Motherhood
Contains mild nudity and sexual references.
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Ever since Lola discovered she was pregnant, she had nothing to do but stay at home and actually do chores. Usually she was far too busy and her step-son, David spent his time cleaning the house. Now he was, as he liked to call it; 'jobless'.
Lola was just tired of the back pain and wanted the baby to pop out already.
It was Monday afternoon and Lola had just awoken from her nap. The house was eerily quiet so Lola expected she was alone. Feeling peckish, she left the comfort of her room to seek out sustenance.
"Oh, Hannah, I didn't know you were home."
Hannah Gallagher, Lola's youngest sister turned her attention from the chessboard and grinned. "Hey, sis! Mr Pickles was just telling me that I suck at chess. Want to join me?"
Mr Pickles was Hannah's imaginary friend. His name is supposed to reflect his green skin. Lola gathered that it was Hannah's way of coping with the fact that she wasn't green like most of her siblings. Jill had been very much the same when she was a child.
"Does Mr Pickles mind if I take his place?"
"Nope. He likes you because you're green like daddy!"
"So how was school?"
"It was okay," Hannah stated as she contemplated her next move, "my friends liked my new hair cut."
"I like it too," Lola smiled, "it suits your face."
"Mama says I look like daddy."
"You do. But you have Meredith's eyes."
Hannah's expression turned distant for a second, but she was smiling again almost immediately. It had been a long time since Pollination Technician #9, aka their father, had come to visit. Hannah missed him very much. But with the baby due soon, he was bound to come visit again.
The sisters got lost in their game.
Justin had returned from work and was surprised that Lola was nowhere in sight. David was avidly playing on the keyboard and Meredith was on the phone with one of her boyfriends, but the other two ladies of the house was missing. When he ascended the stairs it was pitch black and he found who he was looking for playing chess in the dark. Not wanting to interrupt them, he turned on the light and with one last glance left the room.
The sisters didn't even notice the lights turning on.
"Are you excited about the baby?" Hannah asked.
"Yes, I am. But I'm also nervous - your mother hasn't shared very pleasant stories about childbirth."
"Don't listen to her. Mama is silly."
Lola chuckled. Talking about the baby with Hannah allowed old memories to resurface of when she found out she was pregnant.
Justin was still trying to get used to the idea of waking up next to Lola. Every morning when he saw her sleeping face, he felt like the luckiest man in the world all over again. And he loved holding her in his arms and this morning was no different.
“Does it bother you?” Lola broke the silence that had settled in the bedroom. Meredith, her sister-in-law had made it her life's work to tease Lola. Although she knew it was all fun and jokes, Lola couldn't help but feel insecure at times.
“What?” Justin asked sleepily, his grip tightening.
“That I’m the pregnant one this time.” Meredith had joked that Justin might not like the fact that Lola was the pregnant one this time.
Justin laughed. “Lo, as much as I love David and do not regret having him, I do not plan on being abducted and probed again, thank you very much. I’m happy to have more alien babies with you. Where is this coming from?”
"Meredith."
Justin sighed. "Lola, she's just teasing you."
"It doesn't sound or feel like teasing."
Justin squeezed Lola tightly. "I love how serious you are at times."
Lola decided to change the subject. “We still have to tell my father.”
“Oh crap. Can I ask Meredith to do that?”
“No way! As much as my father loves your sister, he will not be happy to hear it from her. He is a family orientated Sim, remember? He won’t bite.”
“Can’t blame a bloke for trying.”
The two never wanted to leave bed, but Justin had to work.
It was when Justin left for work that Lola was able to sit and really think things through without distraction. However, these times also served as her 'stress periods' and all the teasing from Meredith played over and over through her head like a broken record. Lola did not like jokes that weren't funny. And she didn't like being treated like a child either. Lola was a compassionate being and far more in tune with her humanity than any of her kin. It was for that reason, that she also got upset over the smallest things.
It was at times like these that her sister, Chloe had pulled her from her 'little world'. But they weren't children anymore and Chloe was not always going to be there.
