Surprise!

5

Reba is sitting on the couch in her living room biting her fingernails. She pulls her hand away from her mouth.

"What is wrong with me? I quit this habit years ago." Reba says to herself. She puts her hand down and picks up her glass of hot tea. There is a knock on the door. Reba rolls her eyes and stands up and walks over to the door. She opens it and is grabbed by her mama.

"Oh Reba, I couldn't believe what you told me on the phone! Is it true? Are you really having Brock's child? What about that poor wife of his? Does she know yet?" Helen asks her daughter.

"Yes Mama. Barbara Jean knows. I just want to abort the child and get it over with! I feel so dirty! I slept with another woman's husband!" Reba hollers.

"Your ex husband." Helen reasons.

"That's even worse mama! I slept with a married man, and am having his child. I don't know what to do with myself. I want to get it over with." Reba says with tears falling down her cheeks.

"You don't mean that!" J.V. exclaims staring at his daughter.

"I don't know what I mean daddy. I just know that I don't want to hurt somebody the way I was hurt." Reba replies sobbing. Helen sits on the couch next to Reba.

"What do you mean honey? Tell us. That's why we're here." Helen says rubbing her hand up and down Reba's arm. Reba sits down next to her.

"When Brock and Barbara Jean got married it was because she was pregnant with Henry. That destroyed what I thought was left of my marriage. I swore that I would never hurt another woman that way. But here I am, I'm Barbara Jean all over again." Reba says putting her face in her hands. Helen hugs Reba.

"Oh honey, you could never be that woman. If you love him, you have to fight for Brock. You can't let him slip away again." Helen states.

"But what if I don't want him mama? He could do this all over again, and I'm not sure that I am up to the pain and suffering he caused me the first time." Reba responds gasping for air so bad that you can hardly understand her.

"Honey, if you want him back you are going to have to calm down." Helen says.

"But that's just it mama. I don't want him back." Reba remarks. Kyra and Cheyenne walk down the stairs.

"Grandma? I thought I heard your voice. What are you guys doing here?" Cheyenne asks hugging her.

"Have you heard your mother's news?" Helen asks. Reba just looks at her mother.

"No, mama; don't worry about the girls." Reba says. Helen just looks at her.

"What news mom?" Cheyenne asks.

"You heard it earlier Cheyenne. Don't worry about it girls. Just go outside. I will pay for you to go to the movies or something." Reba says exasperated.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Kyra asks walking over to her mother.

"Your mother is pregnant with your dad's child." J.V. says to them. Both girls whirl around to look at him.

"WHAT!" Cheyenne hollers.

"Oh Cheyenne, come off it. You both knew that." Reba says sitting back down on the couch putting her face in her hands.

"Come on Kyra. Let's go." Cheyenne says pulling Kyra out the doorway.

"What's wrong with them?" J.V. asks.

"They are just as uncomfortable with this as Brock and I are." Reba states. Helen looks at Reba.

"What does Brock want you to do with the baby?" Helen asks.

"He doesn't know. He says he doesn't want me to abort because it's our child, but this comes from the same man who didn't want to help me raise the 3 kids we already have." Reba replies.

"I think you should really think about this and talk to your husband before you do something." Helen states.

"Ex husband mama! That's my point. Brock is my ex husband. If he didn't have Barbara Jean and Henry now I wouldn't have any trouble having this baby, except that I am not a young woman anymore; but since he is remarried and has a child it puts a strain on our entire family yet again." Reba responds crying.

"Well, just think about that before you do something." Helen says. "Come on J.V. Let's give her time to think." Helen and J.V. walk out the front door of Reba's house as Reba sits on the couch and cries.

* * * * *

Reba was sitting alone on the couch.

"What am I going to do?" Reba asks herself. She looks down at her hands. "I could either keep this child and raise it, I could abort it and never have to worry about it again, or I could have the child and give it up for adoption." Brock walks into the living room.

"Reba?" Brock asks. She looks up at him. "I thought we should talk about this situation."

"What situation Brock?" Reba questions. Brock just looks at her.

"This situation, the thing with the baby." Brock replies.

"A situation? A situation? This is a child, Brock! All you can think about is the problem between us! Just for that I don't want to keep this child. He or she does not need to grow up in a family like this. We are very dysfunctional." Reba exclaims.

"What about the other kids? They are ours and they've turned out just fine." Brock states.

"They came along before all this stuff in our family. When the kids were born it was happier and better times in our lives. We were a family then." Reba replies.

"We're a family now." Brock states putting his hand on her gently. She glares at him.

"We are not a family. We haven't been a family in a long time Brock. Now please leave and give me a chance to think." Reba says.

"Okay, just let me tell you; we are a family." Brock replies standing up and walking out the front door.