September 18th, 9:30 AM
The water made its path down Selena's bronze skin, steam rolling off of each warm drop. Her long, wet hair dangled down her back as she tilted her face towards the steady stream from the shower head. She picked up the bar of soap and washed her body, moving the soap over each feminine curve.
Her face grew unusually warm, and she could feel her cheeks reddening. Hot tears squeezed their way out of her eyes, dripping down the sides of the straight bridge of her nose.
Why am I crying?
She stepped out of the steam filled shower and dried her hair with a towel. Wiping off the condensation in the mirror, she looked at her reflection of a swollen face and puffy, red eyes.
Ever since she learned that she was pregnant, her emotions went haywire. She used to never cry and was generally a very happy person. She thought that she should be happy now because she was starting a new family. Wasn't that what she always wanted? Taking a deep breath, she wiped the tears away from her face and composed herself.
Selena wrapped the towel around her body and walked into her cozy bedroom where Luke stood getting dressed for work. She plopped onto their bed still dressed in nothing but a towel and watched Luke struggle to get each leg in his pants.
"You are such an idiot. You can't even get your pants on," she said sassily, one side of her mouth pulled up in an amused smile. Luke turned around and rolled his eyes.
"Oh shut up," he said with a slight laugh. After successfully dressing himself, he sat down next to his wife and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "You know, Selena? You still look exactly the same. When are you going to start showing?"
"It's only been two months. I've gained like, two pounds." She smiled as she looked down at her hands, which she had been nervously playing with. "Luke. I think we should tell people now, about the pregnancy. At least our friends anyway. I…I really need to get this off my chest. You think I would be okay with everything by now, but, I just…I'm so uncomfortable." For the second time that morning, tears formed in her eyes, threatening to fall.
Luke wrapped his strong arm around her shoulder and brought her head to his chest, kissing the top of her head.
"It's going to be fine. Better than fine actually! We're going to have a son or daughter and we're going to love them! I've never heard of someone who regretted having a kid." This made Selena feel slightly better, but she couldn't calm down. "We can tell our friends tonight. Let's all go somewhere fun.," he was silent for a couple of seconds, thinking of where they could go. "How about right here? We moved here less than a month ago and none of them have really seen the place."
"Ok," replied Selena, her voice muffled against Luke's t-shirt. "Let's do it then."
9:30 AM
Angela woke up smiling with her head on Calvin's broad chest. Things had really been looking up for her the past month that she had been back on the island. Thankfully, she had finally gotten her farm up and running, with the help of her friends, of course. Her field was all set up with various plants that wouldn't be ready to harvest until the start of fall, plus she had bought her very first cow. Angela didn't have many animals when she was young, so she was still learning how to be a full-on rancher.
Swinging her legs off the bed carefully, Angela stood up, wearing nothing but a pair of black panties. She slipped on a plain white t-shirt and a pair of shorts, ready to start her work-filled morning.
Calvin stirred from where he was sleeping and looked up at Angela while she dressed. He got up without a sound and wrapped his arms around Angela's middle, causing her to jump.
"Shit! How are you so quiet?" she gasped.
"I don't know. I'm just super stealthy," he replied, kissing her on the cheek. "Sorry for sleeping over again, for like, the fourth night in a row."
"It's really not okay," she said as she turned around to face him, placing her hands on his chest. "You need to leave, immediately. Oh, and never come back." A smile graced the lips of the sarcastic girl.
"If you insist!" He picked up his clothes from the floor and got dressed. "You know, if I'm going to be staying over here more often, maybe I should leave some clothes here."
"Sounds great." Angela leaned towards Calvin and kissed him, thinking to herself that things must be getting a bit more serious between them. Even though they hadn't even been together for a full month, she was happy with the pace they were going.
Eventually Calvin left for home, and it was time for Angela to get to work. She stepped outside in the warm, sunny September weather and she couldn't help but smile. She watered her plants and brushed and milked her cow, setting the fresh milk inside of the shipping box. All she had to sell at the moment was the milk her cow produced, so she wasn't making much. Of course, that amount of income would improve over time, or so she kept reminding herself. She was used to living off of nothing though. That's how her family lived before they moved to the city, and even when they were in the city, they weren't that much better off.
Thinking of her parents made her wish she could see them again, or at least give them a call. She made a mental note to do just that later that day.
