It made my heart hurt, but I understood it. It was just business.
I sighed, trying not to think about it or what talking with my mother would entail. I was half afraid she already knew I was pregnant, even though I hadn't seen her since I found out. My mom always knew my secrets. I secretly suspected that it was a benefit of motherhood and I hoped that I would gain the ability with my child.
I took my time finishing stocking, but my mother knew she could outlast me. She waited patiently in the waiting room making small talk with Donna about the weather. I wasn't sure how someone could talk about rain and the possibility of rain for a straight ten minutes, but they did.
I poked my head into Jacob's office.
“My mom's here.”
“As a patient?” Concern crossed his face and he subconsciously reached for his stethoscope.
“No. She wants to talk to me,” I told him.
He relaxed slightly. “Good luck. You going to tell her?”
“No way in hell. I love my mom, but I don't think she's ready for that bombshell just yet.”
“You're going to have to tell her eventually,” he said gently. I stuck my tongue out at him and went out to the waiting room.
“Okay. What did you want to talk about?” I asked my mom, trying to sound confident and casual.
“We're going to dinner,” she informed me. “So grab your things. It's my treat.”
I gave her a sideways glance. “You sure you want to be seen in town with me?”
“Hannah, even if I don't agree with some of your decisions, I still love you.” Her eyes were genuine and for a moment I felt like things might be okay. My mom loved me.
“Okay.” I grabbed my purse and together we left the clinic.
“Where are we going?” I asked as I got into my mother's car. She waited until I was safely buckled before pulling out of the parking lot.
“The diner,” she replied.
I raised an eyebrow.
“You're with me. No one will spit in your food or do anything stupid,” she said, shaking her head like I was overreacting.
Still, I was thinking of only ordering things that came deep fried and I knew exactly what they were supposed to look like.
We pulled into the diner's parking lot. It was quieter than I expected for dinner time.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, looking around. Maybe they had heard I was coming and were leaving the restaurant.
“It's poker night,” my mom informed me. “They're having their big match tonight.”
I nodded. That's why my father wasn't having dinner with us. He was at the poker night. I hoped he was feeling okay and knew not to drink too much. I worried about him.
All eyes turned on me when we walked in the front door. It took everything I had not to bolt, but my mom made sure to grab my arm so I couldn't get away.
“Table for two,” she said clearly as we walked in. We got a little table in the corner. I liked it because I wasn't the center of attention over here.
We both looked at the menus silently, as if we didn't already have the entire thing memorized. It was a stall tactic for both of us.
“How are you, Hannah?” my mom asked softly, setting her menu down. “I worry about you.”
“I'm okay, Mom.” I did my best to smile.
“I'm sorry about the way things have happened. I always suspected there wasn't much chemistry between Dr. Matthews and Katie, but they were just so perfect on paper. His mother was so adamant...” She sighed. “Anyway, I wanted to apologize to you for my behavior.”