(How are we supposed to know when something is wrong? Well, we've got a way to communicate, it keeps a happy home.) (Sid's thoughts for Nadine)
*The title of this chapter is named after a song by Babyface*
Shortly after sunrise, Curly took a brave step out of his dark, thoughtless mental state by heading over to the Lloyd residence. He stared expressionlessly at the large, luxurious house from the backseat of his father's car. His parents accompanied him for emotional support. Despite his messy relationship history with Rhonda, they all came to the conclusion that it definitely wouldn't hurt for him to step up and get acquainted with his newborn son.
"Are you ready for this, son?" Mr. Gammelthorpe asked.
"I guess," Curly shrugged.
"Don't let that girl get to you, honey," Mrs. Gammelthorpe advised him." This isn't about her; it's about the baby."
"Mom, I'm over Rhonda; I really am," Curly insisted, quietly." I was just hoping to put everything behind me—including the baby."
"Thaddeus, as much as I hate to hear someone criticize my kid, Rhonda's dad did have a point," Mr. Gammelthorpe stated, honestly." It's not fair for you to abandon your fatherly duties when you were pleasant enough to have both of your parents in your life."
"That's right," Mrs. Gammelthorpe nodded." We're going to prove Rhonda and her snobby parents that your father and I didn't raise a deadbeat. Understand?"
"Sure," Curly muttered.
With that being said, the Gammelthorpes got out of the car and headed onto the property of the Lloyds. A few seconds after ringing the bell, the maid opened the door and greeted them.
"Good morning; you must be the Gammelthorpes," she said, with a polite smile." Please come in; the Lloyds are expecting you."
Curly and his parents thanked the maid as they entered the house. They were all offered something to drink to which they respectfully declined. The maid led the three of them upstairs to the bedroom that Rhonda had given birth in. Rhonda was still sitting in the bed rocking Prince in her arms as her parents and the midwife stood up; they were startled when they looked up to see the Gammelthorpes near the door.
"Oh—hello, thanks for coming," Mr. Lloyd said.
"Daddy!" Rhonda exclaimed, in dismay.
"Yes, sweetie?"
"What is he doing here?" Rhonda demanded, angrily pointing at Curly." I didn't ask you to invite him."
Curly glared at Rhonda for a second and then turned around to leave but his father grabbed his shoulder to stop him.
"Thaddeus—wait," Mr. Gammelthorpe said.
Curly reluctantly stood still but he and Rhonda refused to even look at each other.
"I mean no disrespect, sir, but Rhonda was not expecting to see him," Mrs. Lloyd said, firmly.
"Your husband called us to come here," Mrs. Gammelthorpe informed her.
"Buckley!" Mrs. Lloyd reacted.
"Listen, I have a business to run, I have to open up in less than two hours," Mrs. Gammelthorpe stated." But I'm here for a reason and that is to support my son while he connects with the child that he has with your daughter."
"She's already given him a chance to do so, Mrs. Gammelthorpe, and he dismissed her," Mrs. Lloyd spoke.
"Well, he's here now and the child isn't even half a day old yet, so what does it matter?" Mrs. Gammelthorpe argued." Your husband, my husband and I all wanted Thaddeus to do the right thing by coming to see his son. Despite what I thought about your daughter—"
"Whoa! I beg your pardon? You think there's a problem with my daughter?!" Mrs. Lloyd responded, offended.
"Settle down, please," Mr. Lloyd said, gently yet firmly.
"Yeah, please do," Rhonda added, feeling annoyed." I was in pain all night just to bring this baby here and the last thing I need to hear is a bunch of fighting. If that's what you're all going to do, then please go away. Mom, that includes you—no disrespect."
"Well, what do you want, Rhonda?" Curly spoke up for the first time." Do you want us to stay or go?"
"It depends. If you're here because my dad pressured you then you can leave now," Rhonda replied, in a stern tone.
Curly was quiet for a few seconds and then he said." I'm here because…I want to be."
Rhonda glared at him silently and unconvinced.
"I want to meet my son," Curly decided.
Rhonda sighed and then said." Well, he's right here."
