Mother Nature

Monday morning came and brought with it the new adventures the Pitts residence would be going on. River began his new job at the S.I.A. He had to report at 7:00, so he slipped out of the house undetected. It was also Stefan’s first day of school. He was a pretty self-sufficient child and got himself up, dressed, and fed before time to go. Melody wasn’t sure she could commit to so many early mornings, but she definitely did not want to miss this morning. Your child only has one first day of school.

“There’s my big boy! Do you have everything you need for school?”

“Yes, mom.”

“Good. What time does the bus come?”

“8:00.”

“Ok, good. You have plenty of time. Finish your breakfast.”

She grabbed a stack of leftover pancakes and joined him at the table.

She really liked this motherhood thing. True, she didn’t like the early mornings, but she enjoyed having a little person to mold. It was almost like getting a second chance to do things right.

The bus came, and they said their goodbyes and I love yous, and then he was gone. Melody sat and read for an hour, and then she tried to watch TV. She was incredibly bored. This was worst than being pregnant with River just outside. She was completely alone this time and couldn’t get used to it. She called her mother and hoped today was one of her off days. Luckily, Bianca was at home that day, and she asked her to hang out.

“I’m so glad you’re here, mom. I don’t know what I would do if you were still back home,” she whined.

“Mel…don’t you have any friends here?”

“No.”

“You should make some. Go out and find yourself some ladies who are also stay-at-home moms. I have a job, and I won’t be able to hang out with you all the time.”

“But, meeting people is so hard sometimes!”

“Life is hard, baby. You’ll be fine. You should always have people around your age who aren’t related to you to talk to. Let’s go in here and see what they have,” Bianca said.

They went inside the store and were greeted by an elderly woman. It was a very posh place and reminded Melody of her former life. Sometimes she missed it, but she wouldn’t trade her life with River for anything in the world.

“Oh, Melody! Look! Isn’t this outfit the cutest thing you ever saw,” Bianca asked looking at a girl mannequin.

“Yeah…it’s cute,” Melody said in a listless tone.

“What’s the matter? Don’t you want a little girl you can dress up in these cute outfits?”

“Sure…like, years from now.”

“What is it with you and boys?”

“I’m having deja vu. I dunno. I just prefer them…oh my…,” she said as she was overcome with nausea.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. I feel sick all of a sudden.”

“Oh?”

“I feel like I’m going to throw up! Where’s the bathroom?”

“Excuse me,” Bianca said loudly to any listening employee, “Can you tell us where the restroom is?”

“There’s one back here by the dressing room,” a man said.

“Thank you,” Bianca said. “You poor thing. You look green! Let’s go find this restroom.”

“I’m ok. I think I just want to go home now.”

“You know what’s wrong with you, right,” Bianca beamed.

“No.”

“Really, Mel? You have no clue?”

“What? I’m just a little nauseous, that’s all! I probably undercooked some of River’s fish or something.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“Ok, mom. Because you seem to know everything, what is it then?”

“Melody…you’re pregnant,” Bianca happily announced.

“Pregnant? Nah, I’m not pregnant. We’re not trying to be pregnant.”

“Ummm, mother nature doesn’t care what you’re trying or not trying to do, baby. Now, I don’t claim to know what goes on in your house, but I know you. If you’re not more careful, you’re going to be pregnant a lot.”

“Mom!”

“What? I’m just saying! If you’re trying not to be pregnant, you should be more careful.”

“I’m not pregnant!”

“You can keep telling yourself that, but it doesn’t make it any less true, Mel.”

“We can’t afford to be pregnant. We have like 700 simoleons in our account right now. Don’t tell dad I said that…or River.”

“Well, Mel…I don’t know what to tell you. I think it’s time you start thinking about making some adjustments. I’m telling you…you’re pregnant.”

“If that’s what you think, fine. My son will be home in an hour. I need to get back home.”

“Ok. Call me when you realize you’re pregnant,” Bianca called after her. “I love you!”

“Whatever, mom!”

Melody thought about what her mom said on the ride home. She knew Bianca could be right, but she didn’t want to believe it. She really did not want to be pregnant so soon. When she got home, she stood in front of the house to wait for Stefan’s bus to arrive.

