Samantha
I walked between the girls observing if they were correctly executing the choreography I had given them, it was already becoming a little difficult to keep up, so I was content to evaluate them and correct them when necessary.
" You need to be in sync," I stopped the music again, "especially when you raise your hands and start running again.”
" Ms. Hurst, can't you show us again? " Melissa asked.
" All right," I sighed before putting Michael Sembello on once more.
They watched carefully as I performed the choreography clearly so that they understood what they were supposed to do. Once I was done, I felt exhausted, content to sit on the floor for a while to catch my breath.
" How about a break? " I suggested with a wry smile.
" Does the baby make you tired, Ms. Hurst? " Maggie asked, watching me.
" A little," I admitted.
The girls whispered to each other soon after, causing me to frown at the situation.
" You go, it was your mother who told you," Melissa asked Kim.
" But I told you, you ask, Maggie," she answered in the same tone.
" What's going on? " I interrupted the little discussion, getting anxious glances at me.
" Ms. Hurst, my mother visited Mrs. Adamos's restaurant and found Mrs. Goodwill there," Kim began, "she said that Mrs. Adamos told her, that she told my mother, that…”
" Kim, just tell me what you want to know," I rolled my eyes.
" Is it true that Mr. Adamos is the father of your baby? " Carly cut to the chase, surprising me a little with her question.
All right, it was expected that this subject would come up at some point. It's no big deal!
" Yes, Mr. Adamos is the father of my baby.”
Immediately all the girls raised their hands eager to have their curiosity satisfied.
" Miss Hurst, but isn't Mr. Adamos Miss Brown's boyfriend? " Maggie asked.
" Yes, he is Ms. Brown's boyfriend.”
" Then shouldn't he have a baby with her? " Kim frowned.
" No, because my mother said that only married boys and girls can have a baby, and Mr. Adamos and Ms. Brown are not married yet," Melissa clarified.
" But Ms. Hurst isn't married to Mr. Adamos either," Kim pointed out.
Great, how do I explain my situation to the children now!
" We're not married, but we met a few months ago and decided to get to know each other a little better," I began carefully.
" And you decided to get to know him by having a baby with him? " Carly frowned, clearly confused.
Point to the little one!
" It wasn't one of our better decisions," I sighed, "but sometimes it happens that unmarried men and women make a baby by accident.”
" And you're going to marry him?”
" How do you make a baby? “
" Is the baby going to live with Mr. Adamos?”
" Are you going to live with Mr. Adamos?”
" Do you know what they say about children who ask a lot about things that don't concern them?” Delphine's voice caught our attention, causing the girls to widen their eyes.
It was a rumor in town, especially among the children, that Delphine was a witch, and this kind of comment did not help her reputation much. I decided that the pause had lasted long enough, and stood up.
" Let's continue, girls, from the beginning," I decided to ignore the presence of the old woman, who had settled down on a bench near the door.
She had been demanding my attention ever since she met me, making me accompany her shopping, eating whatever she decided was good for the baby, accompanying her to visit old friends.
I don't remember adopting a grandmother!
The door opened again, drawing my attention once more to Theon, who stared at his grandmother with an amazed expression. Are they going to let me work in peace today?
" Carry on girls, you're doing fine," I decided, watching my two visitors whispering Greek to each other.
I walked over to them, attracting Theon's attention. He seemed to have been avoiding me since the day I met Mike last week. At first I thought maybe he was jealous, but that would be ridiculous, since he is crazy about Harper!
" Sam.”
" Did something happen? " I frowned.
" No, I just came to see how you were doing," he looked a little disconcerted, "I didn't expect to find my grandmother here.”
" I just didn't expect you to stop working just to come to a ballet class," the old woman looked at him suspiciously.
" I just wanted to see if she and the baby are okay," Theon murmured, "and why are you here?”
" She's taking me to buy a dress when she's done here," she answered.
I'm going to do what?
" Dress? γιαγιά, why do you want a new dress? " Theon frowned.
" That doesn't matter to you, it's my money, and if I want a new dress, I'll buy a new dress! " she narrowed her eyes.
" Wait, since when are we going to buy a dress? " I decided to interrupt this insanity.
" Since I decided I want a dress," she rolled her eyes.
I thought about debating, but that would be too tiring. Instead I turned to the girls, deciding to end the class for good.
" Come on girls, let's do this routine one more time before we adjourn," I turned away from the two of them, feeling Theon's gaze follow me.
The feelings inside me about him were mixed, I wanted to get his attention and I loved it when he was affectionate to me, the way he was the day of the ultrasound. I knew about his relationship with Harper, and I didn't want to spoil that, but still, I couldn't stop my heart from racing as I felt myself being watched by those green eyes.
Why does he have to have this effect on me?
" Let's go one more time from the beginning " I stood in the middle of the girls, my gaze crossed with Theon's through the mirror, but I tried to ignore him.
Unlike before, I decided to perform that routine with them, trying in vain not to look at the father of my son as I moved. Somehow, I wished to show him that I was good at something.
After that routine and the close of class, I let the girls go as I tried to catch my breath, it wasn't that easy to exercise so much anymore.
" Are you okay? " Theon approached me with concern.
His gaze made my heart warm, and for a moment, I wished I could cuddle up in his arms.
" Yeah, I just got a little tired. I'll get dressed and we can go" I pushed those thoughts away.
I went to the changing room, changed, and came out to find my two visitors, who had returned to arguing in whispers.
