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.My stomach growls, pushing me to hurry and fill it up. Ican t decide. Tell me what you re thinking, and I ll help you. Jesse looks over, waiting for me to enlighten himon my quandary. Mussels or the seafood platter. I muse.His eyes bug. Neither! he blurts, drawing the attention of my parents, who both pause with theirdrinks halfway to their mouths. Why? I turn a frown on him, but very quickly realise exactly why.He s read something in thatbloody book. Oh, come on, Jesse!He shakes his head. No way, lady.Not a chance.There s some sort of mercury in fish that candamage an unborn baby s nervous system.Don t even try to defy me on this one. Are you going to let me eat anything? My brow is completely furrowed.I love seafood. Yes.Chicken, steak.Both are high in protein, and that s good for our babies.I let out a frustrated protest and grab my water viciously.I m going to lose my mind.I ll be onProzac by the time these babies arrive.I m so busy having a mental sulk, it takes me a few moments to register my parent s stunned facesacross the table.Oh shit! Do it in style, Ava. Jesse mutters, placing his menu on the table.I shoot incredulous eyes to him.Me? You re pregnant? Mum blurts, the information overload obviously registering. Ava? Dad presses when I remain focused on Jesse, who is remaining focused on the menu thathe s just laid down.I take a deep breath of confidence and bite the bullet.There s no escaping this now, not that I everdreamt Jesse would allow me to leave Newquay without telling them. Surprise. I whisper, like afeeble cop out. But you ve been married for five minutes! Mum gasps. Five minutes!I watch as my dad places a calming hand on her arm, but that isn t going to stop her.I can feel arant coming on, in which case, I also feel a Jesse style trample coming on.I can t imagine himtaking a critical speech from my mother too well.She s right, though.We have only been marriedfor a few short weeks.Not quite five minutes, but it may as well be.I dare not tell her how farpregnant I am.She ll work out the timeframes fast enough and soon calculate just how soon aftermeeting this man I got myself knocked up.Coming to terms with the fact that I met and marriedhim so quickly was hard enough, even if Jesse did delicately-ish trample them and gain myfather s approval.I remain quiet, as does Jesse, as does my father, but not my mother.Oh no, she s only just gettingstarted.I can tell by the flex of her fingers on her wine glass and the drawing of deep breaths.And then I get really worried because her eyes widen and swing towards Jesse. It was a shotgunwedding, wasn t it? You married her because you had to! Thanks! I laugh, thinking how obscene it is for her to say such a thing.She s not thinking straight,and now she s saying stupid shit.Even with her limited time with us, she knows how we feelabout each other. Elizabeth, Jesse sits forward, all stern, his jaw ticking.I fear the worst. You know better thanthat. He sounds so calm, but I can detect the irritation in his tone, and I can hardly blame him.He s insulted, and so am I.Mum huffs a little, but Dad interjects before she can retaliate. So you didn t know at thewedding? No, I answer quickly, taking my glass with both hands to prevent my natural reflex from failingme.Yes, we both knew damn well, even if I was denying it. I see, Dad sighs. I can t believe it, Mum whines. A pregnant bride suggests only one thing. Then don t bloody tell anyone. I snap, feeling immensely pissed off with my mum and herreaction.I can t blame her, it is shocking, more so than she ll ever know, but to suggest I wasrushed down the aisle because of it? That just makes me fuming mad, so I don t know how Jessemust be feeling.His twitching, tense frame should be a clue, and when he takes my left hand andstarts twirling my wedding ring, I know that my mum is about to be trampled.He leans forward, and I close my eyes. Elizabeth, I m not an eighteen year old lad being forced todo the right thing after a quick fuck about with a girl. He s not quite snarling at my mother, but as Iopen my eyes to gage exactly how much fierceness we re dealing with, I immediately notice himfighting a curling lip. I m thirty eight years old.Ava is my wife, and I m not having her worked up orupset, so you can accept it and give us your blessing, or you can carry on like this and I ll take mygirl home now. He s still twirling my ring, and even though he has just firmly put my melodramaticmother in her place, and quite harshly, I could kiss him.And slap him, too.He doesn t want meworked up? Coming from him, that s bloody hilarious. Now, let s all just calm down a little, shall we? My dad says, all calm and softly, ever themediator.Not only does he avoid affection, he s not all that keen on confrontation, either.I noticehe gives my mother a sideway glace in warning, something rare from my father and only deliveredto his wife when he thinks it s absolutely necessary [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]