Chapter 64: No Pressure

Bianca was making pancakes on Sunday morning when Amira came into the kitchen to eat. Her pregnant belly (and her scantily clad attire) took her by surprise.

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“Whoa there, hot mama,” Bianca yelled. “When did all this happen??”

“Isn’t it great?! We found out the morning of your wedding, but we didn’t want to steal your thunder, so we were going to wait and tell everyone, but I guess we don’t exactly have to do that anymore, huh?”

“No! You’re ummm…definitely bearing witness,” she punned, thinking more about her outfit. “Wow…so, you’re in your second trimester already?”

“Sure am!”

“Are you guys excited?”

“We’re on cloud…seventeen!!”

“I bet.”

Seeing Amira pregnant and glowing made Bianca think about her own future kids and when they would come. She wanted to enjoy just being married for a while without having her attention divided between her man, her kids, her career, and her responsibilities at home. But she was also getting older, and time would not wait for her. She didn’t exactly feel pressured, but she questioned whether waiting was the right thing to do or not. Bianca served Giancarlo and joined him in the dining room. When Amira came in, Giancarlo was also taken by surprise by the pregnancy and the outfit.

“OH,” Giancarlo exclaimed. “Ummm [ahem]…you’re…congratulations!”

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Giancarlo was trying not to look at her, but it was hard not to. Bianca saw what was happening, and she didn’t like it. She didn’t blame Giancarlo because, after all, he was a man and Amira was a very beautiful, shapely woman and was walking around half nude. She didn’t really know what to make of it and didn’t want to jump to conclusions, so she just decided to keep her eyes and ears open.

Meanwhile, the older Pruetts were packing up their final belongings and saying goodbye to the house. They were going to be leaving the next day while Asia was at work and Kolby was at school.

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Brandon and Amira were definitely in another world over this baby. They read books, took parenting classes, birthing classes, talked about the baby…everything was about the baby!

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“I’m telling you,” Brandon said, “That’s a boy in there! He just punched me! We’re gonna have a boxer!”

“It could still be a girl. Girls are athletes too!”

“You know what I mean. I just really hope it’s a boy! There has only been one Pruett to get a boy the first go round, and I’m feeling lucky!”

“It really doesn’t matter to me. As long as it’s healthy. I just want it to be here already!”

On the night of the move, Bianca was busy with a top secret project.

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“Excuse me, maestro. May I see you for a minute,” Bianca asked.

“If you take a picture, you could see me forever,” he retorted.

“Ha ha, funny man. Seriously…just follow me, please.”

He put his instrument away and followed her into the dining room.

“Surprise! Happy birthday, baby!”

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“Oh wow. For once, I am without words!”

“What? You must really be surprised then!”

“I am. You didn’t have to do this! We just got married two days ago. I don’t need to be celebrated anymore. Besides…I already have the best gift.”

“That’s sweet. But that’s not how we do things in the Pruett house!”

“Thank you, soo much. This was very unexpected. I love you, BJ.”

“I love you too, babe. Now, come on! Blow out the candles before they melt all over the cake!”

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Bianca sang and cheered and made noise for her man. It wasn’t anything terribly fancy, but she wanted to make him feel as special as he made her feel.

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“Hey there, gorgeous,” Bianca flirted. “I’m thinking about ditching my young, hot husband for a mature, handsome gentleman such as yourself. Can you help me?”

“Totally. Homewrecking is what I do.”

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“BJ,” he said with his mouth full, “this cake is delicious! Who taught you to bake like this?”

“My mother, believe it or not.”

“Wow…you definitely need to teach our kids this recipe.”

What he said wasn’t wrong, but it struck a chord with both of them. Not even Giancarlo was expecting to be affected by it. Neither of them knew where to take the conversation next, and so they ate in awkward silence for a few minutes. Then, Giancarlo decided to settle things.

“Bianca–”

“I’m Bianca again? Oh, this must be serious,” she interrupted.

“I’m going to say something, and I don’t want you to get upset or feel pressured, ok?”

“Ok.”

“I would like to have a baby sooner rather than later.”

“Ok.”

