Priscilla awakened in bed, surprised to find herself there. Slowly sitting up, she looked around for her husband, sure the last place she had been was in the back seat of the car. He usually woke her before he just left for work. Even if it was just to kiss her goodbye and tell her when he’d be back.
Getting out of the bed, she headed into the bathroom to pee and clean herself up. In the mirror, she found a note from her husband telling her that he had taken Janice to enroll and that he was going to see her on his lunch.
Priscilla headed into the shower and washed up, running a hand over her growing belly. She was still amazed that she was home to a little human being. She could add mother to her résumé; and amazing mother she planned to be. Priscilla didn’t do half-ass jobs, so this kid was going to get the best mother she knew how to be.
Sliding out of the shower, she headed into the closet, receiving a phone call from Phoebe. With her towel wrapped around her, she answered for her sister, browsing through her options. “What?” she asked.
“Are you back in Phoenix, bitch?”
“Yep.”
“Lunch?”
“Station 27?”
Priscilla had a select few places she would have an impromptu lunch, and that was one of her favorites. She’d have Station 27 for breakfast, lunch, dinner and anything in-between.
“Anywhere else would be uncivilized.”
“I’ll be to your house in twenty minutes.”
“No, I’m just getting out the shower.”
Phoebe blew out a breath and Priscilla could just see her rolling her eyes; but she didn’t care. She knew if her sister showed up in twenty minutes, she wasn’t going to be ready.
“An hour, Prissy.”
“Thank you.”
The women hung up, and just as Priscilla was reaching for a dress, she felt her husband’s arms slide around her waist. “Good afternoon, Sleeping Beauty,” he greeted, moving around to kiss her face.
“Good afternoon. I’m having lunch with Phoebe.”
“Am I invited?”
“I’m sure she won’t mind if you come, but you know I have long lunches with my sister. I’m assuming by the way you left this morning that you have a busy day.”
Scott sighed and kissed Priscilla’s neck. “I didn’t want to wake you today. It was a long car ride and I felt like you needed the rest. I do have a meeting this afternoon, but my morning was a slow one. I’m going to work on the house some today. Do you think you can entertain Janice?”
“Do I have to?” she whined.
“No, you don’t have to, Priscilla. I would like you to. She’s going to be staying with us. You should get to know her better. She likes you, whether you like it or not. I’m not asking you to become best friends with her, Scilla. Maybe just have dinner out with her, find something to bond over.”
“What are you going to do about dinner?”
“I’m a grown man. I can feed myself.”
“I’ll take her to dinner. I can pick her up from school so you can turn that mess into something sooner rather than later. I’m not going to want to move after the baby is born and I would like it if his room is together.”
“I know, honey. That’s going to happen. Trust me, I know what I’m doing and I do have help. I just came home to check on you. I’m going to get lunch to the teenager, you get lunch to the unborn, and I’ll see you sometime tonight if you don’t fall asleep.”
Priscilla groaned. “Scott, don’t say that. You know I’ll just wait up.”
“Priscilla, if you feel tired, don’t wait up. Go to sleep. I’ll wake you when I come home.” He moved around to look at her and she nodded her head okay. He kissed her lips. “I love you and I’ll see you later.”
“I love you too.”
Scott left the house and Priscilla proceeded to get dressed before going to do something with her hair and makeup.
Just as she was pulling on her sandals, she heard Phoebe at the door and went to allow her sister’s entrance.
“The pretty one has plans. It’s just me, you, and the baby.” Phoebe grinned wide and Priscilla shrugged, following her sister out and locking the door.
The women got to their destination and ordered their lunch, Priscilla opting to have water with her meal.
Phoebe looked her sister over, taking in her change. Priscilla actually looked happy for once in her life. She wasn’t scowling. She wasn’t grinning, granted; but she definitely wasn’t scowling.
“How is the baby holding up in your tank of acid?” she asked her sister, breaking a piece of bread in half.
“Bitch,” Priscilla scoffed.
Phoebe beamed at her sister, all teeth as she messed with her. Priscilla was aware that her sister was joking and didn’t take it the way she might have if someone else had said it.
“He’s fine in here and he’s hungry. It’s too hot for all the milk I want to drink.”
Over her sister’s shoulder, Priscilla saw David coming into the restaurant, and she ducked her head down, hoping the man hadn’t seen her. He was sure persistent and tried each and every time that he saw her. It drove her bananas.
“What are you doing?”
“You remember the guy who sent the bottle a few months ago? David?”
“Oh, one never forgets such generosity.”
“David is married and has children. Priscilla has no interest but David doesn’t care.”
