The Patchwork Heart

Chapter 5

After I made the decision to keep the baby my parents didn't ask me again if I wanted it. It was just accepted that we were having a baby and all other discussions about it were void. I knew I would have to tell Dex's family about the baby. After all, it was a part of their family as well, they would probably want to know the child. I thought about what that might look like, how it would be hard for them but also wonderful at the same time. I decided to wait until I was into my second trimester before I told the Leys family about the baby, just in case there were complications. I decided not to tell anyone outside of my family about the pregnancy until I hit my second trimester.

My mom ordered me a bunch of pregnancy books from Amazon so I could start reading about what was to come. Our family doctor put me on a regiment of pregnancy vitamins which I took daily and I was no longer allowed to eat improperly. I decided to go back to work at the store, it was good to get out of the house and back into the real world. As weeks past I grew more comfortable and started grocery stopping, going for the mail and to the bank. People didn't know what to say to me a first when they saw me. It was a mixture of surprise and sadness. Most of the time it was the classic, "How are you doing?" or "How are you holding up?" I would produce my best smile and tell them I was fine, that I was healing, that I was getting by depending on my mood at the time. Gradually, people got used to seeing me around our small town again and they stopped asking me how I was with sad faces. It changed to a normal routine which made me feel more comfortable.

When my second trimester started I knew I had to have the hard conversation with the Leys family. They had been in touch with me of course after Dex had died, but they were still grieving. They would never stop grieving, none of us would. My dad suggested having them over for a BBQ to tell them about the baby so we could all be sitting down in a relaxed, private environment. My mom and I agreed that would be best. I called Sandra Leys and made arrangements for her husband and Mitchell to come out to dinner one Sunday in early September. I was no longer nervous about the pregnancy I was nervous about their reaction to it.

They arrived right on time for the meal. My dad had made chicken and steaks with baked potatoes. The two families ate in relative silence. It wasn't awkward but it was clear that we were all gathered together in sadness. After we ate supper my mom brought out a pecan pie and sliced it up for everyone. Mitchell looked at me and offered a soft smile, "You look good, Bree. You seem to be glowing."

I smiled and thanked him. I decided after that comment it was a good time to get everything out in the open. I stood up, which caused the entire table to stare at me. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath, "I asked you to be here today because I have some news. I know this is sudden but I wanted your family to know that I am pregnant with Dex's child. I have talked about it with my parents and I've decided to keep this baby and raise them."

I let my words hang in the air for a while. Sandra and Murray starred at me, as though they hadn't heard what I said. Mitchell stood up from the table across from me, his hands were in tight fists, "How did this happen? Did that idiot wrap it?" Sandra gasped at her son's statement and Murray groaned, "Mitch, calm down."

"No, I won't calm down! That idiot got himself killed, then he left this poor girl pregnant! I'm pissed at him; I'm so pissed off!" Mitchell shouted. He pushed his chair back, knocking it over and he stormed out the front door of my house. I stood my ground and forced myself to breath as normally as possible.

Sandra rested her elbows on the table and rubbed her face in frustration, "I'm sorry about Mitch, he's angry at Dex. He isn't handling his brother's death well." Tears started to stream down Sandra's face. I walked around the table and wrapped my arms around her shoulders. She returned my hug eagerly. Murray leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

We let my words sink in, everyone remained silent. Finally, Sandra looked up at me and reached out to touch my stomach tentatively. She froze for a moment, "Can I?" I nodded. She touched my stomach and ran her hand up and down slowly. A small smile crossed her lips, "Bree, I want you to know we are here for you no matter what. I know this isn't ideal, but if a little bit of Dex lives on then that is a precious gift."

Murray scratched the side of his cheek, he glanced over at his wife, "Yeah. We love you like family, Bree. Maybe in some messed up way this was meant to be." He rubbed his hand across his eyes, trying to push tears away. My dad opened up a couple of beers and set one in front of Murray.

"Let's toast to this difficult situation. Murray, you and I are going to be grandpas." My dad told him. Murray smiled and took the beer. The men clinked bottles and drank their beers. Sandra finally let me go after a bit. I decided to head outside to see if Mitchell had left the house or not. I found him sitting on the front step, he hadn't gotten very far.

I stood next to him and starred down at him, "Are you done with your temper tantrum now?" He glared up at me, "I'm not having a tantrum."

I crossed my arms over my chest and moved down the steps to stand in front of him. Mitchell's eyes followed my movements. His eyes shot to my stomach and then back up to my face. He was glaring, but not at me, at the situation. I knew Mitchell was having trouble with his little brother's death. He was angry with him for leaving, for being reckless and irresponsible. The two of them were very different, Mitchell had always done the right thing. Dex was the wild card, he was impulsive.

"If he was standing here right now I would kick his ass." Mitchell muttered. I chuckled and shook my head, "It would do no good. You know he could outrun you anytime." Mitchell nodded silently. Dex could always run faster scared then he could run mad. I'd seen the brothers tussle quite a few times over the years.

Mitchell stood up and stepped toward me. He stared into my face and bit his lower lip, "I don't like that you are doing this alone." I offered him a soft smile, "I'm not alone. I have my family and your family." He nodded and took my hand carefully, it looked like he wanted to say something but he changed his mind and stepped to my side and dropped my hand. Mitchell shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and looked away.

I gestured toward my front door, "Lets go have some pecan pie, Mitch." I moved up the front steps, he was on my heels. By the time we returned Sandra and my mom were going through the pile of pregnancy books. My dad and Murray had moved to the living room to put on a baseball game with a small cooler of beers between them. Mitchell shook his head at the situation and I just smiled. It might work out after all.