Jane’s Lane
Quinn’s wedding was naturally a big affair. That was no surprise. What was a surprise was her choice of a maid of honor. Instead of one of her fashion club cronies or a sorority sister she asked Daria. Another surprise was that Daria accepted the request. During the reception there was one more shock for Daria. She saw Jane.
Walking across the room she went to her friend. “What are you doing here?”
“Didn’t you know? Quinn invited me.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope.”
“And you accepted?”
“I’m here aren’t I?”
“Well I’m glad to see a friend. I’m going to get something to drink. You want me to get you something?”
“No. I’ll go with you. I need to watch what I drink for a while.”
As they walked toward the bar Daria looked at her. “Really. Why?”
“I’m gonna have a baby.”
Daria stopped cold in her tracks. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. It’s official.”
“How long have you known?”
“Pretty much from the beginning.”
“No. I mean how long until you’re due?”
“About seven more months. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed. I thought women were supposed to always know.”
Daria looked at Jane. Sure enough she did look different. It was subtle but the changes were there if you knew what to look for.
“Well forgive me but I’m new at being able to tell my best friend is pregnant just by looking at her.”
Jane smiled. “It’s okay. I was waiting for the best time to tell you.”
“And you chose my sister’s wedding for the big announcement. Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
When they got to the bar Jane chose a juice drink and Daria got the same. The pair sat down to watch the festivities. Eventually Daria excused herself. Jane never saw her again all day.
The next night Daria was sitting in her apartment reading a magazine when the doorbell rang. She was shocked to see Jane.
“Well if it isn’t invisible girl.”
“Very funny. You need to work on getting some new material.”
“Look I know you weren’t expecting me but would you mind if I came in? The bugs from the light are getting in my hair.”
“Oh sorry. Sure.”
As they went to sit down Daria spoke up.
“Look I’m sorry about leaving you like that yesterday. I should have come back for a little while.”
“Yea, where’d you go? When I asked Helen all she would say is it’s up to you to explain. What did she mean?”
”I’m not sure I can tell you. It’s kind of personal.”
“Look I know you like to keep things private but for some reason I feel responsible for your vanishing act. Am I?”
“In a way I guess.”
This wasn’t the answer Jane was expecting. In her shock all she could say was. “What!?”
Daria looked at Jane. “Look I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that but it is true.”
“How?”
“When you told me you were pregnant it brought up feelings I hadn’t expected.”
“What do you mean?”
“I hate to admit it but I’m jealous.”
“You’re jealous? Why?”
“Because you have a great husband and now you two are starting a family. That’s not in the picture for me.”
Jane gave her a sympathetic look. “Oh come on. You’ll find the right guy some day and then you can start having kids of your own.”
“Not really.”
“What do you mean?”
“Marriage maybe but children are not an option.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I can’t have children.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t get pregnant.”
The color went from Jane’s face. This was a complete surprise.
“Oh Daria. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Only Mom, Dad, and Quinn do.”
“How long have you known?”
“About four years. Just after I finished my first year of college.”
“Was it the accident?”
“No, the accident was how I found out but isn’t the cause. I’m just defective.”
“Daria. You’re NOT defective. Now tell me what is the problem.”
For the next hour Daria and Jane discussed everything. After Jane got all the details she started to understand Daria’s condition. She was ready to cry but she held her emotions in check. This was not a time to let things get out of control. When Daria finished all Jane could do was hug her best friend.
It was getting late so Daria invited Jane to stay the night but she refused. She had responsibilities and had to get back home. As they walked to the door Daria spoke up.
“I’m sorry to dump all this on you. It isn’t fair. This is your time.”
“Don’t worry. I understand, sort of. Look, if you ever want to talk just call. I’ll listen.”
“Thanks.” Daria turned to look at Jane. “I never told you how happy I am for you. Congratulations. I know you will be a great mother.”
Jane hugged Daria. “Thanks. I’ll call you later in the week.”
“Okay. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Once again Daria was alone. She sat down and thought about everything that had happened recently. Many of her friends had got married and were starting families. It was inevitable. Life just dealt her a bad hand. She had to accept that and make the best of the situation.
Daria wanted to do something to show Jane how she felt about her having a child. She knew it had to be special. For months she searched for the perfect thing but she never could find something that felt right.One day as she was driving home Daria passed a small antique shop. She had gone past it hundreds of times but this time something stuck out. She immediately turned around and went back to the shop.
Saturday morning Daria pulled up to the Jane’s house. Roy came out to meet her. He saw the trunk of her car was partially open and something was sticking out.
