"I think I'm losing Horse…" Sassy stirred her coffee listlessly, propping her head on her hand as the girls sat in Tibby's.
"I'm losing Shemp, too…" Pittie groaned and leaned back in her chair.
"Well, you may be losing them, but they're gaining each other. At least someone wins…" Lillian rolled her eyes, ignoring the glares from Sassy and Pittie.
"That's not very nice, Lilly…" Scribble lightly hit Lillian's shoulder, then wrapped her hands around her mug. "Race has been distant… I hate it…"
"I'm sorry, Twinie… I'm happy with Blink, though!" Yai grinned and bounced in her chair, making Lillian raise an eyebrow.
"How much sugar did you put in your coffee?"
"Um…."
"No more sugar for you." Lillian pulled the sugar canister away from the bubbly girl. "Anyway, I think things are good with me and Shrimp? He's still upset that he's an awful newsie, but he's looking for other work."
"That's good!" Muse beamed across the table at Lillian. "Snoddy and I are doing well. I'm quite happy."
"And you know how things are with me and Swifty!" Lucy chirped, making Sassy throw a napkin at her.
"Yes, we know, but no, we don't want to hear about it." Scribble made a face, making Lucy giggle.
"How about you and Itey, Silk?" Yai raised an eyebrow, still not used to Itey and Silk dating.
"Oh, it's good. Good. I haven't told Horse yet, but he's been distracted, so he doesn't ask me where I go." Silk smiled and blushed, looking down at her mug of tea.
The girls fell into silence for a few moments, sipping their drinks and thinking. Yai broke the silence by drumming her fingers on the table, then saying, "I want a baby."
A chorus of "Me too!" met her statement and the girls stared at each other in shock before dissolving into giggles.
"I mean…" Lillian was the first to recover, to clarify her thoughts. "I love kids. I just… I don't know if I can give up dancing for nine months…"
"You wouldn't have to for the whole time. Just once you start showing and you can bring the baby to rehearsals and shows and leave it backstage." Scribble tapped a finger against her chin, thinking.
"And you can help me in my shop while you're pregnant, you're a good seamstress," Silk added, tugging on a loose curl.
"Are we really discussing this like we're all going to get pregnant soon?" Muse asked, disbelieving.
"Well, why not? We all have boyfriends, boyfriends we're trying to hang on to…" Sassy muttered darkly. "If I get pregnant, Horse can't leave me."
"That's really… Manipulative…" Lucy ventured, then bit her lip. "But I know I want to be with Swifty forever, he just hasn't asked me to marry him yet!"
"If we all got pregnant, we'd be able to support each other, raise our babies together." Yai grinned, overjoyed at the idea.
"I don't know…" Silk murmured. "Horse would murder Itey."
"Blink would murder Horse."
"And Itey would murder Shrimp. We'll just have to keep them from doing that, then."
"So… Are we agreeing, then?"
"Yes. We're going to get pregnant. And be pregnant together."
The girls smiled and raised their drinks in a toast.
Huh. That's odd… Lillian frowned as she got dressed after rehearsal, tugging at her corset strings. She let her hands fall from the laces and run over her stomach, confused at the slight bulge. Not enough that anyone would notice, but enough that she definitely noticed. She hadn't been eating more than normal, why…. Oh. Her hands flew to her mouth as she rapidly counted back the days to her last monthly course. Oh! She bit her lip and resumed dressing, lacing her corset loosely with shaking hands, trying not to smile. She was meeting the other girls for dinner; she'd talk to them and figure out what to do. Itey was going to murder Shrimp…
Yai leaned back against the bathroom wall, holding her stomach. Her mother pounded on the door and Yai called, "Mami, I'm fine! I'll be out in five minutes!" Her mother's footsteps faded away and Yai sighed, waiting for the nausea to pass. She wasn't really sick, she just felt nauseous in the mornings. It wasn't a big deal, it was just annoying… Her eyes suddenly opened wide and she sat up, clapping a hand to her mouth.
Scribble hovered over the toilet, praying it was over. When a few minutes passed without anything else coming up, she sat back, rubbing her head. At least she felt fine after throwing up in the morning. What on earth could be making her this sick, but fine an hour later… She lunged for the toilet, heaving up whatever was left in her stomach. Oh.
Sassy sat down on a park bench, winded after the walk from the distribution center. What on Earth was wrong with her? She could usually do the walk three or four times over without breaking a sweat. Something was definitely wrong, she could hardly keep her lunch down anymore. But what? She skimmed the headlines, not really paying attention, when suddenly her eyebrows snapped up and the papers slid from her hands. She scurried to gather the papers, pressing her lips together to hide her grin.
Pittie chased after Tumbler, trying to get him to calm down and get dressed for the day. Groaning, she fell back on one of the bunks, exhausted and suddenly feeling queasy. Tumbler pounced on her stomach and she groaned, pushing him away impatiently. "Not now, sweetheart, I don't feel so good…." Tumbler shrugged and scampered away to get dressed, leaving Pittie to wonder why she wasn't feeling well. Well, it could be…. But no. So soon?
Lucy stared at her figure in the mirror, frowning as she turned this way and that. No, there was definitely a bulge in her midsection. But why? She hadn't been eating any more than usual, there was no way she could have gained weight without noticing. But there it was, that slightly bulge that Lucy knew wasn't there two weeks ago. She tapped her finger against her chin, then suddenly grinned.
Muse finished singing, cheerfully accepting coins in her hat, but her smile faded as the small crowd moved away and she sank to sit on the curb, counting the coins as she tried to regain her breath. She was never this tired, what was going on? She didn't really feel sick, at least, not beyond the few minutes in the morning when she felt like she was going to throw up, but that always passed… Suddenly she looked up, a strange expression on her face. Taking a deep breath, she put the coins in her pocket and put her hat back on her head, grappling with feeling excited or terrified.
"Go away, Clarence! I'm just a little sick, you don't need to hovor!" Silk sat next to the toilet, hoping she wasn't going to throw up again. She had been doing this for a couple of weeks and Horse was, understandably, worried. Silk always felt better an hour after she threw up, so she had no idea what was wrong. Everything else was normal… No, it wasn't. She had missed her monthly courses this month. That was odd, why would she…. Oh. She sat back, eyes wide and nervous. Clarence was going to murder her…
That evening, the girls met in Tibby's, all clearly wanting to share something with the group. They stared at each other, trying to figure out who would go first, then finally they all burst out at once, "I think I'm pregnant!"
"You're pregnant?"
"Oh, my God, girls!"
"This is perfect!"
"We can have playdates and a baby shower together and-"
"I can't believe this!"
"What a coincidence!"
"Oh my God!"
The waiters at Tibby's stared over at the table with a mixture of apprehension and confusion. One of them nudged the other.
"You go wait on them."
"No, you go."
"No, I insist."
"Gary, those girls are crazy!"
"I know, it's why I insist."
"…Maybe they'll just keep chattering and not order anything?"
"…Let's hope so."