You just don't get it

 The 4th almost went off without a hitch. But now that Victoria thought about it, she was still full of discontent. Although. she wasn't sure what to do about it.

1. She was supposed to tell her parents the happy news, but she didn't.

2. Her sister arrived with Rylie and that did give Victoria so much joy to see her sister so happy. Yes, she was happy for the two of them. Maybe that's why she didn't want to make a big deal about her and Steve.

3. Of course, her parents were a little cross, or was it shocked that Melissa moved in with a girl and not a guy. It was a quiet affair. They let Steve grill and there were plenty of cold salads and cream pies to go around. In some aspects, it was the perfect day, yet Victoria couldn't help feeling now it was the worst 4th ever.

4. Oh, there had been fireworks, all right. The hissing kind. Victoria overheard her mother with Melissa in the kitchen when they were cleaning up.

MOM: What do you mean by this! How will you ever find a man now? You need a man, you know. Only a man can take care of you. Not..not this doe-like creature, who obviously can't support you.

MELISSA: You don't have to be this way, Mom.  (she was in tears and could barely hold it together. Even if Victoria wasn't in the room she knew her sister's biggest qualms now).

5. Victoria decided not to tell them about the baby. She didn't want to get married now. 

"What?" Poppy was in total shock when Victoria told her all of  Melissa's history with her Mom. 

"I'm not getting married until Melissa marries Rylie." It was that simple. Of course, Steve wasn't too fond of the news either. After all, his parents had their house waiting for them. They wanted to move to Georgia where the golf courses were delightful. They didn't want to take another winter in Nebraska.

"You can't hold up everything like this," Poppy told her. "Melissa and Rylie will be OK. Stop making it.." Poppy pressed her lips tight. "Making it worse. Just think about you and Steve and the baby."

Even when her good friend Poppy told her all of this over tea and Lemoncello gouda cheese and crackers, Victoria could see something was troubling Poppy too.

"OK, so..so maybe I'm too emotional, right now." Victoria cradled her cup of warm tea as she nursed her bottom lip. "I know they'll want me to stop working, stop going to school, but it's just I have to do this, for all of us. I have to be able to make a living."

"But Steve's got a good job, doesn't he?" Poppy asked.

"It's not enough." She knew. "He saves up, every paycheck. And..and I know his folks worry too." She sighed, thinking it was more than being a breadwinner. It was the idea that she was capable of doing something she loved.

Poppy only sighed. "I don't think I'll ever get married," she said as if it were the waiting game with Alfie. "I'm not as smart as I thought I was."