Chapter 5
Roger had no idea where Andy had gone. He searched the club, he went to her house, he went to Maureen's house, and he went to Mark's house. But she was nowhere to be found. She had simply disappeared.
"Maureen, I can't find her," Roger said to her, panicking. "This is crazy. This is a small town, there are only so many places she could be."
"So where else do we go, Roger?" Maureen asked.
"I don't know, Mo," Roger said, "maybe the lake? I just don't—"
But then he stopped, a thought occurring to him. "Wait a minute," he said. "I think I know where she is."
"You do?" Maureen asked.
"Yes," Roger said. "Who would you miss most— need most— if you were her, in a situation like this?"
Maureen shook her head.
"I think she went to the cemetery, to her mom's grave," Roger said. "I can't think of anywhere else she would go that we haven't looked yet."
"So try it, Rog," Maureen said. She looked up at him. "Do you want me or anyone else to go with you?"
Roger shrugged. "You can if you want," he said, "just keep up, if you do."
"I will," Maureen promised, and she followed him out.
"Andy? Andy, are you here?" Roger called, looking around for Andy and not finding her.
"Roger, keep your voice down," Maureen said to him. "It's a cemetery, for God's sake."
"You, of all people, Maureen, should not be telling me to be quiet," Roger said irritably. Then he spotted Andy, kneeling by a gravestone. As he rushed over to her, she turned around and sat on the ground, crying, her hand on her stomach. "Andy?"
Andy looked up. "Roger?" she asked, surprised. She tried to get up, but couldn't get her balance and failed. Roger kneeled down next to her and moved to embrace her, but she wouldn't let him. "No, don't touch me. After what you said—"
"Andy, I didn't mean what I said," Roger said. "I was upset. I was scared—"
Andy looked at him again, surprised. "Roger, I had you down as a guy who wasn't scared of anything," she said.
"Yeah, well, I'm scared now," Roger admitted, putting his arms around her and holding her close. "I'm scared to death, because I know we both don't know what the hell we're doing."
"I know, it doesn't make any sense," Andy said.
"But that's why I trust it," Roger said, kissing her forehead. "Maybe in five or ten years, you and I won't be able to live on love… but for now, can't we?"
Andy sighed and Roger helped her to her feet. "I… I guess," she said. "I'm sorry, Roger, for getting all upset like this, for running off on you."
"It's OK, Andy," Roger said, "I understand. Let's just go home, OK?"
"OK," Andy said. Roger started to walk away with her, but she stopped him. "But first, I want to introduce you to someone." Roger smiled and took her hand. "Roger, this is my mom. Mom, this is my boyfriend, Roger Davis. We've been going out for four months now. I'm guessing you probably know, too, that we're unexpectedly having a baby. If you're upset about that, I'm sorry. We're trying to figure out what to do, but we haven't had much help. We've had to hide it from his parents and Dad, of course, is no help. Only our friends know. I got emancipated from Dad and I'm living with Roger's friend, Collins, now. He's very sweet and would never hurt me. He's also gay. He's Roger's best friend… besides Mark, of course," she added, laughing quietly. "I'm very happy with them." She looked down at the gravestone, adorned with flowers and candles. "We'd better go now. I miss you… so much. I'll come back soon. I love you. Bye, Mom."
Roger wiped away a stray tear from her cheek with the pad of his thumb and left the cemetery with Andy, the wind blowing gently around them, like her mom was whispering sweet nothings into their ears.
As always, don't forget to review. The next chapter will be the epilogue of this story. It will be pretty long, and quite emotional, so prepare yourself for it. It will be posted up soon. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry if it's short. I enjoyed writing it. I really felt that it was time Roger met Andy's mom, don't you?
Until next time, lots of love,
Renthead07