"That's not true, Mom!"
"It is too. And it's been like that since you were little. So maybe now that you can see it from the outside you'll understand it better."
Call number one was from Jesse. He didn't give many details, but he said that he would meet Geneva the following morning and hoped to bring good news. So today's reunion with Mrs. Martin must not have been too fruitful, Kathy thought. Jesse wouldn't put things that way, though. Since their kiss under the tree, Kathy felt he had become so protective that he was trying to fight any negative thoughts before they even entered her mind.
It was nice to have someone care so much for her. Great, really. Especially after leaving a relationship where she'd ended up feeling she might not deserve a love that big and that's why she didn't have it. She realized, of course, that this first weeks' passion would develop into steadier warmth in time, at the very best. But David's love had been halfhearted since day two, so that when the initial heat was mollified by time, all that was left was coldness.
She had by chance found something better. She should be happy.
Call number four was truly unexpected.
Her sister Mary, her older sister, who was too occupied with her family-in-law to go for a walk, have a cup of coffee, or simply say 'hello' to Kathy anymore, was calling her now. What the heck did she want?
"Hello?"
"Hi, Kath! How are you?"
Well, if I happened to be fine it wouldn't be thanks to your sisterly affection, would it? Oh, by the way, I'm still wondering why since you've started to use your second name - as if longer Mary Ellen fit better with your new sophisticated personality - I've had to have mine shortened. "I'm … well. How are you?"
"I'm pregnant!"
Oh! Does this mean you're planning to include me in your life again? At least as Aunt Kathy? Or Aunt Kath? "Congratulations! Did you just know today?"
"No, no. I'm eleven weeks."
"Oh."
"Yeah, I was just talking to Mum and she asked if I'd already told you… But it's funny because I thought she would have told you. Anyway, she said she hadn't, so I picked up the phone."
Mum probably thought you'd like to tell me personally. How foolish of her, right Mary ELLEN? When it was made clear that this was nothing more than an obliged call, Kathy helped her sister to finish it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it was not before Mary could inform her of some other news. Why Mary thought Kathy wanted or needed to know that David was seeing someone was a mystery. She must have known it would hurt her sister, in one way or other, but she told her anyway.