She started to walk back to her house to get fully dressed and actually put on a bra, as well as brush her teeth, brush her hair, and the works, when Luke came walking by her house.
"Hey! Angie!" he called as he walked steadily towards her.
"Hey Luke. What's up?"
"I was just wondering if maybe you would like to come over tonight to just hang out and see my new place. It'd be the usual gang. Selena and I wanted to do this because, well, none of you guys have really stopped by since we moved there."
"That sounds awesome! When should I be there by?"
"Around seven I guess. All good?"
"All good. See you then." Luke smiled and waved goofily as he descended down the path back to work.
2:45 PM
After a long day working around her farm, Angela decided to stop by the bar and say hi to Kathy.
Swinging open the heavy door and stepping into the cool bar, she saw Chase, his back turned to her as he scrubbed the grimy stove.
"We're closed. Come back later," he said in a monotone voice, reacting to the sound of the door opening. He turned around and noticed who had come in. "Oh, it's you."
"You sound so pleased to see me Chase," she giggled as she took a seat at the bar in front of the small kitchen where Chase was cleaning up.
"Ha ha, very funny."
"Hey, can you get me a Coke?" she asked politely. After a rather menacing glare from the chef, she batted her eyelashes and smiled sweetly to persuade him.
"It's not opening hours, you get your own Coke. You know your way around." Her charm did not work.
"Well, I'm sorry Your Highness," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Making her way around to the back of the bar, she grabbed an ice-cold Coca-cola from the little refrigerator hidden from the sight of the customers. "Is Kathy here, do you know?" Angela inquired.
"Where else would she be?"
"I don't know! Whatever, I'm going to find her. Have fun cleaning." Angela took a sip from her Coke as she went through the door near the back of the bar that led to Kathy's home above. After ascending the steps to the living quarters, she strolled peacefully down the hallway leading to Kathy's room. This place was practically her second home. When she was a teenager, the two girls had sleepovers at least once or twice a week, and she always preferred coming to Kathy's. They would steal alcohol from downstairs and get tipsy in her room, praying that Hayden wouldn't find out, and he never did seem to figure out what they did behind closed doors.
At the end of the hallway, Angela grabbed the handle of Kathy's door and turned it. The door swung open and Angela walked in, only to see something she never wanted to see.
Kathy was laying on the bed, completely naked, with Owen on top of her. Her hands were placed on Owen's back and her legs were widely spread, wrapped around Owen's waist as he rocked against her. This was no gentle scene, and Angela gasped quite audibly, interrupting Kathy's rather loud moans. She dropped her nearly full Coke on the ground, causing even more of a scene.
"Oh my GOD!" Kathy yelled, wiping her bangs away from her sweaty forehead to get a better look at the intruder. Angela didn't even see Owen's reaction as she bolted out of that room at a speed she thought she was incapable of ever achieving. Running down the flight of stairs rapidly and slamming the door behind her, she ran up to Chase, grabbed his arm, and dragged him outside.
"What? What the fuck Angela?" he protested, but kept running with her anyway. Finally reaching a secluded area next to Sonata Tailoring, she stopped to catch her breath. "Angela, you look demonic," Chase commented. It was partly true, although definitely an exaggeration. Her eyes were so wide that they looked like they were going to pop out of her head, and she grabbed each of Chase's shoulders, her nails digging into his skin through his clothing.
"Chase…Oh my god…I just saw…" she said, taking a huge breath between each phrase.
"Spit it out! Jesus! You're scaring me!"
"Kathy was having sex with Owen! They were naked, and sweaty, and panting. Everything was so fast and rough and I saw it! And, and they were…"
"Hold on. I DON'T want the details," Chase interrupted, "BUT HOLY SHIT!"
"I know, right?"
Selena was walking to work, like any normal day, when she noticed the two shocked twenty year-olds huddled against the wall of the tailors'.
"Um, excuse me?" Selena started, "What the hell is going on?" Chase and Angela quickly exchanged a look, and Angela took the liberty of telling Selena the big news.
"I just walked in on Kathy and Owen doing it!" There was a brief silence while Selena's face transformed. Her perfect red lips parted and her mouth hung open, paralyzed from shock.
"No way!" she finally said.
"Yes way! Can you believe it?" Angela was very excited about the whole ordeal.
"Actually yes. It was obvious she liked him, I just didn't know he felt that way too!"
