What comes up next: Ellie goes to seek help from Big Red for a job at his family's pizza place. Ellie goes to her doctors appointment and hears her baby's heartbeat for the first time.
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*the next day*
I was driving after school to Salt Lake Slices where I was about to ask Uncle Big Red for a job there. Ever since I was little, I could make homemade pizzas after Uncle Red had taught me how to do that whenever he came to visit my house, and then we showed the same thing to Mikey and Sam. Even though, things got a little messy, but we always knew we did a great job together. Years later, since that place has been in his family for quite a long time now, Uncle Big Red took over SLS as the manager after my Aunt Kourtney during their high school years before she left Salt Lake to pursue her dream as a singer. So now, I was thinking that pizza making was something I could do as a job position.
After I found a parking spot, I found the place and entered in. Then I went up to one of the waiters, a guy, and asked him if I could speak to the manager. I waited for a couple of moments until Uncle Red came out and saw me.
"Well, if it isn't the beautiful, and the very darling, none other than my niece, Ellie Caswen," he smiled.
"Hey, Uncle Red!" I walked up to him and gave him a hug.
"My gosh, look at you! You've really grown!" Uncle Big Red said.
"Thanks," I giggled.
"Hey, so how are Uncle Andy and the kids these days?" I asked.
"They're great, actually. Your Uncle Andy's been in France, filming a movie for a few months now, but will be back home in a couple of weeks. It's weird how he's got his French accent back on again after that time in high school while we were young. Oh, and Esther and Adam have been doing well in school," he talked about his talented husband and their twins.
"That's nice," I responded.
"Yeah. So, what can I do for you?" Uncle Red asked.
"Well, I was wondering if you have a minute, so I could talk to you? Maybe, in some place private?" I asked.
"Oh, sure. Step into my office. Right this way, please," Uncle Red gestured his direction.
I went on ahead as he followed me behind. He opened his office door and I entered in as he closed it and got around to his desk before we both sat down.
"Okay. So, what's up, kiddo?" Uncle Red asked.
"Um, well I was thinking I could... I could, uh..."
I started to become nervous just when I was about to tell him about my baby and last night's incident. But I took a deep breath and gathered up my courage as I started to speak.
"Do you remember, from when I was little, we used to make pizzas together whenever you would come by to my house for a visit?" I asked.
"Yeah. You know how much I've loved spending time with you and your brothers just like how I often spend time with your dads, which brought me back the old days of when we were in high school," he said.
I chuckled a bit.
"Oh Uncle Red, I love how you and everyone else could tell me your stories about yourselves with my dads. I could never get tired of hearing them," I stated.
"Well, I'm glad to hear you say that," Uncle Red said.
"Thanks. Listen, um... the reason why I came to see you is that I was wondering if maybe I could apply for a job here," I asked.
"Really?" Uncle Red asked.
"Well, yeah. Auntie Ash suggested that to me, and that I would stop by to talk to you about it," I started explaining.
"She did?"
"Yeah. I kind of started living with her and Aunt Maddie now after one of my dads kicked me out last night."
"Why? What happened? Did you and one of your dads have a fight or something?" Uncle Red questioned on me.
"Worse. The reason one of my dads kicked me out of the house is because I'm... I'm pregnant," I answered.
Uncle Big Red suddenly froze when he heard those words coming out of my own mouth.
"Are you okay, Uncle Red? You're not mad at me about this, are you?"
"What?" Uncle Big Red snapped out of it.
"Oh, no, no, no, sweetie. No, I'm not mad at you. You... you scared me for a second there," he told me.
"I didn't mean to do that. I know it's shocking. I just found out for myself yesterday, and my brothers found out too, but I told them not to say anything before I told my dads," I said.
"I can't believe EJ would do that to you, after everything he's done to make my own best friend happy--"
I cut him off and said, "No, not Daddy E.. Daddy R.."
"Wh- Ricky? He's the one who kicked you out?" Uncle Red asked.
"He was angry at me after I told him and Daddy E., and I tried to ask him to not do this. But he did anyway. And now, I can't go back home," I told him before I was about to cry.
"Oh honey..." Uncle Big Red came around to hug me.
I sobbed as he held onto me for a few moments.
"I'm so sorry to hear about that. Sometimes, people say things they don't really mean to say just because they're mad," Uncle Red told me.
"That's what Daddy E. exactly told me about since he's the only dad who understands me and he gave me his support," I stated.
"Well, you're lucky to at least have one dad who's worried about you," he said.
Then we released from the hug and I wiped the tears.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Red. I know Daddy R.'s been your best friend since forever and you guys always have a special connection. I know that you think what he did was wrong, and that he broke my heart, but I don't even know if we will start talking to each other again. I'm scared and hurting right now, because other than that, my boyfriend, Derek, who's the father of my baby just as I was about to tell him, cheated on me with my best friend, Paige after I went to her house last night to ask her if I could stay before I went to live with Auntie Ash and Aunt Maddie."
"Oh, that's terrible. I'm sorry, El. Not to dig deep a little, but are you planning on keeping the baby?" Uncle Big Red wondered.
"Well, I'm thinking about it. It's a lot of hard work to take on for when it comes to becoming a parent, but I'll be totally responsible from now on. And I'll keep up with my school work. There's so much to keep my life in balance without getting it affected if something goes wrong. I'm gonna do my best at anything that challenges me," I said.
Uncle Red was quiet for a moment as it looked like he was thinking. Then he looked back at me.
