Surprise Visitor

36 Weeks
April

The sound of the doorbell ringing almost made Kerry giddy.

After a month of partial bed rest that was prescribed when she slipped into an early labor in March, she was living deep within a haze of an incurable cabin fever. She did consider herself lucky, though, knowing that she could just as easily have required complete bed rest or, God forbid, a stay at the hospital. Instead, she was left within the confines of her and Sandy's apartment with strict instructions to be on her feet no more than an hour per day. The restrictions were both a blessing and a curse, especially on her joints. Before she was pregnant, Kerry was always mindful of the effect too much or too little activity had on her hip, back, and shoulders; if she ran from trauma to trauma for twelve straight hours, she was bound to experience discomfort, just as she would if she were to stay in bed an extra hour or spend a little additional time behind the desk in her study. Now that she was pregnant, it was like she had to constantly alternate between sitting and standing to relieve the random, superfluous aches and pains that had taken up residence in her appendages. Her inability to do just that was what was really getting to her about bed rest. That, and Sandy's insistent hovering. It had been cute early in the pregnancy, quite endearing actually, but now it was just becoming ridiculous.

Slower than she was sure she'd ever moved before, Kerry headed for the front door to see who was outside. She'd never been one for unannounced company, but at this point she'd be thankful for any form of socialization. At least, she would have been until she saw who was on the other side of the door.

"Hi, Florina." Kerry greeted once she'd pulled the door open.

Sandy's mom stood there, an indecipherable expression etched into her weathered face. The two women hadn't seen each other since Kerry and Sandy had announced Kerry's pregnancy to the Lopez family and there was a palpable sense of tension between them as they stood in the entryway to the apartment.

"Uh, Sandy's not here…" Kerry explained, "but you're welcome to come in if you want."

The older woman nodded firmly. "I know."

Kerry stepped aside to let the woman by then shut the door. She wasn't sure if Florina 'knew' that she was welcome to come in or if she 'knew' that Sandy wasn't home, but she decided to let that be. She followed the short woman into the living room and watched intently as she took her purse off her shoulder, pulled off her coat, and set them both on the arm of the loveseat; apparently, she was going to make herself at home.

"I don't mean to be rude, Florina, but I'm really not supposed to be on my feet for too long," Kerry said, motioning to the leather chair she'd been occupying before the other woman's arrival, "If you'd like tea or coffee or anything else, you can help yourself."

Florina shook her head and gave what Kerry surmised was a forced smile. Then, she took a seat on the edge of the couch that was closest to the chair Kerry was now sitting in.

"Carlos told me about what happened last month…" Florina began carefully. Kerry noticed how she wrung her hands together just like Sandy did whenever she was nervous or uncomfortable. "I'm glad you're okay." She paused for a moment before her dark eyes opened widely, "You are okay, right?"

Kerry nodded slowly. "I'm on bed rest until my due date, but he and I are both fine."

"He? Is it a boy?" Florina asked a little bewilderedly.

Kerry shook her head then shrugged. "Just a figure of speech; we don't know the sex of the baby."

The older woman relaxed noticeably, "It's good to be surprised."

Kerry nodded in agreement and a silence fell over the women. Kerry wasn't sure why Florina was currently sitting in her living room but she wasn't going to force whatever was stewing around in that head of hers, out. If Mrs. Lopez wanted to talk they could talk, and if she didn't want to talk then Kerry would be perfectly content to sit there with her company. It was better than nothing, she thought to herself.

Finally, Florina spoke, "I want to talk to you before the baby comes," Florina said cryptically.

"Okay…" Kerry was taken aback by the admission, "and you don't want to wait until Sandy's here, too?"

Florina shook her head and waved her hand. "No, no, she's too stubborn. It's you I want to talk with."

Kerry opened her hands so her palms faced up and pushed them towards the older woman, silently urging her on.

"You know that I do not approve of your and Sandy's lifestyle, yes?"

Jesus, Kerry thought, she's certainly straightforward. "Yes, I am aware of that."

"I do not like this…this gay thing. I haven't liked it since Sandy was a little girl and I do not like it now. It's just—it's not right in God's eye."

