Chapter Three- Nesting
September 1976
Bob and Emily decided to tell Howard and Ellen at dinner the next night. Emily was anxious to share her news. She'd kept it buckled inside at school all day, and with the exception of begging Jerry for his money back Bob had done the same, hiding his news from Carol, who would be elated. Mr. Carlin whose reaction he was actually very curious about. Mrs. Bakerman who'd be pleased as punch and would probably start knitting something for the baby, and finally Mr. Vickers who would tell him how his son, while still in the womb, was already plotting to kill him.
"Oh Emily, I'm starved, I'm so hungry!" Howard burst in the door, forgetting his girlfriend at his heals and slamming the door in her face.
"Howard." Ellen puffed. "If you do that once more-" It was quite clear to Bob and Emily that they were having a fight…again.
Emily was already serving dinner, like Howard, she too was starved. Howard had begun to dig in before he even sat down. Emily laughed to herself, thinking that with his appetite, you may've thought he was the one eating for two…or maybe more like four.
"Hey Emily, why is everything little, like baby carrots…baby chicken." Ellen asked.
Emily squealed and nodded. Bob took her hand. Howard was deeply confused, but Ellen smiled.
"Wait…are you trying to tell us something?" Ellen inquired. Emily nodded again. "Oh Emily, Bob, that's wonderful!" She said, getting up to hug Emily tightly.
"Wait, what's going on what are you trying to keep from me?!" Howard exclaimed.
"We're not trying to keep anything from you Howard." Bob explained, taking Emily's hand again as she sat back down.
"Howard. I'm going to have a baby." Emily told him.
"A-a little baby!"
"Yeah." Emily reaffirmed.
"Oh my gosh a baby…I'm gonna be an Uncle!"
"That's right Howard." Bob told him.
"Congratulations, ooh this is so exciting, when's the stork coming?"
"Sometime in early April."
"Early April, I got it this is an April fools on Howard, isn't it?"
"No Howard. Honest to goodness I'm having a baby." Emily reassured. She and Bob began laughing. She rested her head on his as they giggled.
"See, I told you it was a joke!"
"It's no joke Howard."
"We're just over the moon." Emily explained.
"Well I'm excited too, and this has been a very cute way to tell us." Ellen replied, lifting up her fork to study the baby carrot more closely.
"I thought baby vegetables and baby chicken would be appropriate." Emily began. "And I'm starving."
"Have you told Mom and Dad yet?" Ellen asked.
"Actually, we're trying to figure out j-just how to do that."
"Bob."
"Hum?"
"I actually took care of that today."
"What?!"
"Your parents will be here for dinner tomorrow."
"Oh."
"And so will mine." She said quickly.
"What?! What did you tell them, how did you get them to come from Seattle, for dinner?!"
"Well, I had to admit to them that we had something to tell them and it was too important for over the phone and they said they'd be on a plane first thing in the morning."
"Emily, you don't want to worry them."
"Oh Bob, I, I think they have a feeling and I think your Mom does too."
"Emily, bringing the whole family together…having people fly half way across the country, it's just ridiculous its like…"
"It's like your nesting!" Howard accused.
"Nesting?" Emily and Ellen questioned.
"A-actually Howard's quite right. Emily, you are nesting, bringing the family together for the baby and its very normal…I just wish you'd told me." He said. Emily burst out crying when Bob said this and excused herself from the room.
"Emily!" Ellen yelled, running after her sister-in-law.
"Uh-oh…hormones." Howard laughed.
"She's just kind of emotional lately Howard." Bob explained. "Was Lois, uh…"
"Oh yeah. She kicked me out a few times." Bob considered this for a second but couldn't imagine Emily doing that.
"But it does have some benefits too Bob."
"Well yeah, I'm going to be a Father, and she'll make a beautiful Mother."
"That and uh, they're going to get bigger Bob."
"What are Howard?"
"Her a, a…"
"Howard!...That's my wife!"
"Bob I'm sorry." Emily sobbed as she and Ellen came back in the room.
"It's okay honey." He said, kissing her cheek and wrapping his arm around her as she sat down next to him again.
…
"Bob…I'm really nervous about telling our parents." She confessed.
"What's to be nervous about? They're our parents and they love us and they've been waiting for this for a long time. Heck longer than we have." He laughed.
"Well that's just it."
"What's just it?"
