You'd come to the conclusion that it was okay to not be okay. On the car ride here you'd cried. For how long you weren't sure. But just knowing that you were going to be separated from Thomas for a short amount of time, broke your heart even more. Because what if he woke up while you were gone? Or if he....took a REALLY long sleep, if you understand my meaning.
You'd gotten here last night and your Mom was pretty much afraid to say his name. She never said, "Thomas", she said, " Your husband" or, "Your child's father". But she didn't understand that it didn't hurt you to hear his name. The mention of his name doesn't remind you that he's not here, it reminds you that people remember he was here and that he's too loved to forget.
You stare up at the top of the bunk bed. Normally, you would sleep on the top bunk, but the baby bump sticking out makes it sort of difficult to climb up the ladder. So Juliette sleeps on the top bunk.
You have "morning" sickness again. This time it's the right time of day. You've been coughing and your head feels like it's stuffed with cotton. Your stomache aches from the constant coughing. You close your eyes. Going back to sleep would be lovely. But you won't be able to. You don't have amazing ability of sleeping whenever you want. Once you're awake, you're awake.
You shiver from the cold of Utah as you toss the sheets off and tip toe to your suit case, grabbing a flowy navy blue shirt, jeans and warm socks. Today feels like a hot chocolate morning.
You slip on your clothes and slide quietly out of the room so you don't disturb Juliette. You walk down the hallway and into the living room. There is no one in here. Percy, Sidney and your Aunt and Uncle haven't arrived yet. They're getting here today. But when you step into the kitchen, your eyes land on your Mother by the sink and Wright, peering into the fridge.
That's right. Juliette invited Wright to Thanksgiving. It's only really weird for your sister to have a boyfriend. They've gotten super close and seem to be getting serious. Which makes you either want to punch Wright, or congratulate him on winning Juli's heart.
But Wright being here isn't the strangest part. Will is coming. The one and only Will Poulter will be joining your family for Thanksgiving. Now THAT'S going to be weird. Sidney is really concerned that he won't feel confortable around our family. And she may be right. But Will knows you and you're so certain he'll at least LIKE your family. Even after he realizes you're all crazy.
Wright is the first to see you, "Hey, Iris! Juli still sleeping?"
You nod and waddle into the kitchen, "As usual."
Your mom looks at you, "How do you feel?"
You shadow your eyes, "Wheres a wall? Let me go hit my head against it."
Your Mom chuckles, "It'll all be worth it. Your family will think youre a supehero."
You roll your eyes, grabbing a bannana on your way out of the kitchen, "Yeah, a really tired, weak superhero that eats all the time and cant lift heavy objects."
Wright follows you out of the kitchen, into the living room, chuckling, "I hope when Juliette gets pregnant she isn't like this."
You frown and furrow your eyebrows at him.
He smiles embarrassed, "Too soon?"
"Yeah." You nod, still frowning.
" 'Kay." He says.
You sit on the couch, holding your banana in your hand. You tilt your head back, cringing. You take deep, even breaths and squeeze your banana. You try to decrease the pain in your swelling feet. It hurts to breathe. Why does it hurt to breathe? You feel the banana collapse in your hand.
"Um, Iris?" You hear Wright say, concerned.
You open your eyes and look at the remains of your banana. Your mouth falls open in despair, "Oh."
Your eyes well up with tears, "I broke it."
Wrights eyes widen, "Hey, it's okay! It's just a banana! It's-"
Tears escape your eyes, "I just want to eat a banana and now I BROKE IT!"
Wright looks genuinely afraid at this point, "Um...."
Juliette walks in, in her pajamas and finds you crying on the couch. She squints at you confused, "Okay, then.... Iris, what's wrong?"
You hold up your banana and sob, "I broke it!"
Juliette blinks in confusion and walks over, "Oh, honey, it's okay! It's just a banana! We have like five more!"
You wipe a tear off your face, "But I wanted THIS one and I broke it."
"Well, I'm sorry, Iris, but-"
Suddenly, you feel a sharp pain in your abdominin. You gasp and look behind you and all around you. Juliette furrows her eyebrows.
"What was that?" You breathe.
Then there's another one, this time it feels more like tickling. You look down at your stomache, mouth open, "It kicked me!"
Juliette leans over to you, "The baby?"
"I think so!" You say, excitedly.
