Anything but Normal - Melody Carlson [70]
“Hey, Sophie,” he said with a smile. “I missed you in class today.”
“I was hanging at the pregnancy center.”
“That’s what Wes said.” He waved her to the chair across from his desk. “Sit down.”
“Thanks.” She sat down and folded her hands in her lap. “I wanted to try it out—the pregnancy center—to see how I fit in.”
“How was it?”
“Okay. I mean, the girls are nice. But it was kind of boring too.”
He nodded with a knowing smile. “Are you considering returning to your regular classes?”
She nodded. “It’ll be embarrassing for a while. But I can probably get used to it.”
“Wes told me that you were considering stepping down from your chief editor position and yearbook. Is that true?”
“I figured you’d want me to step down.”
“Me?” He looked shocked. “Why?”
“It seems pretty obvious.”
“Do you think being pregnant will impair your work?”
“I don’t think so.”
“And you were pregnant in the fall, right?”
She nodded.
“If anything, I think it made you a better journalist, Sophie. You were able to see more sides of a story.”
“Yeah, pregnancy kind of does that to you. I guess it’s the humiliation factor.”
He smiled. “So, as far as I’m concerned, you’re still chief editor. And you’re welcome in any of my journalism classes. In fact, I wanted to ask you to be my AA next semester.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely.”
She sighed. “Thanks. I’d like that.”
As it turned out, Mrs. Manchester was right. After a couple of weeks, Sophie was no longer the center of gossip and attention. For the most part, her life seemed to take on a normal pace. Other than her growing midsection, prenatal vitamins, and OB appointments, life seemed fairly smooth. It still bothered her that almost everyone (except Carrie Anne, who still wasn’t speaking to her) assumed that Wes was the father, but he told Sophie to just let it go. When he and Sophie ate lunch with Jenny and Hannah—and even Kelsey eventually—they would affectionately tease him, calling him “Sophie’s baby’s daddy.” And he would just laugh and take it in stride.
Sophie continued to spend some time in the pregnancy center for group therapy sessions and personal counseling, and she signed up for Mrs. Vincent’s childbirth class. Sometimes she went there just to visit.
“Leah had her baby last night,” Natasha told Sophie in late January. “A boy. Seven pounds, six ounces. Healthy.”
“She’s still planning to keep him?”
Natasha shrugged. “That’s what she’s been saying.”
“Do you think it’s because she hopes her boyfriend will come back to her?”
“She still thinks he’ll change his mind in time. But I think he’s just like the rest of the guys—making his fast break.”
Sophie sighed. “Not all guys are like that.”
“No.” Natasha made a face. “Your Wes is perfect. He wants to marry you and be a daddy to your kid.” She lowered her voice. “But then he’s not really the daddy. The real daddy bowed out a long time ago.”
“Point taken.”
“What is it with guys anyway?”
Sophie chuckled. “You mean besides the fact that most teen guys think with a part of their anatomy that’s not even connected to their brain?”
Natasha laughed. “Why don’t you write an editorial about that?”
“Maybe I will.”
“I heard that your school paper is more widely read than ever this year.” Natasha grinned. “That’s because you write about things related to sex.”
“You mean like pregnancy?”
“Yeah, that’s related to sex. But you’ve written about birth control and abortion too. What about adoption? Why haven’t you done that yet?”
“As a matter of fact, I’m working on an adoption article right now.”
“You can use my story, if you keep it anonymous.”
“Thanks.”
Sophie knew that Natasha had made her final decision. Going against her mother’s wishes, Natasha was working on an open adoption. Not so much so that she could be involved in the child’s life, but because her mother wanted to leave that door open. It was a compromise.