Kerry tried not to get angry. "I'm well aware of your and the Catholic Church's stance on homosexuality, Florina."

"But that is not what has been bothering me." She stated. "I have always wanted Sandy to give me grandchildren. Her older brothers have. She would make such a good mother, so fun and loving. When she told us you were pregnant, I was angry because she was not pregnant. I did not want anything to do with it because it is not Sandy's baby."

All at once, Kerry was shocked, disgusted, dismayed, and angered by what she was hearing.

"But now, now after Carlos has told me so much about you and Sandy and the baby, I am realizing that I need to know this baby. It is my daughter's child and it is my grandchild. I may not…approve of the household it is being brought into, but I love Sandy too much to lose her, and I know that not loving this child will make me lose her."

A wave of confusion washed over Kerry and she wasn't sure how to react to the white flag her mother-in-law was waving. Sandy was desperate for her mother and father to be a part of their baby's life and Kerry thought it was senseless for their child to grow up without grandparents when one set was very much alive and well. With that considered, she should have jumped at the opportunity Florina was offering her. However, something about the combination of her own hormones, her irritability about being cooped up, and Florina's condescending, holier-than-thou attitude really pissed her off.

"I have held Sandy while she's cried about the way you've treated her, the way you've treated us, you know…you may not realize it, but every single time you ignore her phone calls or decline an invitation to come over for dinner, she gets upset. We understand that you don't 'approve' of the way we live, but guess what? This is the way we live and this is the way we're going to continue to live. We love each other very, very much. So much so that we've decided to have a child together. You have children, you know how much you have to love your partner before you can commit yourselves and the rest of your lives to caring for and loving another human being. We love each other, we make each other happy, we comfort each other, we understand each other; as her mother that's all that should matter to you.

"I understand that you want to be a part of our child's life and believe me, we want you to be a part of his life, too. We want him to have living, breathing grandparents who he can love, learn from, and depend on. I've seen you and Hector with your grandchildren; you're the type of grandparents any child would be lucky to have. However, I could never and will never subject our child to any environment or any person who does not love and accept him for who he is or where he comes from. And, Florina, a child born to two women is who he is. It's who he will always be. If you cannot at the very least accept that, then I don't think I want you to have a relationship with our child."

When Kerry finished speaking she let her eyes focus on her enormous, bulging stomach to avoid Florina's gaze. She truthfully wasn't sure of all she'd said during her rant because she'd been on such a heated, invigorated roll, but whatever it had been was leaving her feeling both anxious and relieved. She hadn't meant to upset her mother-in-law. No, she'd only intended to get the message across that, while she wanted her child to have grandparents, she didn't want him to be in a lethal, bigoted, unaccepting environment. She just hoped that Florina didn't balk…

"I'm so, so sorry." When Florina spoke, her words were shaky and broken with impending tears. Kerry looked up; the older woman's brows were furrowed, her eyes were glistening, and her mouth was pulled into a desperate frown. "I…I love Sandy…and I want to be there for her and the baby. And for you." Her voice was growing progressively weaker and she finally put her head down into her hands.

"We want you to be there for us, too." Kerry said quietly. Suddenly, Florina's slight shoulders jerked with a hardly audible sob. Kerry watched from afar as her wife's mother disintegrated in front her eyes. She wanted to offer comfort but she didn't want to push the newly aligned boundaries too far. She also wasn't sure she'd be able to pull herself out of her chair.

Finally, after a few minutes of quiet sobs, Florina had collected herself a bit and looked up at Kerry. "I will try very hard. I do not like your lifestyle, but I do like you and I love my daughter. I will try."

A smile sprung to Kerry's lips before she could stop it; she'd never, ever gotten even of a modicum of a feeling that Florina Lopez liked her. Actually, up until this very conversation, she was pretty sure the woman hated her. "That's all I can ask."

Florina wiped her eyes once more, shook her head a little bit, and took a deep breath. She stood up from the couch and headed out of the room at a quick pace. Kerry was afraid that the Latina was making a quick, unannounced exit until she turned toward the kitchen.

"I'm going to make you lunch," Florina called out in a tone that was a little cheery and a lot demanding.

Kerry let her sheer confusion express itself clearly across her face.