Chapter Eighteen
The Pregnancy
The hurricane demolished everything, at all of the camps,except for the claw foot bathtub.The group safely weathered the storm, in the safety of the cave.
Cat cried into her pillow,"I give up, I'm not leaving my bed."
Chance stroked the long, blond hair he adored,"you can't give up Cat, because if you give up, then so will I. Cat your hormones are controlling your emotions. For the sake of everyone's sanity, you must behave as you did before. If you want, I will tell everyone why you've been puking?"
Cat sat up hugging her husband,"no Chance, please don't tell them,we can't say that the Captain married us.I don't want them to think,I got pregnant before marriage. I will pretend to get fat, until they stop believing it."
Chance smiled at his wife,"whatever you want, wife it's your choice."
Page looked in shock,"look at the mess girls, lumber thrown about. Swim camp is no more, all of our safe warm cabins, are gone."
Julie stood where her cabin bed should have Been,"what if, I would have been sleeping?Thank God we listened to Kyle, letting the animals roam free. If not for the animals, going into the cave for shelter,we would all be dead."
Lizy picked up a coffee cup, off of the ground,"look this cup isn't broken, there isn't even one chip. Weird how strong wooden buildings, were completely demolished, and a fragile cup, is in perfect condition."
Amy spoke softly,"Cat hasn't used one tampon since returning. I think when her and Chance, were lost in the jungle, they did much more than hold hands."
Page whispered,"Cat gets nausea every day, sometimes she vomits."
Julie spoke low,"when my aunt was pregnant, she cried for no reason, and got mad easily. Cat is definitely pregnant, but we will not act like we know. When Cat wants us to know, she will tell us."
The three girls shook hands agreeing to keep Cat's secret.
All of the males, including the boy, were on a mission, collecting every piece of lumber they could find.
Kevin's hair was wet with sweat,"I can't believe we're starting over, this is worse than Beach Camp, when we first arrived Ronny."
Ronny threw a board upon the pile,"tell me about it Kevin, I nearly cried seeing what used to be our outhouse. It's just a hole in the ground now, full of water."
Matty joined in on the teens conversation,"two of the fruit trees are gone, like they were never there."
Jake drug what used to be a door to the pile,"look Steve the wooden lock, is still on this door."
Steve picked up a wooden shelf, from the supply shed,"I don't know why, we're wasting our energy. Why is Chance making us rebuild?Another hurricane can destroy it all again."
Kyle drug what used to be a table, to the pile,"we don't know how many years we will be here Steve.Chance wants us to live, like we're modern human beings, not like cavemen. The cave is safe, but it is also dark and damp. People deserve to live in the sun,when on a tropical paradise."
Ronny disagreed,"I'm not the smartest one here, but even I know why Chance wants to rebuild the camp.Cat is pregnant, he wants her to be, as comfortable as possible.Lizy told me, all the girls think it."
The chatting stopped, an awkward silence replaced it.
Amy chased chickens from the cave,"shoo dirty birds, I just scrubbed the floor."
Page dusted the canned goods,"I'm so greatful, Cat went on a canning spree.The fruit trees and garden will take a few months to produce again."
Cat made her bed,"Kevin and Ronny should be fishing, not wasting their time picking up boards."
Julie milked a goat,"hold still ewe, get it you?Relax Amy I'm, kicking her out after I milk her.I want butter on my corn for dinner."
Cat was annoyed,"no Julie, there are only fifteen ears of corn left, we are going to plant the kernels.We will have sweet corn in a few months. I think we should enlarge the garden, that much corn needs room to grow."
Amy defused the situation,"I don't see what harm, keeping a few ears of corn would do?"
Cat was offended,"until you have nothing to eat at all, you don't see how precious corn seeds are."
Cat cried into her hands.
Amy hugged her friend,"I'm so sorry you and Chance, went through that Cat. You can plant all of the corn,we will help you make the garden larger."
Cat wiped her tears on a shirt,"I'm sorry girls, I'm just upset about losing so much."
Lizy gave her two cents, of common sense,"it only makes sense to build a camp, if we build it beside the cave. We can put everything in the cave, in no time at all."
Cat smiled,"you're right Lizy, I feel better with your plan. I will bring it up to Chance the next time I see him."
Two months went by, enough boards were recovered, to build one large cabin. All eight beds fit, pushed against one another, four on the right side, four on the left side. There was a path down the center, large enough to crawl,from the foot of each bed.It took another week, to find enough boards, for the cabin door.
Kevin tore apart his wooden bed frame,"I'm willing to sleep on a mattress, on the floor Ronny. We need the wood, for the outhouse, to sit on. The rest can be made of bamboo."
