I start to understand what Jonah was talking about once he and Quilene and I have made it inside the beach house. Mom is standing there with a smile on her face just as she always does, but this time, there's something different about her. She's got her hand on her slightly curvy belly. That's funny... I don't remember her looking like that when Jonah and I left for college.

"So... what's up, Mom?" I ask curiously. "What exactly is the big news you wanted to share with me?"

"Oh, right," she says. "I wanted to tell you over the phone while you were still at college, but I was worried something bad would happen at the time, so... I guess now's a good time."

"Well?"

"I'm pregnant!"

Quilene and I stare at each other, mouths gaping. Mom's pregnant? While Jonah and I are still in college? Part of me thinks this is a dream and expects to wake up at any moment. I know better, though. This is real life.

"So... how long have you known you're pregnant?" I ask curiously.

"I've known since you were gone," she replies matter-of-factly. "I didn't want to keep you in the dark about it for too long. I hope you understand."

"I mean, I guess I understand, but where would you have even found the time to get yourself inseminated?"

Mom then goes on to explain when exactly she got herself secretly inseminated. She also explains that she'd done it because she wasn't sure how she could process being an empty nester and she missed the feeling of raising a kid. I mean, bravo for her for wanting to go through this pregnancy thing and go through the whole process of raising a child all over again, but I'm just worried this pregnancy could be dangerous not only for her but our younger sibling.

"So are you excited about getting a new sibling, Hope?" Mom asks me with a gleam in her eyes. "Jonah certainly is."

"Yeah, I am," I replied while rubbing the back of my neck. "But I'm worried about you. You're at that age where a pregnancy could possibly kill you and/or your baby. What am I supposed to do if you die?"

Mom gives a small chuckle. "Hope, there is absolutely no need to worry. I'm going to be fine."

"But what if you aren't?"

"Hope, please. I'm supposed to be parenting you, not the other way around. It's alright, we can talk about this later. Let's just be happy that you're back, shall we?"

I give a reluctant sigh. "Of course. I'm just glad to see you guys again."

Quilene and I sit at the dining room table along with Jonah, Mom, Aunt Pearl, Aunt Belinda, Aunt Amy, Aunt Peri, Aunt Nyoko, Uncle Greg, Aunt Margie, Hermione, Sam, and Dinah. We all sit around the table, eyeing the food that's placed right in front of us. We're also expecting to get calls from our loved ones at some point on our Facebook Portal. Aunt Pearl looks over everything on the table, bragging along the way about how much she slaved over the food for us.

"Wow, this is all very nice, Miss Bradford," Dinah says.

"Thank you, Dinah," Pearl replies with a smile. "I put in a lot of hard work and sweat just for you guys."

Aunt Amy just snickers. "Pretty good for a picky eater, I must say."

Aunt Pearl grumbles for a bit, not appreciating Aunt Amy's snark.

"It's just so nice that everyone's here for dinner," Aunt Margie says. "Especially you, my little bitty Quilene."

Quilene gives Aunt Margie a nice little smile. "Thanks, Grandma Margie. I actually missed you a whole bunch this semester. I couldn't help but think about you and Grandpa Greg often."

Oh, so I guess Uncle Patrick is one of Quilene's dads. Probably should have figured that out when she said she didn't get a triple-barrelled last name like "Hillenburg-Star-Thompson," but whatever. That's probably the least shocking thing I've found out today.

"Anybody anxious to just start eating already?" Aunt Amy just asks, antsy at the prospect of having to wait any longer.

Dinah fidgets with her lavender-dyed hair for a bit. "I'm practically starving, Amy."

"Me too," Sam chimes in.

Pearl gives a soft sigh and smiles. "Alright, everybody. Let's dig in."

After dinner, we all lounge around in the living room, watching a recording of Survivor: Baa Atoll. We all hunker around the LG 4K Ultra HD TV, watching on in anticipation and wonder as the contestants scheme and plot amongst themselves in a battle to see who will be the last one standing. The whole time, we talk and speculate on just who will win this season of Survivor.

However, I can't help but ponder about how I might help Quilene get out of having sex with Jonah. I can't imagine how either of them would feel if they actually did try to go through with it. I can't imagine how she might feel. All that insecurity, all those times she must have felt puny for her condition... it must have been eating her alive this whole time. I've only done so much to help her feel better.

"Hey, Hope," Jonah says to me out of the blue. "So... I'd really like to bone Quilene right now."

"What?" I stammer for a bit. "Right now? Why are you telling me this?"

"Sorry. I'm just feeling horny."

"Okay, but don't tell me about it. Tell her."

Jonah gives a reluctant sigh. "Fine."

I just watch him as he scoots closer to Quilene and tell her he's horny. I listen in on the conversation between them. Jonah asks if Quilene would like to go into his old room and have sex with him in there. I wait with bated breath for her to give the response that we'd rehearsed before coming here. Quilene, meanwhile, just sits there, frozen with nerves about what her response should be. It feels like time has suddenly stopped, and we've stopped along with it.

"Um..." Quilene finally begins to say. "I think we should wait until marriage."

"You mean you don't wanna do it right now?" Jonah asks, feeling like a bomb just dropped on him.

"No, I'm not ready."

Jonah gives a dejected sigh. "Okay. I just wanted to know if you were up to it, that's all."

"And that's very sweet of you to ask, but I don't want to have sex this early in the relationship. You understand, right?" Quilene gives him an innocent smile.

"Of course I understand, Quilene. Consent is very important in this kind of situation."

"Thank you."

On one hand, I'm relieved that Jonah didn't try to resort to psychological tricks or anything like that. On the other hand, I can't help but cringe at how embarrassed he is now. Poor guy. It's not easy getting rejected like that, but Quilene and I just aren't ready for him to see her like she is. I don't know what could happen if Jonah finds out. He could be totally accepting, totally indifferent, or freak out and break up with her on the spot. One thing is for certain: if this ends badly, Quilene will be absolutely devastated.