LIV

"You didn't have to pick me up, auntie. I was gonna drive over once I finished my assignment," I told my aunt Jen as I got into her Toyota crossover. She waved me off, a big smile on her face.

"Get used to being pampered by family, Liv. It's not gonna stop anytime soon. Besides," she turned her attention to the rear window as she reversed out of my driveway, "I invited you out, so it's my duty to be your personal chauffeur."

I laughed, looking out of the window as she said this. She kept me occupied with idle chit chat about her kids--my cousins--Erika and Theodore. Well, everyone calls the little guy Theo. Erika's a smart little thing, right-years-old, who was already reading books above her level and writing surprisingly well. My uncle Aaron would freak out when she'd give him a little piece of her mind, which reminded him and aunt Jen how much of a little woman she was.

Ericka was also a lot like her mom, which I could definitely see. Theo, an angel as always, seemed to be having an interesting variation of the 'terrible twos' at age five. He did not enjoy leaving the company of his mom, but seemed to be having the time of his life whenever his parents picked him up from kindergarten.

Jen laughed as she talked about Aaron's reports about what the kids would be up to before she got home some days, and I felt my heart strings being tugged at that. I loved hearing about my aunt's family, and spending time with them was a highlight for me. But I didn't think I'd be seeking her advice about my own kid so soon. And it was unlikely that I'd have a doting, committed partner beside me every step of the way. That's how it felt, at least.

"How did you handle it," I asked her, rubbing the right side of my neck. One thing I didn't think was going to be a pregnancy symptom was aches so far up my body. I'd had this recurring knot in my neck for days, and all I knew to do was rub at it until it subsided.

She glanced at me, a curious look on her face. "Handle what?"

I shrugged, "your first baby, the pregnancy... Life."

Aunt Jen tilted her head to the side in thought, "well, one thing that helps is support from family. My mom, despite her initial disappointments, got over herself and realized how much she loves her beloved daughter."

I laughed, imagining the conversation with my aunt and my grandma. My grandma Elaine was known for being dramatic. As much as I loved her, I didn't doubt that she could be extra for no reason.

"Aside from Uzo--your mom--my other siblings have been supportive from the beginning. So, if I needed help watching the kids, family was there. Either mine or Aaron's. Friends, too. People you trust." She stopped at a red light, then turned slightly to me, "and, in terms of myself, I just had to keep reminding myself that I could do it; I could be a great mom, a great partner to Aaron, and a great nurse practitioner. No one is ever the perfect parent, because there's so much that you learn as you go. You just have to take what you learned in your experience as a child and try to do your best by your kids."

She squeezed my shoulder, smiled, then turned her attention back to the road.

"Thank you," I whispered to her.

"Anytime, Liv."

******

We looked through the different aisles of clothing at this store, and there wasn't anything that caught my attention until we saw this over-sized black TLC t-shirt. I gasped, tugging the hanger off of the line. I displayed the shirt to my aunt with a smile on my face, "it's perfect!"

She laughed, "it's nice. Is this the only thing you've liked so far?"

I nodded, "yeah, unfortunately. But, it's not like I need many more clothes, and this should fit even when I'm further along."

Jen sighed, then nodded toward a section of the store to our left. I looked around, then stared at her, not sure what she was trying to say. She sighed again, then smiled, "you do need more clothes, Olivia."

"...Okay..."

She took my hand, then walked us over to the maternity section. I looked up, an "ohhh," being my reflective response. Then I felt dumb.

"Of course. Well," I gestured toward the rack of clothes in front of us, "I am open to suggestions, you're the expert."

Aunt Jen rolled her eyes as she moved toward the clothing. She'd give me a few items every now and then that she thought would suit me, and in the middle of her search she suddenly said, "I don't know if I'd call myself an 'expert'."

I shrugged, "I mean, if the shoe fits."

She scoffed, which made me laugh, as she grabbed one more thing off the rack. "Okay, this seems like a great place to start."

My eyes went wide, and I whined, "start?! How long are we gonna be shopping for?"

"In a couple of months, when your feet hurt and you're hungry and exhausted, and you don't have to buy more clothes that fit, you'll be glad we did this," she remarked. I sighed, following her lead to the fitting rooms.

******

After going to two maternity clothing stores, the book store, a shoe store, a children's clothing store, and--to my relief--a bubble tea shop, we were finally back in the car.

I collapsed back into the passenger's seat, dramatically, and groaned way louder than I needed to. There were bags on top of bags in the trunk of my aunt's car, and my eyes were exhausted from sensory overload.