The room got suddenly silent as Curly approached the bed. Taking a seat on the side of the bed, he reached out his hands and took Prince into his arms as Rhonda carefully handed him over. Having been so caught up in arguing, Curly's mother and father smiled as they took an actual look at their newborn grandson as Curly held him.
At last, the tension in the room was gone. Mr. Gammelthorpe put his arm around his wife as she suddenly began to shed tears.
The silence was broken when Mr. Lloyd cleared his throat." Mr. and Mrs. Gammelthorpe, why don't we all have a chat in the living room and perhaps, a cup of coffee?"
"Sure, I suppose a cup of coffee couldn't hurt," Mr. Gammelthorpe agreed.
Mrs. Lloyd smiled at Mrs. Gammelthorpe for the first time since their arrival and said." Wow, I was tears in too. Isn't our grandson just precious?"
"Absolutely," Mrs. Gammelthorpe agreed, sobbingly.
Mrs. Lloyd gently took Mrs. Gammelthorpe by the hand and led her out of the bedroom as their husbands and the midwife followed behind. At last, Rhonda and Curly were alone with their baby. Rhonda watched as Curly cradled Prince in his arms but she couldn't help but to wonder why his face had no type of expression on it whatsoever.
"Why are you so quiet?" she asked.
"I'm still trying to process all of this in my mind," Curly replied." I'm a parent now. It's all so sudden."
"I know," Rhonda nodded, in agreement.
They were quiet again for a moment until Prince opened his eyes and stared up at his father for the first time. It was at that moment that Curly finally cracked a smile as if all he needed was to see his son's eyes to begin that bond with him. When Curly smiled, Rhonda smiled too.
"I love him already and I don't even know his name," Curly said.
"It's Prince."
"Hi Prince," Curly spoke, softly." I'm Curly—I mean, I'm Dad."
"Thank you for coming, Curly," Rhonda told him.
"No Rhonda, thank you," Curly said, smiling.
From that moment on, all has been forgiven as Prince won the heart of his father. Although Curly and Rhonda's relationship was history and thus, over for good, they'll always have a connection as they have given each other their first child to raise with love. Curly's parents had a chance to meet and hold their grandson and they quickly fell in love with him. For Rhonda, it was a great relief to have finally come to this after everything they've been through.
Two Months Later
After working from eight in the morning to six in the evening, Sid was driving in the used but decent 2003 Acura TL that he recently bought; Harold was sitting in the passenger's side.
"Wanna grab a pizza?" Harold asked.
"We just ate," Sid replied.
"So?"
"I'm not hungry; I'm still full," Sid shrugged.
"Well, I want pizza," Harold insisted.
"Dude, I really don't feel like stopping anywhere," Sid told him.
"Oh, stop whining. I'll wait til I get home to order something," Harold said.
"I wasn't whining."
"Whatever. Anyway, are you coming to chill with the guys tonight?" Harold asked." You know, eat, smoke, talk shit—the usual."
"Maybe," Sid nodded." If it's okay with Nadine."
"Since when did you need permission to hang out with your buddies?" Harold questioned." Does she need your permission to hang out with Patty and Rhonda?"
"She hardly ever does lately," Sid responded." We all have kids now. Some things are gonna change; that's the way it is, dude."
"Hey, I take care of Patty and our son," Harold stated." But I still have a right to hang out every now and then."
"Dude, I didn't say no; all I said was that I have to talk it over with Nadine first to see what she needs," Sid explained." That's all."
"Whipped!" Harold cracked.
"Fuck you," Sid muttered.
As Harold continued to laugh, Sid ignored him as he continued to drive. When stopped at a red light, a tall, shapely brunette in her mid-thirties walked across the street holding the hand of her five year old child.
"Total MILF," Harold lusted.
"Uh-huh," Sid said, disinterested.
"Definitely whipped," Harold commented." You won't even look at a chick who's not Nadine?"
"What's the point?" Sid asked, with a shrug." What's so great about a two second look at some hot stranger when I can just go home and get a two hour fuck with my girl?"
"I thought you couldn't last two minutes!" Harold teased.
"Hey, shut up. I improved a lot," Sid blushed." Nadine even told me so."
