Chapter 36: Babies...

The morning after the party, Josie is feeling ill. Too much juice, maybe?

Now that there's a baby in the house, Racquel and Josie have to take turns going out. Most days, Racquel manipulates Josie into babysitting while she goes out and takes pictures. She's going to prove to those snobby show biz folks that Racquel Rocket can be anything she damn well wants!

So Josie mixes drinks by herself at home.

And babysits.

She has no idea how to deal with the thing, though. She's an only child, and has never had to take care of anyone but herself in her life.

Racquel, on the other hand, is a surprisingly competent caretaker. She grew up surrounded by other kids, both younger and older, so she knows her way around a diaper.

As soon as Racquel gets home, Josie bolts to the toilet to be sick again. Racquel follows her, sighing.

"Did you know you're pregnant?" she says bluntly.

Josie laughs. "No! Don't joke like that, Racquel. I can't be pregnant."

"...Can I?"

Racquel rolls her eyes. "Girl, you are so pregnant."

Josie tries to think what to do if she is pregnant. She doesn't think he's the type, but she can't get rid of the notion that Jones'll become angry and storm off and desert her. It's not that she's in love with him or anything - they haven't even talked about exclusivity or anything, and Josie is fine with that - but she really, really hates feeling rejected.

Later that day, Josie calls Jonesy over.

"So, I'm probably pregnant," she says, a little shakily.

Jonesy is shocked. "But... but..."

"I know..." Josie sighs, and bites back the urge to apologize.

Jonesy become stressed. "It's not that I'm not pleased, you see, I love children," he says. "But I'm just not in a position to take care of a kid, financially? You know? My apartment is so small, and I'm still working my way up to become a doctor, I can't afford to move or anything...."

Josie looks at him. "You're not thinking of skipping town?"

"What? No, of course not. This kid is as much mine as it is yours, you know? I want to be there for you, and it. I just don't know how much I'll be able to give, and I'm very sorry about that."

Josie is relieved. "Well," she says, "as long as you stick around, and give me medical advice, and rub my back sometimes, I think you're good. We'll probably have to move, though, but I think we can afford it."

Jonesy rubs her stomach and grins up at her. "We're having a baby!"

When Josie becomes tired and sore, she decides to take a nap. Jonesy sits up with her and strokes her hair until she's asleep.

"I'm going to be a father," he whispers happily.

Josie and Racquel find a bigger apartment (four bedrooms!) downtown and make the move.

First order of business is to convert one of the bedrooms into a nursery.

Having a separate room for the baby makes the whole situation suddenly real to Racquel. She feels a prickling anxiety at the loss of her career, and a hysterical kind of panic when she remembers how little her last batch of pictures sold for. But when she cuddles and feeds her baby boy, she feels something she's never felt before. A kind of calm warmth that makes her smile despite her evil nature. Being a mother... isn't so bad, after all.

Some pictures on the wall.

That's Marlin on the right, playing the laser-rhythm-a-con.

And they're only at the new apartment for a few hours before Josie goes into labor.

"What do I do? What do I do?" Racquel went out to buy film, so only Rolando is here to do the panic dance. They wait for Racquel for as long as they can, but soon the need to be at the hospital is urgent.

"Rolando. I need you to stay here with Tony, can you do that?" she asks through gritted teeth.

"I don't know! I don't know!" Rolando begins to make braying noises, like a horse. Josie grunts as another contraction hits her and decides, to hell with it, she needs to leave now.

She passes Racquel on her way into the building. "Oh thank god," Josie says.

"Were you going to leave him with Rolando?!" Racquel shrieks, tearing into the building. Motherhood has made her protective where she'd normally find the situation hilarious.

It's a girl. They call her Zoe. Josie and Jonesy stare at each other, paralyzed with shock. So this is what being a parent feels like, they think. It's scary!

Soon, it's winter. Racquel decides it's too cold for bared midriffs. Everyone is shocked.

Josie:

She refuses to dress too much like a mom. 

Also, new carpets!

How festive.

Life for the two moms is now extremely hectic, with Jonesy's hours at the hospital getting longer, and Racquel behaving irresponsibly as usual.

"It's an initiation," Racquel explains when Josie scolds her for stealing the piece of candy Zoe was holding. "You know, like, welcome to the household! I did it to Tony when he was first born."

Speaking of which, Tony has a birthday:

He looks a lot like Racquel, but inherited Rolando's clear blue eyes. He's a very solemn toddler, and likes Racquel's stories about stealing bicycles from children and using them to run over small animals.

Jonesy often stays the night, but usually has to run off first thing in the morning. Josie knows he's just trying to get promoted so he can help out more financially, but it still stings seeing the back of him in the mornings.

Feeling lonely, Josie decides to pay a visit to her parents.

She tells them all about her new apartment and checks in on her mom to make sure she's recovering okay from Alexander's death.

Ida assures her she's doing fine. Marlin and Cheech are a great comfort. Josie is relieved.

Feeling socially fulfilled, Josie goes back home and finds Jonesy waiting for her. "Where were you?" he wants to know. "I was waiting for you."

The words make Josie feel warm and special, and she loves him for it. "I was visiting my parents," she tells him.

For some reason, that turns him on.

Lucky man!

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Notes -

2  out of 4 children born, and perfect careers goal complete (photography and mixology)!! I've never played much with photography before, it's surprisingly easy to master once you get past the first few levels. I had Racquel read the book for levels 1-3 so she could start taking the landscape pictures and not the tiny ones, and stop wasting money on ruined shots. Next time I play a photographer I'll remember that strategy.

Josie's romantic life is a little different from other people's, in that she's not really interested in romance beyond the high she gets from having someone want her and pay attention to her. Maybe that makes her selfish, but it is how it is. Doesn't mean she's not capable of love, though. Just not romantic love, probably. I don't think Jonesy really minds. He's just glad someone shy like him managed to get a girlfriend like her (he thinks of her as his girlfriend, even though she probably doesn't). I guess they're kind of an unconventional couple ^^