Day by Day

Chapter 9: Grandparents

Jay was coming home later as he was coaching the tourney team's practice. When he entered the kitchen of his and Lonnie's home, he found his wife talking on the phone.

"Yeah," Lonnie said to the phone. "Sounds great...Good...Okay. Bye, mom. See you tomorrow night." Lonnie then hung up the phone.

"Tomorrow night?" Jay questioned. "What's going on tomorrow night?"

"We're going out to dinner with my parents tomorrow night," Lonnie answered.

"Why?"

"You know why," Lonnie said, shifting her wait so she was sitting in her hip.

Jay sighed. "We're telling your parents..."

"...that I'm pregnant," Lonnie finished for him.

"I know," Jay said as he sighed and walked to the table.

Lonnie watched her husband. She wasn't mad at Jay but rather worried about him. She knew he had gotten past the being a father part, but she also knew that there was something else bothering him. Lonnie sat down at the table.

"Jay, talk to me," Lonnie began with a soft voice. "What's really going on? Why don't you want to tell my parents about our baby?"

Jay looked up at Lonnie. He could see the longing look in her eyes. He couldn't leave her in the dark. He wasn't on the Isle of the Lost anymore. He didn't have to hide his feelings in Auradon like if he was on the Isle. Especially with the love of his life.

"I just feel like your parents have never really been happy with me," Jay finally said.

"What? Jay, what are you talking about?"

"Do you not remember your parents' reactions when we told them we were dating?" Jay asked. "I don't think either one of them was happy."

"They were just in shock," Lonnie said, trying to make things sound better. "You were literally my first boyfriend ever."

"I could've sworn I saw your dad glaring at me," Jay said.

"Hey, he probably would've done that if I brought any other boy home." Jay gave Lonnie a look. "I'm sorry. I know I'm not helping."

"Hey, at least you're trying," Jay said, chuckling. "It's kind of working."

"I mean, I am my parents' youngest child and only daughter. My dad is pretty protective over me. I promise you that he doesn't mean any harm. I mean, my dad was happy for us at our wedding, so he has to like you in some way."

"Marrying your daughter is one thing. Getting your daughter pregnant is another."

Lonnie thought about Jay's mindset and nodded. "I get where you're coming from, but you can't hide from this forever. My parents deserve to know they're going to be grandparents. Take my word for it: at least we know my mother will be happy."

"How do you know?" Jay asked.

Lonnie sighed as she blushed. "Well, you see, my mom has kind of been pestering me about grandkids ever since before we were married. Before we were even engaged for that matter." Lonnie let out a small laugh, finally getting that off her chest. Jay started laughing too. "Are you feeling any better about it?" Lonnie asked.

Jay nodded. "I mean, I'm still a little nervous, but I feel a little better about it. Thank you." Jay pulled Lonnie in for a kiss.

"I love you," Lonnie said.

"I love you too."

Later that night, Lonnie and Jay met with Mulan and Shang. The two approached the table they were sitting at. "Hey," Lonnie greeted.

"Lonnie!" Mulan said, standing up to hug her daughter. "Oh, sweetie, I've missed you so much. How are things going."

"They're going pretty great," Lonnie replied.

As Mulan and Lonnie caught up, Jay shook Shang's hand. "How you doing, son?" Shang asked.

"Good. You, sir?" Jay asked.

"I'm doing fine. Thank you very much," Shang replied.

The couples then sat down. Lonnie and Jay sat across from Mulan and Shang. "So, Jay," Shang began, "How are the Knights looking? Ready for the upcoming tourney season?"

Jay cleared his throat before answering. "Team's looking great. We're definitely looking at a record-breaking team. I have no doubt that we will make it to finals this year."

"Are there any girls this year? I know Auradon has been wanting girls to join tourney for a very long time now," Mulan asked.

"Unfortunately, no girls tried out," Jay replied. "I hope one joins soon. Somebody needs to show all those princes what the girls are capable of."

"Wow. Is Lonnie rubbing off on you?" Shang asked.

"Dad," Lonnie said, chuckling.

"That, and two of my best friends from the Isle are girls, and I was able to see what they were capable of on the Isle of the Lost," Jay answered.

"Hopefully there might be some trying out for R.O.A.R," Mulan said. "Oh, Lonnie, I can't wait to see what you do with the team this year!"

Lonnie softly laughed. "Well, I hope the team will be able to carry themselves since this year I won't be able to be as active."

"Why is that?" Shang asked.

Lonnie looked to Jay. They both smiled, and Jay nodded. "Well, mom, dad, I'm-"

"May I take your order?" the waitress asked as she approached the table. All four of them frantically picked up their menus, realizing they forgot to check out their dinner options.

After they were given their food, they had totally forgotten what they were previously talking about. They shared laughs the entire night.

"We recently saw Li'l Shang," Mulan said, bringing up the subject of Lonnie's older brother. "Lillianna, Ping, and Mila have grown up so much. I mean, yeah, I know they're only 3, 2, and 1, but you seeing them grow up makes you kinda feel old."

"You're not that old, Mrs. Li," Jay said.

"Come on, Jay," Mulan said. "I told you that you don't need to call me Mrs. Li anymore. We're family."

Jay smiled. Not including Mal, Evie, and Carlos, who he considered his surrogate sisters and brother, Jay didn't really have a family. Well, there was his father, but he was far from actually being a father figure.

"It got me wondering," Mulan began, "when am I going to start getting grandkids from you two?"

Lonnie looked to Jay. Like before, they smiled and nodded. "I actually meant to say this earlier before we were interrupted, but um...I'm pregnant."

In an instant, Mulan began freaking out. She immediately hugged Lonnie. It was the biggest smile Jay had ever seen on the famous warrior. It was on par with the smile she had on Lonnie and his wedding day.

While Lonnie and Mulan were talking about mom things, Jay's eyes slowly moved towards Shang until he made eye contact. Shang lifted his hand. Jay quickly closed his eyes and flinched back, expecting a slap across the face. However, the hard slap never came. When Jay opened his eyes, he saw Shang with a smile on his face. Shang's hand was placed on Jay's shoulder. "Good job, son," Shang said.

Jay relaxed. "T-Thank you, s-sir," Jay said.

"Jay, please," Shang began, "no more sir. Like Mulan said, we're family now. This baby is further proof of that."

Jay smiled. Everything was working out better than he had ever imagined.