Chapter four: Thanksgiving
• Trimester 1 — Month 2 — Week 6 •
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Stella drank down her large cup of water as she strolled along through the grocery strife, following Brandon as he pushed the cart. She sucked the last remaining of her beverage, making a loud, unattractive sound.
"Hey, is carrots a good ingredient to add to the soup?" Brandon asked, trying his best to ignore the looks he was receiving from the people because of his loud girlfriend. He let her be her for a few while, but when she drank her juice for the second time, he immediately lost it. "Can you stop making such loud noises?! People are staring!"
Stella's golden, yellow eyes narrowed as she zeroed them on her boyfriend. "Well, sorry, I'm just trying to keep your baby alive." she snapped at him, throwing a large pile of homemade pizza boxes in the cart.
"It's your baby too, and hey! We don't need all of this!" he hissed under his breath, trying to pry the boxes out of her firm grip.
"Yes, we do!" she said through gritted teeth.
Brandon sighed and rubbed his forehead tiredly.
"Stell, we have more than enough already, do you really think you would eat all of this? Remember last week when you made me buy hamburgers and then you didn't eat them? I ended eating them, just like I'll end up eating all of this." he motioned to all the pizza boxes.
Stella pouted, trying to at least regain some dignity. "Fine. But I'll still take two boxes home." she glared at him, taking the cart from his grip and strolling along.
Brandon sighed as he took some seasoning and made his way towards the angry blonde. He placed the items on the cart and went over to her. "Baby, Just think of all the food you're going to eat tomorrow and the day after. You know I'm not going to let you or the baby starve to death, ever." he playfully bit her earlobe from behind.
Stella squirmed under him as she giggled lovingly. "Can you make me pasta today? With steak?" she asked innocently.
"With steak?" Brandon raised a confused eyebrow.
Stella nodded as she took mashed potatoes from the shelf. "Yeah, I don't know why but ever since I started to watch those weird cooking shows on Netflix, I started to crave weird things."
"Well, pasta and steak is not weird, it's just unusual." Branson shrugged, scanning the cart. "Do we need something else?"
Stella thought for a second before shaking her head no. "Nope, the rest is at home." she answered walking over to the line with him.
"What do you think it's going to be?" Stella asked suddenly. She rubbed her flat belly lovingly before looking at Brandon with expectant eyes.
"I don't know." Brandon answered truthfully. "I don't want to say a gender and then find out it's the opposite, but if you ask me, I would prefer a girl."
"A girl? Wouldn't you prefer a boy?" Stella asked a little bit stunned. Most of the male population prefer boys, that way they can bond over manly things, play sports and talk about things that dad and daughter usually don't talk about, so why would Brandon prefer a girl over a boy?
Brandon shrugged. "I don't know, I've always dreamt of having a girl. Boys are less affectionate than girls and I don't know, I guess I want my future daughter, if I ever have one, to be a daddy's girl."
Stella's eyes softened at his words. She never doubted for one second that Brandon would be an amazing father but she never pictured him with a child of his own. To actually hear those words made Stella weak in the knees because she knew he would do anything for their future child and her. For his family.
"Well, I'm pretty sure that if I don't give you a girl now, I will give you one in the future." she smiled softly at him. Brandon chuckled wholeheartedly as he brought her closer to him, he kissed her forehead lovingly and hugged her closer. "I'm sure you will, baby."
Every year the gang took turns hosting their favorite holidays. Last year, Bloom and Sky hosted Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve and Flora and Helia hosted Thanksgiving. This year it was Stella's and Brandon's turn to host Thanksgiving while Riven and Musa hosted Christmas.
Stella and Brandon didn't have any problem with hosting Thanksgiving. Brandon was the one that cooked the turkey while Stella prepared the decorations. The gang and their parents were coming so they had to have everything set for tomorrow night.
"Hey, I just read a pregnancy blog on the internet and it says here that on my second prenatal visit I can hear the baby's heartbeat." Stella babbled excitedly. "I'm on my second month now and it's been a month since my last prenatal visit, so...when are we making the next appointment?"
"Probably when this whole thanksgiving fiasco is done. Maybe next week? How does that sound?" Brandon asked with a small smile.
"Perfect!" Stella squealed in excitement. "Oh, I can't wait to hear the heartbeats, how do you think it will sound? Can she finally tell us the gender? Or when is it going to be born? Ahhh! I can't wait!"
"Woah, chill. We still don't know if we can even hear them, don't you think it's too early?" he asked drinking his glass of almond milk.
"Maybe. But it is guaranteed that we can see our baby for the first time. Imagine that! Our first ultrasound!" Stella happily hugged Brandon by the neck. "Aren't you excited?"
"I'm very excited in fact." Brandon nodded, snaking a warm hand through her thin waist. He frowned when he saw her mood visibly dim. "What is it?"
