By Crystal Arbogast

----- "Pregnant!"
----- Linda winced as her mother's voice threatened to tell the world the secret which she had guarded for weeks.
----- "You're only eighteen! My God, I thought you had more sense than that! Well, I can tell you one thing; your Dad will want to see Rob right away!"
----- Linda braced herself against her mother's anger, but the thought of facing her father made her ill. It would be hard to face him. He had always been so proud of her. Imagining his face at the news brought tears to her eyes.
----- "Mom, I have to go to the bathroom. I think I'm going to be sick."
----- "Get used to a lot of that." The remark followed Linda down the hallway.
----- Once inside, she grabbed at the toilet paper and caught the first tears which overflowed her eyes. Others followed, and as the hot rushes flowed freely, her body wrenched with uncontrollable sobbing. The feeling of being alone was overwhelming. There was no one to comfort her; to cradle her in their arms and make everything all right again. She moved one hand to her belly and rubbed gently.
----- After a few moments, she sat down on the toilet seat. Placing an elbow on the corner of the sink, Linda leaned her head against the palm of her hand. As she wiped the moisture from her cheeks, she thought of Rob, and the night before. Upon hearing her revelation, the look on his face had etched in her memory. There was disbelief and disappointment, followed by a half-hearted attempt at being "manly" about the whole thing.
----- When he had placed his arms limply around her, Linda felt as if she were the comforter. Rob was not yet twenty-one, and in his third year of college. Even though each of them had professed love for the other and had talked about marriage, babies were not in the immediate plans for the future.
----- "Dear God, "she whispered," Please let everything be all right."
----- Even if Linda's family wasn't Catholic, abortion would still be out of the question. The baby was a part of her, as well as Rob. She would have to face her family and put up with her mother's mouth. She wondered how long it would take for her Mom to tell her own.
Grandma!
----- A wave of nausea swept up from the pit of her stomach. She rose hastily from her sitting position and slammed the toilet lid up. In between the heaving, Linda thought about her grandmother. Rosa was a very proper lady, as well as a highly respected member of St. Elizabeth's parish.
----- "Are you all right?"
----- Her mother stood outside the door.
----- "You can't avoid me all day. We still have some talking to do, young lady. Are you listening?"
----- "What's all the commotion about?"
----- The voice of Linda's grandmother hushed the clatter on the other side of the door. Linda turned the knob and opened the door slowly. At the sight of her granddaughter's face, Rosa hastened to her side and placed one arm about her.
----- "Mary, what IS going on here? I could hear you yelling before I reached the door. Her face is all swollen. Is she sick?"
----- Rosa touched one hand to Linda's forehead and studied her carefully.
----- "No Mother, she's not sick. Mary stood with one hand on her hip, and tossing the other into the air as if to add drama, she exclaimed, "She's pregnant!"
----- Linda felt as if she were going to faint and wondered briefly how long her grandmother would be able to hold her up.
----- "Is that what this is all about?"
----- "Isn't that enough, Mother?"
----- "Mary, put some water on for tea. I could use a cup, and I think Linda could use one, too."
----- Mary looked into her mother's face for an instant, threw up her arms in exasperation, and turned toward the kitchen.
----- Rosa gave Linda a gentle squeeze and whispered into her ear, "There now, let's go and try to calm your mother down."
----- As the two entered the kitchen, Mary eyed her mother warily and set the tea kettle on the stove. Rosa guided Linda to the table and eased her gently down on a chair.
----- "Now then Sweetie, how far along are you and have you told Rob?"
----- Looking down at the floor, Linda answered, "Yes, I told him last night, and well, I don't really know how far along I am."
----- "You mean to tell me that you've done it so many times that you don't have any idea of when it happened?"
----- Mary's voice sliced through the calming atmosphere, and Rosa's eyes flashed with anger as she addressed her daughter.
----- "Mary, fix the tea and shut up for a moment. Can't you see what you're doing to your child?"
----- The bit of scolding startled Mary momentarily, but she managed to continue in a softer tone as she searched for the teabags.
----- "I don't think you are grasping the situation, Mother. We have a crisis on our hands. My unmarried daughter is pregnant. I have to tell her father that our teenage daughter has been sexually active. We'll definitely have to seek counseling with Father Paul. This is a child conceived in sin......."
----- "Now just a damn minute!"
----- As Rosa stood up and faced her daughter, Mary looked back in shock. She had never heard her mother swear before. Linda's mouth hung open, her eyes darting back and forth, between the faces of her elders.
----- "Sit down, Mary."
----- Rosa's voice calmed, but the anger was still present. Mary sank obediently into a chair.
Sitting down beside Linda, Rosa placed one hand over her granddaughter's, which clinched the remains of damp, crumbling toilet paper. As she stroked the girl's hair, Rosa smiled, and pulled the stray tendrils from the corners of Linda's face.
----- "This child was conceived out of love. I know how you and Rob feel about each other. There is nothing for you to be ashamed of. Reproducing is a trait which all species share. We're the only one, however, that has decided that there's a right way and a wrong way to do it."
----- Rosa turned to her daughter, who was now staring, wide-eyed and silent from across the table.
----- "Mary, I want to tell you a story. It was 1952. I was seventeen, and madly in love with a young soldier who had just returned home from Korea. Your father was a handsome boy, and that uniform made him irresistible. He had put the last of his Army pay into an old Ford; I forget the year of the car. Between the two of us, we had very little money. Mechanics didn't make much in those days. Thank God gas was cheap. All of our romancing took place in that old car. We had rides in the country, picnics, that sort of thing. It was in the backseat of that car that you were conceived. Now I ask you, how sinful do YOU feel?"
Mary and Linda stared at Rosa's proud and defiant face.
----- "Mom, are you saying that you were pregnant with me before you and Dad were married?"
----- "That's exactly what I'm saying. Frank and I eloped shortly after. The truth is, I think Mama knew. She loved Frank so much, as if he were her own. When you were born, she spoiled you rotten. Now it's your turn to be loving and supportive to your own daughter. In short, get off your high horse."
----- Rosa stood up slowly, and walked to the back door. Gathering her purse from the counter, she glanced at Linda and smiled at her.
----- "Call me, Sweetheart. Let me know what you and Rob decide to do. I'll help in any way that I can."
----- Linda watched as her grandmother closed the door, and realized that she was feeling much better.
----- The sound of the phone ringing jarred Mary to her senses, but Linda had already answered. Rob's voice came clear and soft over the line.
----- "Hi Baby. Look, I'm sorry that I acted like an asshole last night. It was just the shock and all. Well, I've told my folks and it wasn't too bad. We've got some planning to do. Do you think it's okay for me to come over tonight? I need to talk to your Mom and Dad."
----- Linda couldn't answer. Tears of relief and happiness prevented any immediate response.
----- "Are you there?"
----- Rob's voice, still clear and strong, caressed her ear and warmed her soul.
----- After wiping her cheeks and sniffing twice, Linda found her voice and replied, "Why don't you come over for dinner?"
----- "All right. Maybe I'll bring a bottle of wine. If I can get your Dad to drink enough, maybe he won't be so hard on me."
----- Linda smiled at the dry remark, and turned to her mother, who was now casting a questioning look in her direction.
----- "Just come over for dinner. I have a feeling that everything will be all right. It seems that our baby and Mom already have a lot in common."