Looking for a Mind at Work (Incomplete/Discontinued)

What Comes Next?

What came next was all a surprise for Eliza.

Her sisters insisted that they all celebrate the "big news" over lunch.

"How about we go to a restaurant?" Eliza suggested. "I don't really feel like cooking. Alex did a lot of the cooking while he was here."

So, Angelica drove the three of them to a restaurant nearby and they ordered their food.

"How're you feeling right now sis?" She asked.

"I don't know." Eliza admitted. "I feel pretty normal."

"No cramps?" Peggy asked. "No vomiting? Oh what about food cravings? Mom always told us about how much she ate when she had us. Dad said he wasn't sure if she was pregnant or just getting fat!"

The girls laughed at this.

"No I've had none of those symptoms." Eliza said. "I mean, I just found out a month ago that I'm expecting and I'm still not 100% sure if I'm right! I've never been pregnant before so I don't really know what it feels like." She joked lightly.

Angelica nodded thoughtfully. "We'll take you to a doctor to make sure, but for now, let's assume you are pregnant. So tell us, are you happy?"

Eliza wasn't expecting that question. "I-I don't know. I'm mostly in shock at this point. It just feels so surreal!"

"I know right!" Peggy exclaimed. "You're only one year older than me and I could never imagine having a baby one year from now! Like never."

Eliza looked at her with a horrified expression. Angelica glared at Peggy.

"Uh sorry. Not helping."

"No you're right Pegs!" Eliza said. "I'm not even twenty-one yet! What will our parents say?"

"Relax," Angelica said soothingly. "You'll be fine. Our parents will understand...well probably not, but they'll support you cause you're their daughter."

Peggy snorted. "Yeah and because you're their daughter, they won't force you to marry some guy ten years older than you." Her eyes widened and she clapped her hand over her mouth. Angelica glared at her a second time.

"Our parents are doing WHAT?" Eliza exclaimed.

"I wasn't going to tell you since you're already caught up with having a baby-" she shot another glare at Peggy. "but I guess that's not possible now."
       
"Wait, mother is okay with you marry a thirty-three year-old man? Even father?" Eliza was appalled.
       
Angelica nodded grimly. "It's not decided yet, but it appears to be that way."
       
"But... why?!" Eliza was stunned at their parents' terrible decision. More so, she was shocked at how chill Angelica was about this.
       
"He's from that really rich family in London." Peggy cut in. "They might be even more wealthy than our family."
       
Eliza sighed. "Of course, why am I not surprised. But you're not going to go through with this, right Angelica?"
       
To Eliza's horror, her older sister only shrugged. "I mean... I don't love him, that's for sure. He's terribly boring in my opinion, but he's not a self-obsessed, money loving idiot either."
       
"But, you can't marry a man you don't love!" Eliza said.
       
"Speak for yourself." Angelica said bitterly. "You only got married a year ago."
      
"But Eliza's got a point." Peggy said. "I've met him and he's awful! He always talks about stocks and cleaning supplies! You can't possibly spend your entire lifetime with that man!"
       
Angelica bit her lip. It was obvious that she was not happy about the decision. "What has to be done, will be done. Not only will marrying him make our family wealthier, it'll give us social power."
      
"Since when did you care about that?" Eliza asked. It felt as if everything she knew was slipping away. "Angelica, you've always told us how we shouldn't let society place us based on riches or power!"
       
"And that as women, we shouldn't let men control our lives, especially when it makes us unhappy." Peggy recited as if she'd heard those very words over and over again.
      
Angelica cracked a small smile. "Look at you two. Using my words against me. I've taught you well."
      
"Actually," Peggy said, "it was kinda annoying since you said that so many times and-"
         
"Shush." Angelica put her finger on her sister's lips. "Don't ruin this tender moment. Bring it in girls!" Then the three sisters hugged, smiles on all of their faces.
         
After they broke up, their food arrived and they dug in. Eliza felt her stomach growl. She didn't realize how hungry she was until she gobbled down all her food. Even after she was done, she still felt hungry.
       
Eliza looked down at her plate in astonishment. How had she eaten all that by herself?
      
Peggy gave her an amused look. "Still hungry?"
       
Eliza smiled sheepishly. "I guess I am pregnant after all."
      
"How about we order desert then?" Angelica said. "A little treat for the three-or the four of us, I should say."
      
Eliza groaned. "Oh that sounds so good!"
      
They ordered a few sweets and once Eliza appetite was satisfied, they exited the restaurant. After a few hours of quality girl time, Eliza returned home.

She laid in her bed, trying to catch a wink of sleep. But she couldn't. She had a weird feeling and she couldn't ignore it.

She sat up and rubbed her slightly swollen stomach. The doctor had told her that she'd been pregnant for at least four months. It just hadn't shown until now. He said that she could come in two weeks later for her ultrasound.

It was so surreal. In two weeks, she would see her baby for the first time. Then a wave of realization hit her:

Alex should be here.

She rushed over to Alex's office and sat at his desk. It wasn't that she didn't have a desk of her own, but his was always organized and stocked with pens and paper, despite him being absent from the house for two months.

She picked up a pen and started writing a hasty letter under the light of the small desk lamp. In a few minutes she was done and she put a reminder in her mind to mail it out the next morning.

She sighed, feeling a little relieved as she went back to bed. This time, she felt her eyelids heavy with drowsiness and soon, she was asleep.