It kicks again and you grin, squealing, "OH, MY GOSH! THAT'S SO CUTE!"
"Homorones to happy in zero to sixty." Wright mumbles.
"I wish Thomas was here." You mutter, sadly.
"And it can decrease even faster than that." He says sarcastically.
You feel a sharp kick in you back, "OW! Okay, it's less cute now."
Juliette watches you grinning. You grab her hand and place it on your belly, "Here, feel!"
She's holds her hand there for a few seconds until the baby kicks again. Her mouth falls open, a crazed look of happiness on her face as she squeals, "Oh, my gosh! It's alive!"
"Yeah. Thanks Frankenstein." Wright grins.
Your Mother walks in, "What's going on?"
Juliette speaks for you, "Her baby is kicking!"
You Mom bustles over "I want to see!"
"Hurry!" You usher her.
She places her hand on your stomache just in time. She grins, "Aw! A little baby!"
You smile, looking down at your stomache,"I love my baby. My baby is going to be so cute. It's going to be physically impossible for it to not be cute."
Juliette grins, "Cute babies do run in the family."
You recline back into the couch, smiling. You REALLY wish Thomas was here to share this moment with you.
- - - -
"You should name it....Bob." Percy suggests.
You roll your eyes, "No."
"You should name him Phil." He says.
"You should shut up." You sass.
"Margret."
"Not happening."
"Homer."
"I am not naming my child after the Simpsons."
Apparently, Percy does not understand the immediate danger he is in when messing with a pregnant woman.
"You're not going to take any of my suggestions?" He says.
"It's not looking too likely." You shake your head.
"Those are great names for your kid!" He says.
"God bless your children of you're in charge of naming them." You say.
"Oh, I'm not giving MY kids those names. I just said they'd be good for yours." He says.
"And why is that?" You ask.
"Becaue those names are horrendous! I don't want you stealing all the good ones!" He says, a playful gleam in his eye.
You roll your eyes and smirk a bit, " 'ALL the good ones on this ONE child I'm having?"
"Yes." He nods, "You'll use ALL of them!"
"You're full of it." You grin.
"I'm sorry," Thalia says, talking over Juliettes laughter, "I haven't fully trained him yet."
Then the front door opens, "Hello?"
Juliette jumps up, "SIDNEY!".
You wish you could jump up and run to the door so easily. But you have a little difficulty even sitting down.
You hear Sidney and Juliette giggle in the front hall, " I missed you! How are you doing Will?"
"Grand." He replies. His British accent throws you off a little. The two of you have only really texted and emailed since he left, and the British accent reminds you of Thomas.
The three of them appear in the doorway. Juliette grinning from ear to ear, Sidney smiling nervously, holding Wills hand. And then Will smirks happily.
You say to Percy, "Help me up, apple-john."
He stands and helps you off the couch. You waddle over to Sidney and Will and embrace Sidney.
She smiles at you, as she pulls away, "Look at you!"
Will jokes, "Someones gained a little weight, eh?"
You grin, "Shut up with your British accent."
"So when is your baby girl going to be born?" Sidney asks.
You frown, "Baby girl? So it's a girl now?"
Sidney shrugs, "I think it's going to be a girl."
Your Mom walks in, "Nope. It's going to be a boy."
You hear your Dad from the family room, "I think it's going to be a hamster."
You grin, "Thanks Dad."
There are quick greetings passed around. Everyone already met Will at your wedding so it's not really necessary it introduce then again.
Juliette grabs you and Sidney's hands and pulls you into the family room, "Hey, come on. Let's take a pole and see what everyone thinks your kid is going to be."
You and Percy groan at the same time, "Could we not?"
"Percy, Sidney, when are your parents get here?" Juliette asks.
"Like an hour." Your Mom answers for them.
Juliette clicks her tounge, "I'm not waiting that long. Now what does everyone think the kid's going to be?"
"Hamster." Your Dad repeats.
"A llama." Wright says.
"Nope, a leemer." Percy nods.
"Funny." You mutter at all three.
"Come on! Be serious!" Juliette says.
"I really do think it's going to be a hamster." Your Dad mumbles staring at his phone screen.
Juliette rolls her eyes, "It's going to be a girl."
"What do you think it's going to be, Iris?" Sidney asks.
