offers. She couldn’t imagine going out in public right now. The thought made her cringe and feel nauseous. There was no way Desiree could deal with her mother right now.
“It’s me, Rebecca,” a soft, melodic voice whispered in return. Desiree could tell from the muffled sound of her voice that Rebecca had her face up against the door.
Desiree’s shoulders slumped with relief. She was glad it wasn’t her mother, for a change. She unlocked the door and twisted the doorknob. She opened the door a crack and looked out in the hallway suspiciously. Then Desiree grabbed Rebecca’s arm and pulled her through the doorway and closed the door again. Desiree locked the door behind them. Though she was nervous as hell, she was glad to see Rebecca.
“Thanks for not bringing my mother with you, Rebecca,” Desiree said, on the brink of tears for the fifth time that day.
Rebecca’s eyes were wide with fear, like she’d committed a crime. She swiped sweat from her forehead and let out a long, pained sigh. Rebecca had prayed all the way to Desiree’s room. Desiree could tell something was off. One thing Rebecca was not was a good liar.
“I need to tell you something, Desi,” Rebecca said. “First, let me just say, they love you . . . no matter what they’re feeling right now.” She wiped at invisible sweat again. “I’m sure they just want what is best for you, Desi. I’m sure,” she added, fanning at her face.
“Just say whatever else you have to say,” Desiree snapped, feeling as if she might throw up.
“They . . . they want you to go to your mother’s private doctor and take care of it,” Rebecca said, shame making her cheeks flame.
“No,” Desiree rasped, feeling as if the word had lit her mouth on fire as she uttered it.
“Listen, Desi—” Rebecca began, putting her hands up in front of her, but Desiree cut her off.
“No!” she barked. “It’s my body and my baby! I won’t do it!” Desiree brushed past Rebecca, stormed out of her room, and stalked toward her parents’ suite. Rebecca was hot on her heels, but she couldn’t catch up, because Desiree was moving so fast.
Carolyn jumped and turned on the balls of her feet when Desiree barged into her bedroom suite. Ernest looked over his wife’s shoulder at his daughter.
“I’m not getting an abortion,” Desiree blurted, and she immediately felt like a weight had been lifted from her chest. She would never be able to live with herself if she didn’t at least get that off her chest. Desiree believed the life of her baby was sacred. She believed that the baby deserved to live, and whatever she had to endure, alone or not, she would endure.
Carolyn shook her head and looked at Rebecca for help. Rebecca shrugged; she had never believed in abortions herself. She had suffered the loss of her only child before she started working for the Johnsons. Rebecca had also seen the psychological pain Carolyn had suffered when she miscarried at least four times between the births of her three children.
Ernest stepped forward. “You think you can have a baby out of wedlock with a boy who doesn’t want anything to do with you?” he asked in the serious, businesslike, unloving way he sometimes spoke to his children.
Desiree swallowed hard and swayed on her feet when she registered the disgust in her father’s tone.
“No one wants to see you in pain and hurt. And the child . . . What type of life would the child have with no father?” Carolyn said, continuing where her husband had left off, not caring to choose her words wisely.
“You can’t stay here with a baby out of wedlock, and that’s final,” Ernest said sternly and dismissively all at the same time. “We have the family name to consider, and we’ve worked hard to maintain it. This is not what we do.”
“So, you’d throw me on the street?” Desiree asked indignantly, scared to death of her father’s response.
“Why can’t we all sleep on this and talk about it tomorrow?” Rebecca interjected, as if this was her last chance to keep the peace.
“There will be no more discussion about this after today. Either she does what we have asked or she leaves. Period,” her father said without blinking or flinching.
Carolyn gasped and looked between her husband and her daughter, pain evident on everyone’s faces.
Desiree felt her chest swelling and heat rising to her face. Her cheeks flamed red as she bit her bottom lip, drawing her own blood, before she spoke.
“You have made your choice! That’s how it is?” she muttered. She put her hands on her face, in mock surprise. “Oh, no, not the precious Johnson name. There is no way I can have this baby and bring shame to my family, right?” she mocked through her tears. Then her tone turned serious, and she narrowed her eyes into slits. “I guess what people think is more important than me and what I want. I get it!”
Her father didn’t budge, his arms folded across his chest and his face stoic. Her mother sobbed but didn’t take up for her.
“My mother won’t even stand up for me,” Desiree growled through clenched teeth as she gave Carolyn an evil look. Then she turned toward Rebecca. “I guess you’re the only person who truly cares about me!” Desiree screamed.
Rebecca shook her head from side to side helplessly.
“Well, then, you’re the only one I’ll ever care about from this day forward too,” Desiree said with finality. She just wanted the day to be over. She wanted to get away from around her father’s judgmental words and disproving eyes. “I guess this is good-bye,” she said to her mother.
Carolyn grunted and began mouthing a silent prayer. That was it! Desiree couldn’t hold back anymore when it came to her mother’s hypocrisy. There was but so much she could take.
“Oh my God, Mother! Praying now! You, of all people. You can’t be serious! First, you were trying to convince me to kill my baby, and now you’re praying for me! I don’t need all your Jesus talk! I thought you would understand and be supportive!” Desiree barked, on the verge of tears again.
Her emotions had been all over the place lately. No one could imagine how she felt being pregnant by a boy who had been a family friend for years, on top of the entire world knowing about it. Desiree was annoyed that her mother was giving her such a guilt trip after promising her that she’d be supportive. Desiree didn’t believe in abortion. And although she knew that she had her entire future ahead of her, and having a child under these circumstances was just not how she had pictured her life ending up, she had to protect her baby. Deep down inside, Desiree knew that her parents would probably accept the child eventually, but Desiree wanted her first child to be the joy of her parents’ life . . . not a shameful embarrassment. Desiree’s mind raced with all these things.
Rebecca fell silent after Desiree’s outburst. She knew all too well how tenacious Desiree could be when she was upset. She followed Desiree back to her bedroom.
“Desi, this will blow over. I promise,” Rebecca said, trying to comfort Desiree.
But she was wrong. The next morning, Rebecca was the one to break the news that Ernest and Carolyn had arranged for her to take Desiree away. They didn’t even come to see her off.
An eerie silence enveloped the interior of the luxury car as it whizzed
