Hey guys! I hope that you like my sudden kick of inspiration. I am hoping to go with weekly Friday updates; I have about 10 more chapters planned. I am going to put a poll up soon about the sex of the baby, but it doesn't seem to be working, so if you wouldn't mine telling me what you think about the sex along with your review. Don't be shy! Vote. Please Please Please review!
Chapter Eleven: Those Were the Longest Four Days…Ever
The past week has been amazing. Logan and Veronica have gotten all of the party preparations in order. Logan bought the Subaru Tribeca in canary yellow. Keith and Alicia have called everyday to check on the baby. Logan has cleared up his troubles with Conner and is now moving on to a teen pop star's sticky fingers. Veronica has decided that she is going to call her mother and try to make amends. Veronica is now two months pregnant and is going to find the sex of the baby next month.
Saturday
The couple is setting up the house for the party just as Agent Daniels calls Veronica.
"Hey Daniels" said Veronica "What can I do for you?"
"Hey there Mars, I mean Echolls." Said Eric "Angie and I were wondering if you and Logan had given any consideration to our dinner invitation. She is always hearing me talk about you and she would like to meet the face behind the stories."
"Oh.. I'm sorry! We totally forgot." Said Veronica "What nights work for you two?"
"How about Tuesday night at 6?" asks Eric
"Tuesday at 6. Sounds good to us" said Veronica "Have a nice weekend boss man"
"You too Veronica" said Eric as he hangs up the phone
"So babe, looks like we are going to Eric's house for dinner on Tuesday. I hope that's cool" said Veronica
"I guess that is ok" said Logan "When are you going dress shopping again?"
"Tomorrow. Which is perfect, I'm kinda glad that Mac's appointments got messed up so that we don't have to tell her separately." Said Veronica "Just think, at their wedding, I will be 6 months pregnant."
"I can't wait to see if were gonna have a little detective or a little surfer" said Logan "Or maybe we'll get lucky and it will be a detective surfer"
"Who knows" said Veronica as the doorbell rings "I'll go get that"
Veronica answers the door and in comes Wallace, Parker, Duncan, Lilly, Mac, and Dick
"Happy birthday man!" says Dick as he high fives Logan.
About fifteen minutes later and the whole gangs there. Veronica brings out the cake
"It's about fucking time! I've been waiting for this cake forever. It is soo good!" said Logan as he was salivating "Let's cut it!"
"Babe, don't we have an announcement?" asks Veronica
"Oh right" Said Logan as he clears his throat "Can I have everyones attention. Veronica and I have some news to share with you all"
"First of all, we would like to thank all of you for coming to Logan's birthday party. We really appreciate having good friends so close by." Said Veronica
"Spill" said Dick
"Alright alright, We are gonna have a baby" said Logan with a grin
"That is great guys!" said Parker as she hugs them both.
After about five minutes of everyone hugging them both Logan finally gets to cut his cake. Giving himself a good chuck of the cake "Don't you all just love this cake!"
"So V, do you know if you want a boy or a girl?" asks Mac
"I don't really care as long as it's healthy." Said Veronica "I kinda want a boy, to be a protective big brother, but Logan wants a princess to spoil. Either way, we are happy"
"That's sweet" said Mac "So I guess we have to get you a maternity matron of honor dress"
"I guess so" said Veronica as she steals a piece of Logan's cake
"Hey! Give that back!" said Logan "It's my birthday!"
"Share!" said Veronica as she takes an even bigger bite
"Oh great… these two are bringing a child into the world…." Said Duncan sarcastically
Sunday
Mac, Parker, and Veronica walk into the same bridal salon that Veronica's dresses were purchased. They were greeted by Mary Ann again.
"Hello guys. It is nice to see you all again" said Mary Ann "So Mac, I see that you are the one getting married this time, I guess it is only a matter of time before it's Parkers turn"
"Maybe" said Parker with a goofy grin on her face
"So ladies, shall we start with the bridesmaids as usual" said Mary Ann "Any requests?"
"Well, Mary Ann, I am pregnant, I will be about 6 months along by time of the wedding" said Veronica
"Congratulations!" said Mary Ann " I have an idea for your dress. Long Chiffon with and empire waiste."
"Sounds good. Can I look at the color swatches?" asks Mac
"Here you are" says Mary Ann as she passes Mac the book
After about two minutes of browsing, Mac chooses Key Lime. Mac did not let Parker pick out her own dress, she chose one similar to Veronica's just with a tighter fit and a sweetheart neck.
"Ok, that was the easy part, Mac, do you know what kind of dress you want?" asks Mary Ann
"No, not really. The wedding is going to be in march, we are having a spring theme, hence the light green color." Says Mac " Do you have any suggestions for the dress?"
"I have a few suggestions, Why don't you go into the dressing room and I will bring a few options in" said Mary Ann
The first dress is organza all of the way down. It is very flowy and plain. Mac hates that one. The second dress is a high neck line with all over lace. Again Mac was not pleased. But the third one, that third dress was perfect. This dress was a mermaid with rushing in all of the rights spots, with not beading or lace.
"Thanks Mary Ann" said Mac "I'm sure we will be seeing you soon for Parker's wedding.
Monday
Veronica just got in from work. Logan is still gone, so she decides now is a good time to call her mom. This is a conversation she wants to have alone, she knows Logan would be supportive, but she wants to go it alone. She calls up her mom on the number that was given to her at the wedding.
Ring… Ring… Ring… Ring… Ring… Ring…
Finally Lianne answers "Hello?"