"Your mother and my father say it to me all the time, that they want a Grandson..." Emily emphasized.
"Oh I see. Emily, don't worry about that. We're going to love whatever baby we have, they'll just have to see it our way."
"Oh Bob, you always make me feel so much better."
"That's kind of the point Emily." He kissed her cheek.
"I really think it's a baby girl."
"I'm wonderful either way. I think too many people get caught up on gender…it's not about that. It's about the fact that we'll get to love this baby." He told her and she smiled, agreeing with his every word. "Just as long as baby has those marvelous eyes." She was wowed…he never said anything like this.
"Wow…you must really love me." She giggled, but wanted to cry.
"I do. And really, I don't care, boy, girl, your eyes, my eyes…it's going to be wonderful to have a baby with you. Oh God."
"What?" She asked.
"Your father's going to kill me."
"Why?" She thought this was outrageous.
"Because he'll know now for sure that we've had sex."
"Bob that's ridiculous. We've been married seven years and all that time he's been asking me, Emily when are you going to have a baby, when…"
"Yeah, so he'll know when to kill Bob!"
"Honey, he may be very close to me but he's not that overprotective, after all he did give me away, and to you…" Bob considered this for a moment and smiled.
"You're right Emily, I'm sorry I'm just being paranoid."
"And besides hurting you now would be awfully irresponsible now that you're somebody's Daddy, wouldn't it?"
"Well…when you put it that way…" He hadn't thought of himself, as being someone's father, at least not yet, and the idea that he was made him want to pass out again. He replied simply by kissing her. She smiled, wrapping her arms around him and caressing his lower lip with her own. Suddenly the doorbell rang, effectively breaking their kiss.
"We'll finish this later." Emily teased, kissing his nose.
"Oh Emily, do we have to answer the door?" He asked quietly.
"Open up, I wanna see my daughter!"
"Daddy!" Emily squealed.
Bob watched as his wife hugged her father and quietly wondered if perhaps Emily would have a little girl who was as attached to her Daddy as she was to hers. He hoped that would happen.
"Oh Emily, darling, your glowing!" Her mother said softly as she hugged her.
"Mom." Emily laughed. "Would the two of you like something to drink?"
Bob and Emily suspected that her parents already assumed they were having a baby. Emily could've told her parents over the phone, after all, Seattle was a long way away, but it just didn't feel right.
"So, what's this news?" Junior inquired.
"Well, we're kind of waiting till Bob's parents arrive."
"Oh, so it's really, really big news." Aggie pushed.
Suddenly the doorbell rang again, saving Bob and Emily from having to answer any difficult questions.
"Oh Sonny hello!" Bob's mother burst as soon as he opened the door. There was no doubting that she knew too.
"Hi Bob, got any scotch?" His father asked.
"No Dad, no scotch." He said.
"Emily!" Martha squealed, reaching for her daughter-in-law.
"Hi Mom." She whispered.
"So." Bob began once they'd all said their greetings.
He and Emily sat on the ottoman together. He placed his hand on her knee. Emily's father cringed a little upon seeing this, sure Bob was a good man, sure he'd let his daughter marry him…but he thought that if he could keep his hands off of her, at least in his presence, that would be great.
"So, we have, we have some news for you." Bob began. Everyone leaned forward, staring almost intently in anticipation. Bob and Emily felt like they were being watched, almost with prying eyes.
"We're going to have a baby!" Emily burst. She said it quickly, hoping to get the pressure off. The room burst with immediate enthusiasm and neither of them knew if this was better or worse than prying eyes.
"I knew it!" Their mothers said at once.
"Finally, a grandson." Junior exclaimed.
"Well actually Dad, Bob wants a girl." Bob felt betrayed by this…he didn't want his mother to know that.
"Bob, why don't you want a little boy?" His mother was saddened.
"Mom, I didn't say I wouldn't want a boy, I just met that I really think it might be nice to have a daughter. Junior, your close with your daughters…I'd like to have a relationship like that." He decided to put it that way.
"I could understand that Bob." He said. Junior Harrison was actually a pretty reasonable guy and Bob was just figuring that out.
"Well I don't." Martha Hartley said.
"Well. We're going to love whatever baby we have, so it's not really a problem." Emily said, kissing Bob sweetly.
