Best of Me

The sun was shining brightly, the rays warming the weather. Kat sat on the ground, her fingers curling into the warm grass. Her dark hair fell in gentle waves down her back, her bright blue eyes hidden behind her RayBans.

“Hi mama.” She whispered to the tombstone. “I’ve been sitting here for a while trying to find the right words. Um, I’m pregnant, and it’s Brian’s.” She quickly wiped the tears away from her eyes.

“This is a lot harder than I thought it would be. You were supposed to be here for things like this. Dad has been really supportive, but I wish I had you here. You have experience with the whole pregnancy thing.”

Kat continued to talk to her mother’s gravestone for a while. She told her about the ultrasound and described the heartbeat. She even told her how there was a bet going between the girls over the gender. The more she thought about it, Kat was beginning to realize how much she wanted a boy. She would be happy with either, but a boy would be amazing. A little boy was what she had been picturing since she found out she was pregnant.

After her routine visit to her mom’s grave, Kat found herself parked in the driveway at Brian’s parent’s house. It was time for that dinner that Brian had scheduled the other day. Kat was slightly nervous, but it was Papa Gates and Suzy, they adored her and apparently, they were excited about the baby. Brian was already here, so he could save her from any awkward moments.

As Kat approached the door and was about to knock, the door swung open. Suzy stood on the other side with a grin, immediately engulfing her in a hug.

“It’s so good to see you, Kat. You need to come over more, especially now.” Suzy pulled away from Kat, holding onto her hands.

“I will definitely swing by more often. I’ll probably start needing some help at some point.” Kat laughed, her hand sweeping by her stomach. Suzy’s smile grew bigger, obviously excited to be a grandmother.

Once the initial greetings were out of the way, Suzy and Kat left the foyer and ventured further into the house.

“Before we meet up with Brian and Jr., I just want to say something.” Suzy began, her arm wrapping around Kat gently. “I realize this whole thing came out of left field. It’s not how you pictured this happening, but we are so excited. No matter what the outcome is, there is no judgement, only love and support.”

The hormones kicked in and Kat began to tear up. She was unbelievably happy that Brian’s family was so accepting of the entire situation. It was a no-brainer that they would be, but it still felt good to have the reassurance. Kat had a whole army of people behind her, supporting her in this life-changing event.

After pulling herself together, she and Suzy continued through the house and walked into the kitchen. There stood Brian and his dad, finishing up the last little bit of the cooking. It took only a second for Papa Gates to spot Kat, and he immediately set down the cooking utensil to greet her.

“There’s my Kit Kat! Where have you been? I’ve missed you, kid.”

“I missed you too, Pops. I’ve been around, working and dealing with all this.” Kat laughed as she pulled from his embrace. Brian Sr. merely smiled and kissed her temple.

The moment Kat was free from his father, Brian wrapped his arms around her tightly. Suzy watched the embrace with a small, knowing smile.

From the time they were kids, Papa Gates and Suzy could see that Brian and Kat would make a good match. Kat’s pregnancy had come as a shock to everyone, but they were all hoping this would lead to the relationship they had all been hoping for.

“How are you feeling with the morning sickness?” Brian asked, hoping that things were starting to ease up for her. He hated that she was miserable, and he was worried that she wasn’t getting enough nutrition.

“It’s still around, but I’m starting to come around to a lot more foods. Hopefully it will go away completely.” Kat explained, her words followed by her stomach growling softly. This made everyone laugh, and Papa immediately went back to the stove.

“Well, luckily dinner’s ready. My grandbaby’s hungry!”

The entire dinner was spent talking about the baby. Everyone was excited and it made Kat feel good. Her biggest fear was that people would be disappointed, but she had to remember that she wasn’t a teenager. She was an adult, and yes this wasn’t the ideal scenario, but things are different as an adult.

When Kat told Suzy about the bet involving the gender of the baby, she began to laugh. She then decided that she would place her own bet.

“I think it’s going to be a boy too. I’m with you on that.” Suzy said to Kat before finishing her glass of wine. “Are you nervous about giving birth?”

Kat took a deep breath. “I honestly haven’t thought much about it, just because it’s still early. However, I just want everything to go smooth when the time comes.”

“You’re going to be such a good mom.” Suzy’s smile was soft and thoughtful. She could already see the glow in Kat’s face, despite the exhaustion in her eyes. Suzy could see that pregnancy and motherhood was going to be a good look for the young woman.

Kat smiled to herself, her hand gently rubbing her stomach. It made her happy to know that someone else thought she would be a good mom.

After dinner, Kat helped Suzy clean up the dishes and put away the leftovers. While the women were chatting and cleaning up, Brian and his dad went out to the back patio to smoke.

“You ready to be a father?” Papa Gates asked, smiling brightly, his eyes twinkling. Brian scoffed playfully, shaking his head.

“I don’t know, probably not.”

Papa Gates was quiet for a moment, picking up the muffled talking between his wife and Kat. “It’s still so strange to see Kat all grown up. I look at her and I still see the little girl she used to be. Covered in dirt and a mouth like a sailor.”

“Well, the mouth like a sailor part is still true.” Brian laughed, stubbing out his finished cigarette.

“This baby, it changes things, son.” The older man said, pointing out the obvious. “Things could have happened differently, but this is what happened, and it happened for a reason.”

“What do you mean?”

“That girl has been the apple of your eye ever since you were kids. She’s had you wrapped around her finger and you can’t deny that. Have you thought about where you two go from here?”

Brian let out a deep breath knowing that his father was only voicing the same thoughts he had been having. This was something that he thought about many times since finding out that Kat was pregnant. He thought about every chance he got, and he maybe had an answer.

“I don’t wanna rush anything. I don’t want to force a relationship just for the baby and I don’t want to jump from Michelle straight to Kat. That’s not fair.” Brian explained as best as he could, his thoughts still jumbled and all over the place.

“Well, whatever you two decide to do, it’ll work out.”