The Things We Do for Love

"Hardly noticeable. But it was there. "

Judy looked at her. "Did you know that spotting can occur while youre pregnant? Sometimes it can seem like a period. "

Lauren felt a chill move through her. "Oh. "

"Well, lets get you tested and see where we stand. "

LAUREN SHUT THE APARTMENT DOOR BEHIND HER.

Tossing her backpack onto the sofa, she headed down the hallway toward her mothers room. All the way home shed been trying to figure what to say. Now that she was here, in their apartment that smelled of stale smoke, standing by her mothers halfway opened bedroom door, she was nowhere near an answer.

She was about to knock when she heard voices.

Perfect. He was here again.

"You remember the night we met?" he said in a gravelly, timeworn voice. All of Moms boyfriends sounded like that, as if theyd been smoking unfiltered cigarettes since boyhood.

Still, it was a romantic question, surprisingly so. Lauren found herself leaning forward, straining to hear her mothers answer through the opening.

"Of course," Mom said. "How could I forget?"

"I told you I was in town for a few weeks. Its been a month. "

"Oh. " There was a surprising vulnerability in her mothers voice. "I knew that. Fun while it lasted and all that. "

"Dont," he said softly.

Lauren leaned closer.

"Dont what?" Mom said.

"Im no catch, Billie. Ive done some bad shit in my life. Ive hurt people. Especially the three women whove married me. "

"You think Im Mother Teresa?"

Lauren heard him cross the room. The mattress pinged beneath his weight. The headboard thumped against the wall.

"Youd be stupid to come with me when I leave town," he said.

Lauren gasped, heard her mother do the same.

"Are you asking me to come with you?" Mom asked.

"I guess I am. "

"Lauren graduates in June. If you could--"

"I aint the waitin type, Billie. "

There was a long pause, then her mother said, "Its too bad, Jake. Maybe we coulda . . . I dont know. Made something. "

"Yeah," he said. "Bad timing. "

Lauren heard him get to his feet and walk toward the door.

She stumbled back into the living room, trying to look as if shed just gotten home.

Jake came hurrying out of the bedroom. When he saw Lauren, he stopped. Smiled.