Junior saw this too. While he was glad to know his daughter was so happily married, and he wanted to be a grandfather he'd never be okay watching this level of affection between his daughter and son-in-law. No matter how long they were married and how many babies they had, he knew he'd never be comfortable with the idea. Ever. In fact, it was taking quite a bit of strength for him to not be sickened by the news. Emily was his little girl after all. He couldn't believe she was…he couldn't even think it: pregnant. He turned his attention back to Bob's mother who asked:
"Do we know what we're naming the baby yet?"
"Well, Mom it is a little early." Bob said. "We haven't really talked about it."
"What about where you're going to live." Aggie asked.
"Here." Bob told them.
"What?!" Martha and Aggie questioned at once causing Bob and Emily to feel totally overwhelmed.
"We're going to live here." Emily said.
"The den's going to be the baby's uh…den."
Aggie and Martha exchanged horrified glances.
"Bob, Emily, if you need any money to get another place…" Junior offered.
"Wait just a minute!" Bob's father was offended. He'd said nothing until now.
"Mr. Harrison, Dad…we can afford to move, I can buy a house, we're just not…"
"They're just not ready to yet! They like their home, and I must say, so do I!" Bob's father Herb indicated. He kind of wished he lived there. Emily smiled; she loved how her father-in-law was always so supportive in this way.
"But an apartment is no place for a baby to grow up." Martha asserted.
"Martha…" Herb warned. The Harrisons were thinking about this.
"Your right Herb." Junior agreed, "The baby's getting a fine den."
"Thank you Daddy." Emily smiled.
"Now about his name…" Martha began again. Bob liked his mother-in-law and could sense that she had the inclination to roll her eyes.
"If it's a boy, he's Robbie." Emily confessed. She and Bob had decided that several years before when they were trying to have a baby, something that only they, Emily's doctor, (and unbeknownst to Emily) Jerry, knew about.
"Oh Robbie it's so sweet!" Martha squealed.
"It's a great choice." Aggie agreed.
"And for a girl?" Junior asked.
"We'll let you know." Bob was secretly very worried: he had no doubts that the baby would be a girl and they hadn't thought about what to name their daughter at all.
July 1980
"Emily."
"Hum?" She asked. Howard and Ellen had left over an hour before and they were in bed reading. She was ingrained in her book and didn't care to talk much more that night.
"I just remembered, you know. Us telling Howard and Ellen and the rest of the family about Meghan…we'd been married: seven years. And people were so surprised…had so many different opinions on everything: what gender she should be, how we should raise her…where….when Ellen tells everyone someone's going to have a heart attack."
"Bob." She laughed, "honey I really don't think it'll be that bad!"
"I do." He said, doubtful of her reassurance.
"Well. I have some quite different news of my own for that evening."
"You do?" He asked, his concern peaked immediately and he hoped she wasn't pregnant herself.
"Yeah. It's great. I would've told you tonight accept Ellen's news kind of commandeered the evening."
"Well I'm all ears." He smiled, noting that she smiled brightly. Hearing some new, different news would be either very exciting or very stressful.
"Guess who the new principal of Tracy Grammar School is Bob!" She smiled.
"Emily you're kidding!" He laughed. "Emily this is just wonderful! Congratulations it's what you've been working for, for so long!" He laughed and kissed her cheek as he hugged her.
"I know. I just don't know if I should take it."
"What? Why?!" Why wouldn't she take it?!
"Well the girls they're so little and it's more work, more hours…I don't know."
"I think you should do it. You deserve it. You'd be wonderful at it Emily. And if I have to I'll work less to stay with the girls."
"Thanks Bob." She smiled. "I'm thinking about it…and don't worry about your sister. She'll be just fine." She kissed him and turned off her light, settling into her pillow. It had been a long day.
"Night Emily." Bob said, doing the same. Emily fell asleep quickly and Bob lye awake and worried. He wasn't so sure everything would turn out okay for Ellen and Howard and was worried that he'd have to deal with the ramifications of the mess they were in.
….
Bridget Hartley squeezed her eyes shut tightly as her sister tried to fit an elastic party hat on her head. She didn't like how the elastic part squeezed under her chin and the hat part kept falling on her face. So she kept taking it off. But then, every time she freed her self of the stupid thing, Meghan, who was bigger, stronger, and more agile, kept putting it back atop of her head. Baby Molly watched this interaction between her two sisters closely with a mix of confusion and horror as she sat in her hi-chair. She hoped her face wasn't next that was for sure.
