Page 92 of Power Move

“I don’t want you at the sprinkle,” Brooke said. “You’ll be an embarrassing distraction, and my friends will just make fun of you. It’s better for you to stay home.”

“Brooke, that isn’t kind,” Mom said.

“No. She’s a whore who is bent on taking awaymysunshine by being pregnant! Good lord! You must be so ashamed, Mom! She’s always looking for attention. It’s why she dated women—never men. It’s why she got knocked up repeatedly before in some desperate attempt to prove she could trick science. But itfailed because everything like that never works. Now, she’s trapped some rich guy to prove something. The idea of Eva as a mother is a joke.”

The room fell silent. I sobbed, wanting a hug or someone to defend me. Instead, no one spoke in favor of me, Davey, or the twins. No one defended my character or how hard I’d loved Brooke through the worst times or held my tongue with every disagreement. No one said shit. I just kept crying. Brooke continued to rant. Miles sobbed. I couldn’t breathe, so I ran.

“Eva!” Mom called. “Eva, come back here! Let’s talk!”

I couldn’t talk. I climbed the stairs, threw my big suitcase on the bed, and began to pile work clothes inside before realizing none fit. Breaking into tears, I fell forward onto the bed, gasping. This hurt worst of all. I knew this conversation would hit someday—I just didn’t realize it would hit when I was so raw.

“Eva, sweetie, it’s going to be okay,!” Dad rushed in.

“No, it’s not,” I batted his hands away as he tried to comfort me. “No. Brooke will win the war. This just proves it.”

“What war?”

“Her war of superiority and relegation. My children will not be loved. She will make sure they always feel like second-class citizens.”

“Why would you say that, honey?”

“Because down there, no one defended me. No one called her out for her homophobia, her transphobia, or even for calling me a fucking whore. She said me being a mother was a joke. And you and Mom just fuckingsat there, Dad.”

“We don’t want conflict.”

“Well, I don’t either. Not at a dinner table where adults are saying hateful shit to one another! Dad, Miles is distraught. I love that little boy. And God help him if he’s gay, because she won’t! He’s going to grow up hating himself in that case. It’s not okay. And I won’t just sit here.”

“What could we do?”

“Throw her out,” I said.

My dad stared at me, more confused and desperate than I’d ever seen him—worse than on the day I’d come out. At least then, he jumped in to hug me and tell me he loved me even if he didn’t really get it yet. Now, he was seized by inaction.

“Exactly. So, this cannot be my home anymore.” I threw a stack of yoga pants in my bag. “I have to go. I’m not safe here.”

“Please don’t do this, Eva. Sweetie, we love you?—”

“Not enough to do the right thing, though.”

“That’s not fair. We cannot just disown her?—”

“I’m not asking for that. I’m asking for you to set her on her ass for calling me a whore or dancing on the fact that I miscarried two babies before I got pregnant with these. Do you realize how hard it is to hear these things from your own family?”

Dad shook his head. “I don’t know what to do, Eva. You’re strong. You can?—”

“But I cannot. And I don’t have to. I’ve gotta choose me and my babies right now,” I tossed in a load of t-shirts, underwear, and sports bras. “I just can’t do this. Please leave me. I need to pack. I’ll be gone soon. Promise.”

Davey

The doorman rang me around eight. I tried to go over something legal sent, bashing my head against a desk. I wanted so badly to call Daphne for help, but I knew it would come back to haunt me if I bothered her in the last weeks of pregnancy. I thought about what I’d want for Eva. The answer drove me to leave her alone.

“Mr. Delphine, Miss Pavlak is parked in guest parking and would like to speak to you,” he said.

“Oh, sure. Send her up.”

I wasn’t expecting Eva. She’d left a few hours ago. This was odd.

A few minutes later, Eva arrived in the foyer with a suitcase. Her face was puffy from crying. She was a shell of the beautiful woman I’d put in a car earlier. What happened? I wasn’t angry she was here, just confused.