That didn't mean that she wasn't a phone call away.
Ring! Ring!
Ring Ring!
"Oh for the love of..."
"Shut up you stupid contraption! Chloe! The phone!"
Chloe was tempted to yell back, but she knew it was pointless. Besides, it was Erik's feeding time. He was far more important than Ripp's beauty sleep.
Grumbling and silently cursing the Watcher that had no mercy on him, Ripp Grunt pulled himself out of bed and dragged his feet to the phone. Whoever was calling this time of day was going to face his wrath.
Stifling a yawn, Ripp picked up the phone. "What?"
"Well that's attractive."
"Shut up, Lo. You know I'm not a morning person."
"I know. The only way to properly wake you up is...I'm not even going to say it."
"Naw, you know me too well. And might I add your sister did a fantastic job at waking me up yesterday..."
"I don't want to know, Ripp! It's already bad enough that Chloe blabbers about her sex life."
"You're such a prude."
"No, I just don't want to know about my sister getting it on."
"Uh huh. Why you calling anyway?"
"Can I talk to Chloe?"
"No, you can't. She just got abducted by llamas."
"Funny. Put her on."
Having been rudely awoken, Ripp knew he won't be able to fall asleep again. Trudging downstairs to find Chloe, he passed the phone to her and made himself comfortable on the couch.
“Lo? It’s not like you to call this early.” Chloe, always the one to question that, that wasn’t normal. For some strange reason their green skin did not count. Then again, Chloe’s idea of normal was beyond that of any other Sim.
“I’m just…nervous.”
“About what? Ripp didn’t do something stupid again, did he?”
“Oi!” Ripp’s voice piped in from the background. Lola could imagine her sister giving Ripp a cold and hard stare before returning her attention back to the conversation.
“I'm pregnant."
Silence. Lola suddenly felt even more nervous.
"Chloe?"
"Sorry, I was just surprised. Congratulations. But why do you sound so worried, Lo? You should be excited!"
"I’ve never been a mother before. And I know Justin has first-hand experience - David didn’t fall out of the sky, after all. But I still feel nervous. And scared. What if something goes wrong? What if I am a horrible mother? What if I don't live up to Justin's expectations?”
“Relax, Lo,” Chloe sighed, “being a mother is not that bad. Look at me - I have to raise a baby with this airhead. And I’m not dead yet.”
“Oi!” Ripp groaned in the background again. Something loud echoed over the phone. Lola could only conclude that Ripp had attempted something naughty and received a slap in return.
“Stop it, Ripp,” Chloe grumbled, “go away. I don’t interrupt your phone calls with Tank.”
“I don’t call Tank,” Ripp sounded offended, “it’s Johnny or Buck. Tank would rather send snail mail than use something as advanced as a phone.”
"Lola," Chloe's voice turned serious, "you've always been the most compassionate out of all of us. I admire that about you. But you need to have faith in yourself. Justin loves you and this experience is new for him too. He had to give birth and raise David all by himself. Now he gets to experience pregnancy and parenthood from a different perspective. He's probably scared too."
Lola paused to think for a second. Her sister was right. Like always, she had jumped to conclusions. And she really had to learn to ignore Meredith.
With a sigh of relief, Lola said goodbye to her sister. She felt much better now.
"What was that about?" Ripp asked once Chloe hung up and sat down next to him.
"You know Lola, she worries about everything. She'll be fine."
"I see. By the way, why didn't you answer the phone?"
Chloe smiled evilly. "Why do you think?"
Ripp blinked, confused until her words sank in.
"Oh, you devil, you. Come here."
"On the couch, Ripp? Seriously?"
"Too lazy to go upstairs."
"Hmm. We need to do something about your laziness."
"Nah, the couch will suffice."
"Lola?"
Lola snapped from her daze and looked up at Hannah.
"Sorry, I was just remembering how nervous I was at the beginning."
"I know, you had that look on your face daddy gets when he talks about the past."
Lola smiled. "You really love him, don't you?"
"Of course!" Hannah exclaimed. "One day I'm going to be a Pollination Technician just like him!"