by Teisha Mott
"And so all of you decided to gang up on me!" Samantha surmised. "Are Bianca and Klao a part of this pathetic intervention too?"
"No. It was my idea. They didn't know I called him. I swear!"
Samantha could not believe that Andie had done this. She couldn't believe Andie had called Jeremy and he was actually there. She couldn't face him. Not like this. Not right now. She turned back towards the parking lot. "I'm not doing this! I’m not talking to him!”
"What?" Andie could not believe what was happening. She trotted to keep up with her sister who was heading back to her RAV4. "What are you.... Where are you going?"
“I’m going home. You can stay here and have lunch with your new BFF. I don’t need this.”
“Samantha, you're being ridiculous! You can’t just leave like that!"
"Watch me!" Samantha disarmed her RAV4 once more and got in.
Andie thought Samantha was definitely going crazy. "What about Jeremy? He came all the way from Mobay to talk to you. You need to talk to him, and the two of you need to work this out!”
“The only thing I need to do, Anne Dru is punch you in your big mouth that cannot stop flapping!”
“C'mon, Samantha!" Andie got into the passenger side of the RAV4. “He really wants to work this out. Can’t you give him ten minutes?"
Samantha fastened her seatbelt.
"You're being totally unreasonable, Sammy!" Andie declared. "You're supposed to be the smart one!"
"And you're supposed to be on my side!"
"I am on your side, Samantha!" Andie declared. "I'm on your side and Sebastian's side...."
"Who the hell is Sebastian?"
"The baby!"
Samantha glared at Andie, her hazel eyes now bright green with rage. “Get out of my car.”
"What? No! I am not getting out!"
"Get out!" Samantha repeated.
“No! Not unless we're going back into Gauchos, and you are going to talk to Jeremy!" Andie was adamant. "You are being totally unreasonable, Samantha. You are going to be a mother. Start acting like one and go talk to Jeremy!"
“Andie I am warning you,”
“Ok, fine you don’t have to talk to him. Just let’s go back inside and have lunch and …”
“I said get out!”
“I am not getting out.”
“Fine. Suit your damn self!” She started the ignition and reversed out of the parking spot.
“Samantha you can’t...”
But she did. Samantha sped out of the Gauchos parking lot, her tires stirring up a whirlwind of dust. Andie grabbed the side of the seat to prevent herself from being tossed around, and hastily fastened her seatbelt.
"You're an infant!" She screamed at her sister.
"Shut up!" Samantha screamed back.
Before Andie could comeback with the classic 'you shut up', her cell phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Nathan.
“Where are you,” he asked, the second she accepted the call.
“We left,” Andie told him.
“What do you mean you left?” Nathan asked indignantly.
“I’m sorry,” Andie apologised. “Can you just take Jeremy home, please? And apologise to Bianca for me. I’ll talk to you later.”
She hung up and looked at her sister. Samantha’s face was set in stone. She opened her mouth to try pleading with her one more time, but quickly closed it again. Samantha was all shades of angry right now, and anything she said would only make things worse. Andie pulled the sonogram from her pocket once more. She looked at her fuzzy black and white nephew, Sebastian. She felt so sorry for him. His mother was obviously going crazy, and his Auntie was totally out of ideas. She had no idea what she was going to do now. Andie sighed and looked out the window, watching Waterloo Road go by as they headed to Norbrook. It was going to be a very long seven months.
