186 - Not So Fragile
*There are some things that you can’t plan, little girl. Life never follows your plans. You just hang on for the ride. - Trigg*
**Darkness**
Every time that Camille tried to help with the packing, either Darkness or one of the kids took over and told her to go and sit down. She should put her feet up. Don’t lift that.
Every.
Single.
Fucking.
Time.
Darkness seemed to realize that they had made a mistake when she quit talking to him. He tried to apologize to her, but she would stop what she was doing and leave the room when he entered. She was not quite as harsh with the kids, but they could tell that she was frustrated.
Camille grabbed her keys and her phone and walked out the front door. The kids looked at Darkness as he ran his hands over his shaved head. He blew out a deep breath as he considered what to do.
She had not told anyone other than the people in this room that she was pregnant. He did not want to tell anyone without talking to her first. There was only one person that he could think of to talk to. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he found Critter’s number and clicked on the button to connect the call.
It rang several times before it went to voicemail. He ended the call without leaving a message. Changing over to the texting app, Darkness prepared to send a message when a text popped up from Critter.
Damn. She’s mad.
The three dots appeared in the corner and bounced a few times before another message came through.
Give me a few. Will call you
Darkness blew out a deep breath and headed for the kitchen to get a bottle of water. He took a deep drink, nearly emptying the bottle in one go. Setting the bottle on the island, he looked at his phone that remained dark and silent.
Vin walked over and slapped him on the back. “I don’t think we helped any.”
“You were following my lead.” Darkness pointed out. He took a deep breath and then blew it out. “Whether you realized it or not, you were doing the same thing that I was doing.”
“She loves you,” Vin assured his uncle. “It’ll be okay. We just need to learn to relax.”
“That’s easier said than done,” Darkness admitted as the phone finally rang. He answered the call from Critter on speakerphone. “Hey, Critter-“
“What the actual fuck, my man?” Critter demanded. “Did you forget that my sisters all have fucking attitudes? Even I heard what that crazy bitch did to your gun range. You remember the big pew pews?”
“Critter, I don’t need a lecture, I need help.”
“Dude, your big, dumb ass needs a prayer and last rites.”
Vin chuckled and when Darkness looked at him, he coughed into his hand to hide his amusement.
“You realize that the reason that she chose *not* to tell our parents is because they would treat her the exact same way that you’re treating her, right?”
“Yeah, I realize that. How do I fix this?”
“First, unless you’re using bubble wrap to pack shit up, get rid of it. She was not a fragile porcelain doll before you found out that she was pregnant. That means that she’s not one now. You get me, you dumb fuck?”
Darkness let out a deep breath, “Yeah, I get you.”
“Now look, Camille has always been one to get quiet and go hide when things get difficult. She doesn’t like drama and she doesn’t like being the center of attention. She doesn’t like to confront issues.”
“She did good with our parents and our mom’s parent’s craziness,” Vin pointed out.
Critter chuckled, “She had to. You’ll find that the women in our family are made of some of the strongest stock you’ll ever see. A strong blade is forged from metal that has had all the impurities removed and the hell beat out of it. The Uitenbroek women they had the impurities removed and the hell beat into them. None more than my own freaky little sister.”
Darkness chuckled as Vin declared, “I did not need to know that.”
“Please, like you didn’t already know?” Nicki asked as she and Mitch joined the two men in the kitchen.
“That’s my girl,” Critter said from the phone. “Now look, this is huge, it’s big and this is not something that Camille can plan and plot and make up contingency plans A through infinity. It happened before you got to that tab on the spreadsheet. If you think you’re worried, just know that she probably has spreadsheets with tabs listing out all possibilities and a zillion questions to research and ask the doctor.”
“She doesn’t need us adding to her stress,” Darkness said.
“Right,” Critter agreed.
“Do you know where she is?”
“Hang on,” he said and they heard him typing on the keyboard of his phone. Shifting the phone, he spoke to someone else at his end of the line. Laughing he came back on the call, “I don’t care how good you suck a dick, I am not taking your Friday shift. OK, Camille said she’s at Darla’s and she’s getting a fruit smoothie for Momma Dee.”
“Well, hell, that’s not good.” Darkness ended the call and carried his phone towards the front door. “You guys go pack up your rooms; I’ll be back.”
**Camille**
She walked down the hall towards Momma Dee’s room carrying the Styrofoam cup from Darla’s Daiquiri Barn. Entering the room, she found the old woman in her chair with her knitting needles clicking away. Camille had learned how to knit with her best friend. Priscilla could probably match Momma Dee in speed and skill.
Camille always dropped and gained stitches causing her work to be in the technical terms of Momma Becks - Wonky.
“That man of yours is nervous about having a baby.”
Camille stopped and stared at the blind woman. The fact that she knew this without having been told scared the younger woman. What scared her more was that Momma Dee and Nessie would soon be in close proximity to each other.
“I brought you a fruit smoothie.”
“Of course, you did,” Momma Dee grinned as she finished off the row and tucked the blanket into her basket. “I’m right, aren’t I, boy? You’re nervous about that baby.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Darkness said from the doorway behind Camille. “Cam, I’m sorry. It’s a stupid fear, I know you’ll be a great mom… you are a great mom. It’s me that I worry about.”
Camille sat the smoothie on the table next to Momma Dee’s chair and put the straw in. After putting the cup in the arthritic hands, she turned and looked at her husband. Stepping closer, she placed her hand on his chest where she knew the white ink tattoo was on his chest.
“You’re great with the kids,” she said with tears in her eyes. “I’m just… not prepared.”
“You’re never prepared.” Momma Dee told them. “Even if you think that you are, you’re not. And that feeling never goes away. Get over yourselves.”
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