You consider, "A....girl."
"What do you want it to be?" Juliette asks.
You grin, "To be honest, a girl."
"What do you have against boys?" Percy asks.
"Boys give stupid answers." You say, shadowing your eyes.
"For example," Juliette says, looking at Wright, " 'I think your child is going to be a llama.' "
"It'd be cool to have a llama child!" He shrugs.
"Gosh, you're so weird." Juli rolls her eyes.
You quickly walk around the couch and towards your room, "I'm going back to my room and hoping that nothing else tramatic happens this weekend."
"Llamas aren't traumatic!" Wright calls.
"You and your llama drama!" Percy says.
Will joins, "What did the llamas ever do to you?"
You hear a ring of laughter from all the men.
Oh, gosh. This is going to be an interesting weekend.
- - - -
You sit on the bench staring out at the lake. You feel like Leo Valdez right now. The seventh wheel. Percy has someone. Sidney has someone. Even your little college girl sister has someone. It's a sibling walk. And apparently their significant others. They stand at the water front, skipping rocks. Looking all cute and loving. And you sit there looking lonely and sad. Okay, you're not totally alone. You have a child in your stomache. Gosh, you miss Thomas.
The baby kicks again. You smile and look down at your stomache.
Suddenly, someone slides into the seat next to you. You look up and find Will next to you.
He glances inbetween you and the lake, "So, how's life?"
You smile, "It's pretty crappy. But I still try to keep a smile on my face. The good moments will come around."
He nods, "That's a good positive attitude to have."
"I think so." You nod.
The two of you watch the others skip rocks and laugh and jump on each other, giving piggy back rides. Juliette tries to jump on Sidney's back, and epically fails, sliding right off. The two laugh and Juliette accidentally steps into the freezing cold lake. She squeals as the others laugh and crack jokes at her. Especially Percy. Juli scowls at him and reaches into the water splashing him. He hollars and runs away as she chases him. Sidney looks back at you and Will, laughing and looking happy.
Will smiles, "Do you think your family likes me?"
You smirk, "Of course they do. You won them over from the start with your britishness. Plus, you're funny and Sid seems to stress out less when you're around."
Will nods and is silent for a few minutes, "What do you think love is? I feel like this question has been asked a lot in the past two and a half years but....it's always something on a persons mind."
You chew the inside of your cheek, "Love is...." You think, considering, "Love is....having a memory so close, with some one you couldn't live without, that you can almost touch it. And you can almost go back into that moment and feel the happiness and even though you may not be able to put how you felt, physically or mentally, you still want to share what you felt with everyone you come across because that feeling was just SO great."
Will nods and takes a shakey breath, "I think I'm in love with Sidney."
You blink and glance over at him, "Isn't is a bit soon to say you're in love with her?"
He watches her, like she's the most amazing and intriguing thing he's ever seen, "No."
You feel the corners of your mouth twitch up, "Then go for it. But don't you make her give up her Hardvard dream."
He smiles, "Okay."
He silent for another minute before he looks at you and says, "You're a good friend, Iris. You'd even be a good enemy to have. But I'm glad to say you're my friend."
You smile, awkwardly, "Thanks, Will. You're a pretty darn good friend too."
He smiles at you.
You pat his shoulder and shakily stand, "Come on. We should go join the living."
The two of you stand up and walk over to the others. And for the first time in weeks....you feel like you have a life that's sort of....regular again.
Author:
So what'd ya think?
By the way I love you guys.
I'm in a REALLY random mood right now. And I kind of feel like polar plungeing but I'm not THAT crazy.
So anyway, I was wondering and I actually have some questions for ya'll.
First off-
Who is your favorite character in this book? Iris and Thomas don't count.
Second-
Who is your least favorite character? Kaya doesn't count either. I know I made her evil in the story so it's kind of a given.
And why are they your favorite and least favorite characters?
I'm just really interested and I'd LOVE some feedback!
Also-
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN GET THIS STORY TO 2,000 VOTES, BEACAUSE I'M NOT GOING TO LIE THAT'D BE AWESOME.
And lastly, my notifications are acting weird and not showing up although, I know I have them, so I'm having to actively seek out notifications. I've contacted the staff and I dont know how long that'll take for them to get em' up and running again, so just bare with me. :-)
Anyway, love ya'll!
-Sunny