I could be pregnant, she thought. I wasn’t nauseous before I found out I was pregnant with Stefan. But, if I’m not pregnant, what could it be? I’m not the greatest cook, but I’m not that bad. No one else is sick. Maybe I caught some bug. Yeah…they did just build that new hospital. There’s all kinds of sick people around here these days. I can’t be pregnant. This house is too small for four people, and we can’t afford to move yet. I’m not pregnant. I’ll just drink some orange juice and sleep this off.

When Stefan’s bus arrived, he got off and ran to Melody.

“Mom!”

“Hey there! I’m so glad you’re back! I missed you so much!

“How was your first day, honey??”

“It was great! We drew pictures and ate cupcakes, and then at recess me, Olivia, and Nigel and some other kid played on the pirate ship!”

“Wow! Sounds like an awesome day!”

“It sure was.”

“That’s good. Let’s go inside and start on that homework.”

Melody helped him with his homework while she got started on dinner. She was very proud to see how smart he already was. He really didn’t need her help, but he liked letting her help anyway. River came home slightly later than he should have, so Melody and Stefan started eating without him in front of the TV. When he did arrive, he greeted them and took a seat at the table.

Similarly to what happened in the store, Melody was suddenly nauseous again and moaned in agony.

“Are you ok, mom?”

“I don’t know, hon.”

“Dad! Mom doesn’t look so good.”

“That’s because mom is pregnant,” River said.

“What’s pregnant?”

“Something I am NOT, thank you,” Melody said. “Really, River? Why is that the first thing everyone thinks of when a woman feel nauseous?”

“Because it’s true! Why else would you be nauseous? You know we get down on a very regular basis!”

“Have you been talking to my mother?? You sound just like her!”

“She’s always been a very wise woman.”

She knew it was true, but she still couldn’t bring herself to admit it. She wondered why no one else shared her concerns about it. Was she the only one thinking about their financial situation? Did anyone else think this was an inopportune time to have a child?

Everyone finished their dinner and cleaned up and went their separate ways. Stefan invited Olivia over for some cloud gazing, and River worked out. After the workout, he settled in front of the TV to watch sports. When Olivia left, River went to take a shower and Stefan came inside to talk to Melody.

“Bae…I need to go to the library for a minute. I’ll be back later, but don’t wait up for me,” River said.

“Wait a minute. Why don’t we all go? Stefan was telling me about this math game that he liked, and I haven’t checked my email in months.”

“Ummmmm,” he hesitated, “Isn’t it a bit late for him?”

“It’s only 9:30. We won’t be there all night, right?”

“I’m not tired, dad!”

Part of River’s daily tasks for work was to browse the intelligence database. He was afraid that they may see him doing it and blow his cover, but then he thought that if it was ok to do at a public place like a library, it had to be safe enough to do with potential onlookers.

“Ok, sure. Let’s go.”

Luckily the computers at the library were placed for maximum privacy with only one PC per side of the table.

When he got to the database, he was surprised to see that it looked just like any other page on the web. This is cool, he thought. His instructions were to just browse it and report anything suspicious. He had to keep telling himself that it wasn’t time to begin investigating his friends, but the temptation to do it was oh so strong.

After two hours, River was tired. He knew Melody and Stefan were too. Melody had caught up on her email and found a good book to read beside him. Stefan was still tapping away at that math game.

This is too much, River thought. I can’t have my family out here all night every night just so I can do my work. We need more money so I can buy a computer, but how do I get more money without sacrificing something? I could fish before or after work, but then I’d be missing out on sleep and family time. I’ll work harder to get a promotion, but how long before I’m burned out? And what IF we do have another baby on the way? What am I supposed to do?!

“Ok, family. Let’s go home,” River said as he got up.

“Are you all right,” Melody asked.

“Me? Yeah. I’m just…tired,” he replied.

When they got home, everyone immediately changed into their PJs and got into bed. No sooner than Melody got in bed, she jumped out when she felt a familiar pressure in her abdomen.

“Riv! Wake up!”

“What’s the matter?”

“I’m pregnant!”