Baby (Laundromat Chonicles Book 3) Read Free Page A

Lena and her mom love celebrity gossip. They don’t even care if it’s true, they enjoy getting lost in other people’s realities.
    The chatter falls quiet. Then with no warning to me. No pre-curser. No kick under the table. Nothing. The words just casually slip through her lips between bites of her cheeseburger. The words are spoken so carelessly I wonder if her mother even picks up on them. I look up from my plate over to Lena, who is nervously chewing her burger and then at her mother who sits frozen. Shock is the only emotion registered on her face. Her mouth hangs open and the scoop of salad she’d prepared to eat hangs loosely on the fork she’s holding in mid-air.
    Clearing my throat, I attempt to bypass my girlfriend’s crazy outburst and ask, “So, you two excited about the finale of Sons of Anarchy?” Yes, not the smoothest thing to say but the only thing that comes to mind. They both look at me, anger flashing across their similar blue eyes but for different reasons. Lena tilts her head and gives me the kick under the table she should have given before her announcement. Back me up, she tries to convey with just a look. I drop my napkin and prepare to do just that. Before I can speak, her mother drops her fork and all hell breaks loose.
    “Please say you are kidding, Lena! This is some kind of sick joke.” Were the first words out of her mouth followed by, “You didn’t get yourself knocked up by your high school phase loser boyfriend! Please God, Lena, tell me you’re not making the same mistake I made with your father.” The words are nearly visible as they sliced through my girl’s heart. There is no doubt in my mind that her mother loves her. I also didn’t expect her to take this news lightly. What I can’t believe is she used the one word she always assured Lena she wasn’t–mistake.
    “So that’s all I am to you, Mother, a mistake? All I was to him?” The tears slowly begin to descend down Lena’s broken face. I want to reach across the table and wipe it away but I don’t. This is between a mother and daughter. One slight movement from me could turn this from bad to disastrous.
    “YES! A beautiful mistake. A precious mistake. A mistake I wouldn’t take back for the world, but Lena, I was young. He was young. We didn’t know what the hell we were doing. I don’t regret you, but you weren’t planned either. I don’t want the same for you. I want more for you.” Her mother tries to recover seeing how badly she hurt Lena. It doesn’t matter. That word is still out there, floating between them.
    “Newsflash, Mother, Hap loves me. This baby is not a mistake. I’m sorry you and Dad fucked without being in love. I’m sorry you were both self-absorbed assholes but that’s not me. That’s not Hap. We are not you and Dad.” Lena’s voice quivers, attempting not to scream at her mother, while trying not to cry. I do reach across the table, resting my hand on her arm. I don’t give a damn what her mother says.
    “You really think he’s going to take care of you? Of a baby? The son of the town drunk? A boy who’s been beaten his whole life? At some point, he’s going to turn on you, Lena. I don’t want you to get hurt.” The conversation is heated and ongoing as though I’m invisible. My attempt to stay quiet and let them fight this out falls to the wayside when the comparison to my father flies out of her mouth.
    “Look, I’m not my father any more than Lena is an uptight bitch like you. My father has his demons, and you don’t have the first clue as to what happens in my house. One thing I can tell you is I would never hurt Lena or our baby, and I will never consider what we’ve made a mistake.” I try to keep my voice low. I try to stay in control but who the fuck does this woman think she is? Saying one day I would turn into my father? My father isn’t a bad man. He’s a broken man. There’s a difference.
    “Please, young man. You’re trash. I’ve allowed this