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 a 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.” Jane said.
“You’re kidding?”
Jane smiled and shook her head.
“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.”
Jane’s reply irritated Daria. Frowning at her friend, she asked, “No. I mean how long until you’re due?”
“About seven more months.” Jane said. “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. Since Daria wasn’t in a mood for anything hard, she asked for the same thing. After they got their beverages, 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. Opening the door, she was shocked to see Jane.
Jane grinned. “Well if it isn’t invisible girl.” she said.
“Very funny.” Daria said. “You need to work on getting some new material.”
Waving her hand in front of her face, Jane asked, “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.
“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?”
Sighing, Daria said, “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.”
Now Jane was just confused. “How?” she asked.
“When you told me you were pregnant it brought up feelings I hadn’t expected.”
“What do you mean?”
Sitting there in silence for a moment, Daria worked up her courage. Eventually she found the ability to share her feelings. “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.”
The moment Daria was dreading had finally come. She had to tell the truth now. Taking a deep breath, she said, “I can’t have children.”
“What do you mean?”
Daria bowed her head, and closed her eyes.
“I can’t get pregnant.”
The color went from Jane’s face. This was a complete surprise. She wasn’t sure what to say. Eventually she managed to gather a few words for her friend.
“Oh Daria. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Only Mom, Dad, and Quinn do.”
“How long have you known?”
Daria opened her eyes and looked up at Jane.
“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.”
Putting her hand on Daria’s shoulder, Jane looked her in the eye and said, “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 said, “I’m sorry to dump all this on you. It isn’t fair. This is your time.”
Turning to look at Daria, Jane smiled.
“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.
As the weeks passed into months, Daria visited Jane regularly. While it wasn’t always easy for her to see her friend experiencing something she would never have a chance to she was also thrilled to see how happy Jane was as she grew. In spite of trying to be supportive Daria could sense that Jane was acting differently to her. She figured it had to be with the fact Jane now knew the truth about her condition.
Eventually Daria decided 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 anything 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.
That next Saturday morning Daria pulled up at 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.” he said.
“Hey.”
“So what’s the surprise?”
“Is Jane here?”
“No. She’s out looking for the perfect color for the baby’s room.”
Daria was relieved.
“Good. I really didn’t want her to see this just yet.”
“What is it?”
Unbuckling her belt and getting out of the car, she said, “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.”
Setting the paint can on the counter, Jane looked at Daria.
“You did? What?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Well where is it?”
Putting her cup down, Daria said, “Upstairs. In your bedroom.”
“Well let’s go. I want to see it.”
Daria got up and headed upstairs with Jane. As she started out of the room she noticed Roy stayed behind. Turning around, she asked. “Aren’t you coming?”
He looked at Daria and shook his head.
“No. This is a moment for you two.”
“If you say so.”
Going up the stairs, Jane asked. “What did he mean about this being a moment for just us?”
“You tell me. You married him.” Daria said.
Jane laughed and continued her journey up the stairs. 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?”
Daria’s eyes suddenly got very large.
“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. Parking, she 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?”
Daria knew how Trent could be but she was in no mood for his behavior right then. Giving him a bothered look, she asked again. “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.
“Hey guys. Come on over. I want you to meet someone.”
Daria and Trent went over to the bed.
“Trent, Daria. Say hello to Lane.”
They looked at each other then at Roy. Looking back, he said, “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 smiled and said, “Hey.”
“Hi.” Daria said. “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.