"Okay, as long as you're sure," Uncle Red said.
"I am. And I'm glad I came to you for help, because you may not be my actual uncle, but you're always gonna be my family as we look out for each other and seeking what's best since you've taught me much and I've learned it from you," I told him.
And then, it made him smile and reached for my hand and gently squeezed it.
"I appreciate you telling me that. You'll always be my family like you have been, even since I was there when you were born. I love you, Ellie," Uncle Red told me.
"Love you too, Uncle B.R.," I said to him.
Then he reached out for a piece of paper and handing it to me.
"Here's an application form for you to fill out, and when you're done, leave it here on my desk. I'll give it to the assistant manager, Stacy to look at. And she'll call for you for an interview, so we'll see what happens," Uncle Big Red instructed me.
"Thanks, Uncle Red," I smiled.
And so, I filled out the application form. When I was done, I thanked Uncle Big Red and left. It was going to be a lot of hard work, but I would have to stay flexible about it. I still need time to think about whether I want to keep the baby or not, because I definitely did not want to get rid of it. It would feel wrong. Once I get the job, I might have a feeling that I'm going to be okay.
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*two months later*
After thinking this over, breaking up with Derek, ending my friendship with Paige, and getting a job, I decided to keep my baby.
The next day after filling out an application form, I got a call from the assistant manager at SLS and she asked to come in for the job interview. A couple days later, I did my interview and I was hired right after. I first started my job on a Friday after school, and started helping out making pizzas. I followed the directions on what I remembered about, and I've been doing great at it since then. And some of the workers would compliment me on how amazing I was doing, and everyone there was so nice to me. Uncle Big Red could not have been proud of me after the things he taught me and my brothers.
While keeping up with my school work and working as hard as possible at my job, Daddy E. would often call me to check in and see how I was doing. I told him about my job and how I planned to keep the baby, and he was happy and proud of me. As I entered into three months of my pregnancy, Auntie Ash scheduled an appointment for me to hear my baby's heartbeat, and I asked Daddy E. if he wanted to come and be a part of the moment. Daddy E. told me that he'd be there, but I asked him to not tell Daddy R. since we haven't been talking, and he swore to it.
So one day, I was scheduled to go for my doctor's appointment after school as I was taken the day from work. Auntie Ashlyn drove me there, and Daddy E. drove to meet up with us. When we got to the office, I told the receptionist my name and I had an appointment with Dr. Scott. Then Auntie Ash, Daddy E. and I waited until fifteen minutes, I heard my name being called. While we walked into a room, I was sort of getting nervous, my dad squeezed my hand gently as he and Auntie Ash told me to relax and that it was going to be okay. When we got to the room, I sat on this chair as we waited for Dr. Scott until she came in a few minutes later.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Scott. Are you Elena?" Dr. Scott introduced herself.
"Yeah, but you can call me Ellie," I told her as we shook hands.
"Nice to meet you, Ellie. And are these your parents?" Dr. Scott asked about my dad and my auntie.
"I'm her father. She's actually just my cousin," EJ explained himself and about Auntie Ash.
"Oh, my apologies, ma'am," Dr. Scott apologized to Auntie Ash.
"It's okay," Auntie Ash said.
Then Dr. Scott asked me a few questions on my health just to make sure I was doing alright with the baby.
"Okay Ellie, I like for you to lie down and lift up your shirt, please," Dr. Scott requested.
I lied down on my back and pulled up my shirt. Then Dr. Scott squirted some clear blueish gel on my stomach, which made me shiver a bit because it was cold.
"You okay, El?" Auntie Ash asked.
"Yeah. Mm-hmm," I nodded.
"Just relax, sweetie. You're doing great so far," Daddy E. told me.
Dr Scott had this wand where she set on my stomach where the gel was at, and she started moving it around. Then we looked over at the screen, and there it was.
"There's your baby," Dr. Scott pointed at the screen.
That was my baby. I started to feel tears in my eyes as I looked in to see how beautiful it was.
"Are you ready to hear the heartbeat?" Dr. Scott asked.
"Y-Yes," I nodded.
Then she moved the wand to where I could hear the baby's heartbeat from and pressed a button that turned on the sound. The second I started to hear the heartbeat, I had begun to cry as I was falling in love with the precious thing inside my own body. Daddy E. and Auntie Ash were also in tears.
"You guys okay?" I looked up at the both of them.
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, honey. I..." my dad paused as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'm fine."
"Oh, El, this is the most beautiful sound ever heard," Auntie Ash wept.
When we were finished, Dr. Scott wiped the gel off my stomach and I pulled my shirt back down.
"I love you, guys," I hugged them.
"Love you too, Ellie," Daddy E. said.
"Me too," Auntie Ash added.
Dr. Scott printed out a couple of sonograms, one for myself and the other for Daddy E. to keep. When we were free to go, the three of us headed out to our cars, and I thanked my dad for being there with me and Auntie Ash. I was so happy that I got to see what my baby looked like inside, but also sad just to think of what it would have been like if Daddy R. could've been a better father, so I would want him there for me, so he could see his grandchild. I wanted the both of us to start talking again, but now I'm not sure if I could ever forgive him after the pain he put me through. I still needed more time to think of the other things when I was about to become a parent and see if I could be happy in the future.
To be continued...
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Well, that was pt. 2! But what will happen next? Will Ricky faces his regret? Will he mend his relationship with Ellie and vow to become a supportive parent? Find out in pt. 3 very soon!