Stella tucked her head under Brandon's neck and started to play with his golden necklace, something she always seemed to do when she was in this position. "Would you still love me even if I'm all fat and bloated?" she asked in a small voice.
She sounded so vulnerable and quiet that it made Brandon drop the food he was eating and put all of his attention on the sulking blonde. "Why would I not?"
"I'm going to be all fat and unattractive, won't you stop loving me because you'll see more attractive woman?" she asked in a small voice.
Brandon chuckled softly, loving how endearing and innocent she looked. "My love for you goes beyond looks." he told her truthfully. "Besides, What makes you attractive is the fact that you're carrying my child. You're the mother of my baby and I could never ever be more thankful to God that you're holding my child."
Stella's eyes started to well up with tears at her boyfriends' words. "I don't really don't know what I would do without you." she whispered clutching his necklace tighter. Being lucky, for her, was a huge understatement, when she first reached her adolescence and finally understood the concept of boyfriend and girlfriend, all she thought about was how unlucky she was going to be in that department. In high school, she watched from afar how everyone barely knew how to cope with relationships and ever since then, she thought that it would be hard for her to find true love. She never imagined herself settling down at the age of eighteen and with the most handsome man at that.
...she never imagined that that particular man would later become the father of her first child...
...
"Hi! I'm Stella," a blonde girl said seductively, twirling a strand of her hair on her fingers. She held out a hand for him to shake and watched as he raised an amused eyebrow.
"Are you flirting with me?" he smirked. He was familiar with girls like these, but he didn't know why but this girl held a different aura from the others, almost as if she was playing with him.
"Maybe," she clicked her tongue, eying him from head to toe. Damn...that body can only do so much...
"I'm Brandon," he said, purposely trying to snap her attention back to his face.
"Brandon..." his name rolled out of her tongue smoothly. "What a lovely name."
...
"Subtract the polynomial by the equal sign and the multiply it by the exponential 2,"
"I'm so confused." Stella reluctantly admitted. She has been here for about two hours and yet, all she could think about was how hot the man sitting next to her is.
Brandon shook his head with a soft chuckle. "Just think of it this way; all the girls with the girls and all the boys with the boys. You need to move all similar terms to one side and then judging by the sign, you either add or subtract."
"So I move 234x and -81x to the side, and obviously the eighty one is negative so I subtract them and the total is 143x." she finished the equation with a little bit of difficulty. "Did I get it right?" she asked with hopeful eyes.
Brandon checked the algebra problem and widely grinned. "You totally did, now all you have to do is apply all of this to the exam."
"Oh my god! I finally did a math problem all by myself!" she gasped in surprise as she jumped right on top of him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you!"
Brandon's smile widened at her laugh, it was the most beautiful thing he has heard since forever. Her eyes sparkled merrily with joy as she hugged him more tighter each passing time. He could literally feel her breath on his lips as she tried to separate himself from him but wouldn't let her, he was far too engrossed in that pretty little face of her to just let go.
Stella's laugh subsided as she notice his intense gaze on her. She leaned in a bit, her lips skimming over his gently. Brandon closed the gap between them eagerly. Stella reciprocated the kiss almost immediately, raking a hand through his soft, brunette curls. Her other hand caressed the hairs standing at the nape of his neck as he moaned softly into the kiss and his hands traveled down to caress her slim waist. Both of them were completely engrossed with each other, however the need of air made them separate.
Brandon stared at Stella intently, trying to catch some unknown emotions in her eyes. But so far, all he could see were her eyes clouded with lust.
"We should really keep studying." Brandon told her, his breath hitting her warm, plump lips.
Stella's thumb skimmed across his bottom lip, her mesmerizing golden eyes following the way before they farted back to his eyes, capturing him in an intense gaze. "Do you really want to keep studying?"
…
"Hey! Where are we going?" Stella asked impatiently as she tried to get his hands off of her eyes.
It was currently midnight and Brandon decided to make a sudden appearance at Stella's house, practically taking her hostage. Stella whined and xomplained throughout the whole ride because Brandon wouldn't tell her what his surprise was about. He just randomly drove her at some secluded place and practically blindfolded her entire face.
"Do you remember when you once told me that you'd die to see the Northern lights?" Brandon asked, holding her close to him.
Stella gasped as she processed the information. "No way! Are we really here?!" she asked excitedly.
The Northern lights were a chain of stars that connected the sun and the moon together at midnight. It happened every once in a year and only few got to see them.
"See for yourself," he whispered in her ear, taking the blindfold off. Stella eagerly opened her eyes, watching as the stars dances with the moon. Her mom once told her that this exact place was when her father had proposed to her, ever since then, this place has held a very sentimental value to her heart because it showed how much power it emanated within.
