Story Six: The Babies Are Coming!

Early morning, Pike Household, Barbieville

Taylor:  Why are you all dressed up?  Aren't you on maternity leave?

Rose-Grace: The Mayoral Candidate Debate was scheduled months ago, at the museum.  Rather than reschedule, I agreed to work today for just a couple of hours.  I should be home by lunch.

Taylor: Mom, you work too hard.  

Rose-Grace:  I have an important job. (changes the subject) Don't let Freddy eat that leftover cake for breakfast.

Taylor:  Ha!  Me and Stacie ate the last of it.  We barely got any of it.  

Rose-Grace: How you stay slim eating the way you do is beyond me.  

At the museum, Rose-Grace is going over her notes when Kyra comes in.  She's holding a pamphlet.

Kyra:  Have you seen this?  (reading)  Rose-Grace Pike deserted Barbieville for a more glamorous world and returned with two children and no husband. 

Rose-Grace:  WHAT?!  Let me see that thing!  (reads silently)  Well, the facts are accurate, but twisted almost beyond recognition.  I left for college, married, and was a widow when I came back.  I didn't force my parents into a nursing home - they chose to get an assisted living apartment.

Kyra: This is maybe the worst smear campaign I've ever seen on a local level.  

As soon as the opponent arrives, Rose-Grace and Kyra confront him.  He reads it in confusion.

Brent:  You think I did this?

Kyra: You're the only one running against her.

Brent:  (reads from pamphlet)  Paid for by Keep Barbieville Virtuous.  This isn't me, ladies, I'm pretty sure my life doesn't meet their standards, either.  

Kyra: I'm sorry, Mister Spiner.  We shouldn't have jumped to conclusions.

Brent: It was a reasonable assumption.  Like you said, I'm the only opponent that we know of.  

Rose-Grace:  Guys.  My water just broke.

Kyra:  You aren't even having contractions!  

Rose-Grace:  I have been, but they weren't very close together, so I kept quiet about it.  Both my other pregnancies, I was in real labor for hours before my water broke.

Brent:  I'll drive you to the hospital.  Kyra, can you take cancel the debate?

Kyra:  Right after I call her husband.  

Finnick:  I can't get a hold of Mom.  Signal must be bad in the Amazon. 

Taylor: You're calling Dad's ex-wife because his current wife is in labor? 

Finnick: Hey, she's friends with both of them and the mother of four of us.  She has a right to know.

Taylor: Whatever.  

Freddy: Look, Stacie, a whole big magazine about kitties.  Read it to me.

Stacie:  If we have time.  How long does it take to have a baby?

Freddy: I don't know.  How come we don't got a kitty?

Stacie: Because we have three dogs and two horses? 

Finnick: We don't have a cat because Dad's allergic.  (to phone)  Jeez, Mom, pick up!

Nikki:  I googled the name you suggested for the girl baby.  I cannot believe you tricked them into naming her after a horror monster!  

Tanner:  (takes the lap top from her) You talked her into naming her second husband's kid after her first husband.  That's just twisted.  Besides, we just suggested the middle name.  She already had the first name picked out.

Nikki: I saw the look you and Finnick gave Stacie.  The keep-your-mouth-shut look.

Tanner: Oh, come on!  Stacie is totally in on it!   Besides, Step-Mom had already chosen the first name. And it's a very cool horror monster.  

Nikki:  That poor baby....

What seems like an eternity later, Pike returns from the delivery room.  

Pike:  The babies are fine and so is she.  We're allowed to visit her, but only three at a time.  I'll take the youngest kids first.  

Finnick: That's you, Fred.  

Stacie:  Me, too!  

Rose-Grace:  Meet your new brother and sister.

Stacie:  Ooh so cute.  Which one is which?

Freddy: That one looks just like me when I was a baby!  

Pike:  The one with brown hair is the boy.  And I noticed he looks like you, too.  I think the girl looks like her mother.

Stacie: (confused) I thought they'd be browner than they are.

Rose-Grace:  We'll see.  They've not been out in the sun much, you know. (laughs)  You guys go on and let someone else come see them.  

Kyra:  Pike's on the phone with Candy, so I said I'd come back with the girls.  

Rose-Grace:  Really?  I thought one of the twins... 

Taylor:  They were trying this whole time.  They finally reached her and the first thing she did was demand details only Dad knows.  

Nikki:  Mom, I have to tell you something about the girl's name.   

Rose-Grace:  Oh, sweetheart, I know. Where do you think I got the first name?

Taylor:  You knew?!  

Kyra:  She's not really evil anyway.  I feel bad for her.

Rose-Grace:  And that's why we're friends.

  

Tanner:  I brought you this magazine.  You'll want something to do while recovering.

Finnick: I was going to leave the laptop with her.

Rose-Grace: Once you guys leave, I'll probably sleep.  I'm exhausted.  Maybe leave the magazine for me to read when I wake up.  But take the laptop home.  I might accidentally see something a parent shouldn't.  

Tanner:  You think we've got porn on it?

Rose-Grace: I think you're teenage boys.  

Finnick:  That means yes, she thinks we have porn on it.

Dear reader of this blog and followers of this story, meet:  

Orlando Christopher Pike

 and 

Samara Morgan Pike.