Chapter 29
Sophia joined Lisa to see Dr. Canard later on that morning. It didn't take long for her suspicions to come true. Lisa Raccoon was indeed pregnant.
"Wow, wouldn't that be great if both of our children are born on the same day?" asked an upbeat Lisa.
"That would be quite something!" mentioned Sophia. "I don't know about me, but I can't keep this just between us. How about we ask Melissa to come to lunch with us?"
Lisa nodded her head in agreement. "That would be great."
The three friends arrived at the Blue Spruce an hour later. Even though both Lisa and Sophia were normally friendly and upbeat, Melissa noticed both were extremely giddy. Schaeffer guided the three women to their corner table.
"What can I get you three to start?" asked Schaeffer.
"A red wine for me," started Melissa.
"Just iced tea for me," said Lisa.
"Make that two," said Sophia.
As Schaeffer left, Melissa stared at both her friends rather suspiciously. "You both always order wine with me. What's the special occasion?"
Both Lisa and Sophia beamed at each other with excitement, and just couldn't contain the news anymore. "On three, Sophia?"
"On three. One, two, three..."
"We're pregnant!" both Lisa and Sophia said in unison.
Melissa sat in shock. "Both of you?"
"That's right," said Sophia. "We're both pregnant. I found out a few days ago."
"I found out about an hour ago at Dr. Canard's office," said Lisa. "We figured that we probably both got pregnant on our wedding nights."
"That's unbelievable!" smiled Melissa. "Congratulations! That's great news!"
Schaeffer came back with the drinks. "This lunch is on me, Schaeffer!" said a joyful Melissa.
"What's the occasion?" asked Schaeffer, looking rather confused.
"For the soon to be mothers," said Melissa, pointing at both Lisa and Sophia.
"What?" asked Schaeffer. "Both of you? That's terrific! Have you told your husbands yet?"
"We both just found out, Schaeffer," said Sophia, "but I'm sure they'll be thrilled when they find out!"
After lunch, Melissa couldn't wait to tell her husband the happy news. Ralph had just finished his second full week of chemo, and was resting at home.
"Ralph, guess what?" asked Melissa after she came in the door.
Ralph was dozing a little on the sofa and was caught off guard with Melissa's upbeat behaviour. "What's going on?" he jumped.
"You'll never guess what happened!" cried Melissa. "Both Lisa and Sophia are pregnant!"
"That's crazy," said Ralph rubbing his eyes. "How can that be?"
"That wedding night was real wild, remember?" asked Melissa.
Ralph recollected his thoughts back to that night. He could remember finally getting a chance to romance with his wife under the stars after the reception. "Wow, what a night that was!" Ralph nodded his head in agreement and smiled.
"We should hold a baby shower," said Melissa, running off into the bedroom bubbling with excitement.
Ralph was happy about the news, but it was very short lived. His mind was flooding back to the time he had that conversation with Bert last fall, and the time he talked with his wife the first time about it. Feelings of worthlessness washed over Ralph like a tidal wave. 'What if I can't have children?' thought a solemn Ralph, which was the result of his personal feelings mixed with the organism killing chemicals in his body. Suddenly, Ralph felt so isolated. So alone.
Melissa came back from upstairs, holding her camera. "We got to get pictures, and..."
"I'm tired, Melissa," deadpanned Ralph as he turned away. Melissa couldn't remember saying anything negative, so she let Ralph walk upstairs and have a rest.
Bert was tired from running around after Cynthia all day. With it now being summertime in the Forest, Cynthia was out of school and looking for trouble to get into. It started out fishing at the clubhouse with Bentley in the morning, and visiting 'Grandpa and Grandma' Raccoon for lunch. Afterwards, Bert also was going to teach Cynthia the basics of baseball. He wouldn't have anyone else show her how to swing a bat. Lisa was waiting for the two once they came in the door after the fun-filled day.
"Mommy!" shouted Cynthia as she ran towards her with a hot pink baseball glove. "Guess what daddy showed me today!"
"Okay, sunshine. But go wash up first," said Lisa. Cynthia smiled as she ran to the bathroom.
"Bert, honey, you go wash up as well. We're going out," beamed Lisa.
"I'm all wore out; could I take a rain check?" wondered Bert as he slumped down onto a chair in the kitchen. "Try chasing after a six year old all day; it's not easy, even for me!"
"Let's just say it's a little celebration," started Lisa, coming over and wrapping her arms around her hubby. "We are going on a double date with Cedric and Sophia. Ralph and Melissa already said they'll watch Cynthia; Ralph has wanted to see her anyways."
Bert lazily went into the bedroom to change up. He was tired, but knew that his wife must have something really important to tell him. Besides, going on a double date with his best friend was always a good time.
The foursome met up at Mr. Knox's ritzy country club for supper. Since Cedric took over the family business, he and Knox became very close friends and business partners. So it was no problem for him and his friends to get into this upscale establishment.
Bert and Cedric were still in the dark, and couldn't help but notice that Lisa and Sophia were both way more giddy than usual. Once they ordered drinks, it didn't take long for the pieces to fall into place.
"Cedric, I have something to tell you," said Sophia.
"Bert, I have something to tell you as well," said Lisa.
Bert and Cedric looked at each other. "What is going on with you two; is there an echo in here?" asked a chuckling Bert.
"Well, on three again, Lisa?" asked Sophia, giggling.
"On three," replied Lisa.
Once Lisa and Sophia started, both Bert and Cedric looked at each other with mixed looks of excitement and confusion.
"We're pregnant!" the two ladies blurted in unison.
Both Bert and Cedric were speechless. Cedric flushed and started wringing his hands like his father; Bert passed out, falling and barely missing his head on the oak table on the way down.
"We make quite a powerful duo, don't we?" asked Lisa to Sophia.
"You got that right, girlfriend."
"How long have you two known?" asked Cedric.
"Not long," replied Sophia. "Lisa just found out earlier today. We figured that we both got pregnant on our wedding night."
Bert was just hearing the last of Sophia's info as he came to. "That was quite a night, I must admit," Bert sheepishly smiled at Lisa as he pulled himself up.
"It's just too bad that Pop won't be here to see his first grandchild," said Cedric as his enthusiasm turned into sadness. Sophia noticed and grabbed his hand from across the table.
"But your Pop would be very proud," said Sophia, looking directly into his eyes. "He always wanted you to be happy."
Bert put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "This is great, Cedric! Our kids get to be raised together!" Bert just couldn't contain himself. He was ready to go through the roof.
Cedric pulled himself together and felt the happiness absorb into him as he looked around the table. "This is a happy time," he started. He lifted his glass. "To new beginnings."
"Here, here!" said Bert, as the friends clanked their glasses together.
