The Oddities Of Grand Marquis - Book 1: Galactic Seed 🪼✔

Nineteenth

As we ate breakfast, I could feel the baby moving around and then it either kicked or punched me, because I spewed my eggs back onto my plate.

"You okay?" Dad asked with a confused expression.

"Moving baby!" I heaved.

"Oh? Already?" he asked.

"That reminds me, have you heard from Dr. Bluewater?" Mom asked.

"He called last night to ask how Max was doing after the fever scare; why?"

"I think we need to try and schedule the ultrasound as quickly as possible. The baby feels like it's mostly developed when it should really only be more than the size of a grapefruit. Max shouldn't be that big at only four months..."

"How do you know how big the baby is? I mean, when you were pregnant with Max you were a little bit larger than usual."

"I felt the baby. I shouldn't be able to feel anything at all."

"You felt it?" Dad asked with a calm expression.

"Y-you can feel it too!" I blurted. My parents looked over at me as I poked my food. "I mean... if you want... I trust you so I mean... if you want to feel it..."

Nobody does anything for a moment and then Dad got up and walked towards me. I stood up and fidgeted as Dad just watched me for a moment. When he didn't move, I looked back up at him.

"Are you gonna-"

"It's okay, don't worry about it." He went back around the table and sat. "You're too self-conscious about it."

"But I let Mom-"

"Your mother has had a child before, so she would know. I'm not mad, Max, really... this time..." Me and Mom just stared at him. "I swear! I'm making a conscious decision not to touch your belly. I know it's confusing and scary and you're not used to everything. Trying to force things is what got us into... well, everything. I can tell it creeps you out and so when you're ready to let me, I'd love to feel my grandchild. And even if you don't let me, I won't be mad."

"What if it ends up with four heads or something?"

"The more the merrier."

"Besides Mama Ganeshka's, was there anywhere else you wanted to go?" Mom asked with a smile to my dad.

"Uh... well... I don't really know..."

"What about the state park?" Me and Mom give him a hard look. "What?"

"What the hell, Brunswick? Do you want Max to have a nervous breakdown all over again?"

"What? It's nice and secluded and- ooooooh... right... Sorry. Never mind." He said, remembering the last attempt at going out and my dream.

"Besides that, where could I go that they wouldn't bother me or try to kick us out? I mean, Mama Ganeshka's isn't exactly a sure thing anyway."

"You can go anywhere you want, Max." Dad said as he ate his eggs. "If they try to bother you or do anything to hurt you, I'll kill them." He said nonchalantly. Mom made a face as Dad looked back at her. "What?"

"You're so overdramatic."

"I'm not trying to be overdramatic. I'm being dead serious. If anyone tries to fuck with my son, I'll kill them. Plain and simple."

"What about looking for that mattress? I mean, I still have the old one from before everything happened..."

"That's great idea. There's really not a lot of people who hang around in the mattress store." Mom says.