Betty's pov
We get to the hotel, dragging our luggage behind us.
"Betty?" I hear from behind me.
I turn around. "Charles!" I cry, letting go of the suitcase and running to my brother, hugging him tightly.
"Betty, hi!" Charles says, laughing, hugging me back.
"Charles, I haven't seen you in forever," I say, pulling away. It had been two years since I last saw my brother, and I missed him a lot.
"I know, we should really get together more," Charles smiles, his eyes happy. He looks down at my stomach. "Do you guys know if it's a boy or girl yet?" He asks, looking at Jughead, who had walked up to us.
"Yeah, but we're gonna tell you on Friday," Jug says, smiling mischievously.
Charles gives me an annoyed look. "Really? That long?" He asks.
"Yep. That long," I nod.
"Come on, tell me early, it could be my wedding present!" Charles insists.
"Sorry, it wasn't on your registry," I shrug before laughing.
"Mama, can we go swimming?" Juju asks, running up to the three of us.
"Oh my god, is this Juju?" Charles asks, looking from Juju to me.
"Yeah," I smile.
"She's grown so much since the last time I saw her," Charles says.
"I know, it's crazy how quickly they grow," I say. "Juju, wanna say hi to uncle Charles?" I ask her, picking her up to reach our height.
"Hiiii," Juju smiles excitedly, waving to Charles.
"Hi Juju!" Charles says. He reaches his arms out, and I pass Juju to him. "I can't believe you're gonna have another in a few months," Charles smiles, holding Juju on his side.
"Me neither," I laugh.
"Yeah, neither can I," Jughead chuckles.
"It's crazy," I smile, glancing down at the baby bump.
"So mama, can we go swimming?" Juju asks me again.
"Once we put our stuff in the room we can go to the pool," I tell her.
"Yay!" She says excitedly, throwing her arms into the air.
"Hi guys!" I hear a familiar female voice say.
"Polly!" I cry, hugging her. Once we let go, she hugs Charles, an awkward side hug while trying not to squish Juju between them.
"I missed you guys so much," Polly says, looking at us lovingly. Her fiancé Matthew walks up behind her. "You all remember Matt, right?" She asks.
"Of course. Hey, nice to see you," Charles says, shaking Matt's hand.
"Hi, Matt. I hope you're doing well," I say, smiling quickly and hugging him quickly.
"Hey, been a while," Jug says, also shaking Matt's hand.
"Hi, everyone," Matt smiles politely.
"Juju, say hi to Aunt Polly and Uncle Matt," I say to her.
"Hiiii," she says again, smiling widely.
"Oh my god, I can't believe she's already four!" Polly exclaims.
"I know, where did the time go?" Jug asks, and I nod.
"Yeah. It's insane," I agree. I see Charles switch Juju to his other side. "Here, let me take her," I say, reaching out.
Charles raises his eyebrows. "Um, you're pregnant," he says, quickly looking at my stomach as he says that.
"I can still carry my daughter," I say, keeping my arms stretched out.
Charles doesn't hand her to me. "Juju, wanna be on the ground?" He asks her.
She stubbornly shakes her head. "No," she pouts.
"Guess I'm holding her," Charles says, sighing, and then smiling playfully.
"Charles, just let me hold her!" I cry.
"No, let yourself relax for a minute," he says, making quick eye contact with Jughead.
"I can hold her," Polly volunteers.
"Sure," Charles agrees, passing Juju to Polly.
"So Betty, do you know the gender?" Polly asks me. I turn to Jughead.
"Yeah, we're gonna tell you on Saturday. No sooner," Jughead tells her.
"Oh come on, that's way too long to wait!" Polly complains.
"That's what I said!" Charles agrees.
"Come on, why wait until Saturday?" Polly asks.
"We don't wanna take attention away from Charles and Allie," I say.
"Aw, that's sweet, but you're already doing that," Charles says.
"Well, we're trying to minimize how much attention we take," I supply.
"Ugh, I do not wanna wait six days," Polly groans.
"Sorry," I shrug.
"Mama, can we pleaseee go swimming now?" Juju asks.
I chuckle. "Yeah, sure. Let's go put our stuff away. Any of you wanna meet us at the pool in a few minutes?" I ask.
"Yeah, Matt and I will join you once we put our stuff away," Polly agrees. "Charles?"
"I'm gonna wait until Mom gets here, help her with her luggage, and then I'll get Allie and we'll be there," Charles says.
"Okay, see you then," I say, and we head up to our room.
We quickly put our stuff away and change into swimsuits and then head down to the pool, where we meet Polly and Matthew.
We walk over there, Juju jumping with excitement that we finally made it to the pool. "Mama Mama Mama Mama can I go in?" She asks as we get to the chairs next to Matt and Polly.
Polly and Matt laugh at Juju's excitement.
"In a minute baby, let's set our stuff down first," I tell her.
She quickly drops her towel on the closest chair, next to Matt, and then pulls off the shorts I had her put on over the swimsuit to walk down. She kicks her flip flops off, and lines them up under her chair, then looks expectantly at me.
We all laugh as she does this. "Okay, okay, we'll go in the pool" I say, still laughing. "You guys joining us?" I ask Polly and Matt.
"Duh!" Polly says as if it were obvious, and she pulls the light dress over her swimsuit off.
I slowly step into the pool, surprised by how warm it is. Well, not necessarily warm, but warmer than I thought it would be.
