Reaction - Lesley Choyce [9]
At home, my parents had backed off. They were worried, for sure, but they kept a lid on it. Not Ashley’s parents. Ashley’s dad called my father at least once a week. He wasn’t screaming now, but he wasn’t giving up. When he called, my father always walked the cordless phone into his bedroom and closed the door. And he never told me what they talked about. And I never asked.
But then I was blindsided.
I came home for dinner one night and saw Ashley’s parents’ car in the driveway. I walked into the house to find Ashley’s mother and father sitting with my parents in the living room.
At first I just stood there. No one said a word. Mr. Walker looked like a bomb ready to explode. His wife looked like she’d been crying. My mother just looked down at the floor, and my father—well, he looked to me like some kind of traitor.
“What the hell is this?” I asked.
My father stood up. “I think it’s time that we all sit down and talk about this together.”
“This was my idea,” Ashley’s mother said timidly. “I persuaded your parents we should do this.” Mrs. Walker was a shy woman who had rarely ever spoken to me the whole time I’d known Ashley.
“We all agree on one thing,” my mother added. “Ashley is going to have the baby, and we need to do what is best for her and the child.”
But I knew there was more to this. I didn’t say a word. I was trying to keep control of my emotions. I felt like I was about to be bullied into something. I felt like I was being ganged up on.
Mr. Walker cleared his throat and took a deep breath. In a very controlled voice, he said, “Zach, do you know what an intervention is?”
I grimaced. “Yeah,” I snorted. “When someone is out of control, when someone is on drugs, people get together and try to force that person to change.” I paused and looked around at the faces in the room. “But no one is on drugs here. So what the hell is this?”
“We’re here to help,” Mrs. Walker said. “We want to help both Ashley and you.”
“Why don’t you sit down?” my mom said.
“I’d rather stand.”
There was an awkward silence.
And then I heard the bathroom door open, and Ashley walked into the room. She looked like she wasn’t feeling too well. “Hi, Zach,” she said in a soft voice.
“Did you know about this?” I asked her.
She nodded.
“But I don’t understand what’s going on here,” I said to her.
She sat down in an empty chair and fidgeted with her hands. “Zach, I’ve been having second thoughts about keeping the baby. Maybe we should give it up for adoption when it’s born.”
I felt rage rising up inside of me but knew I had to keep it together. I nodded at her parents. “They’ve been brainwashing you, haven’t they?”
“No,” she said. Her voice was weak, and I could tell this was incredibly hard for her. “I just don’t think I’ll be a very good mother.”
“But I would be there to help,” I said.
Ashley just looked away and stared at the wall. I glared at my own parents— the traitors who had allowed this scene. Then I glared at Mr. Walker. At that point I guess he couldn’t contain himself.
“Yeah, Zach. And what kind of responsible father do you think you’re going to be?” There was venom in his voice.
I knew I couldn’t answer him. I was way too angry, and I’d regret whatever I said. I kept telling myself to keep it together. If I lost my cool, I knew that it would be playing right into what Ashley’s father wanted.
Instead, I went over to Ashley and sat on the arm of the chair. I put my arm around her. Right then I wanted everything and everybody in the world to go away. I just wanted to be alone with Ashley.
“There are many women out there who can’t have children,” my mom said. “It would be like a dream come true for them to adopt a baby. The child would have a good life.”
“A normal life,” Mrs. Walker echoed.
My dad stood up. “We’re going to go in the kitchen and leave you two to talk for a bit. Take your time. We’re not trying to pressure you into anything.” Those last words sounded hollow. This was so unlike him.
As they left the room, I felt trapped. For weeks I’d been pushing all of my own doubts into a closet.