The John Hughes Club

Chapter Sixty Six

Chas

Relief.
The rawest of relief.
That is what I feel. That is what is now pumping around my veins, being pumped around with a calmness blanketing my entire body. Holding Mindy protectively close against me, my misted eyes lock firmly with Megan's. I'm expecting her disapproval, her disappointment, followed by a warfare of words being launched at us. Fixed on each other, I wait for that disapproval, I prepare for the disappointment and her motherly warfare of words, but none of that comes. I only see the same relief, the same misting of a worry that has now been removed. To my surprise, she hurries up behind Mindy, hugging us both as she softly begins to cry, "We're in this together, my darling. Just as Chas said, everything's going to be okay." Kissing the shoulder of her distraught daughter, Megan wipes away her stray tears of relief. "I'd better call both your dad's, I think they're going to be just as glad that you've not gone through with it." Stroking Mindy's back and smiling at me with trembling lips, she leaves us alone with the enormity of what has just happened.

Brushing away Mindy's damp curls that are stuck to her tear-soaked cheeks, I assess her with every one of my own emotions laid bare on my face. "I know you're just as scared as I am about this, but will it help you to know that I am glad you're keeping the baby?"

Mindy's eyes sweep across my features, her tears glistening back at me. "Why didn't you say anything about wanting to keep it?"

Observing her with so much love, a small smile of my hindsight reaches my lips. "It had to be your decision, Mindy. I didn't want to persuade you to do something you didn't want to do. Putting that pressure on wouldn't have been right. I only wanted you to be happy."

Pursing her lips with both acceptance and understanding, Mindy gently sighs. "This isn't going to be easy."

"Easy, is for wimps!" I joke, a bold laugh rising from my relaxed throat.

Narrowing her brown-eyed gaze on me, Mindy's expression turns to a far more serious one. "I mean it, Chas, this affects the rest of our lives."

My laughter has gone, but my loving smile for her hasn't. "Good, because you, Mindy Diaz, you're someone I want in the rest of my life...you're now just bringing along some company." Placing my hand on her stomach, my joke is given to her with the sincerest of affection.

"You really are happy about this?" Mindy asks, all adorably doe-eyed and cutely unsure.

"I really am," I happily answer, confirming that I am with my lips still so very full of my loving smile.

Plopping her forehead against my chest, Mindy loudly expels a long breath. "You know we're going to be the constant source of school gossip now, don't you?"

Slipping my hands into the back pockets of her skinny jeans, I bring Mindy much closer to me. "Who cares! We don't have long left at Archleigh anyway, so they'll eventually all have to find a new source of scandal to chew on," I flippantly state, really not caring what other people think. I have never been that person who worries about what other people think of me, I'll not start now. However, I sense that Mindy does. Which is why I draw a little away from her, wanting to display my understanding, yet equally explain something to her, "I don't want this to break you, Mindy. I don't want it undoing all you have overcome and all you have become. We thought our lives were going in one direction, but it has decided to take us in a completely different one. I know it won't be easy, I know that, but I also know that once I had fallen in love with you, I knew we were a one-time deal. I don't care that people think I'm way too young to know that. I don't care what people will think about our baby, I only care about what you think, and about what you feel. I've always been someone who has never wanted to do what is expected of me, I prefer to do what isn't. I don't want to live my life with expectations on me, I want a life that's my own. My choices. My experiences. My mistakes. My everything. I want all of that with you. I want all of that for you. You and me, we're special. We've overcome things many couldn't. We're creators, Mindy. Inside of you, you now have something we have created together. Our baby is going to be the most amazing of all our creations. So it doesn't matter what everyone else thinks, because they're not us. You, me, our baby...we're all that matters." Moving in to kiss her, it's a kiss weighted with my confidence. Lips upon lips, my smile quickly returns.

"What you smiling for?" Mindy murmurs into my mouth, a mouth that meaningfully wants to share something more with her.

"I love you, that's all. I could live a million easy lives, but I only want to live this more complicated one with you."

Tears of joy find their way to her pretty brown eyes. "Stop it! You're going to make me cry again!" Playfully, Mindy pushes against my chest, prettily smirking.

"Are you already turning into a hormonal mess on me?" I tease, squeezing her bum cheeks from the inside of her back pockets.

Laughing softly now, Mindy shoves me a little harder. "Less of the hormonal mess, thank you very much!"

"Okay! Okay! How about a gorgeous hormonal mess?" my affectionate banter cheekily bounces across to her.

"Is there such a thing as a gorgeous hormonal mess?"

"There is! I'm looking at it right now!"

Together, we laugh. For the first time today, laughter brings us closer. Strengthening our bond. Strengthening us.

Hearing soft and buoyant strides, Megan smiles before wanting to interrupt us, looking happy to see that we are. "Right, shall we get out of here?" she asks, just as soft and buoyantly.

"Are dad and Rob okay?" Mindy's question worriedly wanders across to her mum.

"They're both okay...very okay." An unusual grin instantly comes to Megan's lips, assuring both Mindy and I that our father's are more than happy about the life-changing change of heart.

Smirking up at me, Mindy removes my hands from her back pockets, needing to smirk some more before rushing towards Megan and wrapping her arms tightly around her mother. The embrace is saying all that Mindy is so desperate to express to her mum...thank you.

"I love you, Mum. Thank you for supporting me, for supporting us."

Watching Megan bring her eager embrace fully around Mindy, I can't help but smile, aware that I am witnessing more bonds being strengthened right in front of me. "Come what may, we've all got this!" Megan emotionally announces, zealously hugging more of Mindy with all of her motherly might.

Unified with the new plan for our lives, we happily leave the hospital behind us. I am holding one of Mindy's hands and Megan is holding her other, her words floating around in my head...come what may, we've all got this!

That is true.
I'm going to keep that true.

Whatever is ahead of us, I'm not going to let our being teenagers hold us back. If anything, it will drive us forwards. It will drive our determination to prove everyone wrong. It will make us want to succeed in our exams, at college, as young human beings, and as young parents...I know that Mindy and I will succeed in them all!