Work in Progress: Study of a Mad Golfer's Daughter

Inspired by Andrea Churchill's Work in Progress: Study of a Mad Golfer. Both the idea AND the title character belong to her. Although I don't own Bessie, I love the character, and I'm honored to come up with this story for her. UGH! Do I HAVE to go up to 100? I'm not sure if I can, or WILL do anything of the sort, I'll do my very best, and I promise that I will actually finish this, whether or not I write 100 "chapters."

Although Andrea gave hers the highest rating, I'm only giving mine a T rating, and I'll do my best to make sure there's nothing "too mature" in here. If there is, PLEASE don't be afraid to tell me.

And one more thing. The only character I own in this chapter is Roy. The rest all belong to Andrea and Disney. So anyways, happy reading lads n' lassies!

Strawberry

How am I going to tell him? What will I even SAY to him? These and other thoughts raced through Bess's mind as she stared out the window—although to her they were zooming faster than the rolling hills outside the moving truck.

Duff was a very cautious and suspicious man. If anything was out of the ordinary, he would be the first to sense it; making it near impossible to keep secrets from him. That was why Bess knew better than to hide her pregnancy from him. The problem was she never told him she was seeing someone at her university, so his reaction to the news may not be—particularly cheery.

Perhaps he won't notice right away since I'm not showing yet, she hoped. Of course my belly won't stay small forever. I'll have to tell him much sooner, or else he'll REALLY blow his top.

The only question was how? How could she let the cat out of the bag without him either exploding at her, or finding the child's father and hitting him with explosion shots? Knowing Duff's fiery temper, it would not be an easy task.

"Bess?" Archie's voice shook her out of her thoughts.

"Hmm? What?"

"I said, do you need help with your bags?" he asked. "We're here."

Bess blinked. "Already?" She looked around and saw they were parked outside Archie's small coastal home. She had apparently been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't realized how much time had passed during the drive.

"What do you mean already? It was a six hour trip!" Archie hopped out of the driver's side and ran over to open Bess's door. "At this rate your summer break will slip past you just as quickly."

Bess smirked as he helped her climb down. "My dad doesn't pay you to make witty remarks, you know."

"If only!" Archie laughed. "I would've been a millionaire by now." He opened the trunk and took out Bess's bags one by one.

"Oh, don't take my luggage out, Archie," Bess pleaded. "We're not sailing to the castle until tomorrow morning, and you must be exhausted from the long drive."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I've still got some energy left," he grunted as he started to carry a bag. "Besides, don't you need your pajamas or…anything for the night?"

"I'll be fine," she insisted. "I don't mind sleeping in my clothes."

Archie simply shrugged. "Okay then. If you say so." He placed the bags back in the trunk, locked the truck, and led Bess inside his home. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna call it a night. The guest room is all yours, everything in the fridge is fair game if you're hungry…just feel free to make yourself at home."

Bess smiled. "Thanks Archie. Good night."

"Night Bess."

Now that he mentioned it, Bess was feeling rather hungry. Archie did say she could eat whatever she liked, but did he have anything that could satisfy her and her wee child's appetite? Her tastes have changed drastically since her pregnancy, and lately it had been hard for her to find foods that didn't make her gag upon sight or smell. She walked into the kitchen and peeked inside the fridge. She saw deli meats in one of the drawers. Ugh. Can't have that while pregnant. She saw a styrofoam box containing leftovers from a local restaurant and picked it up. She opened it, and the smell of rotting fish raided her nostrils, causing her to close the box and throw it into the garbage without giving a second thought.

Bess did one more quick scan in the fridge and spotted a container of strawberries in the back corner. She reached for it and examined a few berries to determine their overall freshness. None of them looked moldy or mushy, so she took a bite…and much to her surprise, the strawberries tasted delicious! No, not delicious. They were absolutely scrumptious! The juices squeezing out from the berries onto her tongue felt like a sweet red heaven with each bite. For the first time since her pregnancy, Bess had found something she could actually eat that did not give her the urge to vomit. But why? Of all the foods she could crave, why strawberries? She had liked them just fine before, but never to this degree. Pregnancy is a strange thing, she thought. but at least my body is craving something healthy.

Just as Bess had finished the strawberries, she heard a familiar ding coming from her phone. Her face lit up as she quickly licked her fingers and pulled it out of her pocket to read the message:

Roy

Hey I just got home. Are you able to talk right now?

She raced to the guest bedroom and closed the door, then pulled up the video call app as she made herself comfortable on the bed. Within one or two rings, Roy's face appeared on the screen.

"Well, you sure answered quickly," Bess laughed.

Roy smirked lovingly in response. "I only wish I could've responded sooner. Seeing your face always makes my day."

Bess rolled her eyes. "Stop it, you!"