"I'm exhausted!"

Aunt Jen started the car, then checked her phone as she said, "you need to improve your stamina."

"My stamina is great. It's just tiring looking at clothes and shoes for hours. Don't get me wrong, I love shopping with you, you're the hype of a day. But, it's the shopping," I explained as I looked at her.

She nodded, "I get it, don't worry. I can drop you off at home since you're so exhausted."

I pouted at her impression of me, "well-"

The sound of her phone ringing cut me off, and she grabbed it from the dock in her phone. I saw the name Beau Mari on the screen before she grabbed it, and saw that my uncle was the one calling her.

"Hi, hun," she said into the phone, to my uncle Aaron.

She was talking loudly enough that I could hear her, so I just decided to wait until she was finished on the phone.

"I'm gonna be home around six or so... I picked her up already-... Yes, she's here...Hun-Hunny-Hunny, I'm putting you on the car speaker." She took the phone off her ear and set it back onto the dock, then switched the call's audio.

"Hey, little Livy," my uncle's voice said beamed into the car's speakers. My aunt pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road as we spoke.

"Hi, uncle Aaron," I smiled.

"What? I'm shocked. You sound so mature, now! No more, 'uncle arry', huh?"

"Well, first of all, I kinda grew out of it. You're lucky I still remember you. Second, I am nineteen. I'm bound to sound more mature. It's nice to talk again though."

"Well, ouch. But, yeah, you sound well, kiddo. Jenny! You gotta get over here!"

"Why," my aunt asked, looking confused.

"My parents are coming over tonight, remember? I can't cook for shit."

"Daddy! Language!" I could hear one of my cousins calling him out.

"Sorry, Ericka. I need you, babe," he said.

"Aww!" Both my aunt and I cooed at the same time. "Okay, well I'm about twenty minutes away. That is, if Olivia doesn't mind having dinner with us. Otherwise, I have to drop her off at home-"

"I'd love to have dinner with you guys," I cut in.

"Alright, looks like we'll be there in twenty," my aunt said with a grin.

"We're excited to host you, Livy," my uncle said over the phone.

"Thank you," I replied.

"Be there soon. Love you," aunt Jen said.

"Love you too. See you soon." Aaron said, then hung up.

"Who needs romance movies when I can just watch you guys?" I put my hands to my face and smiled. "That sounded creepy, Liv," she laughed

We got to her house and when she opened the door, I could hear the TV on and I could smell pizza in the oven.

My aunt and I walked in, and she looked around for my uncle.

"Aaron? I thought you didn't know how to cook!" My uncle came out of the kitchen and smiled, "I'm not the one who's cooking."

He looked to his right and his mother ran up to aunt Jen, attacking her with a hug.

Ericka and Theo ran up to me as fast as their little legs could carry them, then hugged each of my legs as they cheered, "Olivia!"

"Hey, you two," I knelt down to hug them at their level. "I missed you guys!"

******

Everyone sat around the dinner table laughing about the good old times. Aaron's mom really was a character. Her laugh was extremely contagious, and the prune-coloured lipstick she wore suited her deep brown skin surprisingly well. Aaron's dad, however, was a little quieter, and very nice. All around, Aaron had a really wonderful family.

"So, Liv, how are you these days?" Tina, Aaron's mother, asked me. "Well, I'm doing...well," I laughed, realizing I'd used the word twice. They all chuckled.

"How's your...you know... Love life?" she asked again. I looked at her and started laughing, assuming she was joking. She looked a bit confused. Aunt Jen poked at her pizza crust, awkwardly I might add.

The kids were upstairs sleeping since they'd been dozing off earlier, so it was just the adults having dinner. "What's so funny? I'm asking an honest question," Tina said. I cleared my throat and smiled.

"Well, um, actually I-" Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Aunt Jen said, excusing herself from the table. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed with relief. "Something wrong, hun?" Tina asked me. "Not-" "Hey, Robby!" Uncle Aaron got up and shook someone's hand.

My hands got sweaty, and my heart pounded. Part of me was hoping that it wasn't the father of my unborn child that was walking into the house at that moment. But, knowing now that they were bffs, I started to think of ways to explain everything to my uncle. My aunt sat down beside me and gave me an apologetic smile.

Oh. No.

"This is it," I thought to myself, as I did my best to calm down. When I finally looked up, there he sat in front of me. My baby daddy, Robert.

