Chapter 82

I started to feel lightheaded, and not in the good way this time. McKayla's touch was the only thing that kept me from falling over.

She looked at me to see if I was okay. I nodded again and squeezed her hand.

"Paige's pregnant," McKayla told them. I looked into her mother's eyes to see her reaction. I expected shock (which was there) and had prepared myself for a judgmental look of revulsion or something similar.

For a second, there was a stunned silence at the table. Then Suzie's smile got even bigger. She reached out and took me in her arms. Instead of barraging us with questions or even saying anything at all, she just took me in her arms and held me in her motherly embrace until she sensed that my nerves calmed.

"You are going to be a wonderful mommy, Paige," she whispered in my ear, further warding off my unease. "You don't know how happy McKayla has been since she met you. And now you two are going to have a baby ... Welcome to the family, honey."

She pulled back enough to look me in the eyes. All the worries I had about meeting McKayla's parents and meeting them melted away right then. "Don, I think we need to start picking out our grandparent names."

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. Both Don and Suzie were friendly and outgoing; apparently the apple really doesn't fall far from the trees. Suzie made a point of asking how I was doing and passed along some pregnancy advice but not too much. Don offered to fix some things up around the house to get it ready for the baby.

We talked for a while, then McKayla and her mom cooked dinner. Don and I sat on the deck. A warm autumn breeze blew in off the ocean. It was fantasy football season, so we had something to talk about that didn't involve the baby.

"Suzie and I have really noticed a difference in McKayla over this summer," he told me after one of those periodic awkward silences. I looked over my shoulder and saw my love and her mom talking in the kitchen. "The smile is back in her voice. You mean the world to her."

"She's a very special girl," I agreed. "I never thought..."

Don smiled with the same knowing smile his daughter shared. "We didn't either. Let me tell you something: McKayla has always been a free spirit. She's gone her own way on just about everything. And she's strong-willed; you know that. But once she told us she was seeing someone, we knew she had changed. And it's all been for the better."

I looked away.

"Whatever you've done to her," he said, "It's been the best thing to happen to her in years."

"Can I ask you something?" I took a deep breath.

"Sure."

"How did you react when she told you..." my voice trailed off for a second. "When she told you she was a lesbian?"