“Hey Daria.”
“Hey.”
“So what’s the surprise?”
“Is Jane here?”
“No. She’s out looking for the perfect color for the baby’s room.”
“Good. I really didn’t want her to see this just yet.”
“What is it?”
“Come here and see.”
He followed Daria to the back of the car. When he saw her surprise he agreed it was right. As he carried it into the house he said he knew the perfect place for it.
When Jane pulled up she was shocked to see Daria’s car. Going into the house she saw Daria and Roy sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee.
“Hey Daria.”
“Hey Jane.”
“To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”
“I brought you something.”
“You did? What?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Well where is it?”
“Upstairs. In your bedroom.”
“Well let’s go. I want to see it.”
Daria stood up and started to go upstairs with Jane. As she started out of the room she noticed Roy stayed seated. Turning around she asked. “Aren’t you coming?”
He looked at Daria. “No. This is a moment for you two.”
“If you say so.”
Going up the stairs Jane spoke up. “What did he mean about this being a moment for just us?”
“I guess he wanted me to share this surprise with just you.”
Jane accepted the explanation. She would know what it was about soon enough. After they got to the bedroom door Daria turned around and looked at Jane. “I hope you like this. I wanted to give you something to show how happy I was for you. Hopefully I found the right thing.”
“I’m sure it will be great.” Jane said.
With that the pair entered the room. When Jane saw the antique oak rocking chair sitting in the corner she was speechless. After getting her thoughts together she finally spoke. “Oh Daria. It’s perfect.”
“I figured you might need to rock your child to sleep on occasion. It was my hope to find something that would hold memories for you.”
Jane went over and sat in the chair. As she rocked she looked at her friend. “It already has one great memory. Thank you.”
The next few months were uneventful. Daria visited Jane from time to time. As the due date approached she could see Jane was getting excited at the thought of giving birth. One afternoon Daria was sitting at her desk when the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Trent?”
“She did.”
“I’m on my way. Bye.”
It was close enough to the end of the day that Daria went ahead and left. She drove straight to the hospital. It was about an hour to where Jane was and all the way Daria hoped she wouldn’t be too late. She parked and ran into the hospital. When she got to the maternity ward she found Trent and went over.
“Hey Daria.”
“Hey Trent. Has she given birth yet?”
“Yea.”
“When.”
“About thirty minutes ago.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“What is it? A boy or a girl?”
“Oh. It’s a boy.”
“So when can we see her?”
“I asked a nurse. She said soon.”
“How soon?”
“Don’t know. She just said soon.”
“Oh.”
Daria knew there was no point asking any more questions so she went over to a chair and sat down. She would just have to be patient. Eventually Trent came over. She looked up.
“Yes Trent?”
“We can see her now.”
Daria stood up and the pair went to the room. As they entered they saw Jane and Roy standing over a small bundle in a blanket. When Jane heard them she looked up. Naturally she looked tired but still gave them the biggest grin either of them had ever seen. Finally she spoke up.
“Hey guys. Come on over. I want you to meet someone.”
They went over to the bed.
“Trent, Daria. Say hello to Lane.”
They looked at each other then at Roy. He looked back at them.
“Don’t look at me. I lost the coin toss. But I get to name the next one.”
Jane joined in. “If there is a next one.”
Everybody chuckled.
Jane was home pretty quick. With a new baby in the house things were hectic so Daria stayed for a couple of days to try to help. As long as she stayed out of the kitchen she was actually useful. Eventually Sunday evening came around and she had leave.
Going upstairs she went to Jane’s room. When she looked inside Jane was sitting in the chair rocking her son. When she saw Daria she spoke up.
“Hey.”
“Hi. Look, I have to leave.”
“I understand. Thanks for your help.”
“Sure. No problem. You have a beautiful son there. Take care of him or you’ll have to answer to me.”
Jane laughed. “You got it.” Suddenly her face got serious. “Daria. Before you leave I want to say something.”
Daria looked at Jane. “Yes?”
“Daria. I just wanted to say you’re closer to me than any of my sisters ever were. Lord knows we’ve been though as much as sisters.” She paused for a second. “What I’m trying to say is. After all the things we’ve been through I’ve never said this. Now I want to be sure you hear it.”
“What.”
“I love you and after all the things we’ve experienced I’m hoping you feel the same way.”
Daria looked at her friend.
“I do Jane. I do.”
The End.
As usual Daria Belongs to MTV. This was written for my own amusement.