My name is Layla Bucket, I'm 24 years old and 6 months pregnant. I work at Bill's Candy Shoppe. Charlie is my younger brother, the best little brother anyone could ask for.
So one day I walked into work,
"Hey Bill?"
"Yeah kid?"
"So as you know, my Mother is very pregnant and I'm pregnant too. What I'm asking is, if I could get a few weeks off to help Mother with the new baby?" I asked. Bill had his thinking face on. I braced myself for a "No" but Bill softened and smiled.
"Sure kid why not take a month off?"
"Oh gee thanks Bill! I'll work today! How's that?" Bill nodded. I worked and then at closing Bill surprised me with an awesome gift.
"Here's $100 kid, use it for food for the baby and your family."
"Thanks Bill." I said and hugged him.
I ran home to see Mother.
"Hi Mom. Here's $100 for us and the baby, Bill gave it to me and one month off." Mother smiled and kissed my forehead.
"The baby's sure energetic, he or she is kicking so much." I giggled. Mother smiled and sighed deeply.
"What's the matter Mom? A contraction?" I asked. Mom shook her head but gasped and squeezed my hand hard.
"Now THAT was a contraction!" She breathed.
"Uh... OK, what do we do?!" I asked panicked. Mom just said to get her to her bed and to wait, and that I would have to deliver him or her. I panicked again, never having delivered a baby before let alone my baby brother or sister!
"OK Mom just breathe!" I coached when she cried out in pain.
"Hey everybody!" I heard Charlie say.
"Hey Charlie, can you run and get the doctor please?" I asked. Charlie smiled and ran out to get the doctor.
"Charlie just went to get the doctor Mom, I can't do this on my own." I cried to Mom. She smiled and hugged me.
"Layla!" Bill yelled. My head shot up.
"Bill what are you doing here? I have the money in a safe place."
"I want to help." He said.
I nodded and told him I need water set to boil and that Charlie went to get the doctor. Then Charlie came in with the doctor. Mother's moans were getting increasingly louder, gradually growing to screams. Charlie must've been so scared, I know I was when Mom was giving birth to Charlie. I just kept coaching Mom, Bill was running doing errands for the family, cooking with what he brought. It looked like extravagant food to our standards.
"Layla I have to push!"
"Doctor is she ready?"
"Yep go ahead Mrs. Bucket. Push!" Mom nodded and began pushing with all her might.
"Push Mother Push! You can do it!" I coached. Mother was screaming and covered in sweat now.
"One more push Mrs. Bucket!" The doctor coached.
"I can't! It hurts!" She cried.
"Mother look at me! You can do this one more! C'mon Mom!" I yelled. Mother nodded and gave a triumphant push and we heard a baby's cry.
"It's a boy!" I yelled with joy.
Mother was crying for joy.
"You did it Mother!" I cried for joy. As the Doctor got my baby brother cleaned up.
"Henry!" I exclaimed. Mother liked it. Then I was handed baby Henry and I went out to the living area.
"Everyone this is Henry Bucket."
They all gasped with happiness.
After Henry was born, the Golden Tickets craze came around I was working more often because of kids wanting Wonka bars. I was working more often, Mother didn't like that but I was like,
"It brings more money to the family!"
"What about that first $100 from Bill that we've almost spent?!"
"I'm earning more and more week by week!"
"What about the baby?"
"I'm fine Mother! You've got Henry to worry about!"
And that was that. Mother didn't realize that the Golden Ticket craze could change our lives forever. When a big group of kids came in the candy shop, the regulars, I shifted my eyes through the crowd but didn't see Charlie. Bill sang about Willy Wonka, the candy man that I've known and come to love with all my heart. He's my idol in life now. I joined in and to my unhappy knowledge Charlie was outside watching. After we were done singing, I leaned close to Bill and whispered that I needed to take a breather.
"Charlie why weren't you inside? I could've bought you some candy."
"I don't know. I'm late for my paper route. I'll meet you here and take you home."
I nodded and kisses his cheek. Charlie waved good bye, I gasped and felt my stomach. The baby kicked. I smiled and walked back in. Bill was smiling and was holding a folded piece of paper. I opened it and it said "I Love You Layla" I looked up and gasped but Bill stopped me with a kiss. I blushed, we were only 1 year apart in age, we went to school together. But I thought he wasn't interested in me.
"I... I... Love... You... Too" I sputtered out blushing.
When Charlie came to pick me up he didn't notice the difference in my walk or how I was talking.
"Hi Mom."
I said when we walked through the door. Mother grabbed the note and inquired who it was from.
"Bill"
"Oh?"
"Candy Shop"
"Oh."
"He said that he loved me!" I cried into her shoulder. She rubbed my back.
"When I met your father, I thought he was the most handsome and considerate man alive. Do you think about Bill in that way?"
I nodded.
Weeks after our talk
Tickets were being found left right and center. Charlie seemed anxious about finding one. One night Charlie and I went to go pick up Mother but she was working late. Charlie had an emotional break down and as he walked home, I stayed with Mother, we sang a song to help in cheer up and told him that his luck will change, soon enough. It just so happened the next day Charlie's luck did turn around.
The fifth ticket was fake, the "finder" forged it. It was in the papers after Charlie bought his Wonka bar. I wasn't working that day, it was my day off. I was 8 months along by then, it was September 31st 1971. When he heard about it, his face grew into a smile and he went to open his Wonka Bar and a ticket was in there! He ran home but he ran into Mr. Slugworth who offered him lots of money to find out the secret formula for the Everlasting Gobstoppers. He confided that with me.
"Charlie's late." Grandma Josephine said.
"He works too hard for a little boy. He needs time to play." Grandpa Joe commented.