"What? It's true! I miss you and I wish I could be with you right now."

Bess smiled. "I love you so much, babe."

Roy smiled back. "And I love you…and our wee one, too."

Bess's smile grew wider. Even if this pregnancy wasn't planned, it was comforting to know that Roy still loved her and was willing and happy to be involved in their child's life.

"So how are you and the bairn feeling?" Roy asked.

"Well, hopefully not as nauseous as I've been feeling lately," Bess answered. "Except for some strawberries, I can hardly keep anything down."

"Oof, I'm sorry," Roy frowned to show his sympathy. "Hopefully it doesn't last much longer for you. How far along are you again?"

"Let's see…" Bess quickly pulled up the pregnancy app on her phone. "I should be about seven weeks along, so the bairn is about the size of a Brookesia micra chameleon now."

"A Brooke–w-what, now?" Roy stammered. "What is that?"

Bess shrugged. "I don't know, but that's how big the bairn is. Last week it was the size of a ladybird."

"Oh, that's interesting. So, if you're seven weeks pregnant, that means you're due around…" Roy did a quick calculation in his head. "the end of December, right? Do you plan on taking the semester off when the bairn is born or…what is your plan?"

Bess sighed. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure."

"What do you mean?" Roy wondered. "The university offers online courses, so you could sign up for a few while caring for the bairn at home if you wanted."

"I suppose, but I was actually thinking of quitting school once the bairn comes," Bess confessed.

"You are? How come?"

She paused for a moment. "I'm just…not sure I want to continue my studies."

"Why not?" he asked. "Do you want to change majors or something?"

"Maybe," Bess replied. "I don't know, I just don't feel the passion or drive for robotics like my dad does. Certainly not enough to make a career out of it." She laughed. "I don't think my dad would have let me leave the castle if he knew I wanted to study anywhere other than his old university."

"Do you think your dad would react well to you possibly dropping out of school?"

"Oh, please!" Bess exclaimed. "Right now I'm more worried about how he'll react to this pregnancy, and I KNOW for a fact that it will not turn out well."

"You know...I could always break the news to him for you," Roy offered. "At least he'd be more furious with me than with you."

Bess's eyes widened. "You realize that is a death wish, right? Do you REALLY want to tell the world's deadliest golfer that you impregnated his only daughter!?"

"Hey, I'm just trying to make this easier for you."

"I know, I know." Bess took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "Look, I love you babe, but if I want our child to grow up with a father, it's best that I tell him myself."

Roy shrugged. "If you say so, babe. You know him better than I do."

"Aye, well…what about you?" Bess asked. "Do you plan on telling your ma about the pregnancy?"

"Umm…" Roy scratched his head, smiling sheepishly. "I can make that announcement once I let her know that I'm dating Duff Killigan's daughter."

Bess raised an eyebrow. "Mmm hmm. I'm sure you will."

"Well, however our parents react to the news, I'm just excited that I'm gonna be a dad."

Bess instantly felt her heart flutter at Roy's words. "Are you, really?"

Roy smiled. "Of course I am. I mean, I've spent most of my life without my father, and now I get to be someone else's father."

"Oh aye, that's true," Bess giggled. "And I grew up without a mother, but am going to be one myself."

"That is rather amusing!" Roy laughed. "I guess in a way this will be very healing for both of us."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, we'll both be filling roles that have been missing from our lives and providing it for someone else."

Bess had never considered that thought before, and yet somehow it made her worry. "Are you sure that won't hurt our parenting? What if I can't be a good mother since I never had one myself?"

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Roy lovingly reassured her. "You will make a wonderful mother to our wee one, I just know it."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked in a skeptical tone.

"Knowing how loving you are with me and those around you, you will be the same way with our bairn, if not more so."

Bess smirked and rolled her eyes. "If you say so, my love."

Roy smiled back at her with full confidence. "I do say so."

Bess sighed. "If I'm being honest though, I'd feel like a better parent if we had a name for our bairn."

"Why should you feel that way?" Roy asked, feeling confused. "We have plenty of time to decide on a name, so there's no need to rush."

"Aye, I know, but–I just can't help but feel bad that we've been calling it 'bairn' or 'wee one' so far."

"And what's wrong with that? I don't think those are bad names to use in the meantime."

Bess sighed. "I guess…but it's still our child, and they should have their own identity, don't you think?"

"Maybe…" Roy thought for a moment. "If it means that much to you, why don't we use a placeholder name or nickname? That way our bairn could still have some sort of identity before having an official name."

Bess nearly jumped off her bed with delight. "I really like that idea!" she squeaked.

Roy found himself laughing in amusement at his girlfriend's excitement. "What should we call our wee one then?"