***
Samantha pulled the Rav4 into her usual parking spot next to her mother’s silver Mercedes Benz. She slammed out of the Rav4 and stormed up the driveway to the back door. Nursey, Rosilda and Theresa all had Friday off, and the kitchen was deserted. Anger boiled in her chest. Samantha thought she would either have a heart attack or slap her sister really, really hard. How could Andie go behind her back and call Jeremy? How could she have made him come to Kingston and worse to lunch? She had specifically told Andie that under no circumstances was she to call Jeremy. She had her reasons, and Andie should have respected them. She recalled him sitting at the table next to Nathan and Bianca, in all his toned and chocolate and dimpled glory. He was just as handsome as he was that Sunday morning in Starbucks. How on earth was she supposed to face him and explain to him that she was pregnant? He had told her in no uncertain terms the night of her birthday that he did not want her calling him saying she was pregnant. Granted, he had told her in Infierno that he had always had a thing for her, and had said the same thing at Starbucks. But this was different. He did not want a baby. She could not abide Jeremy yelling at her as he was bound to do, or telling her that he did not want their baby. Worst of all, she did not want him there under some misguided obligation. She was going to have to do this baby thing on her own, and that was what she had resigned herself to do the moment she saw the image on the ultrasound. Jeremy did not have to know. He did not have to be a part of this.
“Samantha, listen to me…” Andie pleaded.
“Don’t talk to me!” Samantha snapped, turning on her sister.
“I was only trying to help you, Sam!”
“Well I don’t want your help! How could you do this, Andie? How could you betray me like that?”
Andie wasn’t sure who this angry irrational person standing in front of her was. Surely not her usually cool, level-headed big sister. Baby hormones were certainly short-circuiting her brain. That was the only explanation.
“What do you mean betray you? What else did you expect me to do?” She yelled. She sighed and lowered her voice. Her mother was home, the worst thing in the world would be for her to overhear their argument. “Look, this is not as bad as you are making it out to be. Let’s just figure it out. You can’t do this alone, Sam! You need...”
“You want to know what I need, Andie? I need for you to back the hell off and mind your own damn business!”
“Mind my own business?” Andie repeated. “You’re my sister. This is my business!” She pulled the sonogram from her pocket. “Samantha, look at this!”
“I’m not bothering with you!” Samantha tried to get by her to the stairs.
“Look at it! Andie commanded, blocking her way. She waved the sonogram at her sister. “This is your baby. And Jeremy’s baby. He is alive and he is going to be born before the year is out. Do you know what he needs? He needs a sensible, rational mother and a present father, and right now, you’re denying him both. Wake up, Samantha! This is happening, whether you like it or not, and it’s not just happening to you. It’s happening to all three of you. It’s not some minor inconvenience that you can just ignore.”
Samantha took a deep breath and glared at her sister. “I’m not in a very good mood right now, and it’s your fault, so if I were you, I would walk away. Right now.”
“My fault?” Andie screeched. “Samantha you're the one with the problem. I’m only trying to help you!”
“You’re right!” Samantha returned angrily. “This is my problem, not yours! So from now on, don’t worry about me. Don't try to help me anymore.”
“Samantha, just stop!”
“Walk away, Andie! Just leave me the hell alone!”
"Samantha!"
“Hey! Hey! What’s with the shouting?” Mrs Persaud burst into the kitchen. She looked at both her daughters. “Sam, Andie? What’s going on?”
“Nothing, Mommy,” Samantha responded, not looking at her mother.
“Nothing? What nothing is going on?” Mrs Persaud placed her hands on her hips and frowned at her girls. She thought that having grown daughters, both past their teenaged years meant she would not have to w
orry about breaking up shouting matches anymore. “I could hear you shouting from the basement!”
“I’m going to my room,” Samantha decided, turning away.
“Oh no you’re not, young lady!” Mrs Persaud disagreed. “The two of you have been very suspicious for days now and I want some answers right now. What’s happening?” She looked from Andie to Samantha, waiting for a response. “Well?”
“Samantha, tell her!” Andie ordered.
Samantha was at her satiation point. “Shut up, Andie! I swear to God...”
Mrs Persaud was definitely concerned. “Tell me what? Andie! Tell me what?”
“Sammy, please…” Andie pleaded.
“Samantha, what does Andie want you to tell me? Are you okay?”
Before Samantha could think up an appropriate response, the door opened and her father and Christopher entered the kitchen. In Nursey’s absence, Dr Persaud had picked up Christopher from school.
