Metamorphosis

Mother-Daughter Time Gone Wrong

Chapter 8

Mother-Daughter Time Gone Wrong

Audrey stood beside Dr. Fredrick trying to coax little Kevin McKenzie to get his teeth cleaned.

"Come on Kevin, you need to let Dr. Fredrick take a look and make sure you don't have a cavity." The boy just kept his lips clamped together and shook his head. She groaned in frustration and ran a rubber gloved hand along her white lab coat. The secretary stuck her head in.

"Audrey? You've got a call on line 1. It's your daughter." She frowned. Marli and Mira never called her at work unless it was an emergency. She followed the secretary back to the front desk and picked up the phone. "This is Audrey." She said instinctively.

"Mom?" it was Mira.

"Hey Mira, what's up?" she heard her daughter take a deep breath.

"Are you f-free for lunch today?" Mira's voice cracked.

"Yes, why do you ask? We haven't had lunch together since… I can't even remember." She gave a small laugh.

"Well, I just thought that maybe we could have some quality time. And… I have something I need to tell you."

"Ok honey, I'll come pick you up at school at, let's say 11?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. Ok, bye mom."

"Bye." As the older woman hang up the phone, a smile crossed her face. There was nothing she loved more than spending time with her children.

"Are you serious?" Sara asked. She had finally found her pregnant friend and had asked her about her absence first hour.

"Yep, I'm going out to lunch with my mom so I can tell her."

"She's gonna kill you." The brunette said matter-of-factly

"Sara! I need to tell her ok? I need someone who has gone through a pregnancy, and she can help me with that!" she snapped, slamming her locker shut. "Now I need to go meet her out front. Tell Paige why I'm not at lunch." She walked past her stunned friend; knowing that her hormones would take over later and call her crying and begging for forgiveness.

Her mom's car pulled up in front of the school and Mira got in.

"Hey mom." She greeted nervously.

"Hey sweetie," Audrey smiled back at her and drove out of the parking lot.

"So I was thinking we could go to that Italian place that you like so much? I haven't really had much time to decide, though. Your call was a bit random." She gives her daughter a motherly smile. "Not that I mind, I love spending time with you three." Mira was about to reply when her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. She took it out and saw Seth sent her a text message.

'WHY DID THE CURLY HAIRED FRIEND JUST SAY YOU ARE GOING TO TELL YOUR PARENTS?'

The teenager pursed her lips; leave it to Sara and her big fucking mouth to blab this to Seth. She looked over at her mother; so happy to spend any time with her daughter. As tears began to fill her eyes she turned her head away and tried to wipe them away silently.

"What's wrong?" Audrey asked, her smile vanishing slightly. Mira turned to her and wiped her eyes again. Just looking at her mother made her start crying harder. This was it. Now or never.

"I-I have something t-to tell you. I highly s-s-suggest that you pull over" she whimpered through her tears. By now, the older woman's face was one of confusion. Her gaze shifted between the road and her crying daughter.

"Can it wait until we get to the restaurant?"

"No, I have to tell you now. Please pull over." Audrey steered the car into the abandoned bank parking lot. She parked the car and turned to her daughter.

"Well…?" Mira wrung her hands on her lap and took a deep breath.

"Do… do you remember Shelia Collin's party two months ago?" her eyes remained on her lap, so she did not see her mother's baffled look.

"The one where you came home from a taxi? What about it?" to be honest, the teen had hoped she wouldn't remember the party.

Mira opened her mouth. The words 'mom, I'm pregnant' were right on the tip of her tongue. But when she saw Audrey's face, the words went back into the lungs. She dug through her purse until she produced the envelope of ultrasound pictures. Squeezing her eyes closed as more tears spilled out, she tossed the envelope onto her mother's lap. All she had to do now was wait for the proverbial axe to fall.

Audrey picked up the envelope and, after glancing at her crying child, opened it and shook out its contents. Five small black and white photos fell out. She frowned and started flipping through them slowly. By the time she reached the third photo, her eyes widened and she let out a horrified gasp and looked at Mira.

"You-You're…" Mira nodded miserably.

"I'm pregnant."