Too Young To Fall In Love | Nikki Sixx

27.

May 1986

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear Lucy & Janie,

Happy Birthday to you!

With a deep breath of air in her lungs, Janie leaned down with the toddler in her arms as she and Lucy blew out the candles on the cake together. A broad smile spread over her face as she watched her niece huff and puff until the last of the tiny flames had been extinguished.

Setting Lucy down, Janie eased herself into a nearby lawn chair in her sister's backyard as Steve cut pieces of cake for all of them. It was a gorgeous day. A warm, sunny Saturday in late May. Janie had turned twenty six earlier in the week, and Lucy would turn two on Monday. The entire family was together to celebrate the two birthdays.

She closed her eyes, basking in the glow of the afternoon sun, relishing the warmth on her skin. Her hand rested over her bump, her "watermelon belly" as she called it now. She was six and a half months pregnant, and her stomach had really popped out.

Joanna sat beside her, her own stomach eclipsing Janie's. Joanna was just over a month from her due date.

"This one better come early like their sister, I don't know how much more of this I can take!" Joanna laughed, rubbing over her stomach.

"I don't know about you," Joanna turned to Janie, "but I feel like this pregnancy has really flown by."

"I get it," Janie smiled, turning to her, "I mean, it seems just yesterday I was finding out I was pregnant, now I'm nearly in my third trimester!"

"Trust me," Joanna smirked, "those last few weeks before they come will feel like the longest days of your life. I know this next month is just going to drag on."

"Plenty of time for you to still figure out a name!" Their mother called from her lawn chair nearby.

"We've been brainstorming, I'm sure we'll come up with something before baby number two makes their arrival." Steve grinned as he passed around slices of cake for everyone.

Laughter erupted from all of the adults as they watched Lucy dive headfirst into her piece of cake.

"So what are some of the names you've been thinking of?" Janie asked, taking a bite of cake.

"Well, if it's a girl we like Charlotte, Grace, or Emma." Steve answered her.

"And if it's a boy?" Ruth piped up.

"We're thinking either, Benjamin, Andrew, or Henry." Joanna grinned.

"Henry?" Janie questioned her sister, "What, are you planning on giving birth to an old man?"

Joanna turned, glaring at her sister, "We'd call him Harry, just like Princess Di's son!"

"Oh lord..." Janie attempted to stifle her laughter.

"Oh Janie, now come on. Harry would be a lovely name." Ruth interjected, attempting to appease her elder daughter.

"Alright, I guess it's not THAT bad." Janie's laughter began to subside.

"Well alright Miss Opinionated, have you thought of any names for your baby?" Joanna asked.

Janie nodded, swallowing another bite of cake, "I've had names for my first born picked out since I was eighteen."

Joanna turned to her, "You-you have?"

"If it's a girl, Stella." Janie mentioned.

"After Gran." Joanna smiled.