“You’re back already?” I heard Aunt Addy call from the living room as I shut the front door. I had told her I was going out with Ricky so I’m sure she expected me to be gone almost all day.
“Yeah. I, uh, have to, uh, tell you something,” I stammered as I walked into the doorway of the living room, Ricky following at my heel. I could feel my stomach do a flip-flop and my hands start to feel clammy. I was sure that she’d be supportive, but I was still nervous.
“Oh, and you brought Ricky,” she commented when she saw him standing next to me awkwardly. She eyed us curiously as if she wasn’t entirely sure if she wanted to hear what we had to say. “So, what’s up?” she asked apprehensively as we took a seat on the couch,
“Well, um…” I started as I felt Ricky’s hand slip into mine supportively. He gave me an encouraging smile before I went on. “I’m, uh, I’m pregnant,” I stuttered. Her eyes got real wide and I didn’t know if that meant she was happy or not.
“Really, Gabby?” she questioned. When I nodded, a huge smile broke out on her face and she pulled me into a bear hug. “Wow, congratulations,” she exclaimed when she let me go. “I’m so happy for you guys,” she added with genuine excitement. She had no kids of her own, so I knew she would treat this kid like it was her own because she always wanted a baby.
“You’re really growing up, Gabby. I remember when you first moved in with me. You wouldn’t say two words to anybody and now you’re having. I’m so excited,” she told me giving me a grin. Even though the comment made me blush, I was so relieved she was happy.
She then went on to quiz me about going to the doctor’s, about names, and tons of other baby related things. “You’re not getting married or anything, right?” she questioned as if the thought was ridiculous. It was pretty absurd, though. I had never had any desire to get married and I definitely didn’t want to get married just because I pregnant.
“Um, no,” I replied quickly. I was so glad Ricky just wanted to move in together and hadn’t mentioned marriage at all. I then felt Ricky nudging me, signaling me to tell my aunt about our plans. “But we were talking about moving in together,” I added, hoping she wouldn’t go crazy.
“Well, that seems like a good option. It’ll be a lot more simple that way with the baby,” she agreed. I let out a silent sigh of relief that she was ok with me moving out. “This is all so exciting,” murmured with a sparkle in her eyes. “Ooo, you’ll have to call your mum and tell her, too. I’m sure she’ll be excited to know she’s gonna be a grandparent,” my aunt gushed. I don’t think I had ever seen her excited about something.
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Now that I had told my aunt and I had called my mum, who had also seemed very excited, I had a few moments to breath. We still had to tell Ricky’s parents, but we were waiting for the next tour to do that. Somehow our managers had been able to get us both opening for Asking Alexandria, so we were going to tell them when we were in Seattle. Unfortunately, the Seattle date was during the first week of tour, so I had no time to prepare myself. Something told me they were going to be as stoked as my aunt had been.
“Is this everything?” Jeremy questioned. None of my bandmates were letting me lift a finger, so he was lugging me suitcase to the bus along with my drum set.
“Yep,” I replied with a nod. While their treatment made me feel useless, it was nice to sit back and watch them break their backs while I relaxed.
“You excited to tour with Baby Daddy?” he teased. ‘Baby Daddy’ was the guys’ new nickname for Ricky. Their teasing had been relentless recently and I knew it would just get worse.
“Shut up,” I muttered as I climbed on our bus. Blake was inside trying to shove as many articles of clothing as possible into our extra bunk. He could be so weird sometimes.
“What are you even doing?” I asked, trying to wrap my brain around the fact that he was making a mess if our bus before the tour even started. How had we even become friends?
“Putting these clothes away,” he replied as if it was simple. I flopped myself down on the couch as he joined me in the front lounge. “Have you told Ricky’s parents about your little spawn yet?” he questioned. ‘Spawn’ was the baby’s new name.
“No, we’re waiting until we get to Seattle at the end of the week,” I responded, looking down at my stomach. I was starting to show a tiny bit. If you didn’t know I was pregnant you might just think I had gained a few pounds.
“Well, good luck with that. I doubt they’ll be thrilled,” he told me, practically reading my mind. It was funny how after knowing someone for so long they could speak your mind without knowing it.
“I know. I’m really not looking forward to telling them. I mean, they seemed to like me, but I don’t think they’re gonna be as excited as m aunt was,” I agreed. Just when I thought I had made a good impression, we had to drop this on them.