“Priscilla is married with child,” Phoebe pointed out.
“I can guarantee he’ll see this belly and not care.”
David stopped to smile at Priscilla, almost opening his mouth to speak to her, but Phoebe beat him to the punch. “She doesn’t want to talk to you, creeper, so keep it moving. She’s married and pregnant and if you keep trying to make passes at my sister, I’m going to let her husband know,” she warned. “Leave her alone.”
David looked over at Priscilla and then Phoebe in stunned silence before he moved along.
“I could about kiss you, Phoebe. But I won’t because you’re disgusting.”
Phoebe rolled her eyes and waved her sister off, seeing the food coming their way. Priscilla had a mildly dramatic way of being. Penelope was a little Priscilla jacked up on caffeine.
“Finally one of you is making me an aunt,” she told Priscilla, who was inspecting her food.
“Phoebe, simply have a child of your own.”
“I wouldn’t know who the father was if I did some stupid shit like get pregnant.”
“Would it matter?”
Phoebe shrugged. She’d never know because she was currently on birth control and never let a single male partner, although all were clean, remove a rubber with her. While rooting for her sister and her pregnancy, she was not going to catch herself up and wound up pregnant. She would rather be the doting aunt than tired mother.
Priscilla shrugged as well, picking up her fork and having a bite of her pasta. “Scott’s niece is staying with us,” she announced.
“How did that happen?”
“She called and asked the other day.”
“How do you feel about that?”
Priscilla shrugged once more, chewing her food. She had a drink of water before she answered, “I’m fine with it. She’s well-behaved, so that’s good. She won’t be in my way too much. Scott asked me to spend time with her, so I’m going to pick her up from school.”
“What are you going to do with her?” Phoebe wondered, looking at her sister in amazement.
No one would ever believe that Priscilla was going to spend time with a living, breathing teenager. She didn’t even like them when she was a teenager. This was definitely one for the sake of her husband.
“Shop, I guess. Maybe find out if she likes anything not too annoying.”
“Wait, is this the little girl who’s tagging you in statuses?”
“Yes.”
“Oh yes, she’s a well-dressed girl. Take her shopping. She’ll be fun. How old is she?”
“Fourteen. Smart mouthed like she’s twenty-three. You should’ve heard how that little girl talked to her parents. Especially her mother when she wanted her to tell me about her little junior prom. All I thought was that she was lucky I’m not her mother. She better hope she don’t wound up talking to Mama crazy. She would find out.”
Phoebe’s eyes widened. “Let’s all pray she’s not going to do something that fucking crazy. I remember the one time I thought I felt myself.”
“Who you tellin’?”
Paulina’s children all had the utmost respect for her, but each of them had stepped out of bounds at least once and gotten the shit slapped out of them for it. Paulina was not a physical disciplinarian, but the last thing she would ever take was disrespect from people she clothed, fed, and kept clean.
“Maybe she only does it to her mother because she knows she can. I doubt Scott is going to let her just say what she wants and we know that you permeate ‘talk crazy if you think you are’.”
“Valid,” Priscilla agreed, nodding. “I know that Scott really wants this, so I’m trying. No matter what happens, I’m not going to ask him to have her go back. I mean, unless she really fucks up, then she’ll need to go for her own protection. But I don’t see that happening, so she’s going to stay with the two of us and the baby.”
“Where is my sister?”
Priscilla rolled her eyes and laughed at her sister. “Your sister is trying for her husband. This shit must be love.”
It was Phoebe’s turn to laugh. Scott had completely transformed her sister for the better. She liked to see Priscilla loosening up and enjoying herself more. That man had singlehandedly accomplished what it took multiple members of her family to do. His was permanent and theirs never was.
When Phoebe dropped Priscilla off at home, she decided to practice some yoga before going to pick Janice up, seeing her as she pulled towards the curb. She let the window down and called to her, catching her attention and motioning her to the car.
Janice got into the car with a bright smile. “Hi, Aunt Priscilla,” she greeted.
“Hey. Where are you trying to go?” Priscilla asked, easing off the brake
Janice shrugged and Priscilla sighed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “We’re going to the mall. Do you have any homework?”
“A little bit.”
“Alright, we’ll go home first so you can do your homework.”
Janice nodded and Priscilla headed back to the house. Janice headed to her uncle’s office and Priscilla went to have a snack, taking her tablet with her to watch Game of Thrones. Penelope and Phoebe had her watching all kinds of shit.
When Janice came out the room, she grabbed a bottle of juice out of the fridge and let Priscilla know she was ready to go.
