Lollipops are for Kids

Ch 8

"Here we are! Back in the 'Bou!" Jackson said as the tour bus pulled in to the concert hall. A car was waiting to take Miley, Jackson, Lilly, Oliver and Robbie Ray back to the Stewart house. The band had various family members to greet them in the parking lot. Though Lilly was happy to be home, she was nervous about what her mom would say. Lilly was just over two months pregnant and engaged to her childhood friend, and that wasn't an easy thing for a parent to handle getting news about, she reasoned.

"Are you feeling ok?" Oliver asked her in the car. She nodded mutely, letting him think that she was just sick from the bus ride and her status as preggo. He suspected, however, that she was nervous and put an arm around her shoulders. "What time is your mom expecting you home?"

"I told her last night that we wouldn't be back until around 2 so we've got a full 2 hours to prepare," she told him.

"Do you want me to be there?" Miley asked her friend from the other side of Oliver.

Lilly actually did want Miley there for support, but she also wanted to seem as adult as possible and bringing a handful of friends over to watch her mother try to work out how to handle as delicate a situation as she was in was probably not the most adult thing to do. She thanked her best friend, but declined, earning a gentle squeeze from Oliver. The car pulled in to the Stewart family driveway and everyone piled out of the car, glad to be off the road for a while.

"You kids do what you want, I'm gonna go try to fix my hair," Robbie told them. "No offense, honey, but road trips always do something crazy to it."

Miley rolled her eyes as Oliver and Lilly tried not to giggle. Jackson bid his farewells early as well, claiming to have to find Rico and demand payment for the last week that he had worked before going on tour. "Little cheap skate probably won't want to fork my check over!" Jackson muttered as he started off toward the beach. The threesome entered the house after laughing at Jackson's expense after he fell over a sand castle and Miley offered her friends a drink.

"We don't have much," Miley apologized. "Dad didn't stock up before we left and he'll be in the bathroom for the next few hours working on his 'do. It's either coke, water, or refrigerated prune juice."

"Why do you guys have prune juice?" Oliver wanted to know.

"Well, before we left Jackson was having a little problem…too much sugar apparently and not enough fiber. I don't know the details and I don't really care." Oliver and Lilly were both making faces and Miley shuddered.

"How do you plan on breaking the news?" the pint-sized pop star asked. "I suggest just saying it and running. Do it quick like ripping off a band-aid and then run while she's stunned so she doesn't jump back and rip your head off…or in Oliver's case…his baby maker off."

Oliver winced at the mention of the separation of his baby maker from his body and Lilly was inclined to laugh. "It's not like I want you to get hurt," Lilly said as her fiancé's face contorted in surprised annoyance. "It was just a funny phrase."

"I'll give you that one…you'll probably need something to laugh about later," he told her. Uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going, Miley turned on the television and the three stared intently at the screen.

Two o'clock was approaching fast and Lilly grew twitchier every second. "You need to calm down," Oliver told her as they stood up to leave. "Your mom will smell your weakness and eat us."

Even Oliver's jokes couldn't calm Lilly, however. She was still worried about her mother's reaction to the news that she would soon be a grandparent; and at the age of 35 no less. She bit her nails as Oliver steered his jeep toward her house. He parked the car in her driveway beside her mom's sedan and looked over at his wife-to-be nervously. His eyes betrayed him to be just as nervous as Lilly.

"Are you ready for this?" he asked, taking her hand.

"No. But I don't think I'll ever be ready, so we might as well do it now." Oliver nodded and they both got out of his jeep. He took her hand as they walked up to the door. They walked inside and found the living room suspiciously empty.

"Where's your mom?" Oliver asked.

"How should I know? I just got here too." They walked into the kitchen and found her getting a glass of lemonade.

"I didn't hear you kids pull up," she said brightly. She embraced them as one then offered drinks. Once everyone was settled into chairs in the living room with glasses of lemonade, Lilly's mother started asking about the trip.

"It was great," Oliver informed her.

"We wanted to tell you something else, though," Lilly said, holding up her left hand for her mother to take in the sight of the ring.

"That's wonderful news!" Mrs. Truscott told them with a grin.

"And I'm pregnant," Lilly added, diving behind Oliver.

"WHAT!?!?"

"We didn't plan it…it just sort of happened," Oliver said quickly.

"When did this happen?" the older woman wanted to know.

"Two months ago," Lilly said, coming out from behind her fiancé.

"Oh God. You're going down the same path I went!" Mrs. Truscott started in on the same rant that Lilly had heard a hundred or so times. She had always been concerned that Lilly would end up pregnant as a teen and alone within a year, as she herself had been.

"It's not like that," Oliver tried, but Mrs. Truscott wasn't listening.

"…not ready. Stupid men only wanting to use you for…"

"MOM!" Lilly yelled, tired of this speech. "I'm not going to be like you! Oliver loves me and we're going to do the right thing. I'll finish school, and he'll go to college. I can always go back. Right now, I need some support instead of a lecture."

Mrs. Truscott's whole demeanor changed. She was shocked by the outburst. "Ok…" she said quietly after a few moments. A small amount of weight was lifted of Lilly and she was happier than she had been in 6 weeks. The group talked a bit about the trip and Mrs. Truscott asked Oliver to stay for dinner. Things were finally looking up a bit for Lilly.