“Well, there’s really nothing you can do to change the situation, so don’t get too upset about how they’re gonna react,” he encouraged. I was glad all the guys were being so supportive about everything because I needed the reassurance.
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“So, when are we telling them?” I questioned, playing with hem of my black tank top. My stomach was doing countless flip-flops and I was hoping I wouldn’t throw up on Ricky’s parents.
“As soon as they get here. Let’s just get it over with,” Ricky responded, taking my small hand in his. I was just so glad that he was going to break the news to them and I didn’t have to say anything.
Before I could say anything, the bus door swung open and Mr. and Mrs. Olson climbed on followed by Rachel and Reagan. As soon as Mrs. Olson saw Ricky a large smile broke out on her face and he stood up to give them all hugs.
“It’s so nice to see you again, Midnight,” Mrs. Olson greeted with a warm smile. I couldn’t help but think she probably wouldn’t be smiling once she knew that her son would be a parent soon.
I was then greeted by Ricky’s father, sister, and nephew. Reagan was just as cute as I remembered. I was trying to imagine what our baby would look like when he or she was his age, but it was hard to picture. After all the ‘hellos’ were said, everyone sat down.
“So, we have something to tell you guys,” Ricky announced putting on arm around me. I instantly felt my hands get sweaty and my heart start to race. All four sets of eyes were set on us curiously, which didn’t help my nerves. “Uh, so, um… Midnight’s pregnant,” Ricky stammered out finally. It was obvious hr was just as nervous as I was by the way he was looking at me instead of his family.
“Really? That’s awesome! Reagan will have a little playmate,” Rachel exclaimed. Well, at least she was excited. Her parents’ faces on the other hand were unreadable. All I could tell was that they didn’t look happy.
“Well, isn’t that…nice,” Mrs. Olson commented unconvincingly. She could try to hide it all she wanted, but I could tell she didn’t really like what Ricky had just said.
Mr. Olson didn’t have to say anything for me to know how he was feeling. It was written all over his face and it just made me wish this baby would go away. I had become a bit more excited, but that look made all my happiness vanish.
“I can’t believe you guys are actually going to be parents,” Rachel squealed, pulling her brother into a tight hug. It was almost like she could sense the disappointment radiating off her parents and she felt she had to make for it.
Soundcheck thankfully rolled around quickly and I had to go help set up, which got me away from the awkward baby conversation. The whole time I could faintly hear Mrs. Olson bickering with Ricky since they had came to watch us soundcheck.
“How could you be careless, Ricky?” she was asking angrily. It was obvious she was trying to keep her voice down so no one else would hear, but she was doing a terrible job.
“Mom, I know the situation isn’t ideal, but I’m actually kind of excited for the baby. Can’t you just be happy for us?” Ricky replied. Hearing him say those words made me feel so reassured. It was so relieving to know that he was truly happy.
“How can you be excited about this?” she exclaimed. She ran her hand through her hair and gave him a look of sadness. “Wait, did you guys plan this?” she asked in disbelief. How dumb did she think we were?
“What? No! Why the fuck would we do that?” Ricky practically yelled, catching the attention of everyone in the venue. It was obvious that he was mad at his mother. To be honest, I was mad at her, too.
“God, Ricky. Keep your voice down,” Mrs. Olson scolded in whisper. “Everyone who had been looking at them turned back to what they were doing besides me. “ Was just making sure,” she added with a sigh.
“Mom, I’m not asking you to be ok with this. I get why you’re upset, but can you just support us?” Ricky requested. I couldn’t imagine having parents that don’t support you. My mum and my aunt were always right beside me when I needed them.
She let out a sigh and gave him a pained look. “I really just wished you had planned better, Richard,” she admitted. She looked just so dispirited. It was so disheartening to watch.
“Well, we didn’t and there’s no way to change it now,” he pointed out. He put up a good argument. What did she expect us to do? Did she want me to have an abortion or something? There’s was no way I was doing that. I planned to love this kid with all of my heart.
“As much as I don’t like what’s happening, I’m glad you’re happy,” she replied with a look that told me that it was doubtful she was actually be supportive. She let out another sigh that again made her reply seem like a lie.
“Thank you, Mom,” he sighed. It was evident that he he was having a hard time believing her, but as long as she pretended to be happy for us, he was ok with it. Even though I could tell she was still mad about the baby, at least she was willing to pretend otherwise.