"I'm just messing with you, dude."
"Besides, I haven't had any pussy in months," Sid told him." After the baby was born, the doctor said to wait six weeks. Even when the six weeks were up, we never had time. Working, staying up all night with the baby—it's been rough."
"So, that's why you should hang with us tonight, dude!" Harold exclaimed." We're off tomorrow and we hardly ever get Saturdays off. Are you really trying to waste it?"
"It won't be a waste if Nadine and I have sex tonight," Sid insisted.
"That's the only reason why I'm not staying in with Patty tonight," Harold stated." Once we get the baby settled, she'd rather go to sleep than to have sex. You're not the only who's been sexually negotiated here!"
"You mean neglected," Sid corrected him.
"Whatever, dude."
"I wouldn't say I've been neglected," Sid explained." I haven't had any pussy in months; I do get blowjobs though!"
"Oh, you suck! No pun intended," Harold groaned." I can't even get that. I get nothing!"
"I feel for you, dude," Sid nodded." Look, I'll talk to Nadine and see if she's okay with me going out. That's the best I can do."
Harold just sighed and shrugged. It was amazing how demanding the job that is parenthood could be. Although Sid was obviously less frustrated with it than Harold was, even he couldn't help but to wonder at times where he'd be today had he not gotten Nadine pregnant. Nonetheless, both guys loved their girlfriends and children.
Upstairs in the living room of the apartment, Patty was in the middle of bathing two month old Harry in his baby bath tub. The chunky infant cried and wailed the entire time in complaint. Suddenly, Patty heard the sound of keys in the door and Harold stepping in to the apartment.
"Look; Daddy's here!" Patty said to the baby.
Harry, however, carried on with his loud crying. Harold walked into the living room and took a seat beside Patty on the sofa.
"What's up, babe?" Harold said.
"Hey," Patty responded.
They gave each other a quick kiss. Patty's hair was a mess and her robe was stained with Harry's spit-up. Most of all, her face had exhausted written all over it.
"You look awful, babe," Harold commented.
"Gee thanks," Patty muttered.
"No, I mean—you look tired," Harold explained.
"I am," Patty nodded." Your son is just like you—he doesn't like to bathe."
"Ha-ha, very funny."
"I am drained, babe," Patty continued." Thankfully, my parents called and asked to keep him for the weekend. We can sure use the break."
"Hell yeah," Harold agreed.
"I have no energy left to cook dinner," Patty told him." I see you didn't bring any food home from work. That's fine though; I'm actually in a pizza mood."
"Exactly what I was thinking, baby," Harold said, with a smile.
"Okay, I'm going to call and order the pizza," Patty stated." While I'm doing that, I want you to dry him off and get him dressed. His outfit is on the arm on the couch."
"Okay."
Patty stood up and made her way to their bedroom where her cell phone was being charged. Harold lifted his son out of the tub, wrapped him up in a towel and rocked him in his arms. Harry's crying got softer and slower until it ceased altogether.
"God, you're a spoiled little fat-ass just like Daddy," Harold joked.
Harry reacted with a big toothless smile.
"Aaw, that's my boy," Harold cooed.
Once he finished drying Harry off, Harold put a diaper on him, applied baby powder and dressed him in the outfit that Patty picked out for him. After that, he sent a text message to Josh.
Harold(text): Come pick me up in a couple hrs so we can hang out at Stinky's.
Josh(text): Sure. Sid coming?
Harold(text): IDK. I don't think so.
Josh(text): K. B there later.
Harold(text): K.
Several minutes later, Patty reentered the living room dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans.
"What are you dressed for?" Harold questioned.
"I'm taking the baby to my parents'," Patty replied." How else was he going to get there?"
"Don't worry about it, babe," Harold told her." There's no need for you to walk. I'll just have Josh drop him off at your parents'."
"Okay, that's nice of him but he doesn't have to go out his way to do that," Patty insisted." It's only a four-block walk. No big deal."
"Well, Josh and I are going to chill at Stinky's tonight," Harold said." We'll just drop the baby off at your parents' place on the way."