"Not enough hours in the day" Mother responded.
"I should be out there helping him!" I said.
"You're due any day, not exactly in the right condition to do paper routes." Mother chided me gently.
"You look wonderful Layla." Grandma Josephine told me. I smiled. The baby kicked, I smiled and looked down at my baby bump.
Can't wait to meet you baby. I whispered. Henry began to get fussy and Mother went to see what was wrong.
Charlie came running in.
"Look everyone I found the last Golden Ticket! It's mine!" He shouted.
"Quiet down Charlie! Mother's trying to calm Henry down and I thought all the tickets were found!"
"No, the last one was a fake! It said so in the paper. I found money in the street and I went to Bill's and bought a Wonka bar and the ticket was in there!"
"That's amazing!" Mother said after she put Henry down for a nap. I read what was on the ticket and it said he could take one family member.
"Can you come with me Layla?"
"Mom can I? It's just one day!" Mom nodded.
"Sure why not?"
"Thanks Mother!"
The day of the event came. Charlie and I were so excited. I slipped on a pink shirt and a pair of jeans with a pair of heeled shoes. When we were sitting outside the Chocolate Factory, I was sitting next to Mr. Beauregarde, Violet's father. The baby was kicking up a storm. He or she was excited like me. All the other parents were looking at me weirdly. Then it was time to meet the candy man that shaped my childhood.
"Hi my name is Charlie Bucket" my brother introduced himself.
"Well, well, well I read all about you in the paper. May I ask who is this lovely young lady?" Mr. Wonka asked
"This is my sister Layla." He introduced me.
"Hi." I said with a smile.
When we were walking into the factory, I noticed a small pain coming from my lower back. I ignored it and pushed on. As we went to the chocolate room the pain hit me again. I ignored it again, when I didn't know then that they were in fact contractions. As we were walking around in the chocolate room, Charlie stayed by my side and walked with me. I had some candy but it was a small amount because I didn't want to get sick all over the chocolate room or anyone.
When we saw the Oompa Loompas we were all shocked to see who makes the chocolate! When Augustus fell into the chocolate river and went to the fudge room, we all piled on to the boat. The boat ride was interesting, I was lucky that the contractions were only 14 minutes apart! Charlie didn't notice but I think Mr. Wonka and the remaining parents noticed. I tried to mask the pain, it really worked until the television room. But back to the Invention Room.
It look more like a Turkish Bath went wrong. But Mrs. Teevee stuck around me more than Mike.
"Why?"
"You're in labor, stop trying to ignore it."
"But I need to be there for Charlie!"
"Tell me when they're about 4 minutes apart."
"But they're only 10 minutes apart"
"Just let me know."
And that was that.
When Violet found about the 3 meal gum, her being a nitwit tried it out and turned into a blueberry. Her dad was not happy. Then we went to the bubble room, Charlie wanted to try the fizzy lifting drinks but I said "No" and I burst my bubble and said I was in labor. He gasped and ran to tell Mr. Wonka but I stopped him.
"No! Not yet!"
We walked to the egg room. Veruca went on the "I want it now." craze and went down the chute. By then my contractions were 8 minutes apart. They went down 2 minutes from the Invention Room. When we went on the Wonka mobile, the baby's kicks were very strong and they actually hurt.
When we did all of the Television Room stuff and Mike got sent to the Taffy Puller,
"Mr. Wonka can we stop? I'm in labor and my contractions are 4 minutes apart and my water just broke." That was when they brought me into his office and lied me down on the couch.
"Did Charlie win?" I asked through a contraction. Mr. Wonka nodded.
"I have to push!" I breathed.
"Not yet Layla." Mr. Wonka told me. After a while I was ready to push.
"OK with the next contraction push!" Mr. Wonka coached. I nodded and as I pushed I cried out in pain.
"Again!"
"It hurts OHMYGOD!" I cried out in pain. After 30 minutes.
"It's alright you can relax now." He said as I heard the most wonderful sound in the entire world, my baby daugther's cry.
"Oh Claire, Claire!" I cried out.
"Claire Amalia Bucket."
"This is the Wonkavator." I gasped and held Claire close to me.
"Is it safe?"
"Sure come on, it's perfectly safe just relax and keep an eye on baby Claire."
Then we went up and out to our house, as we got out,
"Mother we're home!" Mother rushed out and gasped and smiled when she saw baby Claire in my arms. She rushed to me and started crying for joy when she saw baby Claire, I smiled and said that Charlie won a prize. Mr. Wonka said that Charlie won his Chocolate Factory, Mother and I gasped and smiled and motioned Charlie over for a hug.
"I knew that you would do great things, even the day that you were born." I whispered crying.
When we moved into the factory,
Mr. Wonka and Charlie were spending more and more time together and not with us, their family. That would've bother me if I didn't have my baby brother and Claire to take care of.
"Layla?" I heard behind me, I whipped around to see Bill. I sighed and we kissed.
This is a flashback when Mrs. Bucket was giving birth to Charlie
"Layla honey, can you go get the doctor?" She gasped as a contraction hit. I smiled and ran to get the doctor, but first I ran to find Bill.
"Bill! Mother's in labor!" I said as I ran by his house, he ran to mine and I told him to keep a good eye on my Mother. By the time I came back with the Doctor, Mother was already pushing.
"That was quick!" I exclaimed. The doctor went to help Mother when Grandma Josephine called me to see her. I looked back at Mother in fear, she nodded with a smile but gasped and cried out as she pushed. After 5 minutes I heard Mother cry out for the last time and I heard a baby's cry. Bill came out holding my baby brother.
"His name is Charlie." I sighed and held him with a smile.
