Blindsided

Part 2: In which Calvin meets his Daddy

Mae hung up the phone and got to her feet, groaning a little with the effort. She was so tired, and it had already been such a long, long morning. -And now she had to wake up Calvin.  

She climbed back in behind the wheel, not planning to go anywhere, but not wanting to have this conversation in full view of the street. Ava might be peeking out the windows, as could any of the other neighbors. In Wellsboro, you could display the Hope Diamond in your picture window and leave your doors wide open, but heaven forbid you should try to keep a secret. Private property was sacrosanct, but gossip was currency.  

She put her hands on Calvin's cheeks and spoke his name, gently but firmly. His blue eyes blinked open and he pulled back with a start.  

"Hi," she said, waiting for him to orient himself before she launched into all the morning's news.  

"We're stopped. Are we here? Is this it? Wow, this place is huge!" 

Mae tried to answer, but had to stop as a huge yawn stretched her entire face. She covered her mouth and apologized, but Cal barely noticed: he was still looking around. when he reached for the door handle, Mae grabbed his arm to stop him.  

"What?" he asked, last night's anger flaring back to life in his eyes.  

"We need to talk before you go out there," she told him quietly. "It's been a big morning. I have news."  

Cal frowned at her. "How long have we been here?"  

Mae checked her watch. "An hour." It had been a little over an hour since Ethan had pulled her over. This had surely been the longest hour of her life.  

"So what's the news?" he asked impatiently. "'Cause I have to pee."  

She considered telling him to run inside first, but no--he'd meet Ava, and they'd talk, and then the moment would pass, and pretty soon Ethan would be on the doorstep again and Cal would be mad because Mae hadn't warned him. He needed to know about Ethan before anything else happened. "I'll talk fast, and then you can go," she said. "Two things: first, your father is here. He's the Chief of Police, I guess. He pulled me over on my way into town." 

Calvin's mouth dropped open. "Here? He's here?"  

Mae nodded. "It was a shock to me, too."  

"You didn't wake me up?!" Cal asked, his tone becoming mutinous.  

"No, but he's coming to dinner." 

"Tonight?!" he croaked, his voice cracking on the second syllable.  

Mae nodded again. "I knew you wouldn't want to wait to meet him." 

"He knows about me?"  

"He does now," she said simply. "Second bit of news: Ava is pregnant. That complicates matters." 

Calvin gaped at her. "You're going to have a new baby brother or sister? At your age?!" 

"So it would seem," Mae confirmed. "Well, that's the news. Run on inside: the bathroom is just off the foyer to the right, across from the stairs." 

Once Cal had gone inside, Mae grabbed as much stuff as she could carry from the car and followed him in. Once again, Ava met her at the door. She widened her eyes at Mae and exclaimed in a stage whisper. "Oh my God, your son is gorgeous!"  

"My son is fourteen," Mae said quellingly.  

Ava rolled her eyes, blew out an exasperated sigh, and put her hands on her hips. "Oh, Lord, I didn't mean it that way and you know it! I'm just saying, he's going to be breaking hearts all over the place, that one." She smiled encouragingly, and Mae felt herself beginning to smile back, in spite of herself.