"You're going out tonight?" Patty asked, disappointed.
"Yeah—so?"
"So, we get a whole weekend without the baby and your first choice is to hang with the guys?" Patty questioned him." Don't you want to spend time alone with me?"
"Patty, I have tomorrow off—we'll get some alone time then."
"Well, you complain that we haven't had sex in a while; so tonight's a good night for that," Patty argued.
"Well, I haven't hung out with the guys in a while either," Harold insisted." I can have a blast with the boys first and come back home to tap that ass later. Just wait up for me tonight."
"What the hell do I look like, Harold?" Patty growled." You expect me to wait for you to drag your high ass back home whenever you feel like it, so you can have a little quickie with me and go right to sleep?"
"Um, yeah?"
"Unbelievable!" Patty exclaimed." Do you realize how much of a jerk you sound like right now?"
"Ugh, what do you want, Patty? You're confusing me!"
Patty bit her tongue before she said something she was going to regret. Instead she just took the baby out of Harold's arms and carried him over to his carriage where she began to fasten up the seat buckles. His weekend bag was already packed and resting in the netted basket beneath the carriage.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing?" Harold asked.
"I'm taking him to my parents," Patty replied, sharply." I don't need Josh to do it. Thanks but no thanks."
"Calm down, Patty. Damn!"
"Leave me alone," Patty retorted." Do what you want, Harold. After I drop him off, I can just come back, eat and take my ass to sleep. I don't care what you do or how long you stay out; you just better not wake me up when you come back in. Selfish ass."
"Patty—"
"Shut up," Patty cut him off." I'm done with this conversation. Just save me three slices of pizza when it gets here."
Without another word, Patty left the apartment, pushing the baby carriage along with her. Strong as an ox, she almost effortlessly lifted the carriage up and brought up all the way down the stairs to the lobby of the building. When she got there, she set it back down and pushed it, exiting the building. While she was walking down the block with the baby carriage, her cell phone rang. Pushing the carriage with one hand, she used her other hand to answer the phone.
"What?" she answered, nastily.
"Whoa—okay?" Rhonda responded, in confusion.
"Oh hey! Sorry Rhonda; I didn't even look to see who was calling," Patty chuckled." I just finished yelling at Harold's dumb ass, so I thought it was him calling me. Anyway, I'm taking the baby to my parents'; they're going to keep him for the weekend. So, what's up?"
"Perfect! Curly's taking Prince for the weekend and Nadine said that her parents can watch Sidra while we all go out tonight," Rhonda told her.
"Go out?" Patty said.
"Yeah! My sexy friend Matt from LA came in town to see me and we're all going out to eat at the Chez Paris—me, him, Nadine and Sid," Rhonda told her." You and Harold should come too. This is perfect! How often do you, me and Nadine get time away from the babies at the same time?"
"It sounds fun but Harold has other plans, which is why I yelled at his ass," Patty replied.
"Uh-oh, what did he do?"
"With the baby being gone for the weekend, he'd rather get high with Stinky and Josh instead of staying in, spending quality time with me," Patty explained.
"So what? Patty, don't let him stop you from having a good time," Rhonda insisted." Come out with us. He doesn't have to come."
"Nah, I think I need to catch up on some sleep," Patty declined.
"Oh, come on!"
"Rhonda, I'm exhausted," Patty stated." You've been a mother just as long as I have; you know how it is. Plus, I already ordered a pizza, so I wouldn't be going out with much of an appetite anyway."
"Patty, are you sure?" Rhonda asked, with a sigh.
"Positive."
"Okay, honey; I'll talk to you later," Rhonda said.
"Sure. Have fun tonight, Rhonda."
With that, they hung up. For a second, Patty reconsidered Rhonda's offer but quickly decided against it again. She'd much rather catch up on some much-needed sleep and she saw no point in going out to dinner with two other couples while her own boyfriend wouldn't even come along. Having made her decision, Patty kept walking towards the direction of her parents' residence.
Meanwhile, Sid and Nadine were in the shower together, thoroughly washing their bodies. Nadine's parents weren't home yet and her younger brother, Noah, was downstairs in the living room keeping an eye on baby Sidra. While naked in the shower, Sid and Nadine conversed the whole time.