The two headed to the mall and headed towards Priscilla’s favorite boutique, Mallorie. Janice was unfamiliar with the store and looked around at the sophisticated fashions, looking at clothes more for Priscilla.
“Aunt Priscilla?”
“Yes?”
“Do you think Uncle Scott will let me call the baby my brother?”
“Oh… Janice…”
Priscilla was speechless for what felt like the first time in her life. She didn’t know how to answer the question. She truly felt for the girl to be finding out her true parentage and at such a delicate time when her father was expecting what the world would call his first child.
“You know what, I think that we’re going to leave that up to you, honey. If you want to be an older sister, you can be. From my own experience, I would advise against having younger sisters, though.”
Janice giggled a little at that, looking at a floor length dress.
“I think that dress might be a little too big for you,” Priscilla told her, putting it back and going down a couple sizes, holding the dress in front of Janice’s frame.
Janice hadn’t thought Priscilla might be actually taking Janice shopping but rather taking Janice with her while she went shopping.
“Actually, I think Scott would have a conniption if he saw you in this dress. This violates your dress code, I’m sure.”
Priscilla put the dress back on the shelf and moved towards dresses with no cleavage and asked Janice how she felt about them.
After leaving the boutique, Priscilla wanted to stop for Auntie Anne’s and got cinnamon sugar pretzel nuggets with cream cheese, paying for Janice’s pretzel before they continued their shopping trip.
After their shopping, Priscilla took Janice back home and asked whether she wanted to help her make dinner just as Scott called. “How is everything going, sweetheart?”
“I’m alive, Janice is alive, baby is alive.”
“Well, I’m really glad to hear that much. What did you do today?”
“We went shopping. Janice is decent company.”
“I’m a happy man when you tell me things like that, Scilla.”
“Make me a happy woman and give me a report on that house,” she told him, putting in her earphones and moving to wash her hands, going in the fridge for what she would need for dinner.
“We both know nothing I can say to you about this house is going to make you a happy woman until I can say it’s done.”
“Well how close are we to that?”
Scott chuckled and Priscilla rolled her eyes, beginning to dice tomatoes before giving the knife to Janice and moving to make her chili sauce. She knew her husband thought he was amusing, but she didn’t think so sometimes.
“The house will be done before the baby arrives, Priscilla. That is the only promise I can make.”
“Okay, are we talking in the third trimester?”
“The beginning of your third trimester at the latest, Scilla. I’m looking forward to seeing the three of you all still alive when I come in tonight. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Priscilla hung up, crossing her eyes. “He’s not funny,” she told Janice, taking the tomatoes she’d diced.
Janice just smiled a little, shrugging in her confusion. “Was there a reason one of us wouldn’t be alive?”
“I’m going to be frank with you, Janice. I don’t like teenagers. I like teenagers less than children; but I actually enjoyed your company a lot more than I expected to. This is a secret between the two of us. Don’t you tell that to anyone. They might think the pregnancy is making me soft.”
“Oh, my lips are sealed, Aunt Priscilla. I promise.”
“Good girl.”
The two of them worked on dinner and sat down to eat just as Scott walked in. He greeted Priscilla with a kiss on the lips and rubbed Janice’s head before going to clean himself up. Priscilla got back up to make him a bowl and passed it to him when he came back. “Thank you.”
She nodded and they sat back down.
“How was school, Jan?”
“I loved it!” she said, her eyes wide. “It’s way different here. How was work?”
“Work was alright, thank you. How was your day, wife?”
“My day was good, husband.”
Scott chuckled at his wife rolling her eyes and she shook her head, turning to Janice. “What do you want to do tomorrow?”
Scott had to resist choking on his food when his wife asked that. He hadn’t expected her to have liked Janice enough to willingly offer to spend more time with her.
Janice shrugged. “Hmm. I don’t know. Maybe the nail shop?”
Priscilla looked down at her fingers and she do with a manicure. “Sounds good to me.”
After dinner, Scott volunteered to clean the kitchen. Janice went to the room she’d claimed as her own and Priscilla went upstairs to wait for her husband.
When he entered the room, he took her hand and pulled her into himself, leaning down to kiss her. “Thank you. I really appreciate you spending time with Janice. Especially right now.”
“You’re welcome.”
Priscilla looked up at Scott, her hand on his chest. “Janice asked whether she can call the baby her brother and I told her that it’s up to her.”
Scott simply nodded. He wasn’t going to deny her of something that she seemed to want. He was just glad that Priscilla was open to and accepting of the idea and that she’d actually invested time in Janice.