Love Triangle 8: Big News

"What on earth is going on?" The middle-aged woman was livid with rage.

Peter and Veronica immediately froze. Veronica's eyes glanced wildly around for a good place to hide.

"Uh...Mom?" Peter grinned sheepishly. "I'd like you to meet my wife, Veronica."

"So you did it anyway." Mrs. Wedemeyer was so angry that she was practically shaking. "In spite of how hard I tried to warn you, you went ahead and married that woman anyway. Well, if you're determined to throw your life away, be my guest. I wash my hands of you." With that she turned and stalked back through the open door, leaving her son and his wife too stunned to say a thing.

"I'm sorry, Peter," said Veronica.

"Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for." Peter's face was tight with anger. No longer in the mood for merriment, they quickly got dressed and Peter sat sullenly in the living room staring at nothing while Veronica sat silently sobbing in the bedroom.

For a few weeks, the newlyweds were so busy adjusting to married life that they put the incident to the back of their minds temporarily. Veronica learned how to cook Peter's favorite meals, and Peter spent a lot of time on the weekends getting to know Veronica's family and becoming closer to them. They all welcomed him warmly every time he approached them. Not another word was heard from either of the Wedemeyers, and Peter made no effort to contact them, either.

Several weeks passed. One morning, Veronica felt a wave of nausea when she got out of bed. Assuming that she must have arisen too fast, she didn't think any more about it until after breakfast, when she suddenly felt her stomach heave and made it to the bathroom just in time.

After her stomach had emptied its contents, she was rinsing her face with cold water when Peter appeared in the doorway, looking very worried. "Are you all right?"

Veronica groaned in response.

"Do you want me to take you to the doctor?"

"That's OK. You go on to work. I'll just lie down for awhile. I'll be all right."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She brushed her teeth and went to hug him good-bye. She didn't kiss him in case she had something contagious. He hugged her back, then rushed to catch the bus, making it just in time.

Veronica lay on her back on the hard, cold table, staring at the ceiling and desperately wishing that she were anywhere else in the world but where she was. Her feet were up in stirrups, and the gynecologist, Dr. Abrams, was busily poking around inside her. At last he looked up and smiled. "Congratulations. It definitely looks like a little Wedemeyer is on the way."

Veronica frowned. "When will you know for sure?"

"As soon as the urine test comes back."

Veronica quickly dressed, scheduled her next appointment, and walked to the subway station. She couldn't wait to tell Peter and her mother. She wondered what their reactions would be. Would Peter be happy and excited? She hoped he would be. How would her mother react to the news that she was going to be a grandmother? A sudden pain pierced her heart when she remembered that someone else was going to become a grandmother for the first time as well. Would Peter's mother accept her grandchild? Tears stung Veronica's eyes as she gritted her teeth, refusing to let them fall.

She stopped at the supermarket for flour and coffee, then took the bus home. At the apartment she put her purchases away, started a load of laundry, made herself a sandwich, and switched on the television. After eating lunch she vacuumed, put away laundry, ironed Peter's work shirts and her own dresses, and then took a nap.

She debated about when to bring up the subject with Peter. Should she tell him now, or wait until the doctor called with the test results? If she decided not to wait, should she tell him before or after that night's class at the synagogue?

The afternoon passed quickly, and when Peter came home, she greeted him at the door with a smile. "How was your day?" she asked, rubbing her hands in slow circles on his back.

"Busy." His eyelids closed halfway. "Oh, that's nice. How did your doctor's appointment go?"

She hesitated for just a moment. "Fine. I'm perfectly healthy." He noticed her slight hesitation and was concerned about it but chose not to pursue it at the time. "Glad to hear it. Almost ready to go?"

"Yeah. Just let me freshen up for a minute."

The lesson that night just happened to be on the subject of Jewish laws and customs regarding pregnancy and childbirth. "I sure wish I'd started the conversion process earlier," said a heavily pregnant woman named Marjorie during the fifteen-minute break. "Then I'd be all finished before the baby comes."

"I'll be almost finished by the time my baby's here," Veronica said, without thinking.

Peter gasped, and his face lit up with joy. "Is there something you didn't tell me about your appointment today, hon?" he asked his wife.

Realizing her blunder, Veronica blushed deeply and looked down at her hands. "I was gonna tell you, really I was, but I just couldn't figure out how..."

Peter laughed. "That's great! When are you due?"

"Well, it isn't really for sure that I am yet. The doctor's supposed to call back with the results of the urine test. I didn't want you to be disappointed just in case I'm not."

Peter grinned and clasped her hand. "I have a feeling you are. Wow, Ron, we're actually gonna be parents!" They were too wrapped up in themselves to even notice the amusement of the rest of the class. "I'm taking you somewhere special for dinner tonight." The class cheered, and Peter and Veronica glanced sheepishly at one another. Peter wanted desperately to crawl under a chair.

"It's about time you called," Mrs. Wedemeyer grumbled. "I've been worried out of my skull about you."

"You could have picked up the telephone and given us a call anytime, Mom," Peter said mildly. "Veronica's here pretty much all day most days, and I'm usually here in the evenings and weekends."

"I would have called, but I was afraid that woman would answer the phone."

"'That woman' happens to be the mother of your future grandchild." Peter was so angry that he didn't even realize what he'd just said until the words were already out of his mouth. A long silence followed, finally broken by Mrs. Wedemeyer.

"I knew this would happen."

"I was hoping you'd be happy for us." Peter wasn't able to keep the hurt out of his voice.

"The child will be raised Jewish, I hope."

"Of course it will be, Mom. Veronica's even converting herself. We're taking classes at the synagogue."

"Humph." The disgust in her voice made him even angrier. "Are you truly happy with this situation, then, knowing how much it grieves me?"

"I love Veronica, Mom. We're a family now. If you can't accept that, I'm sorry." He felt his anger slowly dissolving into a grim resignation.

"How did her parents react to the news?"

"I'm not sure whether or not she's told them yet." His mother's question caught him by surprise.

"I doubt they care one way or the other. Probably just means another mouth to feed to them. Well, at least your child will have one set of loving grandparents."

Peter sighed. He didn't know what to say. He knew how different Veronica's family was from his own. He realized that it wasn't her fault and didn't think any less of her for it, but he also knew that, unfortunately, that wasn't the case with everyone.

Veronica, who'd been dusting furniture in an adjoining room, had heard every word of Peter's end of the conversation, and her eyes filled with tears.