Dove Sport

Chapter Twenty-One: Less Hate

The morning of the baby shower dawned and Blair woke up nestled on her sister's bed in Dara Wake's room. Blair was determined to make her sister feel loved if it was the last thing she did.  She'd spent the previous evening at the Wake residence making sure that everything would be in place for today's celebration.

    Stretching, Blair sat up. Her sister was absent from the bed, but Blair could make out the sound of the shower running downstairs. Across the room, Dara was still nestled in her blankets. Blair dressed herself before she made her way across the room and gently woke her sleeping friend. While Grace showed, Blair and Dara busied themselves with cooking breakfast. Dara, Blair discovered, made excellent chocolate chip pancakes. Perfectly fluffy and drowning in maple syrup, Blair stuffed her face and they ate in silence. Before long, Grace joined them in the kitchen and procured a plate for herself. She was already dressed for the shower in an olive green cable knit sweater and a pair of black maternity leggings Dara's grandmother had bought for her. Her auburn hair was brushed over her shoulders and still damp.

    "Have you heard from mom yet?" Grace asked. "Is she coming?"

    Blair and Dara exchanged a glance. They hadn't told Grace of their confrontation with Blair's mother at school earlier that week. Blair hadn't wanted to distress her sister further and Dara had agreed it may not be best for her mental health.

    "She's... invited," Dara said finally. Grace nodded and turned towards her breakfast.

    "It doesn't matter if she comes or not," Blair tried to reassure her sister. "If mom doesn't want to come then it's her loss."

    Grace looked up from her meal, a shy smile on her face. "Blair, I've decided," Grace tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, "I want you to be my baby's godmother."

    "Really? Me?" Blair asked in astonishment. She didn't think she was worthy, not when it had taken her so long to rescue her sister.

    Grace nodded and said, "If anything were to happen to me the only person I know I can trust is you." Dara made a noise that sounded like a repressed aww. Blair pulled her sister into an embrace, unable to find words. Heat prickled at her eyes and she blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. She wouldn't cry in front of her sister and she especially wouldn't cry on a day that was supposed to be happy.

    The morning went on and before Blair knew it she had put the finishing touches on the decorations and was opening the door for the guests. Grace had wanted to keep the party small and only invite people she actually wanted to see. The guest list was limited to just a few people outside of Blair's mother and the Larks. Grace's best friends from school had been invited and the first to arrive, but other than them, there was no one else. Blair could practically see Grace losing hope that their mother would come when the doorbell rang.

    Dara reached it first, twisting the knob to reveal Mary Wallis on the doorstep.

    "Mom!" Blair exclaimed. Her mother's blonde hair was neatly pinned up and she looked as though she had made a serious effort on her appearance. In her hands she clutched a silver gift bag. Despite Blair calling out to her, her mother's gaze went straight to Grace. Blair leapt up to go stand by her sister, who was smiling nervously. Around them, Grace's friend's quieted. Blair and Grace's mother took in her daughter's appearance, resting on her protruding stomach last.

    Finally, Mary spoke. "I'm... so glad that you are here. That you are safe." Her voice had an unfamiliar raspiness to it. Grace stared at her mother as if in a trance before she strode forward and locked her arms around her mother in a tight embrace. She whispered something unheard into their mother's ear.