"Mommy help!" Bridget cried. Emily was in the kitchen putting the last finishing touches on the birthday cake and the snacks. She looked up quickly at her daughter's call of distress.
"Meghan, stop. Would you want somebody doing that to your face?" Emily asked her older daughter. Meghan shook her head and removed the hat from her sister's head, quickly affixing it to her own.
"Srowwy Bwiget…Mommy when do we get to open presents!?" She asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Bridget," Emily emphasized kindly, "gets to open presents in a couple of hours. Can you go and play in your room for a moment, Mommy's going to feed Molly okay?"
"Okay Mommy." She agreed, getting off the chair next to her sister's and heading back to her own room.
"Is this really what I have to look forward to?" Ellen asked, getting up from the couch where she'd been laying down. She was super queasy because she was nervous in addition to nauseous. She got up and sat where Meghan had been next to Bridget.
"Oh Ellen its not that bad." Emily laughed. "You train them to listen to you early, you teach them right and wrong and love 'em a lot. That's all they need, right Bridgee?" Ellen raised an eyebrow…that was easy for Emily to say. She had the patience for those things. "Are you okay…you look kind of pale?" Emily asked. She'd sat down to try to feed Molly her bottle and put her down for her nap before anyone else arrived.
"I'm going to throw up."
"That's not a big deal…how many times have you thrown up today?" Emily practically laughed.
"It's not funny. It's Mom. She's here. She's in the building."
"Ellen no one's supposed to be here for an hour!"
"Are you kidding: she's coming early." She said. "She knows I'm here and watch she wants to know why."
Emily thought Ellen was being a bit paranoid but didn't say anything more. Martha knew about the wedding after all…just not the baby. Suddenly they heard someone knock on the door. Ellen jumped, her skin momentarily morphing from green to ghost white.
"Hello, girls it's Grandma!"
"See I told you she was here."
"Ellen it's going to be okay. Can you get the door…I've got my hands kind of full here." She said, quietly, indicating Molly who was having her bottle and getting close to drifting off to sleep.
"Okay." Ellen nodded, traveling toward the door.
"Ellen dear!" Her mother burst, hugging her. Ellen didn't rush to hug her but just stood their limp in her arms.
"Hi Mom." Ellen said blandly.
"Hi…oh sweetheart you don't look so good." Martha commented, grabbing both of her daughter's cheeks and studying her face carefully. Whether they got along much didn't matter to Martha, Ellen was still her baby and if she wasn't feeling well she wanted to know why.
"I'm fine Mom." In actuality, the smell of Martha's perfume had traveled up to Ellen's nose, and like almost all sweet scents it was making her come close to throwing up again.
"Where is everyone?"
"What do you mean where…oh." Ellen was mad when she turned around to find that Emily had snuck back into the nursery (former den) in affect, leaving her alone with Martha and Bridget, the birthday girl who'd been left in her own high chair, playing with a block.
"Emily was feeding Molly and putting her down for a nap. Where's Dad?" Ellen asked, going over and picking up Bridget and holding her tight. Bridget loved Ellen and was delighted at the prospect of getting to spend some time in her lap, not realizing her Aunt was merely using her as a defense mechanism.
"He dropped me off. He has something to do and so he'll be back after the party starts."
"Oh…well that's perfect I guess." Ellen figured she should get this over with so that she could throw up or runaway if she wanted to. Martha raised an eyebrow and took a seat on the couch. She knew about the wedding…but what else did she have to say? It was obvious there was something. Ellen hugged Bridget as she sat on the couch. The little girl gripped her Aunt's hands and looked up at her curiously as if she too were anticipating what she had to say.
"Honestly Ellen…You're handling her so well. I didn't think you knew that much about babies. But now that you're finally getting married: and I expect you really are." Ellen laughed nervously and rolled her eyes when her Mom wasn't looking. That had been way too pointed for her taste. "Maybe soon you'll know a thing or two about babies."
"Well Mom actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Does Howard want a baby right away?"
"K-kind of." Ellen suddenly had no idea how she was going to tell her Mom she was already pregnant.
"Well does he or doesn't he? I know it's not you!" Martha laughed as she started to go through the party food Emily had already laid out on the coffee table.
"Mom."
"Hum? What dear?"
"I'm…"
"You're what dear, speak up. I've been telling you that for years."
"Mom. Put your cracker down."