“So…ok, you agree, or, ok, you’ll think about it…what’s happening over there?”

“Just ‘ok.’ I haven’t decided yet.”

“Ok! That’s fine. I just wanted to put it out there.”

Everyone else slowly filtered in and joined the party.

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“Well, children…this is our last meal together,” Jared said.

“I’m really gonna miss you guys,” Bianca said.

“We’ll miss you too, but we’ll just be around the corner. Actually, we’ll be your mother’s neighbor!”

“How nice,” she said sarcastically.

After the party, everyone said their goodbyes, and Jared and family left the Pruett Estate with a full heart. Jared and Kolby were sad to leave their childhood home, and Asia was too. But they were excited to have their own space and operate more like most normal families. Later that evening, Bianca got her workout in and went to her office to get some work done when Giancarlo came in.

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“Hey beautiful! What are you up to?”

“Hacking.”

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“Yeah? Can I watch?”

“Sure.”

“Hmmm…it doesn’t look like much.”

“Are you bored, babe?”

“Yeah…a little. I feel like I’m the only one in the house that doesn’t have anything to work on.”

“You have your music.”

“True, but I work on that during the day. At night, I want to hang out with you, but there aren’t enough hours in the day left after you do everything you need to do.”

“Welcome to married life, sweetheart,” she said sarcastically, still working.

“Seriously.”

He watched her work for a few minutes, but was pacing a little. He had something on his mind, but he just didn’t know how to get it out. Bianca could see him in her peripheral vision, and it was distracting her from her work.

“Is something bothering you,” she asked.

“Actually…I need to run something by you.”

“What’s up,” she asked as she continued to type.

“I don’t really know how to say this.”

“What’s that you say? Rip off the bandage?”

“Oh, you remember that! Ok, well…here it goes. I’m not terribly comfortable around Amira.”

Bianca stopped everything she was doing and gave him her undivided attention. She wasn’t expecting this conversation, but this situation was what she was watching and listening out for.

“Go on,” she said carefully.

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“Well, I just don’t know! I mean, I’m not trying to accuse her of anything. She’s your brother’s wife!”

“But you must think there is something, right?”

“She looks at me.”

“Dude…you practice the violin in your underwear in front of a window. Everyone looks at you!”

“Even when I wear clothes she looks at me! And I thought I saw her flirting with me once. Remember that night after the renovation when everyone had dinner together?”

“Yeah…”

“I thought I saw her waving at me a couple times.”

“You’re right…that is a serious accusation. Are you sure that’s what you saw?”

She knew he was right because of how she saw him react a few mornings ago, but this was a serious situation and she didn’t want to make any sudden moves. She wanted to give Amira the benefit of the doubt.

“I think so…I don’t know. What do I do? I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

“I really don’t know. Like you said, there is no good way to bring it up. Maybe just wait and see if it happens again. Yeah, wait until the baby is born and see if your feelings change. Hey! That could be it. Maybe she was pregnant at the time and her hormones were all screwed up?”

“I dunno. Maybe. We’ll see,” he said.

“You know I don’t mind you strutting around in your underwear, but maybe you should consider wearing a shirt? After all, we don’t live here alone. What if she feels the same way you do? What if you’re actually provoking her?”

“Touche.”

Suddenly the mood in the room changed when he heard his favorite song on the radio and started to dance.

“Ohhhhh, man, that’s my jam!”

“Wow…you’ve got some moves,” Amira said.

She seemed to appear out of nowhere.

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“Oh…hi, Amira. That baby is really growing, huh? I need to get back to my practicing. Goodnight, honey.”

“Goodnight, babe.”

The next day, Giancarlo was practicing–with clothes on–and Amira came to listen. She had the day off.

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“Your music…it’s soo beautiful!”

That night, Giancarlo and Bianca had dinner by themselves in the kitchen. They were enjoying their new, smaller household size. At times when the other couple were away doing other things, it almost felt like they were alone.

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“You’re soo domesticated,” Bianca joked.

“My mother taught me well!”

“Listen...I want to tell you something, and you need to promise not to be pressured this time.”