"Mama, come innn," Juju says, waving her arms at me as she stands a few feet from the bottom of the stairs.
"I'm coming," I reply, laughing, as I make my way further towards Juju. Jughead follows closely behind me, circling to my side once I get to Juju.
"I'm gonna jump in!" I hear Polly call. I look up, seeing her and Matt standing at the edge of the pool, ready to jump.
"You guys are crazy!" I yell happily.
"Maybe!" Polly shouts back, grabbing Matt's hand. "Three" she says, looking to Matt.
"Two" Matt says, smiling back at Polly.
"One!" We all shout together, and Polly and Matt jump in together.
There's a huge splash, and Jug, Juju and I all laugh as we're covered in water. I see Polly and Matt resurface seconds later, and they swim over to us.
Polly and I end up sitting and talking on the stairs while Matt and Jughead play with Juju.
"So, you said JB and Fp were coming, right?" Polly asks me.
"Yeah, but there wasn't room on the flight we took so they had to catch a later one. And mom used a different airline, as usual," I tell Polly, and we laugh a little.
"Yep," she says, her smile slowly fading. "I miss seeing you guys. Don't get me wrong, I love San Francisco, but I miss hanging out and talking to you face to face, and watching Juju grow up, and now you're gonna have another baby, and I won't be able to see him or her grow up in person..." Polly sighs.
"I miss having you around too, Polly, but you've always talked about moving to San Francisco, and now you're there, and you're engaged, and we can facetime every day if you want. I promise you're not missing anything by living in San Francisco," I assure her.
She smiles weakly, and then looks sadly over to Juju, Jug, and Matt. I can tell she's about to speak, but we're interrupted before she can say anything.
"We're here!" Charles calls. He's walking towards us, with Mom and Allie behind him.
"Hi guys!" I say, stepping out of the pool. "I'd hug you, but I'm soaking wet," I laugh.
"Eh, I'm gonna get in the pool anyways," my mom smiles, and then hugs me. "I can't believe you're having another." my mom touches my stomach, smiling.
I laugh. "Mom, it's been four years. And this is our second kid. It's not like I'm having my fifth child," I tell her.
"I know," my mom sighs. "It's just... you were always my baby, and now you're having your second baby of your own."
"She's not telling us the gender until Saturday, mom. Saturday! She's making us wait until Saturday!" Charles complains.
"I already tried telling her that making us wait was the worst thing she could possibly do, but she didn't listen," My mom rolls her eyes.
"I'm sorry, but you have to wait until Saturday!" I tell them.
I see that Allie is standing nervously behind Charles. She looks uncomfortable, and she's playing with the bracelet on her wrist. "Hi, Allie, how're you?" I smile.
"Hi," she says softly, waving a little. "I'm doing well. How are you?" She responds, glancing at the ocean before looking back at me.
"I'm good," I say. I don't remember her being this nervous last time we met, but I assume she's just nervous for her wedding. My gut was telling me it was something deeper, though. "You guys wanna come in the pool?" I ask after a moment of silence.
"Yeah, just gonna set my stuff down," my mom tells me, laying her bag and towel on a chair.
"Have you met me?" Charles asks. "When do I ever pass up the opportunity to go swimming?!" He says, looking at me like I'm crazy.
He runs around the edge of the pool until he gets to the deep end, and then jumps in without a second thought. "Yeah!" He calls when he resurfaces, shaking his head like a dog to get the water off of his hair.
All of us laugh, and my mom and I both climb into the pool and sit next to Polly. "Allie, you gonna join us?" I ask her.
"No thanks. I'm gonna be up in the room," Allie tells us, her voice soft, and she turns around and walks back towards the hotel.
"Is she okay?" I ask Charles once Allie is out of earshot, genuinely curious.
"Uh..." Charles says, his face blank, looking towards Allie. "Um, yeah, she's fine... just a little anxious for the wedding," he laughs nervously.
"Mm-hm," I nod, unconvinced. "And what's really going on?" I ask him.
"Nothing, just nerves," Charles says, a slight tone of annoyance in his voice.
"Mama, come swim with me!" Juju says, grabbing my hand and pulling me farther into the water.
"Okay, okay coming!" I laugh.
Late that night
I turn over in bed for what feels like the billionth time, unable to get comfortable. I get impatient, and sit up, deciding to take a walk.
I slip on a jacket and my flip flops and leave as quietly as possible.
I walk all around the hotel, and when I'm almost back to our room, I bump into someone.
"Oh crap, so- Allie?" I ask, realizing who it is.
"Oh, Betty... hi," she says, not meeting my eyes.
"What're you doing up right now?" I ask her.
"I was um... I wanted one of those peanut butter cookies from the vending machine... so I was getting one," Allie tells me.
"Oh, want me to walk with you to get one?" I ask.
"Uh, sure, if you want," Allie says, and we silently walk together down the hall. "So... why're you up?"
"I couldn't sleep. The baby was kicking me, and I couldn't get comfortable," I tell her.
"Oh," Allie says, looking nervous. "Is... is it hard to sleep... when you're pregnant...?" She asks me.
I look curiously at her. "I mean... I guess? It can be, depending on the night, and if the baby is kicking you. For such tiny things, they sure have strong kicks. Why do you ask?"
"I'm... just curious," Allie tells me, smiling kindly at me. She puts a dollar in the vending machine and the cookie drops, and she picks it up.
I nod. "Yeah...". I finally figured it out. "Allie... are you... pregnant?" I ask her.
"Um..."