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“Our floors are white oak,” I couldn’t help but smile as I informed her.
“Shut up. Throughout?” She asked, amazed.
“Except for the kitchen and bathroom. We’re gonna refinish them. Charlie doesn’t know much about renovating, but he said he would be happy to help out. I’m hoping to get the floors finished within the next couple of months.” We had a lot that we needed to get done before the baby would arrive, and I knew we had to get started shortly. I would need to chat with Charlie about getting a list together so we could bang it all out.
“That is amazing. I have never seen white oak floors before. I thought they were all gone. It’s good that you want to restore them. When did you become interested in construction?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’ve always been interested in renovations. I’ve always preferred to work with my hands. I had gone to school to get a business degree with the hope of flipping houses one day.”
“It would seem we have more in common. Did you graduate?”
“Um no. Some personal things came up, and I had to drop out.”
I had to be careful that I didn’t tell her too much. I wasn’t ready for her to know the truth behind my leaving school. I wasn’t ready to be close with her. She wasn’t my mother and despite our similarities, I had to remember that. She seemed like she was a nice woman, that she would be pretty cool, but I couldn’t let that cloud my mind. She was a stranger and not my mother.
“Well, I am happy to listen to those personal reasons whenever you are ready to share them. Honestly Maya, I just want to be in your life. I just want the chance to get to know you,” she said with a loving smile, and I knew meeting for lunch meant everything to her.
“About that,” I started. I wasn’t really sure how to bring this up. Just coming out and asking for a DNA test seemed rude, but I really did need one. I wasn’t certain how to go about asking for one. Maybe it was best that I just rip the Band-Aid off. “Charlie and I were talking, and we both agreed it would be best for a DNA test to be done. Just to confirm that we are blood relatives.”
I didn’t want to say mother and daughter, because that seemed to be too much for my mind to handle. Blood relatives meant we could be cousins or something. There was a distance to it. But mother and daughter, that was a relationship, a connection that was almost indestructible. It held a deeper purpose and meaning, one I wasn’t ready to even consider. I had grown so used to not having any parents. To not having anyone that I could reach out to just to chat or to have in my corner whether I was right or wrong. To think that I could have a mother not just out there but sitting across from me. The concept was surreal, and my mind couldn’t process that fact yet.
“Absolutely,” she easily said, and I was taken aback a bit by how open she was to the idea. “Is there a place in town where we can do that, or do we need to order something?”
“Um … Charlie said he can reach out to a lab in Waco where we can do the test. There’s nowhere in town for something like that.”
“Perfect. Let me know when, and I will be happy to be there for it,” she said as she took a drink from her coffee.
“Great,” I said with a slightly distant voice. I didn’t know why I was so shocked. I guess I just assumed she would put up a bit of a fight, and I would have to force her to do the test.
“Why are you so shocked?” she asked, slightly concerned.
“I’m not really. Or I guess I am a little. I just figured it would have taken a bit of convincing to get you to agree to it. I didn’t expect for you to jump right on it.”
“It’s a reasonable request. I know you are my daughter, but it’s only natural that you would need scientific proof of it. I’m happy to do anything that you need to make you feel better about this situation. If you need a DNA test, I am more than happy to do one with you. One day when you have children you will understand,” she said warmly.
I couldn’t help but move my hand over to my stomach. It was still weird to know that I was pregnant. That a baby was growing inside of me. Now I had the fact that apparently when this little one is born I will hold a connection with them so powerful that I would know if something was wrong with them. I didn’t like any of this, but it was too late now. Whatever was going to happen all I could do was live with it.
“Oh my god,” Hellen’s soft voice forced my attention to snap back to her.
“What?”
“You’re pregnant,” she simply stated, but I could see the joy within her eyes.
“No. I’m … I’m not pregnant.” There was no way she was able to piece that together. I didn’t even know how she came to that conclusion.
“You moved your hand over to your lower belly. It’s something I did all the time while I was pregnant with you. Every time I thought about you, my hand subconsciously went to my belly, even after I gave birth.”
I had never even thought about what my actions could mean in terms of my pregnancy. I had been hoping that we could keep this quiet for a little while longer. Long enough for me to wrap my head around this and for us to settle into the house and into the town. For some reason telling people also made it feel more real.
“We’re not telling people yet. We haven’t even told Zoey.”
I was terrified of when that day would come. I was falling in love with that beautiful little girl, and the last thing I wanted was for her to feel like we were trying to replace her. I knew I was gonna have to talk to Charlie about that, and we would need to figure out how to break the news to her.
“My lips are sealed. I am so happy for you.” The massive smile that spread across her face told me that she meant every word. I felt a small twinge within my chest, and I quickly pushed it down. I couldn’t allow for myself to feel anything towards Hellen. Not until the DNA test came back.
“Thanks,” I said as I took a drink to try and calm my emotions back down.
“Who is Zoey? Is that your adoptive mother?”
