"You first." George, still in a good mood, showed a touch of chivalry.
"To avoid putting more stress on the family... I ended the pregnancy." Mary spoke calmly, though her voice trailed off toward the end.
As a devout Christian, she had only recently mourned the loss of another congregation member's daughter. Who would have thought she would now be the one to end a potential life? The thought made her feel a wave of guilt.
"I—" The joy on George's face vanished instantly. He looked up at his wife's familiar face, unable to believe his ears.
At that moment, Meemaw, who had just arrived at the door to knock, overheard her daughter's words. Her hand froze in mid-air. After a long sigh, Meemaw turned away with a complicated expression. However, being slightly shaken, she accidentally bumped into a chair in the hallway, making a loud clatter.
"Missy, go back to bed. Now!"
Inside the room, George, not knowing how to react, shouted at the noise outside as if to vent all his pent-up frustration. Missy, who had a history of playing in the hallway late at night, unwittingly became the scapegoat for Meemaw.
The hallway went quiet, and George calmed down slightly. He looked at his wife and asked, "Why?"
At this point, he just wanted to hear her explanation. They had discussed this just yesterday, and George had made it very clear that he wanted the baby.
"There is no 'why'," Mary shook her head, speaking with eerie calmness. "Isn't this for the best?"
In Mary's mind, the pregnancy was her burden to carry. By deciding to end it for the sake of the family, she felt she was the one making the greater sacrifice. The more she thought about it, the more logical it seemed to her.
And on paper, she wasn't wrong. Without the extra mouth to feed, Mary kept her job at the church, and George was spared the massive financial pressure. Combine that with George's recent raise, and the Coopers were now bringing in eight hundred dollars a week—significantly more than what George made during his peak as a football coach.
By all accounts, life for the Coopers looked like it was on the upswing. But as George looked at his wife's composed face, she felt like a complete stranger. Lacking any desire to argue further, he turned his back to her and lay down on the bed.
---
Meanwhile, Meemaw hurried back to her own house and collapsed onto the sofa. She couldn't wrap her head around why her daughter would make such a life-altering decision for the family without even consulting her.
"What happened, Meemaw?" Seeing her look like she'd had the soul sucked out of her, Mike poured her a glass of water. "Does Mary not believe the stock market can make money? I can show her my bank statements from the last few months for reference..."
The stock market was still a bit of a "new frontier" to some, and it was natural for people to be skeptical.
"It's not about the stocks," Meemaw interrupted. "It's Mary. She... she ended the pregnancy."
Feeling overwhelmed, Meemaw needed to vent, so she blurted out everything she had overheard.
"How did it come to that?" Mike was caught off guard. He didn't expect Mary to be so decisive this time.
"Forget it. I'm tired; I'm going to bed." The whole situation left Meemaw feeling drained. She stood up to head to her room, but paused at the door. "By the way, let's just leave it alone. Don't bring it up at the Coopers' house."
"Got it," Mike nodded understandingly. A sensitive family issue like this was a powder keg for domestic drama.
---
That night, the usually easygoing George couldn't sleep a wink. Over the next few days, he stayed out late and came home early, frequently skipping family dinners.
By Friday, even Missy noticed something was off with her dad. At the dinner table, seeing his empty chair again, she asked timidly, "Mom... is Daddy leaving us?"
At the little girl's innocent question, several pairs of eyes turned toward Mary. Children are often the most sensitive to shifts in the household atmosphere. Even Sheldon, who rarely picked up on social cues, could see the tension between his parents.
"No, honey..." Mary forced a smile to reassure them. "Your father is just very busy at work lately. Things will go back to normal soon."
Children are sensitive, but they are also easily comforted. The Cooper kids relaxed after their mother's explanation. Only Sheldon looked puzzled. As far as he knew, the sporting goods store had fixed hours; there was no reason for overtime. Who buys a basketball at midnight? However, out of trust for his mother, he didn't press the issue.
Meemaw caught Mary's eye, gave a slight, knowing shake of her head, but said nothing.
Coincidentally, just as dinner ended, George stumbled in smelling strongly of beer.
"Go to your rooms, now!" Mary quickly shooed the kids away before pulling her husband aside. "What is wrong with you?"
George, clearly tipsy, said boisterously, "Dale gave me a huge raise. I went out for a few drinks with him. Is that a crime?"
He was still hurting over Mary's unilateral decision. Deep down, George had convinced himself that Mary made that choice because he didn't earn enough. The feeling that the responsibility fell on his shoulders made him feel small and inadequate. So, he turned to the bottle to drown his sorrows. Mostly, he just didn't want to come home and face the woman who had become a stranger to him.
"Even if Dale gave you a raise, you shouldn't be drinking this much." Mary knew exactly why he was acting out, but she didn't push the alcohol issue. Instead, she changed the subject. "The church is planning the Christmas festival, and I'll be very busy this weekend. You'll have to watch Missy and the boys Saturday and Sunday."
Because the Halloween event had been a hit, Pastor Jeff had handed the Christmas reigns to Mary as well.
"Ask Connie if she can do it," George said, shaking his heavy head. "I have to work overtime this weekend. I need to earn that raise Dale gave me."
"Are you serious? For a hundred-dollar raise, he's making you work weekends?" Mary snapped.
George's old salary was for five days. Now it was for seven days. Technically, his hourly rate hadn't gone up at all. Mary was ready to tear into him with logic, but she realized he had already started snoring.
---
Weekend, Regina's House
After another week of practice, the girls were finally gelling and could sing the new song quite well. However, the instrumental side was a struggle. Aside from Karen on the drums, the other three were nowhere near performance-ready. Especially Regina—the "Queen Bee" had barely mastered the basics of the guitar.
"Forget the instruments for now. Let's head to the studio and lay down a demo," Mike instructed after seeing their progress.
Professional studios had session musicians to handle the backing tracks. Once the master track was finished, the girls could just "air guitar" along to the recording. It was a high school Christmas pageant, after all—people cared about the vibe, not whether they were actually shredding like Eddie Van Halen.