Unpredictable Change

Part 37-"Can you not talk to my mom like that?

Chapter 37

"How did you and Justin come across such names?"
"When you guys decided to bombard me with absurd names for my children?"
"What do you mean? I suggested Jusky, it's a combination of Justin and Kylie." Alex and Justin laugh.
"Sophie! What does Jusky even mean? Come on."
"It's almost the same as Junky." Christine adds with a snort. I can't help but smile at this moment we are having. I can still remember how worried they were when Justin called to inform them about me going into premature labor. They had immediately blamed everything on Justin for being so adamant. The doctor had advised us against traveling due to how heavily pregnant I was, but Justin was being so stubborn about the whole thing, so I just obliged to make him happy. If Sophie was in good condition by then, she would have taken the first available flight to New York. She was so worried. Justin couldn't stop blaming himself when the complications came. I was so tired to push the baby out, so they had suggested an operation, but I didn't want that so Justin had to come inside the labor ward to help with some words of encouragement which didn't even work. I was shouting at him the whole time, but he didn't give up, he kept talking about nice things like how we met and how he hated me at first. I eventually used up all my strength and brought the human beings to life. Two beautiful kids who decided to take the skin color of their father.
"Oh.. my.. God Kylie! The girl looks just like Justin and the boy is a photocopy of you." Gina exclaims.
"Yes. Don't remind me." I roll my eyes and they all laugh. "I thought girls are supposed to look like their mothers while boys look like their fathers, but I guess I'm wrong," I add.
"But I honestly think Jazzlyn and Kyle are beautiful names."
"Thank you." I shout at Brian's compliment. "You're the only sane person in this whole room." I shout out loud.
"It's like, these two cuties are the only good thing that came out of this marriage." Julia snickers, pinching the cheeks of my children. I inhale deeply and look at Justin.
"Today is a very important day so can you please not ruin it for me." She ignores me and picks up Jazz from Christine's laps. I clench my fist trying hard to retain my anger but I fail. I walk over to her like a mad person and take Jazz from her. "I'm done with you treating me like this. If you have a problem then please don't come to my house again."
"Kylie!"
"What?" I yell back without knowing the person calling. I turn and find Justin behind me.
"Can you not talk to my mom like that? That was too harsh. I know she's not nice to you but she has all the right to be with her grandchildren."
"Oh, I see. I cannot believe you're taking your mom's side. Fine. You two." I point at them. "Suit yourself." We've both forgotten the fact that our entire family and friends are around. And without knowing it, we have ruined the after party of our children's naming ceremony. Grandma Lisa and Grace pull Julia away. James bows his head while everyone else looks on. I'm so glad Jenny and Laura did me the favor of exempting themselves from this occasion. I furiously enter one of the rooms and start pacing around. That is when I notice Ariana crying her eyes out. I'm immediately concerned and rush to her. She wipes her tears as soon as she sees me approaching. She is sitting inside her walk-in closet.
"What happened, pumpkin?" She laughs slightly.
"I've told you not to call me that." I throw my hand in the air and she laughs again. She sniffles and begins.
"I feel like no one is ever going to like me."
"But why do you say that? You're an extremely beautiful girl."
"Yes I know! But most of these guys out there are just looking for fun and nothing serious. They don't want commitment. The last guy I was talking to whom I really like, just told me he can't be with someone like me."
"What?" I shout and she slaps her hand on my mouth. "Why would anyone say that to you? And what does he mean by that?" I reduce my voice to a whisper.
"He said he can't date a girl who doesn't want to have sex until she gets married." She mimics his voice. And at this point I'm lost. I thought Ariana had already broken her virginity. Looking at how outgoing and bubbly she is, I mean???
"To be honest, I thought you've already had sex but now that you're telling me this, I must say, I'm really proud of you. And don't ever lower your standards for anyone. If they don't like you this way, then they're not the one for you. Don't ever let anyone make you doubt your self-worth as a woman. You're only 20. You have your whole life ahead of you. It's okay to be a little miserable at this age. I was too. When I was your age, I had no idea what I even wanted to do with my life, but look at you, you already have a full five-year life plan. You're studying pharmacy and you're already working on your own medicine. I mean, who do you need to tell you that you're a special girl." She purses her lips and a tear escapes her eyes. "Haven't you seen your brother and me? When we started dating, if I had told him I wanted to wait till marriage, I'm a 100% sure that he'd have agreed without second thoughts because he loves me so much. I sometimes read comments on social media saying he only loves me because of my body. But look at me now." I point at myself and she laughs loudly.
"I have stretch marks all over my stomach and my waist. And I'm ten times bigger now but he still loves me in every way. How do I know? Because when someone loves you with their whole being, you can feel it. So until you find a love like ours or even better, don't settle for less." She pulls me in a tight and warm embrace with her tears falling on my shoulder. Someone opens the door spoiling the moment.
"Kylie! Are you in there? I want us to talk."