Category : Stories

Sub Category : Drama

 Three-Mr. and Mrs. Evers
The wedding was being held in Central Park. The weather was warm, perfect, and Ava had picked out the impeccable shaded area to be married at. The wedding itself was not was not very large and lavish, rather it was beautifully modest. The sides of the chairs were decorated with cream and red roses, along with sheer white ribbons. In front, the arch was also decorated similarly. Behind that, was a lake that had fountains spouting water high into the air.
There was a recreational building a few feet away where Ava, her mother, her sister, and six other bridesmaides hustled to get ready for the event. Ava believed that bridesmaids should have beautiful dresses and not ugly ones. She had her bridesmaides wear cream color dresses, which were strapless and flowy at the bottom. Each bridesmaid wore their hair differently. Down and curly, down and straight, and some decided to go with braides. Ava's sister, Grace, wore a warmer shade of the same style dress. Her mother's attire was in the same color scheme, except she wore a flattering dressy blouse and pencil skirt-along with a chunky beaded necklace and bracelets, and earrings. Diana, Ava and Grace's mother, is a cosmetologist and a fashionista-always fashionable, no matter what the occasion. The room was filled with excitment. Make-up, shoes, and jewelry seemed to be flying all over the place.
The room next to them was the men, also putting themselves together. Jay took his tuxedo and backpack into the bathroom stall to change. Closing the door behind him, he proceeds to get out of his regular clothes. He bent down to get his legs into his pants, but his abdominal muscles ached as if he was hit by a bus, and pulling up the pants made him wince and groan. Jay finally gets them all the way up, feeling a sense of accomplishment. He faces the long rectangular mirror inside the stall, lifting up his shirt. Turning sideways, Jay gently feels around the lower part of his belly-where there is a five-inch moonshaped scar, still slightly puffy. Jay could feel the small outward curve of his belly, still feeing bewildered by his final decision.
(Flashback: Three days ago)

Jay lazily opens his eyes, finding himself lying in a hospital bed in the recovery room. Last thing her remembered was counting back from ten on the operating table. Sunlight peeked through the windows, revealing the details of the room. Heart monitor, morphine bag, bedpan, eggshell colored walls, white blankets, etc. He felt groggy, most likely from the morphine going through him. His abdominal muscles were still in shock from surgery-movement was limited.
The door opens and Dr. Emily Gerard walked in with a clipboard in her hands and a smile on her face. She approaches the bed and begins to examine her patient. 
"Good morning, Jay Evers. How are you feeling?" She asks as she listens to his heart with her stethoscope.
"Ugh...tired, sore." Jay mumbles.
"Don't worry, your muscles will adjust." She assures him. The doctor lifts up Jay's blanket to examine the inscisions on his lower abdomen.
"Everything looks good. You will heal nicely. The artificial womb we placed inside you went well. And the transfer of the fetus was successful. No complications." Dr. Gerard says as she writes down a few notes.
Jay lifts the blanket and looks at his belly himself. The cut was incredibly small. During surgery, the surgeons use a special repair wand that closes deep inscisions resulting in minimal scarring.
"One last thing to test. This might hurt a little." Dr. Gerard says, taking out a needle. She pokes it into Jay's arm, drawing out a small amount of blood. After removing the needle, the doctor puts a band-aid on Jay's arm and tests the blood. A minute or two later, she smiles with satisfaction.
"Mr. Evers, congratulations. You are officially pregnant. Expect side effects of the pregnancy to occur within one to two days. Since you are in your first trimester, nausea and vomiting is common. I'd like to keep you here until this evening just to make sure you are alright."
"Mmm..." Jay mumbles. He was distracted trying to wrap his mind around the new reality that there was a tiny being inside of him.
The doctor continues to speak. "The artificial womb will care for fifty percent of the baby's needs, the rest you will do. Eat healthy, proper exercise, get a good amount of sleep, no drinking or smoking and the baby will turn out fine."
Dr. Gerard looks at Jay's anxious expression. She pulls up a chair to his bed and sits down.
"Jay..." She attempts to get his attention. Jay puts down the blanket and looks at her.
"Jay, when you came in here last night, I saw someone who had made the most difficult decision he could make. And you know what? I know you made the right one. I'm very proud of you." Dr. Gerard smiles approvingly as she pats Jay's hand.
"You know, my husband and I have two girls. Nine and a six year old. We had so many worries about our first child in the beginning. We weren't completely ready for kids at the time, but that little surprise was what we needed. Since then, there has not been one dull moment with our daughters."
Jay fiddled with the blanket with his fingers. "Was your husband pregnant with both of your daughters?" he asks.
"No. Actually, he gave birth to my oldest daughter and then I later had my youngest."
"Was he nervous about being pregnant for the first time?"
Dr. Gerard nods. "Yes, at first, because it came as a surprise. But he eventually got comfortable with the idea. I believe he had more fun being pregnant than I did." 
Jay wanted to express amusement, but it hurt too much. 
He sighs. "Strange. Everything seems to be changing so fast. I never expected to be a father this way, or this soon."
"Having a baby has that effect on new parents." Dr. Gerard says. "You came in here by yourself last night. Did you tell you're fiance you were going to do this?" She asks, referring to his incisions.
Jay looks up at the ceiling. "Actually, um...I haven't told her about the baby."
Dr. Gerard was intrigued. "Oh? Why not?"
Jay sighs hoplessly. "It's...complicated."
"Are you going to tell her?"
(Present)

