Wings and Beyond by Joy Redmond

Author:Joy Redmond [Redmond, Joy]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2015-08-20T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

The next morning, Mandy roused herself from sleep, her eyes heavy as she glanced at the clock. 7:45. She couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t slept that late since she had come to live with the Hodges, then she remembered for the past week she was sleepy all day, and she fought to keep herself awake.

She got out of bed and crept across the floor. She stared at her reflection in the vanity mirror. “Merry Christmas, Nikko. Does it feel like Christmas to you? It sure doesn’t to me. I can only imagine what kind of day it’s going to be. Probably snot and tears from Iris, and icy glares from Otis.”

You told me to take over last night. Today, you’re going to have to stand on your own. You’ve got to learn. But if you freeze, I’ll take the lead. It’s Christmas but I don’t think it’s going to be merry.

“I can’t believe Iris isn’t yelling for me. I hope she saved some breakfast. The nausea seems to be gone and I’m hungry. I’ll get dressed and then go face the music.”

It won’t be Christmas music, Nikko said, and Mandy watched a tear slide down her face.

Mandy put on a pair of jeans and a white sweater. She put on a pair of socks, then pulled on her new black boots. Let’s see if Iris will send me back upstairs and tell me to dress properly for Christmas Day.

Mandy came downstairs and walked into the kitchen and stopped. To her surprise, Otis and Iris were sitting at the table and they weren’t dressed for church. The dishes had been cleared from the table, but she saw a pan sitting on the stove. She hoped it was Cream of Wheat. She hoped it hadn’t set up so hard that it would be like trying to spoon concrete.

Iris glanced up and wiped her tears. “Sit down, Mandy. This isn’t going to be a joyful Christmas, and this is the first Sunday that I’ll miss church in more than forty-years, but we need to have a talk. Your father and I haven’t slept a wink and you need to understand a few things.”

Mandy noticed how tired Iris looked in the morning light, and she felt a bit guilty. She had caused this unhappiness.

Mandy pulled out a chair. Be strong. Don’t cave. If you tell them that you’re pregnant, you know what they’ll do. Your only chance of being able to keep your baby is to get married.

Iris cleared her throat. “Mandy, we will not give you permission to get married. You’ll finish high school, then go to college as has been planned. You will give the ring back and you’ll stay away from Jack and his family. Our minds are made up. We’re not going to let you ruin your young life!”

Too late, Mother. My young life has already been ruined. How I wish I could undo it, but I can’t and neither can you or Dad.

“Did you understand your Mother?” Otis asked, his voice stern, his eyes narrowed as he stared at her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.