September, 22 weeks pregnant

“Hey Brian, how are you? May I please speak with Jack?”

Gab, Freya and Morgan were at the Royal Botanic Gardens this morning. It was early spring; flowering bulbs were beginning to bloom and trees were clothed in fresh, vibrant spring greens. Freya and Morgan were lying on the grass, Morgan reading, Freya sketching; Gab wandered a little way off and took the opportunity to call her brother.

Brian handed the phone to Jack.

“Hey Jack!” said Gab. “How are you, matey?”

“Hi Gabby! I’m good,” said Jack. Gab loved hearing his voice.

“What have you been up to?” asked Gab.

“Dad’s taking me to the waterpark on the weekend!” exclaimed Jack, perking up. “I’m going to wear my new board shorts. And we’re gonna go on the giant waterslide and have ice cream!”

“Wow, Jack, that sounds amazing!” said Gab.

“I know!” said Jack, “I’ve never been to the waterpark before.”

“So you’re enjoying living with your dad then?” asked Gab.

“Yeah!” Jack answered with enthusiasm.

“How’s school?”

“Bo-ring.” Jack’s enthusiasm instantly evaporated.

“Doing your readers?”

“Not every night,” he admitted. “But most nights, Gab!”

“Did you do one last night?” she asked.

“Yep,” Jack replied. “I read a book about a duck named Quacky-Lacky.”

“Good book?”

“Nah, it was boring!” said Jack. Boring—there was that favourite word again.

“Oh. Well, at least you had a go at reading it,” Gab encouraged.

“My reading’s getting pretty good now, Gab. I can read long words.”

“I’m so glad to hear it! What’s the longest word you can read?” she asked.

“Probably like, dinosaur. And I can spell ‘there’ in three different ways!”

“That’s great, Jack! Dinosaur is a giant word and the theirs are super tricky!”

“Do you have to do readers at your grown-up school?” asked Jack.

“Yeah I do. I have to go to class, just like at school, and then do lots of homework.”

“Sounds bo-ring.”

Gab laughed. “Nah, it’s great actually.” Jack was too stunned by the thought Gab was enjoying her ‘readers’ to say anything more on that topic.

“Have you spoken to Mum lately, Jack?”

“Oh, yeah,” he said, and she could hear the rolling eyes in his tone. “Bo-ring!”

“Does she call you?” Gab was curious.

“Sometimes. Mostly on Sundays. I don’t want to talk to her, cos it’s boring, but Dad says I have to,” Jack replied.

“What does she say to you?”

“Mostly the usual stuff. Like, How are you going? Are you doing your homework?. Pretty much the same as you.”

“Am I boring to talk to?” asked Gab. The comparison stung.

“Nah, cos you’re fun.”

“Why’s Mum boring then?”

“Oh, she just grumps at me and says, Why don’t you come back and visit me?” Jack mimicked Gina’s whiney-voice.

“And you don’t want to?”

“No. Cos you’re not there!” Jack explained. Gab wasn’t sure if that made her feel better or worse.

“Hey Jack,” said Gab, feeling like she was stepping off the edge of a precipice. “I gotta tell you something really important.”

“Like a secret?”

“Yeah, exactly. A secret.”

“I’m the best secret knower!” said Jack. “What is it? Spill the guts, Gab.”

“Ha. Well, this one’s a really, really big secret, okay Jack?” she said tentatively.

“Yeah! Tell me!”

“I’m … ummm … it’s a bit hard to say.”

“Why? Is it a tongue-twister? I can do tongue-twisters! Look, I can say Peter-Piper-Pecka-Pippa … oh, I forgot.” Gab laughed despite herself, and then launched in. There was nothing else for it.

“Jack … you know how sometimes ladies have babies in their tummies?”

“Yeah, like Mrs. Taylor,” said Jack knowingly.

“Who’s that?” asked Gab.

“My art teacher at my school.” Jack had started that year at a primary school nearer to Brian’s.

“Is she pregnant?”

“Yeah! Her tummy’s bigger ‘an a basketball! And her legs are like sticks!”

“Oh dear! Poor Mrs. Taylor. But yeah Jack, just like that. Pregnant like Mrs. Taylor. Well, guess what?”

“What?” asked Jack. Gab’s heart began pounding.

“I have a baby now too!” There. She’d done it. She exhaled.

“Where?!” asked Jack, incredulous.

“In my tummy, just like Mrs. Taylor,” explained Gab.

“WHAAAAT???” exclaimed Jack. “But Gab! Where’d you get it?”

“Oh … um, I’ll tell you that some other time,” Gab replied awkwardly.

“Was it magic?”

“Well, um … no … in a way … Anyhow, the thing is Jack, this baby is a really big, giant secret.” Gab grimaced.

“Oh yeah, I know that. But when can I see the baby, Gabby? Can I hold it?”

“Not yet, Jack. In a couple of months.”

“Ohhhh, why?”

“It has to grow big enough first. It’s too little now and it’s still in my tummy. And guess what Jack? You’ll be its uncle!”

“WHAT???” Jack was incredulous again. “But I’m just a kid!”

“Kids can be uncles. You’ll be Uncle Jack!”

“Well, that’s just weird!” said Jack. “My friends won’t even believe me.”

“Remember Jack, it’s a secret.” Gab really questioned whether she’d done the right thing in telling Jack. But then, how could she not? It was Jack. She wanted to share it with him.

“But when can I tell? Can I tell Dad?”

“Yeah, you can tell your dad. Just him, okay? But the main person I don’t want you to tell is Mum.”

“Oh yeahhhh, I know that,” said Jack, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Cos Mum will get all … you know … like, freaking out and stuff.”

“Yeah, I think she will.”

“But I think a baby’s cool!”

“Thanks Jack! That means a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Can I talk with your dad now?”

“Okay, bye!”

“Bye, Jack.”

Now that Gab had told Jack, it was easier to tell Brian. She didn’t go into much detail with Brian; she didn’t need to. She just explained that she was twenty-two weeks pregnant, that she was going to continue at uni once she had the baby, and that her mum didn’t know yet.

“Brian, I’ve asked Jack not to tell Mum yet,” she said. “I really don’t want her freaking out about it.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean, Gab. I won’t say a word.” Brian wondered when Gab was planning to tell Gina.

“Thanks,” replied Gab. “Could you please remind Jack to keep it a secret too?”

“Sure, sure,” agreed Brian. “You alright, Gabby?”

“I guess,” answered Gab, not even sure of the answer.

“Unexpected?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s okay,” said Brian, “Life’s like that sometimes, isn’t it? Unexpected.”

“Yeah, it is,” agreed Gab, grateful for Brian’s nonchalance.

“You take care then, Gab. Yell out if you need anything,” he said to her.

“Thanks Brian, I really appreciate it,” said Gab.

“No worries, love. Hooroo.”

“See ya, Brian,” said Gab. And that was that.