Chapter 2

I took the soup, and my tears fell into the bowl.

Matt hurried over. "Why are you crying? Are you feeling sick?"

Through my tears, I told them what Mom had said.

Barbara's expression changed. She came over and wrapped her arms around me.

"Jillian, that's your baby. Nobody else gets a say in this. It's your call."

The tears came pouring out, and I could not stop them.

After a pause, she added, "I couldn't do anything about how you were treated growing up, but you're part of this family now, and I won't let anyone treat you that way again."

I cried so hard that I could not speak. For the first time, I felt like someone was truly in my corner.

However, I never expected Mom to come after me again.

After dinner, Matt was washing the dishes in the kitchen while Barbara sat with me on the living room couch, watching TV.

Barbara's phone rang on the coffee table. It was Mom, so Barbara answered and put it on speaker.

"Hello, Linda," she said politely.

Mom's voice came through the line. "Barbara, I'm so sorry."

My heart skipped. Was Mom calling to apologize?

Barbara looked surprised as well and instinctively glanced at me. "What do you mean, Linda?"

Mom sighed on the other end.

"Barbara, there's something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time, but I could never bring myself to say it," she said, sounding torn. "I thought it over today, and I really have to tell you the truth. We're family now, and I can't keep it from you."

My heart sank, and a terrible feeling crept over me.

Mom went on. "The baby Jillian is carrying isn't Matt's."

I froze on the couch, and my mind went completely blank.

Barbara stiffened. "What?"

"Barbara, I'm so sorry," Mom said helplessly. "I failed to raise my daughter right, and now I've brought shame on you too."

I was so furious that my blood boiled. "Mom, what are you talking about?"

Mom sounded flustered. "Jillian? You're there?"

"Yes!"

"Barbara," Mom said, sounding heartbroken, "I know Jillian is going to deny it. But I'm her mother, and I can't just stand by and do nothing."

"Jillian had a boyfriend in college. I never approved of him, so I made them break up. Later on, I found out they never really ended things. Not long ago, I even found out she got a hotel room with him."

I was trembling all over with rage.

Mom continued, her voice choked with tears, "Barbara, I know this will humiliate both our families. But I can't keep it from you. If this bastard is born, it'll be a disgrace to both our families for the rest of our lives."

"Mom!" I screamed hysterically as tears streamed down my face.

"Why are you doing this to me? You'd ruin my reputation just to make me get rid of my baby? Are you even my mother?" I shrieked into the phone.

Yet what she said next chilled me to the bone. "It's because I'm your mother that I can't let you keep making the same mistake."

She said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world, without the slightest hint of shame.

If I had not already told Barbara that Mom wanted me to get rid of the baby, I would never have been able to clear my name, no matter what I said.

Just as I was about to speak, Barbara put her hand on my arm. There was anger in her eyes, but even more than that, there was heartache for me.

She used my Mom's full name, saying, "Linda Abbott, if this is a lie, then you're slandering my daughter-in-law, and we can take you to court."

Mom lashed out, embarrassed and furious, "Barbara, what kind of thing is that to say? I'm doing this for your family's sake! Think about it. Jillian couldn't get pregnant for four years, and all of a sudden, she is? Does that sound normal to you? Something's not right here! I just don't want your family kept in the dark."