“Ah, my three favourite girls all together at once!” He declared. Then he noticed that something was off. “Is everything okay?”
“That’s exactly what I am trying to find out,” his wife responded. “I was in my studio trying to work and these two came home shouting bloody murder at each other!”
“Anne Dru, what’s going on?” Her father immediately pounced on her.
Andie did a double take. “Why do you automatically assume that if something’s wrong it has something to do with me?”
“Because usually it does!” Christopher piped in.
Dr Persaud was not amused. “Christopher, go to your room!”
“Aw man!” Christopher protested, wishing he had kept his mouth shut. Now he was not going to hear what kind of drama Andie had gotten herself into this time. However, he grabbed a banana and his school bag and ran up the stairs to his room.
“Well?” Dr Persaud looked at his daughters. “Which one of you is going to start?”
Silence.
“We are waiting!” Mrs Persaud reminded them.
Dr Persaud glanced at his wife. She was looking at the girls, expecting a response. Samantha and Andie, being only seventeen months apart usually had their fallings out, but quickly made up. That was normal with siblings, and he could remember as a boy, and even as a young man, getting into serious discourses with his brothers. Ordinarily, his wife would not get involved when the girls had their issues. She claimed that they were no longer children, and could sort out whatever problems they were having by themselves, so long as things did not get physical. To see her getting involved this time was actual cause for concern.
“Samantha? What’s going on? Are the two of you in trouble?” He asked once more.
Samantha opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She looked at Andie, praying that her sister would keep this secret from her parents just one more day. She only needed one more day to think of a way to tell them about the baby. She could tell them when Grandma and Grandpa came to breakfast tomorrow morning. Dr Persaud did not miss the look.
“Anne Dru?”
No response. Andie blushed and looked at her toes.
Dr Persaud sighed. “Samantha, we know you are loyal to your sister, but if something is going on, we need to know about it. Is she in trouble? Are you covering for her?”
“No Daddy, I am not covering for her,” Samantha finally whispered, not sounding very convincing.
“Are you sure? Does this have to do with that story TATTLER wrote the other day?”
Andie snapped to attention. “Really Daddy? Really? I told you that TATTLER was wrong, and I am not pregnant. You didn't believe me?"
"Well, you don't always have a good relationship with the truth!" Dr Persaud pointed out.
“This is ridiculous!” Andie yelled. “I didn’t do anything, and somehow I still end up in trouble! Samantha you better tell them right now!”
“Tell us what?” Mrs Persaud was definitely concerned.
Samantha still did not reply and Andie was beyond incensed. It was bad enough that Nathan thought she was a liar, but now her parents too? Enough was bloody well enough. It was certainly time to squash this crap.
“You want to know what is going on?” She raged. “You really want to know? Fine! I’ll tell you what’s going on!"
"Andie, please don't..." Samantha whispered.
“The night before her birthday, your perfect, golden daughter who can do no wrong went to a nightclub in Manhattan, got drunk and had intercourse -- yes, you heard right, sexual intercourse -- with a boy called Jeremy Malcolm. You remember him? He was her number one enemy at UWI; used to be Nathan’s best friend until back when I was in first year and they made that bet with me as the pawn. Not only did she have sex with him, but neither of them understands how a condom operates!”
Tears fell from Samantha’s eyes. “Andie…”
“No, Samantha. This ends now.” She turned back to her parents. “The night before my Monetary Economics exam, your golden child woke me up out of my bed and dragged me down to the all night pharmacy in Manor Park to get her pregnancy test, which came back positive and which Theresa and TATTLER thought were mine. BecauseI’m a good and loyal sister, I took the blame. I sat at the table and lied to the two of you and to Grandpa and Grandma and my boyfriend, who, for the record, is concerned at how adept at lying I have become. Klao, Bianca and I have been keeping it secret from you because your precious ‘Samantha Doll’ doesn’t have the gumption to tell you herself. We’re just coming from the OB/GYN that Bianca had to almost threaten her to see, and all this – this shouting bloody murder at each other – is because she refuses to talk to the father of her child and tell him what’s going on, and all I was trying to do was convince her that she must. So there!” She slapped the sonogram to her father’s palm. “You’re going to be grandparents. Congratulations. That’s what’s going on!”
