Raped and Pregnant – Part 2

Eva Moretti was a well respected Catholic ‘pro-lifer’ who was very active in the church, community and especially in the “Respect Life” organization.  No one would ever have guessed that in her carefree yet careless youth, she had an abortion when a surprise pregnancy had threatened to interrupt her budding dance career.  When a knee injury ended her career as one of Italy’s rising stars of ballroom dance, she settled down into married life with her high-school love Giovanni and thereafter had six children. Through the years, she grew in her faith and in wisdom and came to greatly regret her decision to have an abortion. Her way of coming to peace with that decision was to dedicate her life to saving unborn lives. Her daughter Amelia was much like her and shared the same passion.  With a promising future in law, she felt that Amelia had the capability and the drive to make a difference. With this news, Amelia’s promising future now seemed bleak but for Eva, it presented an opportunity to right a wrong.  Eva knew she was facing the ultimate test and the stakes were high.

Amelia searched her mother’s face for a response. Eva looked at her daughter and still in shock, all she could muster was “I thought you broke up with Robert.”  Amelia looked away and got up off the floor leaving her mother still sitting, still waiting for an answer.  Eva was always very good at being patient. She had to, having raised six teenagers that ranged from aloof to overly vocal.

Amelia carefully chose her words and slowly said “We did——but we made up.”

“Amelia, I was so sure you were not having sex—–we spoke about this so many times!” Before Eva could finish, Amelia had already sauntered into the bedroom and slumped onto the bed, forcing her mother to follow.

“Amelia ——did you hear—.” Eva stopped in mid sentence when she saw the vacant look in her daughter’s eyes as she lay on the bed, staring blankly at the wall.  Eva began to realize that nothing she was going to say would change the situation.  As disappointed and as hurt as she was, her first instinct was to lash out at Amelia for compromising her values and for being negligent, however, the look of despair on her daughter’s face broke her heart. Eva stooped down in front of Amelia so that her eyes had no choice but to fall directly on her.  Stroking her hair, Eva quietly said “You know how much I love you—I’m not sure –”

“Mom,” interrupted Amelia, “please don’t tell Dad—not yet.” Amelia sensed that her plea was probably in vain as her mother merely squeezed her arm and remained silent.

“What did Robert say?” Eva’s question startled Amelia who quickly got out of bed as if infused with a newly found energy.  She muttered something incoherent that left her mother puzzled then started to undress as she headed to the bathroom.

“Does Robert know?!” Eva raised her voice above the sound of the running shower but again was met with an inaudible response. Her patience was wearing thin as she marched into the bathroom, pulled back hard on the shower curtain and said with a raised tone “Amelia, did you tell Robert?!”

“No! I didn’t tell him ok!—we’re done now anyway and it’s not his problem!” Amelia retorted.

What Amelia said further ignited her mother who started rattling loudly in Italian.  Shaking her head, Eva regained her composure and calmly replied.

“Wait——– first you said you made up— and now you’re done—and yes, Amelia, it is his problem as well —he has a responsibility!”  Amelia just stood there as the shower poured down on her. They both glared at each other, neither saying a word.  Amelia’s jaws were clenched and Eva could see her pulsating right temple, a clear indication that her daughter was very upset. Partially soaked and not getting anywhere with the conversation, Eva closed the shower curtain and stormed out.

Something isn’t right, Eva thought.  Amelia sometimes had a way of shutting down and withdrawing when she was upset but the look in her eyes, the silence, the quick evasion of her questions disturbed her.  She paced back and forth in Amelia’s room, fraught with concern and riddled with unanswered questions. Maybe Eva was overreacting because of the upsetting nature of the news, but she had a strong suspicion that Amelia was keeping something from her.  Eva never kept anything from her husband but with a full day of activities ahead of them, she decided to keep it to herself, at least for today.

© Copyright A.K.Browne, All Rights Reserved

Stay Tuned early next week for the conclusion of this story!

See Part 1 and Part 3

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