Hello loves! I hope you're reading this author's note because forewarning, I drop a bombshell in the first paragraph of this chapter! But it was absolutely hinted at in chapter 19 and I don't think I can be expected to apologize for excluding the nitty-gritty of the Honeyzilla relationship when Wasabi, GoGo, Luca, Reese, and Baby 3 matters more. Also, I once again am using my fake canon name for Honey Lemon, which is Itzel Rodriguez. Just want to normalize that :D
Enjoy!
Also, go read Heroes of Flowers because TheSparklyKitten is trying to get just 14 more reviews by chapter twenty, which really isn't a lot if like three more people went and reviewed five of the chapters from this point. It's so good and it's definitely worth the investment. Updates every Saturday, which is more consistency than you'll ever get from me. Also, better character descriptions than you'll ever get from me, haha.
The two former roommates sat across from each other in a quaint crepe cafe near the harbor, GoGo devouring her savory crepe and Honey Lemon picking at her sweet one. At 14 weeks, the nausea was letting up on GoGo, but at 12 weeks, Honey Lemon was still affected by aversions. GoGo was one of the only people who knew about the pregnancy since Honey Lemon and Fred hadn't been out as a couple yet when she'd gotten pregnant. Her family didn't know, his family didn't know. They were both overwhelmed by the idea that if he popped the question formally now, a question he'd unofficially asked before Christmas, her entire family would think that the man they'd barely met was only proposing to Itzel because of the baby. Which couldn't be further from the truth. So a lot of stress was building up. To the point that a few times the past two weeks Honey Lemon had called GoGo in tears freaking out about how they were going to tell her parents and siblings that she was having a kid.
GoGo was very patient. She'd been through this before, after all. In a way. When she'd been pregnant with the twins she and Wasabi had gone back and forth about when to tell his parents, or if they even wanted to. So she was always willing to take Honey Lemon's panicked phone calls, always happy to remind her that it was okay to be scared, that her new little family was the most important thing, and that the people who mattered would support her and Fred no matter what.
"Thanks, GoGo, for everything," Honey Lemon said with a satisfied sigh as she continued to pick at the crepe in front of her.
"No problem. I'm always happy to be here for you. For anything. You need help picking out a crib or nursery stuff, I'm there." Honey Lemon beamed.
"I'm so happy that we're both going through this at the same time! Our kids are going to be best friends!"
"Absolutely. Plus there's little Kaida. They'll all grow up together."
"Have you and Wasabi picked a name out yet?"
"No, we probably won't settle on anything until after the gender reveal, but that just gives the twins more time to plot."
"Ooh, are you having a gender reveal party?"
"It's only fair, we had one for the twins. Luca and Wasabi practically insisted on it. I know that Reese is still having a hard time getting used to the idea of having another sibling. But she's been warming up to it too."
"You guys are such a cute family," Honey Lemon enthused, grinning at her friend.
"Thanks. You and Fred will make a really cute family too."
"What's the current winner for the baby's name?"
"There's no winner, per se, but the current front runner for a girl's name is Winter Adele and the current front runner for a boy is Taylor Grant."
"They realize the baby is going to be born in Summer, right?"
"I don't think they do. Winter was the last thing I heard, yesterday. By tomorrow their future little sister will be named Topaz Ruth or whatever. They've been generating names faster than even I can keep up with. Last week their future little brother was named Landon Vermont before they got into a huge argument about not giving the kid a first name that corresponded with one of their initials. Later tonight Winter will be vetoed because it's too similar to Wesley and they'll totally forget how similar Luca is to Leiko… It's a mess," she chuckled.
"It's nice that they care so much," Honey Lemon said, excited about her own future child.
"I assume you've thought about names?"
"Well, it's easy for a boy. Frederick Frederickson V."
"Of course."
"We have no idea what we're going to do if it's a girl, though."
"Are you going to have a gender reveal party?"
"No… Probably not. Since we haven't told many people about the baby yet it doesn't make sense."
"Your family knows that you two are dating, right?"
"Right, but basically only you know that he asked me to marry him before Christmas, and none of them know about the baby…" The stress returned to her voice and GoGo put a hand on Honey Lemon's hand.
"I know you're really stressed, Honey Lemon. But I know your family loves and supports you, Fred's family too. This could be really fun for you. Why don't you and Fred brainstorm some fun, creative ways to tell your families about the baby? I'm sure your parents would be thrilled to find out that they're going to have another grandchild. And I know that no one would look at how in love you and Fred are and think that he's only marrying you because you're carrying his child. And if they don't believe you, that's their problem." Honey Lemon let out a shaky breath.
"You're right. I'll talk to him about it later."
"And…" GoGo said thoughtfully, "You could always just do it."
"Do what?"
"Get married. You could be eloped by next Tuesday if you wanted." Honey Lemon blinked in surprise.
"You're right but… I think I want my son or daughter to be a part of the wedding. Like for real. Not like a barely noticeable bump."
"Is Fred as excited as Wasabi is?"
"He's thrilled. He won't stop showering me with gifts and kisses. I'm just the teensiest bit glad to be here on my own."
"Amen to that," GoGo said with a laugh, "I love my family, but it's nice to have some me-time with an old friend."
"I'm glad that we could meet up, GoGo. We should do this again next time we get a chance."
"I don't think that that will happen any time soon. Right now our house is all glittery and lovey-dovey as the twins prepare for Valentine's Day. Mostly Luca, I have to admit. After Valentine's Day, it's just gonna be the next thing. There's always the next thing. That's the only thing I can tell you about parenting, Honey Lemon, things are just going to keep happening. The years start coming and they don't stop coming"
Honey Lemon laughed, "I'm engaged to Fred Frederickson. I think I know a thing or two about that."
"It's going to be much harder than handling an adult kid. But hard is not impossible. You're going to be a great mom."
"Thanks, GoGo. You're already a great mom. I aspire to be half as good as you."
"I'm sure you'll be even better, I'm excited to see our kids grow up together."
"Me too."
I'm lowkey setting up a sequel/spin-off about these future babies, already have the first draft of a first chapter and plans for the twins, etc. That won't happen for a while, but now that one cat is out of the bag, I decided I'd mention what you can expect in the sequel
