Chapter Sixty-Seven

The Miller dining room was as big as the Tennant living room. A large family photo hung on one of the walls. The walls itself were covered in classic wallpaper. There were glass sliding doors that led out to a green back yard. Every surface in the dining room shone as if it had recently been polished to perfection and an oak dining table stood at the centre with eight very comfortable chairs around it. Malcolm Miller was sat at the head of it, looking thoroughly miserable.

Isabella tried her best not to keep staring out the windows, wishing she was on the other side of that glass and far away from this awkward situation, away from Austin and the stupid jokes he and his best friends kept making to lighten the mood. Martha had done her best to make everything as comfortable as possible for the girls and the food was delicious, but her husband had the power to make everything taste like sour grapes. She pressed her lips together when Martha asked them about their bar, complementing the way they'd spruced things up since they'd taken over from their father. Any mention of Grayson had Malcolm spouting insults under his breath.

"Women shouldn't be working in bars," he said, making the Colombian's blood pressure rise once again. "Pregnant women shouldn't be working at all. Period," he added before he stuffed a spoonful of mashed potatoes in his mouth.

"Unfortunately, not everyone has a choice in whether or not to work," Aaron told his father, taking the words right out of the girls' mouths. Tatum nodded while her sister clenched her jaws. Any other day she would've told the old man off for talking like that, but she had promised herself to be as nice as possible for Tatum and Sean. Just in case, by some luck, Sean and his dad had a chance to reconcile. She'd have to go for a run tonight to let all this pent-up anger out, or she might start cursing out the wrong people.

"Yes, well, she shouldn't have been pregnant at all," his father shrugged. "Havin' a child out of wedlock… disgrace…"

"We can always get married, if that's what you want," his youngest son said, making Tatum's head snap his way in surprise while Malcolm nearly jumped out of his chair in disgust.

"You will not," he bellowed at his son. "You will not ruin the Miller name by takin' on a Tennant child." He threw his spoon back on his plate, making peas and potato fly off of it. "You are no Miller," he added before he stormed off. How dare his children be so disrespectful?

Those that remained in the room exchanged uncomfortable looks, as if this night couldn't have gotten any worse, as Tatum took hold of her boyfriend's hand in a subtle attempt to comfort him. 

"You'll have to excuse my idiotic husband," Martha started after a few seconds. "I assure you he doesn't speak for all of us," she wanted to make sure her son and his girlfriend knew that she did not share his views on their relationship and that she did want to be involved in their lives. 

"Thanks mama," Sean said a little sadly as he made his girlfriend let go of his hand so he could pace and get some space to work through what had just happened; his father had after all, for all intents and purposes, disowned him in that one moment. 

Tatum looked at him and made a snap decision. "Thanks Martha," she addressed his mother and got up. "I was gonna save this for later," she started as she took a small envelope from her bag, "but I think now's as good a time as any." She could see she'd gained the woman's interest. With a small smile, the redhead took what looked like a picture from the envelope and handed it to her. "I'd like to introduce you to your granddaughter," she said softly, letting go of the sonogram. 

"It's a girl?" Martha asked in wonder as she held onto the picture as if it was the most precious thing in the world. She couldn't help it as her eyes started tearing up as she continued looking at the sonogram. 

"We're havin' a girl?" Sean interrupted his mother's adoration as he took the picture from her to take a look for himself. "Tate…" he started as he turned to his girlfriend now, feeling almost speechless; he'd been so sure that she was having a boy, that he wanted a boy. But knowing their baby was a little girl that would depend on him to protect her, he'd never felt anything like the rush of warmth that spread through him in that moment. The redhead nodded with a smile. Sean handed the picture back to his mother, so he'd have his hands free as he pulled his girlfriend in for a big hug. "We're havin' a girl," he let out elated, making Tatum laugh until he kissed her. "She's gonna be gorgeous like her mama," he added as he sank to his knees and pressed an adoring kiss to her bump. At this, Martha properly started blubbering like a true grandmother, making her son laugh as he got back up to pull her in for a big hug. 

Malcolm swallowed hard as he stalked away from where he'd been stood outside the dining room listening, ridiculous.