Heart & Sincerity

16/ Polly

Alice stayed and worked from home. She was awaiting Polly's arrival at any given moment. Hal contemplated going to The Register. He wanted to keep himself occupied and away from Alice, but he also wanted to be there for when Polly arrived. Alice didn't think it was a good idea, but he already made his decision to stay much to her dismay.

Alice was up from her seat when she heard the knock on the door. "That's Polly," She excitedly announced. She went to go answer the door.

"Mom," Polly hugged her.

"Polly, honey, I missed you so much." Alice held her tightly, but was careful with the baby. She put a hand over her growing bump. "I hope you have been doing well with your pregnancy. Are you hungry? I can make us some lunch."

"I'm doing well, but I am a little hungry. I had a craving for Pop's when I came into town." Polly watched her father walk into the room. His face was expressionless. "Dad," She acknowledged him.

"Polly," Hal said. "It's been a while. Where's Jason?"

"He stayed behind." Jason decided to stay at the Farm. "Where's Betty?"

"She's at school."

"She'll be very glad to see you after school." Alice couldn't stop smiling. She was filled with joy to see her.

"It's going to feel nice to see her again."

"Have you decided what to do with it yet?"

"Hal," Alice swerved her head to look at him.

"I'm keeping the baby," Polly showed no shame in her decision.

"Polly," Hal sighed. "Do you really think you can raise a baby?"

"I don't think I should be getting life advice from you. I know you had a teenage pregnancy too." Polly crossed her arms. She wasn't going to let him walk all over her. "Just because you two handled it your way doesn't mean I want to do the same. It's my choice."

Hal turned to Alice. "What did you tell her?"

"The truth."

"See, so it's true. I'm not your first born."

"She's right. She gets to make the decision. At this point what's done is done. Only she can decide what's best for the baby," Alice defended her daughter. She grabbed her hand. "Polly would you like to go to Pop's? There some things we need to discuss."

"Can we? I really want a milkshake."

"Of course. We can go right now. I'll grab my purse." Alice went up the stairs quickly. Polly glanced over at Hal. He looked annoyed.

"You're making a mistake." He walked away.

***

The two women sat in a booth enjoying a meal together. Alice was glad to see a smile on Polly's face. She noticed how her skin was already glowing. She also saw herself in her. A young girl without a clue on what to do, but cherished a warm heart.

"I thought about your offer," Alice began. "As you know your father and I are getting our hands on a divorce."

"You will love it there. I'm glad you came around to the idea."

"I hope that means we can see more of each other. If you have any questions about what to expect about motherhood I am all ears."

"I feel different. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing."

"What do you mean? Does it have to do with the Farm?" She carefully asked.

"No, I mean like my body. Obviously it's changing, but I don't know how to process it all. The people at The Farm help assure me I'm fine, but I don't know what I'm doing with myself or what I should be doing."

"Do you want to go to the clinic and have a check up after this? I highly suggest it. They can check on how you and the baby are doing. You will even get an adorable sonogram of the baby to keep as a memory."

"I don't know," Polly was nervous. She wasn't sure what to expect.

"It will help time go by faster while we wait for your sister to get home from school." Alice attempted to convince her. "It's something I wish I would have had for my first pregnancy."

"How was it?"

"The pregnancy?"

"In all honesty, scary. It could have been a lot better if I had what I did when I had you and Betty. You don't have to be scared though. You will get the help I didn't. I want to give you that help."

"What if I'm not a good mother?"

"Don't think like that. You will be a wonderful mother. You love this child so much already."

"Will you be there for me at The Farm when it's time?" Polly's eyes were wide and frightened.

"I will always support you, baby. You will always have me."

"What's dad going to say about this?" Polly frowned. It was obvious that he didn't want his grandchild.

"Don't worry about him. You have me and Betty. That's all you need, okay?"

"Okay," Polly said.

"So would you like to go to a doctor? At least before we go to the Farm?"

Polly agreed to get checked. She was trusting her mother's judgement.