Day by Day

Chapter 7: Another Little One

Jay and Lonnie were in the car. They were on their way to go out to lunch with their friends. Life has been pretty busy with all of them, so they hadn't had time to just enjoy each other's company.

"So," Jay began, "are we gonna tell them today?"

"Tell them what?" Lonnie asked.

Jay rolled his eyes. "You know what I'm talking about. The big thing."

"Oh, that. I think we should tell them today. I mean, we're gonna have to tell them before they find out themselves."

Jay chuckled. "Yeah. I really don't wanna have Mal and Evie on my back about it on why I didn't tell them."

"Why would they go after you? Why wouldn't Carlos if you're including them two?"

"Mal and Evie are like younger sisters to me. They'd never let me let it down if I didn't tell them. As for Carlos, he's a lot calmer, so he probably wouldn't mind."

Lonnie nodded. "Makes sense." There was a slight pause. "You know we're gonna have to tell my parents at some point."

"We'll get to that eventually," Jay said.

"What? Are you scared to tell them?"

Jay scoffed. "What? No?"

Lonnie laughed. "You totally are, you big goofball. Relax, they'll be happy about it. Our friends will too."

Jay pulled the car into a parking spot and parked the car. "We're here."

"Well duh," Lonnie said with a smile.

Lonnie and Jay joined their friends in the restaurant. They all began discussing right away.

"So, how's Baby Beastette?" Carlos asked.

"Her nickname is still Baby Beast," Mal said. "And she's been good according to the doctor. She just started kicking, and she loves to do it at night when I'm trying to sleep."

"Have you guys thought of any names?" Jane asked.

"We've thought of a few," Ben said, rubbing the back of his head. "We just can't decide to agree on a name."

"What are some names you guys have come up with?" Evie asked.

Mal pulls out a list from her purse. Jay chuckles. "You made a list? Wow, you really are turning into Evie." Evie lightly hit Jay's arm.

"Let's see, we've come up with Mia, Marissa, Becca, Malia, Brelyn, Brianna, Melissa, Bethany, Bella, and Melanie."

"Wow, that's a lot of names," Lonnie said, her eyes growing wide.

"Do you guys have any middle names you like?" Carlos asked. The group, excluding Ben and Mal, silently glared at the white-haired man. "What?"

This time, it was Ben who pulled out a list from his pocket. The list seemed to be longer than the list of first names. "For middle names we have Marie, Belle, Rose, Gabriella, Eve, Rae, Olivia, Madison, Chloe, Kylee, Penelope, Ella, just to name a few," Ben said, reading off the list.

"How do you guys have more middle names than first names?" Doug asked.

"Well, for the first name, we know for sure we want it to start with an M or B, so that narrowed it down a little," Mal explained.

For a couple more minutes, the group continued to talk. It was during this time that both Jay and Lonnie fell silent. Evie was the first to notice.

"You two seem offly quiet," Evie said. "Is there something going on?"

Jay was the first one to answer. "There's something we've been meaning to tell you guys."

Jay and Lonnie looked at one another. They both smiled and nodded before turning back to their friends. "I'm pregnant," Lonnie said.

The girls practically screamed. They all rushed over to Lonnie's seat to hug her. They all began excitedly talking about the baby.

"Aw!" Mal began, "Our babies will be best friends!"

"Or lovers if their baby turns out to be a boy," Evie said.

The boys were a little calmer in congratulating Jay, but they were happy nonetheless. They high-fived with a little "Way to go, Jay."

After lunch, they all said their goodbyes as they all headed home. "Are you ready to tell my parents?" Lonnie asked.

"Right now?" Jay asked nervously.

"No, but I did like seeing you look nervous," Lonnie said, making her voice sound younger as she teased her husband.

"Oh, ha, ha," Jay said.

"Come on, Jay, I know you're scared to tell my parents, just tell me why."

"I'll tell you later," he said.

Lonnie gave in as she entered the car. She knew it was something deep down, so she knew not to push to hard. She knew Jay would tell her once he was ready.

In Mal and Ben's car, they continued to discuss baby names. "I really like Madison," Ben said. "Maybe with Olivia as the middle name? We could call her Maddie for short. Or, if you want to forget the M and B thing, we could just name her Olivia and call her Liv for short? Liv or Maddie seem like good names I think you'd like."

Mal shook her head. "Nah. If we were having twins, maybe, but we're not, so I want our daughter's name to be very special."

The two continued to look at the two list. Suddenly, at the same time, the two gasped. "I have the perfect name!"

"What is it?" Mal asked.

"I have an idea," Ben said. He grabbed two pens, and handed one to Mal. "Circle the name on your list, and I'll circle the name on mine. We can show each other the names we picked for the first and middle."

"How do you know if we're thinking of the same thing?" Mal asked.

"I don't know for sure if we did, but I can feel it," Ben said.

Mal smiled as she circled the name on the list. Ben did the same. Once they finished, they look at each other. "Ready?" Mal asked.

"3"

"2"

"1"

The two revealed the names they circled. Smiles grew upon their faces as they looked up at one another. "That's it. That's our special girl."