Note: Um…How do I put this…I know I said this would be the last chapter, but it's not. A few of my friends convinced me to write more, and then I got some ideas for funny fish scenes, and long story short: I'm not ending it yet. Sorry:(

Chapter Five: Caught

"WHAT?!?" Ray and I blurted out. Alex smiled.

"Congratulations, you two. You're going to have a son!" he exclaimed. Martha clapped her hands excitedly.

"Oh, how wonderful! And I'll get to deliver your baby!" she giggled. I shivered. Scary thought.

"Alex, you must've made a mistake," I pleaded. "I'm not…really…"

Alex placed his hand on my shoulder.

"You'll be fine, Harley. You and Ray will be great parents, I'm sure," he comforted me.

Ray was grinning.

"You hear that, Harley? We're gonna have a BABY!" my husband shouted.

Somehow, I felt bereft of the joy everyone else was experiencing. Wasn't this good news? Shouldn't I be…happy?

Little did I know, things were steadily getting worse.

"Did you get the mail, Ray?" I shouted to my husband as I cleared the table from lunch.

"Sorry, honey, I forgot," he apologized. "I had been fishing and lost track of time this morning. Want me to get it?"

"No, I'll go," I groaned, walking out the door. "Sorry, honey, I forgot"? That lazy fish-boy! It was like I did everything around here… A thought struck me in the head. When I became REALLY pregnant, how on earth was I going to farm? Make dinner? Make MONEY? It wasn't like Ray was going to do any of that (except cook dinner…maybe). It just wouldn't get done. Was that how Ray became homeless in the first place?!? I didn't want to be homeless! I liked my home! I wanted my kid to have a bedroom, not a cave to sleep in!

"Got the mail?" Ray called from inside the house.

"Uh…yeah," I replied, taking the few envelopes out and coming in through the door. I looked through them with boredom.

"Trash, trash, something about an orchard being opened, trash, what the--?" I paused and stared in disbelief at the envelope in my hands. "No way!" I screamed.

"What is it?" Ray asked, running over.

"Nothing!" I said hurriedly, crushing the letter in my fist.

"It's something important, isn't it?" he accused me, trying to take it from me.

"No! Let go!" I protested as he wrenched it out of my grasp. He smoothed out the paper and read in a clear voice:

"To Mr. and Mrs. Ray of Flower Bud Village. I am pleased to tell you that a baby shower has been planned in honor of your future son and will be held at the Perch Inn this Sunday. All women of the village have been invited to attend. We look forward to seeing you both. –Jamie"

"Darn it, Ray!" I hollered, my hands on my hips. "Why'd you have to go and do that?"

"Oh honey," he answered me in a soft voice, "I'm sorry! You were going to surprise me, weren't you? And I've gone and spoiled it! But don't worry, it'll be just as wonderful to me even if it isn't a surprise, Harley," he promised me, a look of pure joy on his face.

"You don't get it, do you?" I exclaimed, amazed at how dense he was. "We're NOT going."

"Why not?" he asked innocently.

"There are plenty of reasons 'why not'!" I retorted. "First of all, it's a baby-shower held by a man! There's something weird about that, don't you think?"

"Oh, you're over-reacting!" Ray laughed. "You should be excited. Wow, a baby-shower…I better go see Jamie about the details!" And he was off.

I sank into a chair and sighed. It was too late to fake that we hadn't gotten the letter. Stupid Ray had ruined everything. Why on earth had I married that man…?

And now we were having a baby…a baby! Oh, I could remember being a child dreaming of being a mommy. But now, it was like being a single parent who was told she had to raise two kids: Ray and mini-Ray. What on earth would I do if my son became a mini-Ray? The possibility scared me. A lot.

And what was Jamie up to with this whole baby-shower thing? Did he think I was stupid? That man hated me more than anyone I could think of. Something was up. Something fishy.

Or maybe I was just overreacting like Ray said. Then again, since when has HE ever been right?

I figured I'd have to grin and bear it. It was only a few days till the baby shower. I would just have to deal until then.