Blame It (Of Mice & Men)

To Be A Family

The next month went the same way: I stayed in bed the next morning until I was sure my dad had left for work, then I'd get my day started. I marked my calander. November 3rd. I waddled downstairs to see my mom and Julia eating breakfast. "Honey, there's a vegan omelette on the counter for you. Grab it an come join us," my mother called.

My mom was a health food enthusiast. Majorly obsessed with turning things that used "fattening meats" into healthy alternatives, my pregnancy giving her all the more reason to cook them. "What's in this?" I asked as I sat down beside Julia and across from my mother. "Spinach, vegan cheese, vegan 'eggs', and tofu," she said simply, taking a sip of her soy latte.

I gave a slow nod before cutting a small piece and putting it in my mouth. It wasn't bad, but it was different. I wasn't used to all the flavors and so I ate slowly, hoping she'd get up from the table so I could dump it in the trash like I could tell Julia wanted to do with hers. "Grams, this is yucky," Julia said after a while. "Can't I just have a bagel?" she asked looking up at me. I nodded and grabbed our plates, throwing away the omelettes before popping two bagels into the toaster.

I put some strawberry cream cheese on Julia's and regular cream cheese on mine before returning to the dining room. I placed Julia's bagel in front of her and took a bite of mine. It was way better than that omelette, that was for sure. After breakfast, I decided that Julia and I would go shopping. I pulled on a white dress and some white and gold sandals before curling my hair in the mirror. I walked in Julia's room and saw her standing in front of the mirror in a pink dress and pink flip-flops. I re-adjusted my rings before holding Julia's hand and walking downstairs with her.

Since it was way too difficult to drive anymore, I called my best friend Callie to see if she was up for having company for a little while. She lived in Washington, so it'd be a good ways away, but I needed to get away from my parents. They were stressing me out.

She agreed and Julia walked down the steps, Margo, my mother's yorkie, following her. "Mom, Margo keeps licking my feet!" Julia said, trying to push Margo away. Julia played outside for a while while Callie made the drive to LA. Callie pulled up and I scolded Margo for the 40th time before grabbing Julia's booster seat and backpack, sticking them in the backseat of the car. Julia climbed in an buckled up and I did the same.

"Hey! You guys ready?" Callie asked. I nodded as Julia yelled out a "Yeah!". We drove to the shopping mall, luckily finding an open parking spot near the entrance. We walked around for a little while until a couple of Alan's fans came up to me, just saying hi. Luckily, Callie had taken Julia into the toy store. Julia always felt uncomfortable when the fans wanted to talk to us. She just didn't like strangers. Which was a good thing in its own way. I waddled into a music store, making my way over to the vinyls.

"April?" I looked up to see Tino looking at me, amusement in his eyes. "Valentino!" I ran to him the best a pregnant woman can, throwing my arms around his neck. "What are you doing in Seattle?" he asked. "I'm visiting Callie!" He looked around. "Where's Julia? Is she with mom and dad?" he asked. "No, she's with Calli-" "DADDY!" I looked out of the store window to see Julia running towards Alan.

He scooped her into his arms, a few passerby's smiling at the scene. Tears came to my eyes as I made my way out of the record store and towards Alan who looked up in time to see me coming, meeting me halfway as he held my face in his hands, our lips meeting in pure bliss. My hands held his wrists as he kissed me a few more times before hugging Julia and I.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked. "We came to visit Callie and stay with her for a while," I said, smiling. "Mommy! Can we go to the show tonight? Please? Please please please mommy can we go?" Julia begged, talking my arm. I looked at Alan who shrugged. "Yay!" Julia squealed.

"You wanna come, Callie?" I asked. "Well yeah!" she said, looking at me as if I was stupid. I smiled and nudged her, my fingers interlocking with Alan's as we all left the mall, happy we could all be a family at least for a little while.

***

We arrived at the venue and climbed out of the car, following the guys backstage where they'd get ready. "Here's a chair if you get tired, Mrs. Ashby," a younger looking girl said, placing a chair down. "Thank you so much," I said, smiling at her. The guys did their circle and hugged Julia and I before running offstage.

I felt like I had to pee and asked the girl where the backstage bathrooms were since I didn't want to get hurt in the crowd. She directed me to them and I thanked her. I sat on the toilet and sighed my relief. I knew something was up when I kept peeing for a good three minutes. "Oh fuck, oh fuck this isn't pee," I said, yanking my panties pack around my hips and hurrying back to Callie. Alan was slinging his head around as I trie to get his attention. A contraction ripped through me and a silent scream escaped my mouth, my eyes twisting closed as my knees went weak.

"Mrs. Ashby are you okay?" I heard the girl's voice ask. I shook my head. "I'm in labor," I said. I looked up to see a crowd of people swarming me and suddenly I couldn't breathe. A guitar stopped playing, screwing up the song. I opened my eyes to see Alan rushing towards me, shoving the roadies out of the way.

"Alan we gotta get to the hospital," I groaned. He gave Austin a knowing look and he spoke into the microphone. "Sorry guys, April is going into labor, so Alan has to cut out early. Jason is going to finish our set up for Alan, though don't worry! This is-" we were outside and another contraction hit, making me stop and squeeze Alan's shoulder. Once I was okay we got into the car the band takes on tour while Callie and Julia climbed in her car, and sped to the hospital.

We rushed in, Alan explaining what was happening. A nurse appeared with a wheelchair and took me to my room, changing me into a hospital gown. She hooked me up to the machines, took my blood pressure and temperature, and left. A doctor arrived shortly after, lifting my legs to see how much I was dialated. "Okay Mrs. Ashby, it looks like you're ready to start pushing!"

***

"There's the girl!" the doctor said. I collapsed from exhaustion, not believing I had pushed out three babies in under two hours. "Here's Gabriel Rixon," Alan said, showing me the first baby. He placed Gabriel in my arms and I cried as I held my baby to my chest. "This is Timothy Lucas, aka Luke," Alan grinned as he replaced Gabriel with Luke. I kissed his forehead and smiled as he yawned. "And last but not least, here's Nova Grace Ashby," he said placing our daughter into my arms.

I smiled up at him as I looked at our babies. They were all perfect. Nova had my dark hair and Alan's brown eyes, Luke had blonde hair and my green eyes, and Gabriel had Alan's red hair and brown eyes. "You did great, babe," Alan said, kissing my sweaty forehead. The nurse took Nova from my arms and Alan followed her out to take them to the nursery.

The doctor removed my feet from the stirrups and I pulled the blankets over me. I was sore and tired and the doctor have me a hug before leaving me alone. My phone rang and I looked at it to see a post from Alan. It was a picture of the babies in the nursery.

"@AlanAshby: 3 healthy babies! Meet Gabriel Rixon, Timothy Lucas (Luke), and Nova Grace Ashby!"

Alan returned shortly after and I scooted over so he could climb into the hospital bed beside me. He wrapped an arm around my waist and before I could even comprehend it, I was asleep.