Spoo is Oops spelled backward
"Becs just do it, please."
Dane and Sarah walked into the house from school just as Jesse was pleading with Beca.
"No Jesse, it's just the flu. I told you that this morning. I don't know why you're being so stubborn about this." Beca looked like shit huddled on the couch. She was wrapped in her bathrobe, bags under her eyes and a sleeve of crackers in her hands.
Dane and Sarah watched fascinated from the doorway. Dad was never like this when mom was sick. He was usually solicitous and nice and cuddly. This borderline exasperation was new.
"Beca, for the love of God, I have had a love affair with your boobs for 25 years! I know when something is different! Now, if you would just go pee pee on the stick? After five minutes you can call me an asshole and I will make you a cup of tea and let you remind me how superior you are."
Now the kids were just enthralled. This was way better than homework or TV or a movie. The only thing missing was popcorn.
"Start the kettle and get the ketchup for that crow you're about to eat." Beca unearthed herself from her cocoon of blankets and marched off to the bathroom.
Jesse just walked into the kitchen to start the kettle. The kids put down their backpacks and followed. While Jesse was filling the kettle they settled themselves on the barstools.
It was Sarah who finally spoke, "Do we need to have a talk with you and mom about the proper use of birth control?"
Jesse chuckled and was about to answer when Beca spoke from the doorway, "We haven't used birth control for ten years. WE wanted more kids but I just never got pregnant again. This is why your dad is being very mean to bully me into peeing on a stick." So saying her piece, she slapped the stick on the kitchen island and returned to her nest on the couch.
Jesse just set the timer on his phone for five minutes and started scrubbing potatoes. He paused, turned to started the oven to preheat.
The kids just stared at the stick. So many thoughts running through their minds: Eww the stick had pee on it; Wow their parents had sex, OMG a baby? Neither quite knew how to feel.
"Staring at it like that won't make it go any faster," Jesse said as he prepared to bake the potatoes.
"Dad? What made you think mom's pregnant?" Dane asked, not sure he wanted an answer especially after overhearing the boob comment. Thinking of your mom's boobs is just weird.
"Not my first rodeo. I recognize the signs. She's too sick right now to recognize them." Jesse was grinning. He was happy and giddy and excited.
He leaned back against the counter, crossed his ankles, folded his arms across his chest waiting for the water to boil. Dane and Sarah were just as quiet as they watched the little plus sign appear on the test. They looked at Jesse with awe; he just smiled back at them.
"How do the two of you feel about this?" Jesse asked.
They were teenagers dating and college and baseball and homework and soccer were the things that consumed them. A baby? That would be something that affected the whole household. And that was before Beca's hormone swings made her into Jekyll and Hyde. Not to mention, Hyde tended to vomit as often as a stressed Aubrey!
"I think, dad, we should be asking you that, except you look very happy."