***
Samantha felt trapped. This was without a doubt the worst day of her life. She wished that right at that moment she would die. Just stop breathing. Expire right there in her father's den. She studied her perfectly pedicured coral toenails that looked blurred from the tears that flooded her eyes.
“Samantha…” her mother looked at her. She did not look up.
“Samantha!” This time it was her father. “The other day when TATTLER wrote that article about Andie being pregnant, and Theresa found the test that Andie conveniently explained away… was it yours?”
She nodded.
“You are pregnant?”
She nodded again, her face getting redder and redder by the second.
“Oh my God!” Mrs Persaud gasped. “Sam…”
Dr Persaud took a deep breath. He pulled his fingers through his wavy hair that had gone distinguishably grey at the temples. “This is unreal,” He sighed.
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” She whispered. “I…”
“You’re sorry?” Dr Persaud roared. “You have been walking around my house for God knows how long knowing damn well that you’re pregnant and you didn’t say anything, and all you can say for yourself is that you’re sorry? Why the hell didn’t you say something?”
“Daddy I…”
“How far along are you?” Mrs Persaud asked.
“Nine weeks,” Samantha replied.
“Nine weeks? But - but - but how?”
Samantha could not resist. “The usual way, I guess…”
Her father exploded. “Do you think this is funny, Samantha? Because it is a damn bad joke by any stretch of the imagination!”
“Andrew, please…” Mrs Persaud tried to calm him down.
“What is this?” He continued. “Are you punishing us – your mother and me? Is it because you have never done anything to get us going for the past 22 years that you have decided to hit us with your best shot now? Is that it?”
“No…” Samantha tried to explain, but her father was going crazy.
“Okay, Samantha. Then why do you think getting pregnant now when you still have one semester of school left
, when you’re nowhere ready for this kind of commitment, was a good idea? Did this boy rape you? Or drug you?"
“No,” Samantha still stared at her toes.
“Andrew…” Mrs Persaud interrupted him. He was slowly losing control. Two veins at the sides of his forehead began to bulge. Samantha had never seen her father that angry before.
“You deal with this, Janise!’ He finally surrendered. “I can’t – you deal with this.”
Mrs Persaud turned to her daughter.
“What happened, Samantha?”
Samantha blinked back the tears that had formed in her eyes. This was not a conversation she ever expected to be having with her parents.
“It’s just like Andie said," she explained. "The night before my birthday, I went to a nightclub with Phillip.” She stopped to take a breath. “Jeremy was there and we had too much to drink, and one thing led to another, and…”
Andrew Persaud was sure he would have an aneurysm. “You went to a nightclub with Phillip and had too much to drink and 'one thing led to another'? Do you know how many things are wrong with that statement, Samantha?”
“I’m sorry, Daddy!” Samantha could not fight the tears any further. “I didn’t think… I didn’t know… I thought I had the situation under control. This is the last thing that I expected to happen!”
“You thought you had the situation under control?” Dr Persaud barked. “Having the situation under control meant that you would not have gone to a nightclub with Phillip and gotten drunk and gone off with some rascal!”
“But Jeremy Malcolm?" Mrs Persaud interrupted. "How long have you two been seeing each other?”
Samantha blushed. “We actually aren’t…”
“You actually aren’t what?” Dr Persaud interjected.
"We aren't seeing each other. We only saw each other just that one time..."
"And this just keeps getting better and better!" Dr Persaud laughed wryly. "I am paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for you to get educated at NYU and you have become a bar floozy!"
“And where was Phillip all this time?” Mrs Persaud asked. "I can't believe he would just let you go off with Jeremy!"