Her Baby Secret (Friends & Lovers Book 1) Read Free Page B

process all this. This is a nightmare."
    "You just need some time to get used to it. You need time to digest this news."
    A waitress arrived with their food and they got quiet. Emerald had ordered their usual. Once the waitress put the plates down, Emerald got up and went back to the other side of the booth.
    "What am I going to tell my parents?" Robyn wondered out loud.
    "The truth," Emerald said as if it was so simple. "They can't possibly think you're a virgin. You're twenty-four years old."
    "But no one knew Devin and I were together... And my parents always make a huge deal about children having two parents. Since I'm not married I know it's going to hurt them. This won't be good news."
    "You have plenty of time before you have to tell them. I know they'll be shocked but they love you and they're going to love the baby. Stop worrying about it until you absolutely have to tell them."
    "What if I can't go through with it, Emmy?" Robyn asked, fresh tears pooling in her eyes. "What if I can't go through with the pregnancy?"
    "I support you no matter what you choose to do," Emerald whispered. "But think it out as much as possible. Because no matter what you do, once that decision is made, there's no turning back."
     
    A couple of weeks later, Robyn was no closer to making a decision about the baby but she was calmer. She could think about it without wanting to scream or cry. She'd seen the obstetrician that Dr. Aldridge had recommended and discussed her options.
    Dr. Brynne was warm and kind and didn't judge Robyn for her indecisiveness, which was just what Robyn needed since she felt guilty enough as it was. She didn't think she could actually go through with an abortion but she also didn't feel good about going through pregnancy, birth and parenthood alone.
    And even though she wanted to believe Emerald about her parents loving the baby, she knew that they were going to react badly to the news. As children, her parents told her and her sister several stories about the adversity that they'd constantly faced, being an interracial couple. Her mother, but especially her father, had great hopes of their daughters living out the American dream.
    Quintin Phillips had worked as a mechanic since he was a kid helping his father in a shop. He now had a shop of his own but always told his daughters that he wanted more for them than he and their mom had had to endure. As a black man with a white girlfriend -then wife- her father had dealt with all kinds of racism and classism. It had been one of the proudest moments of his life when he was able to open his own shop. But he often told Robyn and her sister, Peyton, that the happiest he'd ever been, other than marrying their mother and other than their births, was seeing them graduate from college. He'd just known they were on the way to the American dream.
    Robyn knew that, as a high school history teacher, she would be okay taking care of a child on her own. She made a decent salary. But she knew that her parents' idea of the American dream meant career, marriage and then children. It was going to get very ugly if and when she told her family.
    With Christmas just weeks away, she wondered if she'd be able to confess all. But knowing that Devin and his family would be there for Christmas, as was their tradition, Robyn immediately dismissed the idea of telling anyone anything. It was going to be bad enough telling her own family the news. There was no way she could see telling Devin or his family anytime soon. His parents, much like her own, had dealt with rough times back in the day. They were also old fashioned. She could see them trying to force her and Devin to get married or something crazy like that.
    Damn, all hell was going to break loose. She knew that she'd be keeping her secret to herself for as long as she possibly could.
    In fact, it might be better if she found a way to get out of going to Christmas dinner. It was going to be so awkward seeing Devin and trying to act like