Stella turned her body away from the sky, ready to thank Brandon a million of times for taking her here. Stella's received a surprise when she saw Brandon grinning at her with a small bouquet in his hands.
"Stella," he started with a gentle tone. "Ever since I first laid my eyes on you, I've become completely smitten with you. You're the light of my eyes and nothing in life makes me laugh and cry more than you. Over the months we've spent together as friends, I realized that I wanted much more than a simple kiss on the cheeks or a small hug. I've craved for your attention, your laugh, your hugs and ever since our first kiss, I haven't been able to keep my heart to stop beating at you. Would you please be my girlfriend?"
Stella's heart completely stopped at his question. The only thing she wanted in life, more than to see the Northen lights, was to be his official girlfriend. And now, he was in front of her, looking all handsome and cute, asking her to be his long-life parter. How could she dare to say no?
"Yes. Yes, yes!" Stella's squealed racing towards him and tackling him to the ground. She pecked his lips multiple times before settling down and hugging him tightly. "You literally just made me the most happiest girl alive."
"I'm glad, princess."
...
"Well, lucky for you, you would never have to know," Brandon's gentle voice cut her thoughts away. Stella smiled gently and leaned in further in his touch. She felt safe in his arms and loved.
"I know..." she whispered in his lips, loving the way his hands caressed her stomach carefully. Stella thought that being pregnant would scare the living shits out of her, but somehow, she felt like it was her destine to be pregnant. Eager, would be a huge understatement for her, she already wanted the baby in her arms, drinking for her milk and holding her fingers in its tiny fist. she could already imagine the three of them spending quality time in their room while both Brandon and Stella watched the baby sleep. It seemed so far away, yet the baby was in her tummy, with only seven months until she sees the world for the first time.
Thanksgiving, 5:30 pm
"Bloom! We were waiting for you guys!" Stella said once she opened the door for her best friend and her husband.
"Sorry guys! Had an impromptu escapade to the bathroom." she laughed as she clutched her baby bump with her right hand. The girls all gasped when they saw Bloom's belly, they had all seen each other just a week ago and they certainly recall Bloom having only a little ball of a belly, but now she looked more bloated than before!
"Bloom! Are you supposed to be this bloated at just five months?" Flora asked in concern. She had been reading pregnancy books to help her two friends and she remembers it saying that a five month old belly should be just a little bigger than her normal one. And she never said it to you offend Bloom in any way.
Bloom beamed at her and nodded. "There's actually something I need to tell you guys." she paused, clutching Sky's hand tighter. "Yesterday, Sky and I went to the doctor and they told me that they could identify the baby's gender..." she informed everyone, making their eyes pop out.
"I was about to know the gender but Sky here convinced me to do it by surprise and host a gender reveal party. I just wanted to invite you guys and hopefully all of you can come and spend the day with us." Bloom said, laughing at everyone's face. They all looked so shocked and surprised that she couldn't imagine how surprised they're going to be when she says her next news.
"Sky and I thought that those were going to be the most exciting news we would receive in a long time, but apparently fate had other plans for us." Bloom said with a smile. "Guys, Sky and I are having twins!" she said with an excited squeal. The girls all shouted in excitement as the boys all congratulated Sky.
"Twins?!" Musa gasped. "Damn, girl, you'll have your hands full."
Bloom shrugged, sending a quick glance at Sky. "I'm sure I'll have plenty of help." she quickly winked at the girls.
"Oh, you know you got us." Tecna playfully hit her shoulder while Aisha made and obvious gesture.
"What about you, Stell?" Musa asked the blonde who was carefully watching her boyfriend talk to both of their parents. "How is the baby?"
"Good. Brandon and I are actually thinking of separating another appointment to hear the baby's heartbeat." Stella informes the girls with a smile. "Google says that from the six week on, we can hear the heartbeats so we're waiting one more week just in case we can't actually hear them."
"Sky and I never got to hear the heartbeats, we were so involved with wedding stuff that we absolutely forgot we could do certain things at the clinic." Bloom told her, sipping her glass of water.
"Well, Brandon doesn't want me helping him at work so you'll may find me looking pregnancy blogs all of the time." Stella snorted, rolling her eyes at how overprotective her boyfriend got over her and the little munchkin.
"Well, if he's getting overprotective of you now imagine him when you're actually giving birth," Aisha snorted a laugh, she could just imagine Brandon freaking out when Stella tells him her water broke.
Stella rolled her eyes with a small smile on her lips. "Oh, don't tell me about that." she laughed softly. "So, Bloom, when are we going shopping for baby stuff?"
"Well, now that I have to buy for two, I think I'll wait for you to know the gender so we can actually shop together." she told Stella with a faint smile.
"Are you sure you want to wait for me to know the gender?" Stella's asked surprised, sipping her grape juice.
