The time had come. Amara was going to her parents' place to celebrate her mom's birthday. At only ten weeks, Amara's bump was beginning to grow visible. It still only looked like steady weight gain, but she was growing quicker than she had expected. She had already started pulling out baggier shirts that she still had from her heavier days in college. 

But even if she did get away with covering up her stomach this time, her parents were going to find out at some point. Amara and her mom's birthdays were only a month and a half apart, and the family always  got together for both. Even if she cancelled her own birthday celebration, her family would all want to know what was up, especially her brother. So, she decided, she would just have to suck it up and get it over with.

It was a three hour drive to her parents' home, so Amara would be staying for the weekend. Gabby had called a bit earlier to ask if she wanted a buddy, but Amara decided that she should probably do this alone. What their reactions would be, she had no idea. But it was time.

Three hours gave Amara a lot of time to think. How would her family react? The one person she was really worried about was her mom. She would be so disappointed. What if she freaked out and had a breakdown or something? What if the news gave her a heart attack and sent her to the hospital? And on her birthday, no less.

Amara forced herself to not turn the car around right there. The only thing stopping her was the fact that she was on the highway and she was surrounded by other cars. Instead, she decided to think about what her dad was going to say.

He'd be shocked. He might yell. Who knew? Her dad could be pretty unpredictable. When Amara crashed the car when she was a teenager, he had stayed quiet for that entire night, but acted like nothing had happened the next day. When Peter, her younger brother, skipped youth group for a party, he flipped out and grounded him for two weeks. Maybe she was the favorite? Amara snorted. Not after she told them.

Peter would be unpredictable. He had grown out of the tattletale phase, but how would he react? At twenty, he was four years younger than Amara, so he still teased her a lot. But this would affect him a lot too. Would he hold it over her? He probably wouldn't be that supportive. If anything, he'd probably make things worse.

It was a little after noon when Amara finally made it to her family's home. The sky was gray and cloudy, much like how she was feeling inside. 

"Amara!"

Amara exited her car to see her mom rushing towards her. Her graying, light brown curls bounced as she enveloped her daughter in a hug. Amara tried not to hug too tight, for fear that she would feel her baby bump.

"Good to see you, Sweetheart!" Dad said as he hugged her as well.

"What up?" Peter smiled and wrapped Amara in a side hug. He was a lot taller than her now. 

They went inside and sat in the living room. "I made peppermint tea," Mom said.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that," Amara said, smiling. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"That's what I said," Peter said.

Amara stuck out her tongue.

Mom brought out her tea. After thanking her, Amara put the cup to her lips, and winced. The smell had kick-started a nauseating feeling in her stomach. That had been happening more and more lately, but only with stuff she didn't like. Now she couldn't even drink her favorite tea?

"What's wrong?" Peter asked. "Are there bugs in it like I told her to add for you?"

"Gross!" Amara wrinkled her nose.

"What?" Peter said innocently. "She wanted to make it special."

"I just don't really feel like it right now," Amara said.

Once they were all settled on the couch, Dad said, "So how are things at work?"

"Fine," Amara said. "I've earned a little bit of time off, so that will be nice."

"Oh, that's cool!" Mom exclaimed. "When do you think you'll be taking it?"

"Probably October or November," Amara said.

"That's like, six months away," Peter stated. "Why wait so long?"

"Less people will be travelling then," Amara answered, gritting her teeth. She shot him a death glare, but, not understanding why, Peter just gave her a confused look.

"So, where are we going for dinner?" Dad asked, clapping his hands together.

"Hold on, Frank," her mother said. "I want to hear more about what's new with Amara. We haven't seen her in so long."

"But I'll be here all weekend," Amara agreed with her father. She scrambled for an excuse. "Besides, I want to hear more about this girl Peter's tricked into dating him."

It was like that all evening. Amara kept dodging their questions. Whether it was by changing the subject, stuffing food into her mouth during Mom's birthday dinner, or simply not completely answering, she did manage to avoid the topic of the baby. Although she raised some suspicion when she had to give into a craving for ribs, despite being on a diet.

They got home around nine-ish. Almost too early for Amara to go to bed. Although she could have used the excuse that she was tired from the drive. But she couldn't stall anymore. She was starting to feel really guilty and she didn't want to hide this anymore. She sat in the family room, on the loveseat, across from where the rest of her family was sitting on the couch.

"Do you want some tea?" Mom asked, heading into the kitchen.

"Um, I don't think I can have that for a while," Amara answered. "Mom, you might want to sit down."

"Why not?" Dad asked, completely ignoring that last thing she had said. "Are you sick or something?"

With everyone's eyes on her, Amara suddenly felt a bit of pressure and her stomach was tying itself into knots.

"I'm just--" she let out a breath, "I'm having a baby."