered, and gave Reba a small smile as she walked past. Reba did her best to smile without looking guilty.
"Reba, Brock, thank you for coming. Things going okay?" he asked, standing and shaking their hands.
"Yeah," Reba and Brock muttered as they sat.
"So, last week, I asked Reba to have an answer ready for this week," he turned to the read head. "Reba?"
Reba took a deep breath. This was a moment that she had been dreading. It seemed that everyone else understood…would Dr. Baker? And what if things did change – what if by the end of the counseling session they decided that they shouldn't be together again?
"My answer is yes." She said after the second it took for these thoughts to rush through her mind. She had to get it out of the way. She didn't look up, just stared into the coffee table. "I do still love him."
"There's still the fact that Barbara Jean is in the picture. Barbara Jean?"
Reba finally looked at her friend. Barbara Jean was watching Reba closely, but not as though she was upset, angry or sad. You would have thought she was staring at a stranger.
"I…it doesn't matter what I think," she burst.
"What? Barbara Jean, you're my best friend – I wouldn't be here if I didn't care what you thought!" Reba said automatically. Brock tried to giggle at the slip "best friend". This wasn't funny.
"I don't deserve to have an opinion here, I was the other woman first," she started to stand before Dr. Baker said:
"Barbara Jean, it would really help their relationship if you would be honest. Do you have something to say?"
"I don't, please, I'm happy for this – Reba, he doesn't deserve you, but I don't deserve him!" Barbara Jean stood and started pacing.
"Barbara Jean…is something wrong – besides the obvious?" Brock asked. He truly was concerned; Barbara Jean was still a big part of his life.
"No!" she snapped.
Reba could sense something as well. It wasn't like her to hide things. She usually let everything slip, she was a horrible liar. She must have really had something she didn't want to say.
"Barbara Jean?" Dr. Baker gave her a very concerned look.
Finally she couldn't hold it in. "I…I am hiding something."
Everyone tensed, as Barbara Jean took a deep breath….
--
The drive home was quieter than the drive there. Reba didn't sing, she just stared out the window. It was too much to take in, to possibly comprehend.
It seemed like years before Brock pulled into the drive.
"Wanna come in?" Reba asked. From the pleading look in her anxious eyes, Brock knew this was a request he had to obey.
"Of course. This is one thing it wouldn't be good for the kids to find out on their own."
Inside, Cheyenne peered through the window. "Here they come!" she gasped, and hurried to sit between Van and Jake on the couch. Kyra was in the armchair facing the door, Elizabeth was upstairs asleep.
"How do they look?" she asked.
"Bad," Cheyenne murmured nervously. "Shh!" she added as the door opened. Van, Cheyenne and Jake stared at the television.
"Hi…!" Van said, trying to sound innocent. Reba and Brock exchanged a 'Oh, just great' look and Reba said, "You can stop trying to pretend to watch anything."
"Really?" Jake asked excitedly.
"How did you know we were faking? Was Kyra not trying hard enough – I knew you weren't look at the screen!" Cheyenne accused.
"It wasn't on, Elle Woods." Kyra rolled her eyes.
"…Oh." Cheyenne blushed as Reba sat in the armchair across from Kyra and Brock sat on the arm of the couch. "So…how'd it go?'
"Well, we got plenty figured out…" Brock said. "I should be getting divorce papers in a couple of days."
"So she's okay with you and Mom?" Cheyenne pressed.
"Yes. She is. She wants us both to be happy…"
"That's not the Barbara Jean I know – that's Mrs. H when she's terribly jealous!" Van said accusingly. Reba glared at him.
"She's also pregnant," Brock added.
Everyone's jaw dropped.
"Dad, you're just gonna leave your child fatherless?" Cheyenne gaped.
"That's the thing. It's not my child."
The silence seemed to fall from the ceiling and stay for the next five minutes. No one made a sound, just stared in different directions and fidgeted a little.
"Does she know whose it is?" Kyra finally asked. Brock nodded.
"Yeah, but we didn't ask."
"Good," Cheyenne breathed. "But she'll still be around, right?
"Yes!" Reba said, as though to agree to anything otherwise was crazy.
"Since when do you care, Mom?" Jake rolled his eyes.
"Jake, Barbara Jean is my best friend, I won' t let her go through this alone!"
Everyone stared at her. Finally Van whispered, "Oh my God she's possessed."
"What do you mean?" Reba frowned.
"Reba, you just said that Barbara Jean is your best friend – again," Brock muttered.
"What…? I did…? Gosh, why does that keep slipping?" Reba smacked herself in the forehead.
