“Blessing? You should be lucky I haven’t knocked your lights out. That’s the only blessing you’ll be getting from me, you traitor. We had drinks in the study!” my dad shouted. “You looked me in the eye and told me you’d start getting along with my daughter. Man to man! You didn’t tell you me you were… you know… doing all of this with her.”
He swept his arm out to include everything in the word “this.”
“I didn’t lie to you. You never asked if we were together and…” Phil started to say.
“Of course I didn’t!” my dad exploded. “Because that’s preposterous. Why would I ever even think you might be together?”
“Well, I did what you said,” Phil continued. I was glad he wasn’t letting my dad steamroll him. He needed to get this out so that he and I could be on the best foot together, with or without our parents’ blessing. “I got to know your daughter and I think she’s the best person I ever met.”
“Awww,” I gushed. “Isn’t he sweet?”
“Well, that is sweet,” Daphne said in our defense.
“Daphne. Stop it,” my dad hissed at her. “Phil, you know I just wanted you and Tracianne to get along as stepsiblings who have to live together. Not as… you know, a couple. How are we going to tell people, Daphne?”
Now he was looking at her again.
“How can we condone this?” he raged. “We just got married not too long ago and now we find this out?”
“Well, that’s the whole point. They’re not related, Phil,” Daphne said. “They didn’t even know each other until they met at our wedding. It’s not like they were raised together or anything. I don’t think it’s illegal, either. Is it?”
“No, I checked,” Phil proudly reported.
I thought about his impressive Googling skills and how he had convinced me he lived in Alaska and had to swallow back a smile. I knew this was no laughing matter but I was also glad for some comic relief in what had become a very stressful situation.
“God!” snapped dad. “This is like some bad drama you’d see on TV!”
“I know it’s not exactly normal, but Phil is amazing, and we really love each other,” I pleaded.
“What about college? You’re going to have to take care of a kid now,” Dad pointed out. “Have you even thought about that?”
That was a whole other issue that complicated things, and I could understand him being upset about a young, unplanned pregnancy more than I could when it came to the relationship, I had developed with Phil.
“We’ll make it work,” Phil proclaimed. “Don’t worry.”
“Just like that!” Dad said bitterly. “You’ve got all the answers!”
“Give them a chance, Richard,” Daphne piped up, rather meekly, but I still appreciated having her support.
Maybe she wasn’t as weak as I had thought.
And I knew my dad wasn’t trying to be mean or unsupportive. It was more like he was trying to process it. I realized we had overwhelmed him a bit with the news. I got a little emotional.
“Dad, this is what I want,” I cried. “If you can’t be behind it, I don’t care if you disown me. I love Phil and I love this baby!”
For a moment, Dad just stood there. He rubbed his face and stared off into the distance. Suddenly, he sighed, nodded and dropped his hands.
Slowly, he walked out of the room. I wasn’t sure what would happen, but I couldn’t take any bad news right then, so I told myself once again that he just needed time to process and that everything would be okay.
If this was how my own father reacted, I could only imagine what the rest of the world would have to say about us. I suddenly felt like some kind of freak. But I still didn’t regret anything because Phil made me so happy.
When I first got sick in the mornings, I thought I had just caught a bug. I wondered if I should take a Covid test. But then once my breasts started hurting, I realized I should take a different type of test entirely.
And when I saw the pink “plus” line on the pregnancy stick, I felt a mixture of fear and happiness. Soon, though, I told myself not to be afraid. This was a good thing. This meant Phil and I were tied together for life, and that was exactly what I wanted.
I couldn’t wait to see what our baby would look like. How good of a dad Phil would be. And how nice it would feel to snuggle the baby and sing it to sleep. My future felt certain for the first time ever.
After Dad left the room, Daphne hugged me. She took my hands and Phil’s in each of her own and smiled.
“I’m happy for you both,” she said, smiling. “Give your dad some time, Tracianne. He’ll come around. He’s a man who is set in his ways.”