"Olivia, this is my best friend, Robert Braden," Aaron said, introducing us. Rob extended his hand out to me. I looked at him, and I noticed his cheeks were getting a little red. I shook his hand and he seemed relieved. "Actually, we've already met," I told my uncle, my eyes still on Rob. I watched him squirm and didn't feel an ounce of sympathy. After all, he did get me knocked up.

"Really? Actually, he teaches at your Uni, right Jen," he asked my aunt. She gave Rob a look that seemed to make him extremely uncomfortable. He looked down at his hands and kept quiet. My aunt nodded, slowly.

"Well, now, back to what I was asking little Livy!" Tina chirped. "Little Livy, eh?" Rob asked quietly, smirking at me. "Shut up," I mouthed to him.

"Back to my question about your love life? You are almost 20 after all. Practically an adult! So?" Tina asked me. I looked around the table, then at Rob. He cleared his throat and started blushing again. "Uhh...ha ha. Well, I, um...It's complicated," I said, awkwardly. I looked at my aunt, who seemed to be thinking of ways to change the topic.

"How so? Is it complicated, I mean." Tina pressed on. I really didn't want to be having this conversation with Rob in the room. Right in front of me, I might add. "Well, like, I don't have a boyfriend-"

"So what am I then?" Rob blurted out. I looked at him, completely shocked by his outburst.

I wanted to reach across the table and drag him out of the house by his ear. I couldn't even imagine what he was thinking just then, and I racked my brain for an explanation that wouldn't get me yelled at.

"Sorry?" My uncle Aaron asked, his eyes fixed on Rob. He was now very interested in the conversation, and he looked like he was about to get mad. I didn't want to know what would happen if he found out about us, like that. I felt I had to jump in and say something. Otherwise, the father of this baby could get hurt.

"Um, what he meant was, uhh..." I thought about it for a moment, trying to figure out a good explanation. "Our play! Yeah! Um, we're writing a play together so I can give my writing skills a little shoe shine. It was like a joke. Hahaha," I laughed in hopes that they'd believe me. Rob and my aunt started laughing with me, playing along. My uncle and Tina laughed too, and I felt so relieved.

Rob looked at me, thankfully, but I was still upset at him. "You know, Livy, something's off with you." Tina started talking, again.

'Oh my God...' I thought to myself. I rolled my eyes, out of her view, and then looked at her, putting on the best smile I could muster, despite my irritation. "What's off?" I asked her.

"Well, your face. You have a little...What's the term?....Glow! That's it! And you ate so much. You had 4 slices of the fake cheese pizza-"

"It's vegan, mom," Aaron smiled.

Tina waved him off, "whatever it's called. Then you got seconds of the salad, and some sorbet earlier." She said, studying me. "I haven't really noticed any difference," My aunt chimed in.

"Oh, come on, Jennifer. You should know this best. You are the nurse here, after all." Tina replied. Jen acknowledged the comment, basically agreeing with Tina.

"You know, if you had said you do have a boyfriend, I'd say you're pregnant," Tina said. Rob, seeming nervous the whole time, took a drink of water, attempting to down his whole glass. "Can you just drop it? Tina, you really know how to push buttons sometimes," Aunt Jen sighed.

I didn't have to say anything next. There were plenty of explanations for my appetite, and my aunt had basically just told Tina to shut up. My explanation wasn't required, and we could change the subject. But, for a reason that I couldn't even name, it felt like it was okay to tell the truth.

"I am pregnant," I announced to everyone.

Rob almost choked on his water. My uncle looked at me, then at my Aunt, then at Tina. Everyone was quiet for a few minutes, aside from Rob. He was coughing up the water that had gone down his windpipe.

"I didn't want to announce it like this, really. I'm sorry about shocking you. But, I already told my parents, and I'm having this baby. So, I just hope that you can be happy for me," I told everyone.

"Who's the father," my uncle whispered the question.

"What?" I asked, trying to avoid answering.

"Who's the father?"

"Aaron, calm down-" my aunt tried getting him to relax. Which he did. Thank God.

"Who's the father?" He asked again.

"That's what I want to know."

I turned around and there stood my sister, in the dining room.

"Amanda, what are you doing here?" I asked her. She looked around the table, giving everyone a dirty look. "I should be asking you. Why are you here at our slut of an aunt's house?!" she yelled. "Woah, have some respect! Little girl, you better recognize who you're talking to!" Tina yelled, getting up. Tina loved my aunt Jen, like the daughter she never had. She also disliked people like my sister.