Ronny picked up an arm full of boards,"dude you could have asked me, before taking apart our bed. I miss the outhouse too, it's a good idea, I will help you."
The guys carried the boards, happy as clams, to poop in comfort once again.
Island life was never the same again, after the storm, but the group adapted and persevered.
Chance spoke to the group after dinner,"I'm sure most of you have guessed by now, that Cat is pregnant.We think that, she is in her fourth month of pregnancy."
Amy clapped her hands,"it's about time you told us."
Page hugged her friend,"congrats Cat."
Julie got her hug in,"you're going to be a great mom Cat."
Lizy squealed,"Elizabeth is a good name, hint hint."
Ronny shook his friend's hand,"congratulations Chance."
Kevin gave the leader a bear hug,"you're going to make a great dad Chance."
Kyle shook hands,"Chance I'm happy for you and Cat."
Jake gave his friend a long hug,"I know it wasn't easy telling us, I'm proud of you Chance."
Matty hugged the pregnant one,"just so you know Cat, I'm old enough to babysit."
Cat and Chance hugged every group member, all of them had the same worry. Cat giving birth with no doctor, or worse yet, an early birth.
Laundry was done where Swim Camp used to be, the four girls carried buckets of water.
Amy scolded her friend,"Cat don't you dare lift a thing, Chance will kill us if you do. If you want to help, you can wring the water from the clothes, sitting down of course."
Julie wiped sweat from her forehead, with the back of her hand,"we're just looking out for you Cat, because we love you."
Lizy sat down a bucket of water,"you are resting for two now Cat, we want you healthy."
Page added laundry detergent to the bucket of water,"I hear that, your long overdue birthday party, is being planned Cat. We finally have a routine again, and we need something to celebrate."
Cat was bored,"I feel fine, there is no reason, I can't do chores."
Chance fumbled with the lace ribbon,"I can't seem to make a bow."
Jake did the task for his friend,"there it's done Chance, I've wrapped a lot of Christmas and birthday gifts."
Ronny was bright eyed with glee,"Cat is going to be so surprised, the girls are telling her, it's going to be a birthday party."
Chance was rethinking his plan,"perhaps a baby shower is a bad idea? It might freak Cat out?"
Kevin patted the leaders back,"you overthink everything Chance, this shower is going to happen."
Amy warned her friend,"we weren't supposed to tell you about your birthday party, so act surprised Cat."
Cat walked out of the cave, the group stood in a line,"HAPPY BABY SHOWER CAT!!!"
Cat saw the gifts wrapped in clothing, the largest gift had a sheet covering it, a red bow laid upon it.There was chocolate cake, roasted chicken.There were mashed potatoes, a huge surprise, the instant ran out.The potatoes they planted, were harvested.There was gravy and biscuits.
Cat began to cry,"thank you all, you've made me so happy."
Amy handed her friend a gift, wrapped in a yellow shirt,"Cat this is from me, Page, Julie and Lizy."
Cat unwrapped the shirt, it was a stack of homemade diapers.
Lizy pointed out,"we cut white sheets, then made holes with nails. The strips of cloth go through the holes, tying a bow."
Cat hugged each girl,"thank you all so much, it means the world to me."
Jake handed the girl a gift,"Cat this is from all of the guys but Chance."
Cat unwrapped the red tee shirt,she was confused about what she saw.
Ronny picked up the clothing item,"see you put it over your neck, you carry the baby in it."
Kevin put on the shirt,"it's specially made, so you can feed the baby, but nobody can see your boobs, I mean breasts."
Cat hugged each male,"thank you all, I will never forget this moment."
Chance's excitement was in his smile,"I hope you like my gift Cat."
Cat lifted the bow from the sheet, then lifted the sheet,"it's the most beautiful crib I've ever seen.Thank you my love."
Matty explained,"Chance took the wood for the crib, before anything else was built. It took him weeks to build it, with a wood hand saw. He hand sanded for hours, making sure there would be no splinters. He found walnuts, making wood stain, that he applied with rags. He slowly pounded tiny nails, with such concentration."
Cat kissed his soft lips,"I love you so much Chance, thank you for all of your hard work."
Ronny spoke out loud,"you can all cry later, now let's eat."
The party lasted for three hours, Cat fell asleep exhausted and happy, in her husband's arms.
The next morning Cat saw a spot of blood in her underwear, Chance confined his wife to bed. The leader left the cabin, he went into the jungle alone.
Chance yelled at a tree,"my wife is pregnant and bleeding, and it's all your fault!If you didn't make us get married, we would both still be virgins!"
The Captain responded,"a miscarriage is no reason, for a medical evacuation. Do not bother me again."