"So, is she gonna move in or something?" Kyra asked, hiding a smile behind her hand.
"I would like to have her do so, but Dr. Baker thinks it might make things harder between the three of us. She's gonna tell me if she wants to next session," Reba explained.
"What about you, Dad?" Cheyenne asked. "Are you gonna move in?'
"We decided that even if Barbara Jean doesn't move in, I shouldn't. Not until I've convinced everyone I'm here to stay."
"I believe you!" Jake said abruptly.
"So do I. It's the therapist that doesn't, and he's right to want us to move slowly," Reba said.
"Is he moving in, too?" Van frowned. "Cause if he is and Mr. H isn't, that means that he'll be in with Reba…and….oh God I'm suddenly nauseous…!"
"Van!" Brock groaned.
"Cheyenne, I'm too far away again – can you..?" Reba said loudly, glaring at Van.
"Sure." Cheyenne slapped Van upside the head.
"What, I was just – "
"Van, just shut up."
"Fine!" Van threw his hands in the air, utterly annoyed.
"Mom," Kyra said quietly. "I think I want to go see Barbara Jean today, do you know where she's staying?"
"Yeah, she said that she was at the Holiday Inn. Go easy on her, Kyra, she's being really hard on herself."
"Please, I'm not that bitter," Kyra rolled her eyes and stood. "Cheyenne, wanna come?"
Cheyenne's head shot up, and her eyes grew large. "You…want to know if I can go somewhere with you?" she beamed and jumped up.
"Yes!" she grabbed Kyra by the arm and pulled her out of her chair and towards the door. "Then I'll take you to the mall-"
"Cheyenne, first off, I'm driving. Second, this is supposed to be a depressing trip." Kyra stopped her.
"But only as long as we're with Barbara Jean, then we can have some sister quality time!" Cheyenne beamed hurried out the door, yelling, "Okay, you drive, but please take the long way!"
Kyra shook her head as she pulled her purse over her shoulder and grabbed her keys.
"Kyra, that's so nice of you," Reba smiled at her daughter.
"Yeah. I figured with all the crap going on anyway, why shouldn't I be nice?" Kyra smirked, blew a kiss and was gone.
"Wait – if Kyra's all of a sudden nice, who'll I fight with?" Jake whined.
"Well, Jake," Van turned to his brother-in-law. "That's life. C'mon, let's go see that movie I wanted to see with Cheyenne before she went all parenting on me."
"Cool!" The two jumped up and headed for the door.
"Van, wait – what is this movie rated?" Reba stopped Van just short of the door.
"Don't worry Mrs. H. With the PG-13 content in this house, Jake shouldn't even feel violated."
Reba couldn't help but laugh as they slammed the door behind them and were gone. Smiling up at Brock, she asked, "So, what would you like to do today?"
Brock shrugged. "I'm not sure if I really wanna do anything."
"That's okay. I understand. Wanna just sit around and talk or something?"
So they each grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down on the couch. He put his arm around her and she cuddled close, her legs bent up beneath her. They sat quietly for a few moments, lost in thoughts and just enjoying the time alone.
Finally Brock asked, "Do you think…?" But broke off.
"What, Brock?" Reba asked.
"Nothing, it's nothing."
"Brock, you suck at lying worse than Cheyenne when she's lost my earrings. Now what it wrong?"
"Please, Reba, you aren't the right person to ask."
"Brock, that sounds dangerous, you can ask me anything and you better ask me – NOW." She glowered threateningly.
"Look, I'm just a little bit curious about when Barbara Jean became pregnant," he sighed.
"…Oh. Well, I think I remember her mentioning a guy after the separation…but only once. And it seemed like just another crush," Reba confessed. "Don't worry, Brock. I doubt it was while you two were still married."
"It's no more than I deserve," Brock pointed out, shamefacedly.
"Please, please don't say that," Reba sighed.
"It's true."
"Yes, but it's the past. You didn't deserve it from her. Now, if I left you and got knocked up, that would make us even. But I don't wanna!" Reba smiled.
Brock laughed a little. "I guess it doesn't really matter anymore. Maybe it could have, but our marriage was a mistake."
"Do you miss her, Brock?" Reba asked, preparing for the worst.
Brock shook his head. "No…not like I need her. I don't love her, she's just a friend now."
"Does it bother you?" Reba suddenly changed her tone from understanding to worried.
"What – no, I want to just be friends."
"No – that she and I are…" she gritted her teeth. "…best friends."
Brock couldn't hold back laughter. "I've got no problems with it, I think it's fine. But it'll be awhile before I stop cracking up every time you say that."