"This is Veronica"
"Hey sweetheart. I am so glad that you called" said Lianne
"me too" said Veronica
"So what made you change your mind?" asks Lianne
"Well…. I have recently learned some new things about my life, and I realized keeping this grudge isn't going to help matters any." She Said
"Well, that's ok. Do you wanna meet for coffee so we can talk more?" asks Lianne, knowing something was up
"Sure. Starbucks in South Coast Plaza in ten minutes?" asks Veronica
"See you then"
Veronica was a little apprehensive about seeing her mom again. She knew that this would be the right thing to do and she would be a better mother because of it.
Veronica orders a hot chocolate, too much caffeine is bad for the baby. She was a little sad not to get her regular vanilla latte. A couple of minutes later Lianne arrives and orders a black coffee and sits at the table with Veronica
"I am really glad that you decided to call me" said Lianne "Does Logan know you are here?"
"No Logan does not know I am here, not because I do not want him to know, but because he is at a late meeting." Said Veronica
"That's reasonable. So I think that I need to give you some justifications for my actions, I now know what I did was wrong, but I thought it was the right thing to do." Said Lianne
"Ok, I think that is reasonable" said Veronica as she sips her coffee
"Thank you. Well as you know, I was in a bad place, my drinking was out of control. I wasn't in my right mind. When you found me I was so happy that you came, but I wasn't ready to change. I am so sorry that I took your Stanford money. I know that coming home after I left the treatment facility was wrong too. It wasn't fair to you or your dad. I knew that you had moved on and I just couldn't lose you. When you came back after that horrible accident with Aaron, and asked me to leave, I just lost it. I took the money out of spite. I was still in that bad place." Said Lianne
"Well that tells me everything that I already knew, is there anything different that I need to know. Like why you are currently working as an exotic dancer" said Veronica, she was getting a little aggravated and she didn't have any coffee to calm her down.
"That is a long story. Needless to say, I got into some trouble after that spat with you and your father. I ended up being arrested for public intoxications – 4 times. When I was locked up for good after those incidents I called the one person who I knew would help me, Jake Kane." Lianne said
Wow Jake Kane thought Veronica
"Jake and I were having an on again off again relationship while I was married to your father. I knew he was still in love with me. He got me out of jail, but told me never to call him again. He and Celeste were going through some marriage issues and he was trying to make it better. He said that he wasn't in love with me anymore. He had proof that I was involved with a drug ring- which I was. In order for him to keep quiet, he needed me to run a scandalous operation for him. The strip club that you found me at is unofficially owned by Jake Kane." Said Lianne
"Wow. You know before I wouldn't have believed you, but now I believe it" said Veronica "If you are running that operation, why aren't you the one in the office in charge?"
"Jake has me there to make sure that everything is going clean enough not to cause attention. No one needs to know that I am there for that purpose, and who is going to listen to a female strip club operator."
"Well, that is quite the crazy web that you weave." Said Veronica "But thank you for being honest with me"
"Your welcome, if you don't mind me asking, why are you acting so calmly about all of this, don't get me wrong, I really appreciate it, but you are acting a lot differently than the Veronica I used to know" said Lianne
"Okay, I decided that I owed it to myself to hear what you had to say and try to salvage our relationship. I am going to have a baby, and I wanted to repair our relationship to hopefully have a good one with my child" said Veronica
"Wow, Im going to be a grandma. I bet your fathers thrilled" said Lianne
"Oh he was, well I'd better go Logan's at home and he probably wants his dinner." Said Veronica
"Oh ok. Well you call me if you want to talk or anything" said Lianne
"I will. Its nice talking to you" said Veronica
Tuesday
Veronica told Logan about her chat with Lianne. Logan seemed to be ok with it. He was a little upset that he was not invited to go but he understood why Veronica went.
The two were getting ready for dinner at Erics house.
"Babe, should I go with the black or the red?" asks Veronica as she holds up the two dresses
"The red, the black hides your baby bump" said Logan as he touches her stomach
"I can't wait to hear what were gonna have" said Veronica
"Does Daniels know that you are pregnant?" asks Logan
"Yup, the paperwork for maternity leave has to go through your supervisor and then onto HR" said Veronica
"You ready to go?" asks Logan
"Sure" said Veronica
About fifteen minutes the pair arrives at Daniels's house. It is huge, think Fresh Prince of Bel Air huge.
"Wow" said Veronica
"Its not too bad. Ive seen bigger" said Logan
They ring the bell and Eric answers "If it isn't the Echolls's" as he shakes both of their hands "Come on in" As they walk into the living area "This is my wife Angie, she is a librarian at a private school nearby"
"It is nice to meet you both" says Angie as she shakes their hands "Come on in, dinner is served. We are having chicken parmasen"
"Yumm, I love Italian" says Veronica
"I hope you made enough for an army, you should see how this one eats" said Logan
"I think we have plenty. Eric tells me you two are expecting. You must be so excited" says Angie
"Oh we are!" said Logan "We find out next month if we are gonna have a boy or a girl"
"It's a fun adventure" said Veronica "How was it when you two had your first child?"
"It was crazy." Said Eric "You have no idea how to be a parent until it actually happens. It is the most rewarding experience "
"It is great. Lets eat!" said Angie
The group eats dinner and as they are leaving Angie asks "Since you two are going to be parents, would you mind babysitting for us in a couple of weeks? Eric and I have to go to a conference in Sacramento"
"Sure we would love to. Call us with the details" says Logan
They exchange their goodbyes and the Echolls leave.
What did you think? The next chapter should be out next week. Remember either review or PM your vote for the sex of the baby. I am not sure if the poll will work, so tell me your opinion! It will be announced in the next chapter