Yellow Dress//Bill Denbrough

F i v e

some rights

"T-t-two cof-coffees please."

"One," Carn interjects. "I'll just stick with this water, please."

Camila nods, pouring a fresh cup for Bill. However, he's busy giving his sweetheart an inquisitive look. Coffee isn't even her guilty pleasure. She loves it more than any drink. There are even times where Bill suspects Carn loves coffee more than she loves him.

"Can I get something for you to eat, loves?"

They put in their order, and she walks back to the kitchens.

Carn started talking to Bill again, but hadn't told him about the situation yet. Yes, things have been a bit awkward from that day of inexplicable avoidance. But he'll understand soon enough. She has a plan. She established that he'd find out at their weekly Sunday (post-church) breakfast at their favorite diner.

"Since wuh-wuh-wuh..."

Carnation reaches for his hand, patiently waiting for him to finish his sentence. She would never dare interrupt Bill, or try to interpret what he was trying to say and finish his sentence before he gets there.

"When do yuh-ou n-n-not drink cuh-cuh-cof-f-fee?"

Her breath hitches in the back of her throat. She's so terrified.

You can do this, Carn. He deserves to know. It's just as much his child as it is yours.

"Since- since this."

Trembling from head to toe, she takes a polaroid photo from her purse. It depicts two pregnancy tests next to each other, positive. She hands it over, biting her lip.

At first, Bill is perplexed. He can't really read the tests. But gradually, the realization begins to sink in.

Oh my God. My girlfriend is pregnant. I am going to be a father. I'm seventeen, and I'm going to be a father.

"Shit."

His hands are running through his auburn hair. He keeps muttering the curse word over and over under his breath. Her soft voice reaches him, pulling him back from the other dimension he's stuck in.

"Breathe."

He meets her blue-green eyes. A single tear rolls down her cheek.

Bill subconsciously rises from his side of the booth, moving to hers. She adjusts her skirt so the vinyl of the seat would stop sticking to her thighs.

"Are you breathing, Bill?"

Carn's voice is hushed and soothing.

Without answering, Bill pulls her into his shoulder. What feels like raindrops fall rapidly into her sandy locks. Before she knows it, Carn is also weeping into his red flannel.

**************************

"Hi, you two! How was breakfast?" Carn's stepdad greets them as he planted some tomatoes in the ground in front of the house.

They just told him "good," not really knowing what else to say.

"Good! Carnation, your mother went to her book club. You know she's going to be there for a few hours."

"My mother? Chatting her head off for a long time? Never," she jokes.

"True enough. Do you want to refill this watering can for me?"

The young couple nod, quickly completing the task. Then they retire to Carn's room with the pretense of working on a school project.

Sighing, they lie down on her bed. Bill puts a hand on her tummy.

"So we c-c-conceived on your muh-muh-mom's wedding night?"

"Yeah."

"I j-j-j... juh-juh..."

Carn's hand is on top of his.

"Just don't underst-stand. W-we u-u-used pro-protection."

"I don't know. I guess protection can be faulty sometimes. I haven't talked to a doctor about it yet."

"Th-this s-s-so muh-much to t-take in."

"I know. I wanted to have kids in the future- but we're seventeen."

"I kn-know."

"I'm so, so blessed to have you with me though."

"W-w-why wouldn't I b-b-be?"

"Because often after a teenage guy gets his girlfriend pregnant, he's not involved in anything- the baby's life, the pregnancy. Of course I didn't assume that you'd be one of those people. It's just a generalized statement."

Bill sits up for a brief second, and he bends down to place a benevolent peck on her stomach.

It's this tender move that brings tears to Carn's eyes. It's then that she knows that they are going to work out everything.

In a flash, Carn is rummaging through an old trunk on her floor.

"Give me a sec," she explains to a puzzled Bill, pulling out a Sharpie and tons of construction paper.

"Okay," she faces him, sitting crisscross applesauce on her carpet and patting the floor next to her. Bill takes the hint and sits so close to her that their shoulders and knees are against each other's. "We're going to brainstorm everything. What we're going to need, how we're going to make money, who we can help us with childcare, baby names, et cetera. We also need to set up an appointment with an OBGYN."

Bill chuckles nervously. This is all extremely overwhelming.

"We're obviously not going to finish it all today," she lets out that damn musical laugh that Bill loves so much.

"R-right."

"But let's get started now. Let's call the doctor's office first and set up an appointment as soon as possible. It's really not good that I've waited this long in the first place."

Bill nods, handing Carn her peach phone and a phone book. She dials the Derry baby doctor and turns on speaker mode, so they can both talk.

Thus begins the parental duties of Bill and Carnation.