"Nadine?"
"Yeah?"
"Um, if it's okay with you, I might hang out at Stinky's tonight with Harold and Josh," Sid told her.
"No," Nadine responded, sternly.
"Well—"
"No, no, no. Hell no," Nadine continued, firmly." You're not hanging out all night and then coming back here smelling like that nasty ass weed. I know that's all you're going to do and I already told you, if you want to smoke that shit, you're not gonna be let into the house. I don't want my baby smelling that shit on your clothes and you're not going to be stinking up the bedroom with that shit either. I'm not playing!"
"Okay! Okay, baby! Relax!" Sid exclaimed.
"You know I'm not trying to keep you from your boys but some of that shit you all did throughout high school has to change," Nadine insisted." We have a two-month old daughter to look after."
"I know, baby," Sid said, with a smile." You know I'd rather be here with you anyway."
"And our baby?"
"Of course!"
They quickly kissed each other and continued to wash. Sid was always willing to please Nadine and make her happy. She(and their daughter) came first and Sid was devoted to them. As for the weed, the truth of the matter was, Sid and Harold smoked it every day before work. While they both lied to their girlfriends that they don't do it as often, Nadine and Patty were far from stupid. However, Sid knew better than to come home high because he knew Nadine would probably slap him.
Nadine put her head under the showerhead to rinse out the shampoo as she spoke." Anyway, baby, I meant to tell you that Rhonda's boyfriend—or whatever you wanna call him—from LA, is treating us all out to eat at Chez Paris tonight. So, that's another reason why you're not going out with the boys tonight—because we have plans. It should be fun."
"I ate at work, babe; I'm still kind of full," Sid said.
"So? We're not going out for another two or three hours; I'm sure you'll have some kind of appetite by then," Nadine insisted.
"Okay. That sounds fun."
"Yup," Nadine nodded, as she wiped foamy water off her face with her washrag." Shit, I'm ready to have some kind of fun tonight."
"I'm ready to have some kind of fun right now," Sid said, slyly and lustfully.
Immediately getting the 'hint', Nadine responded." Can't you wait until later?"
"Noooooo," Sid practically whined." Baby, I need it. It's been so long."
"Okay, but make it quick—well, that shouldn't be a problem for you," Nadine agreed, with a teasing smile.
Sid's face entire face reddened with slight embarrassment.
"Sid, I'm just kidding!" Nadine laughed." Don't be so sensitive. Come here, baby."
Nadine placed her hands on the sides of Sid's face and kissed him. They made out for several seconds with plenty of tongue as their hands groped and squeezed each other all over. Suddenly, Sid turned Nadine around to where her back was facing him as he pressed his nudeness against her nudeness. As the shower water rained on them, he slowly entered her, breathing heavy with pleasure, relief and sexual insatiability. Even though Nadine's brother was downstairs keeping an eye on Sidra and the shower water was running hard, Nadine wasn't exactly thinking of if her loud moans and erotic shrieks could be heard or not. Sexual activity was one of Sid and Nadine's most frequent form of communication, excluding the past couple months following the birth of Sidra. The six to eight weeks that the doctor advised them to wait before engaging in intercourse seemed to take forever to be up.
Later on that night, Harold was hanging out at Stinky and Josh at Stinky's place as planned. Even though he was looking forward to getting away from both Patty and the baby, he still felt a little bad about going out instead of spending quality alone time with Patty. As usual, the guys were sitting in the garage, extremely high and passing a blunt around.
"I reckon Sid's the most pussy-whipped little pussy I done ever seen in my damn life," Stinky stated, blunt as ever." He had a chance to hang out with the fellers but instead he done opted to glue himself to that whip-crackin' Nadine."
"Yeah! He's really whipped! That's exactly what I told him too," Harold said." But I'm not going to lie; I feel bad for leaving Patty alone tonight."
"Dude, you're calling Sid whipped. Look at you!" Josh remarked, cradling the blunt between his fingers.
"Hey, shut up, Josh!" Harold exclaimed." If you're going to talk shit then the least you can do is pass the goddamn blunt!"
