Neighbors

23

February 2015

Jasmine's POV

Pippa had been skipping out on wearing her corset, and I wanted to know how she got away with it too... I frowned and watched her walk out of the bathroom carrying her street clothes while she wore her beige dress. 

"Spill. How come you get to skip the corset?" I asked her. 

"Um... I can't.." She sighed. 

"Can't? What do you mean can't?" I asked her. She frowned and put her street clothes into her bag. "Pip... We're best friends.. Talk to me." I said while grabbing her wrists. 

"Promise not to tell anyone..?" She frowned. I nodded and watch her take a deep breath. "I'm pregnant..." She sighed. My mouth fell open... Already?! 

"Is that why you've been staying more over with Lin rather than at your own place?!" I whispered. She nodded and looked at the corset laying on her side of the table. 

"Please don't tell anyone... Especially Renee... It's still way too early..." She frowned. 

"Don't tell me what?" Renee asked. She had just walked in and I looked at Pips... She had to tell her... It wouldn't be right to do that... 

"Pippa... She needs to know too... She won't tell anyone. Right?" I asked her. 

"Depends... How life threatening is it?" She asked with a concerned face. 

"Not life threatening.. Just life changing.." Pippa sighed... We talked for a bit after Pippa dropped the ball on Renee too. She gasped, but was entirely happy for Pip. Something about her being a great parent. I was excited for her to have a kid, but what was that going to mean for us? We were all sisters... It wouldn't be fair for her to miss out on the wonderful opportunities just because Lin couldn't keep it in his pants.. Or in a wrapper for this much... 

"What are you going to do for shows?" Renee asked. 

"Lin is going to talk to Tommy about that arrangement... Seeing about me taking the necessary time off from here, and Broadway... I would show up at least two months into the show..." She explained. "I don't know... Maybe later.." She was clearly upset about this whole thing... Instead of us celebrating together on a happy opening, she was going to be screaming and pushing a kid out of her lady parts... 

"Wait.. That means Lin will be gone too... Right?" I asked. 

"Not necessarily... Usually the father of the kid takes time off after the kid is born. Let's hope you don't go into labor during a show." Renee laughed. I nodded, hoping Pip would be okay.. "How far are you?" She asked. 

"A little over a month now.. I figure Lin and Tommy are having this conversation now... I can only do so much more before everyone notices.." She frowned. I nodded and looked down at her stomach.. It didn't show with that many layers on her now... But it sure was going to later.... 

"In the real life history, wasn't Eliza popping out kids left and right?" I smirked. 

"Well yeah, but I doubt you want a pregnant girl singing helpless before she's married." Renee laughed. Pip laughed a bit, thank god she found it funny too. 

Lin's POV 

"What do you mean pregnant?!" Tommy yelled. "How long has this been going on without my knowledge?!" He asked. 

"We only found out not too long ago. She's a little over a month now and the doctor said it would be fine for her doing this show for at least another month before she needs to rest." I sighed. 

"She can just come back after she's had the kid too." Lac chimed in. "We can use her understudy, have the swings fill in instead of casting a whole new person. That way we still have our original cast when we hit Broadway. When's her due date?" Lac asked. 

"September." I answered. "She would show up for us again in October." I sighed. "Look, I know we're dropping everything right now for this, but we're trying to make this work." I watched as Tommy paced back and forth. Lac watched him as well. I could see the stress in his mind... 

"People are coming to see you guys. Not the swings, not the understudies. How could this happen?!" He yelled. 

"Well I could blame you since you threw the party that got us drunk enough to do this." I shrugged. "Look, can we look at all of this from an above point of view?" I groaned. "Or if the tables were turned? Yes, I get it, these people are coming in to this theatre to see me, Pip, Jasmine, and all the originals. But what about the days that we need off? Where the understudies and swings do fill in for us. It's just as good. If it wasn't you wouldn't have casted them as the understudies and swings." I pointed. 

"I know it's risky, but we are only losing Pippa..." Lac said quietly. Tommy and I looked at him and I nodded. 

"He's right..." All of us looked up and saw Pippa standing in the doorway. "You are only losing me. But temporarily.. I know the doctor said wait for another month, but I feel like I can do it longer..." She said calmly. 

"Pippa, we can't risk it." Tommy sighed. I stood up from my seat and let her sit with us. She had every right to be in this conversation as well. 

"I'm staying up until the day she goes into labor. She's going to come back. It won't take long for anyone to adjust to the understudies and new partners. This is why we have them." I frowned. "And if you can't understand that, then..." 

"You wouldn't." Lac gasped. 

"I would. I would leave this production." I said shakily. Pippa frowned and turned her head to look at me. "When we started working on this, we swore that we would treat these actors and actresses like family. And you're just looking at it like it's some form of money machine." I pointed. I placed a hand on Pippa's shoulder and looked down at her. She placed her hand on mine and looked at Tommy. 

"Fine.. Two more months with Pip then we call it quits for her..." Tommy finally spoke. "When you have the kid... We'll bring you in whenever you can to learn the final routine and be back on Broadway when we open..." He sighed. "We'll have your understudy fill in and figure it out from there..." 

"Thank you." I sighed. Pippa stood up and started to walk out with me. 

"Lin, Pip.." Tommy said quietly. 

"Yes?" We answered. 

"Congratulations... You two are going to have a very... Musically inclined and persuasive baby." He laughed.