"What colour of panties are you wearing?"
"Excuse me?" She countered
"I won't repeat the question again"
"Red. They're red" she swallowed
"Reach below your gown. Pull it. And hand it over to me"
"Why would you want it? It's just a piece of material...
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"I'm pregnant, Mama. Is that a bad thing? I don't even know if I should feel glad. Or miserable. And I don't know how Mikhail's going to take it. I've messed up. And bad."
"Oh Raven, I'm so happy for you. I've never been happier, or prouder in my life. You know for a long time, I was scared that this day was never going to come. Because you were so independent, and you didn't believe in love, you didn't date boys, and your confidence drove the ones that dared to ask you out away. At such a young age, you blamed yourself for a lot of things, and took responsibility for things you shouldn't have in the first place. I knew Mikhail was going to be the one, the day you brought him, a man, for the first time ever, to my house. But why are you delivering the news with so much sadness, as if you were about to be sent to the gallows? When has having a baby ever being such a bad thing?"
"It's a bad timing Mama. I've known him for only a year. Even though I love him so much, I still don't know a lot about him. Or if he'll be a good father. Or if he even wants a child at all. I can't bear to face his disappointment or his judgment, if this is something he doesn't want"
"Firstly, is there ever good timing to have a kid? A baby ruins things. It's why it's a baby. But they ruin things in a good way. And we all love them anyway, inspite of what they ruin. If you love Mikhail, then you should trust him enough to tell him that he's going to be a father. Remember that these are all your thoughts. Your thoughts only. For you will never know, how he'll take the news of a child, if he'll act disappointed or joyful, if you never tell him. Till tomorrow, I still learn new things about your father that I hadn't known before, baby girl. If you were to wait till you've learnt everything you need to know about Mikhail Constantinovich before anything happens, then you'll be waiting forever. This is another tough lesson about love. You've got to put yourself out there, even if it means getting hurt. Tell him the news, no matter how vulnerable you feel, and your heart feels, even it means getting scorched. For you will never ever know, you can at best only guess. But you will never know, if you don't have a discussion with him. And the last thing you'd want, is him hearing the news from someone else. Neither of us would want that. You can avoid that situation by telling him, baby. You're my child Raven. My only child. A Mother's instincts are never wrong. I have never seen you like this with any other guy, before. He's the one. You know it. And I know it. Don't start doubting it now"
Raven breathed out, exhaling all that pent-up energy "I'll do so Mama. You're right. He deserves to know. I promise to tell him. Now before we got into Mikhail's issue, you were going to tell me something. What was it?"
"I um... The doctor says they found something" her mother said quietly, after many long minutes.
"Found something? Where?" Raven held her breath, her heart starting to beat rapidly from fear.
"They found something in my brain, Raven. They said it's a tumor" her mother mumbled
"a TUMOR!? How is that even possible? You eat fruits, and do yoga, and go for therapy, and take classes in anger management, and—"
"Raven—" her mom begged
"No, no I'm not done! How could anyone have found a tumor inside the best woman that I know? You are everything that I've always wanted to be, and live up to. This can't happen to you. I won't allow it!" Raven sobbed
"It's out of your control baby. You don't have to take responsibility for this as well. Some things in life are simply out of anyone's control. Bad things happen all the time. And you are perfect. You are more woman than I could ever be. It's all inside of you, you just have to look. I'm going in for surgery in some weeks time. And the doctor says it's fifty-fifty. I may not make it, or I may on the other hand, have a full recovery. And if I choose not to go ahead with the surgery, I start to die a slow death. I start to loose function of my organs, and body parts, nerves, little by little. I get blind, I become paralyzed... And I can't wait for that to happen" her mother croaked, emotions clogging her throat, showing any real emotion for the first time. "So I told your dad, that I've decided to go along with the surgery. And I feel like such a shitty person for delivering the news to you over the phone, but I really don't want to disturb you from your work schedule. I know how busy you are"
The tears fell uncontrollably, down Ravens face, and she closed her eyes, letting them. Everything in her life had suddenly become so overwhelming. The baby. Mikhail. Now her mother.
Just a month ago, life had been perfect. Where did it start to go wrong? A whimper escaped from her lips, as more tears fell down her face
"Raven? Raven? Please I need you to say something" her mother's voice turned desperate, over the phone
"I'm here, Mama. Tell me how I can help. I want to do something"
"I need you now, more than ever, to stay healthy. And calm. 'Cause you're expecting your own little bundle of happiness, in the form of that child in your womb. I only ask that you fly down here, the week of my surgery, for moral support, and assure me, as you always do, that everything's going to be okay" her mother's voice broke, as she started crying from her own end as well
"I can do that Mama. I can do that" Raven sniffed, crying even harder. For a long time, they both stopped speaking, and just kept on crying.
Few minutes later, a knock resounded on the door Raven was resting on.
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A/N: Tell me, what would you do, if you got this kind of news from a loved one, living far away?
ღ Joke about it at first?
❦ Disabuse their wishes and fly over to meet them immediately, even if they don't want you there?
♡ Start crying immediately?
ღ Become instantly logical, and start thinking of ways to hopefully combat the issue? I guess this is called denial. You choose not to truly accept the news?
★ Or you choose to accept their wishes to the very end? And try to do well, and act like life's going fine, just like the way they wanted?
Drop your comments, and let me know. This is Friday's update, although it's coming earlier. Next update is coming on Monday. But if I feel up to it, I might type it before Monday as well.
So if you loved this chapter, don't forget to show your love and support, by voting, commenting, and following me. As always, I love you all. You're the reason why I write. See you next chapter. ☆