Before Josh had a chance to respond, Harold quickly snatched the blunt from Josh and commenced to take a deep drag of it.
"Dude! I only took one pull," Josh complained.
"Oh, shut up!" Harold shot back." You're lucky I didn't pound the shit out of you for calling me a wimp! That's what I should have done."
"Harold, calm down for a change," Stinky told him." Face it. Josh has a point. We ain't with our girlfriends tonight. It doesn't mean we don't love 'em. All it means is that we need our manly space and our freedom to hang out with the fellers."
"Yeah but Sid and I have kids with our girlfriends," Harold pointed out." You and Josh don't."
"Well, I reckon that's because Josh and I know how to wrap our willies up!" Stinky exclaimed, cracking up.
Josh also burst into laughter. Hearing his friends laugh and joke made Harold's face redden. He balled his hands up into tight fists and jumped out of his chair.
"Shut the fuck up before I pound both of you!" Harold bellowed.
However, instead of being startled by Harold's angry outburst, Stinky and Josh simply exchanged glances, shook their heads and snickered softly. Frankly, they were too high to give any type of real response to Harold's redundantly age-old threat to "pound them".
"Harold, just hand me the blunt and have yourself a seat," Stinky waved him off, grinning from ear to ear.
Harold growled and hesitantly walked over to Stinky to hand him the blunt. After that, he walked back to his chair and sat down.
"Dude, you gotta stop flipping out so much," Josh told him.
"Well, stop acting like a douche," Harold retorted." Both of you."
"Same old, same old," Stinky shook his head." Every time we all get together and get a little fucked up, you start throwin' them temper tantrums whenever one of us makes fun of you. The only thing missin' right now is Sid freakin' out or whinin' like a little lost puppy."
Knowing that Stinky was right, Harold couldn't help but laugh.
"Ha ha! I done made ya laugh!" Stinky exclaimed." You weren't foolin' nobody, Harold. We know you miss hangin' out with your buddies."
"I do," Harold admitted." I miss you two douchebags!"
"We miss your fat ass too."
"Good times, dudes, good times," Josh nodded, as he took the blunt from Stinky.
It felt like old times hanging out with the guys again. Although they never did much except smoke weed, have silly conversations and occasionally, have band practice. These were the times Harold cherished throughout most of his school days and he surely missed those times. There was no doubt that Patty and Harry meant the world to Harold and he loved them both dearly but naturally, he couldn't help but wonder what if…
Meanwhile, as planned, Nadine and Sid had a great time on their fancy double date at Chez Paris with Rhonda and her beau, Matt, from Los Angeles. The four of them conversed, laughed and savored their scrumptious meals. It was a nice, simple outing and a brief break away from their infants. Rhonda had the luxury of two parents, a maid, a nanny and finally, Curly, to depend on to keep baby Prince whenever she wants to go out. Nadine was able to count on her mother and father to keep baby Sidra.
When Nadine and Sid returned home, they were even luckier. Nadine's ever-lenient parents offered to let their baby sleep with them overnight, so Nadine and Sid could have some more 'alone time' to do whatever they want. Of course, Mrs. Robinson had to jokingly add that they better not be bringing baby number two home nine months later. So, inevitably, Sid and Nadine spent the entire night having round and round after sex until exhaustion got the best of them.
While Harold was practically having regrets about family life, Sid was all about it. The love he had for Nadine and their daughter was stronger than anything he's ever felt for anyone in his life. Nadine, especially, had this alluring fire inside of her that Sid has never noticed until the day she became his girlfriend. Despite the fact that Sid has known Nadine since pre-school, as did the rest of their lifelong friends, he was able to learn so much more about her as they cohabitated and raised a baby together and frankly, he was relishing every moment of it. So, for the most part, Sid's friends' teasing of him being so-called whipped didn't bother him. Would it always be that way or would Sid inevitably give into testosterone peer pressure?
(Whatever you want is alright with me. 'Cause you've got that whip appeal, so whip it on me. It's better than love; sweet as can be. You've got that whip appeal, so whip it on me.) (Sid's thoughts for Nadine)