"What? I didn't realize she liked him, but he actually told me he was into her. That was at the summer party though, and he never seemed to make a move."
"Huh, I wonder who made the first move this time." Selena said, with a curious look on her face. Other than Chase, they longed for details and needed to talk to their best friend, ASAP.
Kathy, newly emerged from the bar wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, spotted Selena, Angela, and Chase and ran towards them.
"Uh…hey guys," she started awkwardly. She wasn't expecting Chase and Selena to be with Angela. Chase titled his head forward and gave her a knowing look. "Jesus Christ, you told them?"
"What were you expecting me to do? Oh my god Kathy, we have to talk," Angela replied.
"Yeah, that'll happen, but I have business to attend to, so I'll see you tonight I guess." Kathy's usual sunny demeanor was not present and she instead wore a look of pure embarrassment.
"By business, do you mean Owen?" Selena remarked, causing Angela to drown in a fit of giggles. Selena's face beamed with pride at her little joke, but Kathy just turned an even darker shade of red.
"I said I'll see you tonight. Oh, and Selena. Since the bar is closing early tonight you don't even have to show up." And with that, Kathy hiked back up to the bar, where she could be free from constant questioning.
The dancer looked at the farmer, and they burst into laughter.
8:00 PM
"I have never thrown up from drinking too much! It's just never happened!" Selena exclaimed. Her little get-together was finally happening, but she hadn't yet had the chance to tell her friends about her pregnancy.
"There is no way. I do not believe that for a second. I mean, I haven't thrown up from drinking too much since I was probably 24, but it's definitely happened multiple times," Calvin responded from the little couch where he was nestled between Angela and Kathy. Kathy felt rather awkward from her whole experience earlier today, and whenever she made eye contact with Owen, she looked away very quickly. Embarrassment and awkwardness oozed out of both of them, but thankfully for them, no one seemed to notice.
"It's true! I know my limits, unlike all of you guys. Angela, didn't you throw up in the bar's bathroom like, three days ago?"
"Yes, she did! I know because I had to clean it up." Kathy shot Angela a dirty glare, which Angela returned with an even dirtier one. "So, Selena," Kathy started, "How about we get you a drink and see if we can push you to the point of puking up your guts. Sounds fun, doesn't it?"
"Um, I'm okay."
"Come on, everyone does it at least once. I think tonight's your night." Selena started to fidget in her chair, looking down at her hands. Now seemed like the time to tell them.
"Well, I can't. And…there's a reason why." Luke, who was sitting on the arm of the chair, placed a hand on her shoulder, wanting to support her. Angela, who had found out about the pregnancy long before this, was a little surprised that she was going to tell everyone her big secret. Of course they had to find out sometime, but she could have waited at least another month until people would really start to notice her body changing.
Everyone in the room was paying full attention to what was about to come out of Selena's mouth. She took a deep breath and let go of what she had been holding in. "I'm pregnant." There was complete silence as every eye was trained on Selena.
"You…" Kathy was at a loss for words. Selena looked and felt rejuvenated, rosy, and fantastic. Getting that off her chest made her feel free, but there was still explaining to do.
"I'm ten weeks pregnant right now, and I…" she began, but was interrupted by Kathy.
"Wait, wait, wait. Ten weeks? You got married like, four weeks ago." Kathy's face was twisted in confusion, until she realized. "Did you two get married…because of this?"
"Selena and I love each other, we really do. But I mean, sometimes, when things like this happen, you just gotta make important decisions, you know? We were scared, and Pops and her parents thought that marriage was the best choice, and I don't know, we agreed with them."
Calvin and Owen sat in silence, unsure of how to react, but Kathy and Angela were overcome with emotion. Even though this wasn't news to Angela, everything just became real in that moment. Her best friend was going to be a parent. She stood up with tears brimming in her eyes and rushed over to embrace Luke. She rested her head on his shoulder and softly said, "You're going to be a great dad." Luke suddenly felt a wave of anxiety and excitement, and he began to cry as well.
"Oh my god you guys. You can't leave me out of this." Kathy rushed over and wrapped her arms around Selena's shoulders, burying her head in the crook of her neck. The two pairs soon turned into one big group of sobbing adults, although the tears shed were mostly joyful ones. Selena, most of all, was ready. She was going to be a mother, and she was determined to be a great one.