Bess gave herself a moment to regain her composure. "Okay, even if it is just temporary, I want to decide on a name that's special and meaningful. Maybe something related to this pregnancy…but what?"

"Well, what's been the most interesting or exciting bit for you so far?" Roy asked. "That could give us some ideas."

"Obviously the biggest bit for me is being scared to tell my dad the news, but otherwise…" Bess took a moment to think. "We conceived towards the end of my first year of university. I feel sick all the time and can hardly eat anything…" Bess took a brief pause to think some more. "Um…that's all, I think. Can a good nickname come from all that?"

Roy snickered. "Sounds like our name choices are either Raging Golf Ball or Vomit."

Bess breathed out an exasperated sigh. "That's not funny! Is this all nothing but a joke to you?"

"Oh, I'm just joshing, my luv. I didn't mean any of it."

"But Roy, I'm being serious! Now this may not be important to you, but it is to me, so are you going to help me come up with an actual nickname, or no?"

"Of course I will, Bess. Anything that's important to you is important to me."

"You're certainly not acting like it," Bess humphed.

"But it is," Roy assured her. "I'm sorry, babe. I swear I won't fool around anymore."

"That's all I ask from you, Roy." Bess took a moment to close her eyes and take a few breaths. "You know I love you, right?"

"And I love you, Bess. Always."

"Then will you please help me name our child?"

"Aye, I will," Roy promised. "Surely we can come up with something."

Bess chuckled. "That may be tough with this pregnancy brain fog of mine. It's been pretty intense thus far."

"Och, that doesn't sound like fun," Roy remarked. "Does anything help clear your brain fog?"

"Aye. Usually I feel more focused after eating something," Bess replied. "The problem is that everything I like makes me feel sick now, so that's been difficult."

"Hold on though. Didn't you say that strawberries were the only thing you could keep down?" Roy asked. "Do you have any to snack on?"

"Nah," Bess snorted. "I finished a full container just before calling you."

"Oh sheesh!" Roy exclaimed. "You ate that much and didn't feel sick after?"

"I'm honestly just as surprised as you," Bess laughed. "I don't know why strawberries of all things have been keeping my stomach intact this pregnancy, but here we are."

"Wait!" Roy gasped. "That's it!"

"What's it?" Bess asked, looking concerned and confused.

"That's the nickname we'll use! Strawberry!"

"Strawberry, huh?"

"Why not? It seems to be the only food our wee one likes, so it's perfect."

"Huh. Wee Strawberry." Bess smiled. "I like the sound of that, actually."

"But we need to make it official," Roy declared. "All in favor of naming the bairn Strawberry, say 'aye'."

Bess giggled and raised her hand with Roy. "Aye."

"Then it's settled. Until we know the gender of our child, she or he will henceforth be known as Strawberry."

"Hear, hear!" Bess cried back in response.

"You know, I have to say, it feels rather satisfying coming up with a name of sorts for our wee one," Roy admitted. "Glad you thought of this, Bess."

"There, you see? What did I tell you?" Bess smirked. "Now, am I always right, or am I always right?"

Roy smirked back and rolled his eyes. "Aye, you are, luv."

Just then, a notification popped up on Bess's phone telling her that she was low on battery. "Well, as much as I'd love to talk to you all night, I better get some sleep now."

"Okay then," Roy yawned. "I can still call you tomorrow, right?"

"Of course you can…that is if my dad hasn't killed me by then."

"Hopefully not," Roy blew a kiss through the phone. "Sleep well, Mumma. I love you."

She smiled and blew a kiss back at Roy. "I love you too, Daddy. Good night."

Bess found the extra charger that was placed on the nightstand and plugged in her phone for the night. As she got into bed, she felt a mild cramp near her abdomen area. "Oh, I should use the toilet while I can," she thought aloud. "That way I won't wake up as often with a full bladder." She slid out of bed and walked into the guest bathroom close by. As she sat down, she noticed some pink spots in her underwear. "What's this?"she wondered. "Am I bleeding? Is this supposed to happen? Should I be concerned about this?"

Unable to contain her anxieties, Bess quickly finished up and went back to the bedroom to grab her phone. She pulled up the search engine app and typed in, "Is bleeding normal during pregnancy?" According to the medical websites she found, there was no need to worry unless she had blood clots or was bleeding heavily. She also found that she could be experiencing implantation bleeding; which is when the embryo attaches itself to the uterus, and is completely normal.

Bess breathed a huge sigh of relief. "If I'm not bleeding heavily, then wee Strawberry should be okay. But I'll check again in the morning just to be sure." She crawled back into bed and made herself comfy; or as comfy as she could with her bottoms feeling slightly damp. "I should've had Archie bring in my luggage if I knew I would be spotting…but oh well. No use in fussing about it now." She turned off the bedroom light and went right to sleep.