Jay hears Evan walk into the stall next to him.
"Hey, bud." Evan says.
"Hey." Jay responds.
"Are you about ready?" 
"Almost."
Jay puts on his shirt and vest. He goes to button his pants, but the button's reach stopped just shy of the button hole. Jay rolls his eyes and growled. He didn't consider getting a larger pant size. Jay thought of sucking in his stomach to get a better fit, but his muscles were not up to the challenge.
"These pants fit great. Izzy sewed in a stretch band to give my belly some room." Evan says as he clicks his heels.
"Good for you." Jay thought enviously. He struggled with the button one last time. 
Eventually he gave up, feeling frustrated. He looks through his backpack for anything that would hold his pants together. Way at the bottom was a rubberband. Perfect! As soon as he successfully tied his pants together, he puts on his jacket, hiding the rubber band.
"Nervous, Jay?"
"Yeah. But it is a good kind of nervous." 
Jay and Evan stepped out at the same time. Evan-sharp looking. Jay-his collar was up.
"Okay, ready." He says.
"Almost." Evan laughs as he fixes Jay's collar. He looks down at Jay's feet, who just had his black socks on. "So, where are your shoes?"
Jay looks down too. He rolls his eyes and marches back into the stall.
Jay stood at the front of the isle, waiting for the rest of the wedding party to walk up the isle. The wedding attendees were whispering with excitement. Jay was nervous but very happy. The song: "Marry Me," by Train began to play. The audience turned around in their seats. The first to walk up was Caelan, who is the flower girl, then Izzy and Evan. Next was a friend of Ava's and her escort, then Grace and her escort. Ava's mother and cousin walked up together. They all took their places at the front.
And the moment all have been waiting for...Henry Addison starts walking his daughter up the isle. Ava had a beaming smile on her face. Her dress was long, the train had floral lacingon it. The dress had floral shoulder straps, her heels were studded in front with sparkly sequence. And her rosy pink lips brought out her caramel eyes. The hair was worn up with delicate sparkly pins, and Ava wore a dainty tiara on her head. Jay was absolutely breathless by Ava. His beating heart sped up as Ava's father gave her to him.
"Hi, there." Ava says.
"Uh, ha...hi!" He answers nervously.
"Are you ready?" She asks, holding his hand.
Jay nods confidently. "Yeah."  
Jay and Ava sat in the back of the limozine, abundantly happy. They giggled and laughed as they were taken to the reception hall. 
"We're married! We did it." Ava exclaims, hugging Jay tightly. "Ugh, I feel like I've been in this dress for an eternity."
Jay strokes his wife's face with his fingers, looking adoringly at her. "I think you look beautiful."
Ava kisses her husband's lips. "Thank you, my love. But as wonderful as you are, these shoes are a smidge too tight and I would love to get into some sweatpants and a tee-shirt."
Nausea surged through Jay's body. He rubbed his belly, trying to subside the feeling.
"Jay! Are you alright?" Ava asks with concern.
"Ugh! I'm fine. It's just probably something I ate earlier." Jay burps. "Oh, I think I'm gonna throw up..."
"Hold on. I think there is a paper bag in one of these compartments." Ava looks through them and finds a few and hands them to Jay.
He takes the bag and vomits. Ava rubs Jay's back. "What did you eat, Jay?"
Jay knew the answer. But he also knew he couldn't tell Ava what was really going on. It would crush her if she found out that he was pregnant instead of her. The limo arrived at the reception hall and Jay was on his third paper bag.
"The hall has a restroom inside, Jay."
Jay shakes his head.
"If you still don't feel good, we'll go home, okay?" 
"No, no, no. I want to go in there and dance with you." Jay insists.
"I know. but you need to be on your feet and a little less green to dance with me, babe. You really don't don't look well enough for that."
"Ava, I'm so sorry about this." Jay apologizes.
"Jay, it's okay, don't worry about it."
"No, um, look...you go ahead inside. I'll be there as soon as I can. I promise."
Ava didn't want to leave him, but she got out of the car and went into the building.
Jay miserably sways his head. He felt so terrible that Ava might never get to have that first dance with him.
"Look what you did!" Jay argues with his belly. "First my pants, and now this! If Ryan hadn't been pregnant, this wouldn't be happening."
Jay widens his eyes, feeling regret for his outburst. " Oh, God! I'm so sorry about what I said! That was way out of line, and I admit...it was selfish. You didn't deserve it. I'm finding this whole being pregnant thing really difficult."
Then, slowly, the vomiting and nausea subsided and Jay springs out of the limo. He quickly runs into the building hoping he wasn't too late. The room was round and spacious. The main lights were dimmed so that the twinkle lights and candles could shine. Ava was dancing with her father and everyone was watching. Jay found the table where Izzy, Evan and Ava's mother were sitting sat.
"There you are!" Izzy says with surprise.
"Ava said you were sick. Are you feeling okay?" Diana asks.
"You okay bud?" Evan asks too.
"Yeah, great. Better. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go dance with my wife." Jay marches confidently over to the dance floor.
"What was that?" Evan wondered.
"He really wants to dance with his wife." Izzy giggles.
The father and daughter dance ended. Ava sees Jay walking to her.
"You made it." She says happily.
"I didn't want to miss this." Jay takes her into his arms.
And then, the dee-jay started to play their song. Ed Sheeran-"Thinking Out Loud."