" Sam, I was just telling my grandmother that I can accompany you.”
" And I was saying that if I wanted you to take me shopping, I would have gone straight to you and not to her.”
And I would have to put up with her!
" γιαγιά.”
" It's okay, Apollo. I can handle this," I interrupted.
" Samantha, are you sure? " he held my hand, pulling me away from his grandmother.
" Don't worry, she just needs a dress. It shouldn't take long," I withdrew my hand, which remained between his, trying to escape the contact.
I didn't expect any protest from her, and walked towards the old woman, deciding not to think about why I had been chosen as her escort.
We went downtown, where her favorite store was, and soon we were looking for a dress.
" Do you have any color preference? " I asked, looking at some of the models on display.
" I want a light lace dress " she explained " How is the baby? Can you feel it move yet?”
" Not yet, I can't wait for it to happen, and he moves a lot, you can see it on the ultrasound " I sighed " but I can't feel anything yet.”
" It's natural, the first time it takes longer " she returned " Theon seems to take good care of you.”
I took a light pink dress and held it out to her.
" He's surprising me. What do you think of this one?”
" No," she denied without giving me a single explanation, "and of course he would surprise you, he's a great man and will make a great father.”
I returned the dress to the rack, going back to look for another suitable one.
" I don't doubt it," I assured her, thinking of all the times Theon had taken care of me since we'd found out we were pregnant.
" This will be perfect," she held out a light dress with butterflies in a thin fabric.
I frowned at it, it would never look good on her!
" Didn't you want a lace one?
" This one's for you," she rolled her eyes, "when do you have your next prenatal appointment?”
" Delphine, I'm not looking for a dress, you are " I took a deep breath " The next appointment is next week, we'll have another ultrasound, and maybe, we'll be able to find out the sex of the baby.”
" I didn't ask you if you came looking for a dress, I told you I'll buy one for you," she returned grumpily, "and just by looking at your belly you can tell it's a boy. “
" I also think it will be a boy," I agreed, "but Theon thinks it might be a girl.”
" And what does he know about it? It's not inside him that he's growing," she rolled her eyes.
" I wish it were," I sighed, "what do you think of this one? I held out a light blue dress. She picked it up, staring at it for a while as I hoped she would forget about the other one.”
" I have to take this," I mumbled as my phone started to ring, and I saw my mother's picture on the screen.
She didn't mind, and I walked away to a safe distance. It was past time to tell them the news, but I didn't know how to begin, and it agonized me.
" Mom…”
" Samantha, we have been waiting to hear from you for weeks," she complained in her heavy accent.
The last time I spoke to them was right after I moved, when they insisted that I should give them my new address so they could send me some new sneakers.
" Sorry, I've been very busy," I said, "How's Dad?”
" Missing him. When will you be able to visit us? “
" Where are you? Maybe I can come for Christmas.”
My parents lived in Texas and split the months of the year between their home in Port Aransas and San Angelo. My father was in the oil business, so whenever I needed help, I could count on both of them for financial support.
" Samantha, it has been two years since we have seen you. You could make an effort " she complained.
Yes, two years and now she is about to become a grandmother and doesn't know... I have to tell her!
" Mom, I…”
What can I say? Mom, am I pregnant? Mom, am I going to have a child? Mom, are you going to be a grandmother?
" You?”
" I adopted a dog," I let out as I remembered the pancake, the Beagle I had adopted in the last few days, when I met Mike, feeling my heartbeat increase with nervousness.”
" Samantha, you've never been good with animals," my mother groaned, "dogs need care and attention.”
You know what needs care and attention too? BABIES!
" I know, but I'll make an effort.”
" All right, I have to go. Don't wait for our call, you know we miss you," she recommended before ending the call.
Another opportunity to tell them what's going on has been missed. How angry will they be about this later?
And my father when he finds out? He will kill me! What are the chances that I can convince Theon and Harper to pretend that the two of us will get married in Vegas and be a normal family? The most that could happen is that my father would want to have a real wedding party after that. We could split the presents!
I'm screwed!
" How long Are you going to stare at the phone like a dumb? " Delphine materialized beside me, startling me.
" That was my mom, it's been a while since I talked to my parents," I explained, trying to pay attention to her.
She was holding two bags, in the short time I spent talking to my mother she managed to buy what she wanted?
" How did they react to finding out that you got pregnant by a complete stranger? " she started walking towards the exit.
" The opportunity to tell has not yet arisen," I gave my standard answer, which was already becoming ridiculous.
" Really? " she raised one eyebrow, causing me to remember Theon.
" This is not news you give over the phone, and traveling to them in my current condition is not simple either," I murmured, walking beside her down the street.
" And where do they live? " she asked.
" Texas. But they also love to visit my grandparents in Mexico.”
" Are they Mexican? “
" No, my grandmother is. My mother was born in Texas, and that's where she met my father.”
" They seem like good parents.”
" They are, they put me in a boarding school as soon as I was old enough, that's where I learned to dance, the St. Monica's academy is very reputable " I rambled.
" So you became a stripper because you grew up without parents.”
" For the last time, I was not a stripper! " I let out in exasperation as the old woman smiled.
She just loves to annoy me, that's all!
" And I didn't grow up without them, it was my dream to study there and be a great dancer. They did their best to make it happen”
" You should break the news soon, if you wait it will only make it worse. Besides, it's not like they live in Greece, if you don't feel like traveling, ask them to come to you " she advised me.