Following Rachel A Month Later

A month later and it was Halloween. Rachel has successfully kept her relationship with you a secret from her parents, despite having a younger sibling in high school with her.

A week after it began Rachel started a morning by throwing up. Morning sickness was something she was expecting based on what her mother told her and her older sister. Still it is one thing to expect it and another to experience it.

Then the test, to which Rachel went to her family gynecologist and begged her to let Rachel tell her parents. The doctor was a longtime friend of her mother’s and so the Doctor relented. She was without a want to be the one to tell Heather how knocked up her teenage daughter is. She does offer Rachel personal support if she wants it later.

So now Rachel is standing in front of her parents with her siblings all sitting in the living room. She had called a family meeting with her parents and her parents, unthinkingly called in all her brothers and sisters.

Rachel sighs, she should have expected this. “I only want to talk with mom and dad about this, please. You all will undoubtedly find out soon enough… though never would be fine with me.” The last bit she mutters under her breath.

“Dear, we all love you. Whatever you have to say, everyone here has a right to know.”

With a begging look Rachel implores her mother to reconsider but her mother seems unmoved. “no mom, they really don’t… they reeeeaaallly can go without knowing this for as long as possible.”

“Enough Rachel, just spit it out already. We have other things to do tonight before trick-or-treaters start showing up.” Rachel’s father was the stereotypical enforcer of rules. She knows there is little point in belaboring the point now.

“I am going to marry Mr. John Doe. He is a teacher at our private school.”

The brother that is a sophomore this year in high school, snorts. “Yeah right… does Mr. Doe know this yet?”

“Junior! Silence or we will be reconsidering Rachel’s earlier request.” That got Erik Junior to shut up quicker than anything else did. Being kicked out of a family meeting has far reaching consequences beyond just the meeting itself.

Heather, the mother looked into her daughter’s eyes and must have saw something there that convinced her there is more to this than what Kevin thinks.

Already well past upset, Heather’s voice held that timbre of barely controlled fury “Did he get you pregnant?”

Rachel’s mother was always the quick one of the family. That helped her in her career field more than her children.

“Calm down Mom. If anything, I am the one who ambushed John. Then Bethany had to go and ruin it.”

Erik cut off Heather before she could voice anything with her open mouth. “How?”

Another sigh and Rachel began at the beginning and explained the entire episode that morning a month ago. How Bethany, a supposed friend sabotaged Rachel.

“Wow… I find it hard to blame him too.” Still upset Heather looks at her husband with a hurt wounded expression, “oh come on Heather, I know you want to castrate him for forcing you to realize Rachel is a young woman now capable of making her own decisions.”

“Nevertheless, John is a teacher! And Rachel is his student!”

“Actually no mom. He teaches freshmen and sophomores only this year. I go to the local community college for classes after the first bell rings.”

This confused Heather for some reason, “Then why him? Why not some other boy your own age? Or one of your actual teachers?”

Thankfully, Rachel’s father, Erik had a better memory even with emotions than her mother. “My love, you know the answer to that. Remember when Rachel was in sixth grade and he saw that young senior that went to the same church as us?

“Remember how Rachel spent the next two years pining over the boy even while he was away at college?”

Heather’s eyes lit up in understanding and for some reason she allows herself to accept it as a reason more than anything else. She looks at Rachel for a long moment.

“This Mr. Doe is the reason you are telling us at all.” It was a statement instead of a question. Rachel responded by nodding her head anyways. Mysteriously to Rachel that seemed to calm Heather down even further.

“Then invite this Mr. Doe over tomorrow for Sunday dinner. I am sure he would like to meet his future in-laws.”

Erik stutters and coughs up his beer, “What!?! Are you serious?”

With a roll of her eyes Heather condescendingly explains to her husband, “As you said, Rachel is old enough to marry whenever, and whoever she wishes.

“This Mr. Doe just started teaching there so we can’t even pretend this affair has gone on any longer than what Rachel says it has.

“The most we could do is talk with Mr. Doe’s superiors and get him fired. That is likely to just insight Rachel’s ire and distance her from us. In addition, it would harm our grandchild’s future by decreasing its parent’s income.”

Rachel blurts out without thinking too much, “John is independently wealthy enough to support us without a job. He says he will help me attend whatever institute I wish to further my education at, and move with me. He said he will take care of our children and help me study.” The faintest dream Rachel has is that her parents will accept her marriage to John and if full discloser helps that then she will say whatever may help.

ErikII looks like he wants to say something snide but manages to keep quiet. The two younger brother and sister are wide eyed and quiet.

“Also, John is outside if you want to meet him.”

Rachel neglects to explain ‘why’ he was waiting outside in his sports sedan. Unfortunately, Erik’s narrow eyes suggested he saw through the smoke screen.

“Your man is there in case we decided to obstruct this marriage as best we can. To allow you to leave tonight if you want to.”

Rachel smiles apologetically to her father and mother, “Kind of, John means everything to me and he treats me like royalty. I absolutely, abundantly, and implicitly adore, admire, and am in love with him.

“I ‘want’ to start living with him tonight. It’s not like I still have my virginity to save for our wedding night.”

The idea that Heather might lose her second oldest prematurely, startles her. “Rachel! What about us? I understand you feel the way you do but you still have a family.”

“We can come over and babysit, have dinner, or go out to town together whenever you want. We are planning our honeymoon to coincide with Winter Solstice break. He also has offered to pay for my immediate family to come with us. On a month long cruise up the coast to Sitka, Alaska.”

Unable to help himself, Erik laughs out loud, “Baby, you hate fishing.”

Rachel snorts, “I hate fishing with ‘you’ dad. I have heard all about how much Mom ‘loves’ fishing with you for the same reason.”

Erik blushes and looks away in embarrassment.

“John says that Sitka is known for fishing in the ocean where we go out on boats…” Going in for the kill Rachel continues with a mischievous smirk gracing her lips and cheeks. “That would make it difficult for him to run off… and I plan on giving him plenty of reasons to stay in one place.”