Bloom waved a hand dismissively and placed her other hand on her swollen belly. "Oh, come on, you're not that far away. Plus, that way you'll help me decide what I want, you know how indecisive I am."
"Of course." Stella grinned. Flora laughed and shook her head. "I just wish that neither of you get in labor at three in the morning." she pointed to Stella and Bloom.
"Oh, trust me, if this little munchkin decides to come out at any hour in the morning, I'll make sure it comes right back up." Stella motioned to ceiling with her finger. "The only thing I don't want is to be stuck in labor for thirty two hours, I heard that women often get stuck up to forty eight hours in the hospital."
"Same," Bloom shook her head with disgust. "But, if un the end I have to then I will." she shrugged.
"Well, it's says here that if you're a first-time mom, which both of you are, then active labor could take up to eight hours. Once you're ten centimeters dilated, then pushing might take you an hour or two." Tecna informed the two pregnant woman with her tech, savy tools. "And if you don't want any pain, then you'll have to take an epidural, which numbs you from the waist down."
"That's nice," Bloom commented with a nod.
"You'll need to take it now that you know you'll have two." Flora pointed out at Bloom.
"I don't know, call me a masochist, but I feel like I want to experience the pain of actually pushing out my kids into life." Bloom shrugged. "But if it hurts too much then I'll just take the thing that you mentioned next time."
"Will there be a next time?" Aisha asked with a wolffish grin. Bloom laughed nervously as she twirled her glass. "I don't know, I'm very certain that in the future I may want more kids, but I'm not really sure if Sky does."
"I'm settling with two kids! No more than two," Stella crossed her arms. Musa chuckled as she gave her a serious look. "I pity the poor child that is own the way. Having you as a mother must be hella tiring," Musa shuddered jokingly.
Stella have her an indignant look. "How dare you?! My child is going to be the luckiest one in the whole wide world! Not only is the baby going to be gorgeous, but it'll be spoiled as hell!" she huffed, turning her body away from the girls.
Musa laughed as she tried to grip on of Stella's arm. "Stell, I was joking. You're going to be a wonderful mother." she said genuinely.
"You know, now that you say it, you're right! I know nothing about being a mother!" Stella thought in horror. Her face paled at her words. "Oh my god! What will I do when the baby comes out?! I'm not prepared for this!"
"Oh, no, no, no, no. Get those petty thoughts away." Flora scolded her gently. "Both you and Bloom are going to be wonderful mothers. Not only do you have us, but you have your partners and your family having your back on this one. Don't crumble what you already built."
Stella nodded, calming down a bit. She never really realized that being a mother took more than just pushing the baby out. It acquired responsibility and maturity, the departments Stella really lacked. She knew Brandon was more than capable of taking care of her baby, but she was the mother, the one that's supposed to feed the baby and lure it to sleep. The one that it's going to have the main responsibility. She couldn't fail, at any cost. And she won't, she thought to herself. She may be inexperienced, but the baby is someone she'll love with her entire life, hell, she'd give her heart away if it meant that it'll protect her baby. That thought brought her a sense of protectiveness knowing that Brandon would do the same thing without hesitation.
Yeah, things will turn out right.
Well, as long as nothing comes in their way...
Okay, so do you guys remember when I told you that I was going to write Stella's pregnancy journey month by month? Well, I'm still going to do that but obviously, there will be times that I'll have to break the rules.
And I think this qualifies as a 'that time'. As you may or may have not noticed, I left some topics untouched here, like Stella and Brandon going to their next appointment and Bloom and Sky's gender reveal party. Obviously, they're not going to wait another month to do all of these things because one: Stella hasn't been to her one month appointment yet and Bloom won't wait another month to reveal the gender of her babies. So yeah, next chapter is NOT going to be another month form here.
MOVING ON...I think I have decided what I want Blooms babies to be, you know that they're twins and if you have any requests that n their genders feel free to review them. Take in mind that I already decided the gender, BUT, you guys might make me change my mind. I don't know.
The other next chapter is going to be about Christmas and Stella *HOPEFULLY* finding out the gender of her baby or babies.
Some of you might be a little bit confused right now so I'm going to do a little bit of a recap right now.
— Bloom and Sky got married in September, which was two months ago, Bloom was three months pregnant then, now she's FIVE months and having twins. You guys still don't know the gender of the babies but you'll know next chapter. If we do the math in our heads, then Bloom will have her babies around March or April, depends the date I give them.
— Stella was two weeks pregnant in September, as you can see I skipped one month because it was the first month and it dint have that much significance to it so I decided to skip it. Stella's currently TWO months pregnant and probably giving birth in May or June.
I have a very, very good idea for Stella's fifth month chapter! It may spike some drama and maybe some sadness too.
Please overlook any typo or incorrect word!
REMEMBER TO REVIEW NAME IDEAS! I NEED THEM!
Good night, y'all!