"Oh no, you can't have children, ooh I knew it!"
"No! Mom would you just listen, this is hard enough."
"You know your brother didn't want any either and he has three now…and I bet you soon, Bob and Emily will have their fourth…before you and Howard even have one."
"I wouldn't count on it."
"What, why, what have you heard?!"
"Mom." She began, "Mom. I'm going to tell you the truth. I love Howard very much. I do want to spend my life with him…but I don't really truly want to spend it with anybody and I think you know that. Howard asked me to marry him five years ago and we've been kind of engaged since then and I…"
"I know and for heaven sakes Ellen you're almost common law now!" She chastised. Ellen took a deep breath and decided to power through and ignore her mother's digs.
"Mom look. I have something to tell you and I know you're not going to like this."
"What!" She wasn't going to call off the wedding again, was she?! That would be scandalous!
"Howard and I have been a couple for a very long time now…we almost moved in together five years ago."
"Oh." She was starting to get the point.
"And I finally accepted his proposal only because I'm six weeks pregnant with his twins…and to be honest if it were just one kid: I think I may've tried to do this myself but its not so..."
"Y-your pregnant?"
"Yeah." Ellen admitted. "And I'm sick so, hand me a cracker would you."
Martha handed her daughter a cracker from the table and just stared at her dumbfounded. Pregnant and not married…with twins? Martha took a deep breath.
"Ellen Marie Inez Hartley of all the stubborn irresponsible things you've ever done this one takes the cake! This is scandal! The runaway bride strikes again, only this time she's pregnant!"
Ellen and Bridget were equally startled to hear Martha begin to yell. Ellen held Bridget close to comfort both herself and the scared child. Bridget had never seen her grandmother act like that and buried her head in her Aunt's chest as she began to sob. Emily immediately came out of the nursery, this time without Molly and took Bridget in her arms.
"Shu! Molly's asleep!" Emily cried, cradling her sobbing toddler. "And what is the matter with you! Look what you've done to Bridget! Shu it's okay baby, its gonna be alright birthday girl, yes." She soothed. "And as for your own daughter." Emily began, turning back to Martha, noting that Ellen was crying a little bit. "Sure she's pregnant Martha, but it's not a crime! She's thirty-five! And she's pregnant by a wonderful man, who loves her so deeply he proposed to her practically the moment he laid eyes on her, five years ago!"
"Yes, back when he stole her away from John Tobin!" Ellen laughed. Tobin seemed so far away now. She was in the very least glad that these were Howard's babies and not Tobin's.
"You should admire her, she's a strong, independent woman who wants to do things in a way that's right for her: there's nothing wrong with that. And it took a lot of guts for her to tell you about it!" Emily finished. She was mad. Bridget sucked her thumb and lye snuggled against her mother now.
"It's okay Emily. If she can't see that on her own: I don't care if she ever does." Ellen said solemnly and got up from the couch, slamming the door behind her.
Martha sat, dumbfounded about what had just happened and began to give her relationship with her daughter some serious thought.
Meanwhile Ellen went back to the apartment she was now sharing with Howard and went through her stuff. She was desperate for a cigarette. She was a very occasional smoker and it worked for her: she stopped, throwing her purse back down on the couch and caressing her abdomen softly.
"No…I can't do that to you guys." She paused…why was she talking to them? "Look. I know I haven't been um…super about you being in there but um…let's just get this straight: our relationship is not going to be like that! You and I are going to stick together through thick and thin, you hear me? I'm never going to treat you like that woman in there treats me…and if I ever start to, both of you call me on it okay?"
She smiled to herself, realizing that maybe she wasn't such a lousy mother after all. Her wanting to not be like her own mother was a big commitment in of its self. Ellen stopped talking when someone knocked on the door. "Go away!" She called.
"I thought you'd grown out of being fifteen Ellen!" Martha replied. Ellen rolled her eyes.
"What do you want Mom?" She asked, opening the door.
"Look, Emily's right. You're grown up…quite grown up." She said pointedly. "And while I may disapprove of, of how you got here. I'm happy you're getting married and I like Howard."
"Oh joy." Ellen replied sarcastically and rolled her eyes.
"And Emily wants you to come back to the party."
"I'll do it…but just for Emily and the girls."
"Ellen?' Martha asked her daughter.
"Yeah Mom?"
"Do you think there's a chance you could be having boys?"