“Can I phone a friend?”

“She’s busy.”

“Dangit! Ok. What’s up?”

“You know I want you to follow your dreams and be happy, right?”

“Sure.”

“Good. So, I’m just going to put our cards on the table, and you do whatever you feel is right for you, ok?”

“Ok?”

“Brandon did a wonderful job on the house. And while he did use quite a bit of our savings, we still had quite a bit left. But keeps buying these expensive pieces of art, and the bills have increased by 21.5%! I’ve been crunching some numbers, and while I think  we’ll be ok as long as we tend the garden, if Brandon doesn’t stop spending money, we’re going to be in trouble with just two salaries. I’m going to start doing some freelance work and getting into software development to help, but I was thinking that maybe sometime you could go to the park and play for tips and see how that goes.”

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“You are the most brilliant person I know…and I’m the genius!”

Late the next morning, Amira’s labor pains began. Brandon was upstairs upgrading the plumbing, so she gave birth alone in the nursery.

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“Ohhhhh, baby! I want to meet you too, but you’re hurting mommy!”

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“Hello there, my child! You’re a cutie patootie!! Who hurt mommy? You hurt mommy! Yes you did hurt mommy,” she teased.

She went upstairs and got Brandon to introduce them to their firstborn.

“Happy father’s day, big daddy!”

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“Look at you! You’re such a tiny thing. Soo cute and fragile. I’m going to name you…Lance! Oh my goodness, Amira…our son is perfect! I can’t believe we have a son!”

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Bianca and Giancarlo came to meet Lance as they were able.

“Hey there Lancey Lance! I’m Uncle Giancarlo. Wow…that’s really long to say! We’ll work on that. Anyway, I hope to give you a little cousin to play with soon, but I’ll get back to you on that.”

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“Oh my goodness! You’re soo cute! You like Auntie? I think you do. Auntie likes you too. Auntie likes this baby thing too! I gotta get me one of these.”

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Giancarlo went to go watch TV, but Amira was already in the den. He couldn’t just turn around and act weird, so he just started a simple conversation.

“Hey, Amira! That Lance is soo precious.”

“Yeah. We’re really blessed!”

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She was on her way to see about the baby, so that was the end of the conversation. He was glad about that. Over the course of the next couple days, family members came by to see Lance and congratulate Brandon and Amira.

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Kolby actually came by a lot since they left. Being an only child, he was probably bored at home. That and he had started a friendship with Giancarlo. Sometimes he would come over directly from school just to do his homework. Giancarlo sometimes helped him.

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“…and that’s how you form an isosceles triangle.”

“You’re really good at this, Giancarlo. I think you’ll make a terrific father.”

“I hope so, kid. I hope so.”

That particular night was actually Bianca’s birthday, so he left Kolby outside to do his work while he went to see about whipping up something special for her. But she already had plans in motion.

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“Ummm…shouldn’t I be doing that?”

“You don’t cook, so why would I let you do this?”

“Touche. I really wish you would let me do something for you, though.”

“Oh, you will.”

“[gasp] Mrs. Sheridan! Was that a hint of coquetry I heard?”

“Wow, someone has been reading the dictionary!”

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Bianca blew out her candles and aged up feeling downright confident.

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“See, now that you’re old like me, you’ll see how I can come up with fancy words off the cuff. It’s like magic!”

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“Do you want to know what I wished for?”

“If you tell me it won’t come true.”

“It’ll come true.”

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She continued, “I wished for a family.”

“You have a family…a pretty big one, actually.”

“My own family! I want to have a baby with you.”

“Was there anyone else to choose from?”

His quick wit always amused her. As much as she was used to his silliness, he always caught her off guard, and she had many hearty laughs.

“Sooo…do you want to do this?”

“I’ll call the manager and see if our honeymoon suite is available.”

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The next morning, Giancarlo was awake before Bianca. When she got up, she was a little confused. She knew she was supposed to do something, but she couldn’t remember. But when she looked around and saw that she was in a different room, she bolted up out of bed and ran to the bathroom. She remembered she was supposed to take a pregnancy test. She was soo nervous and excited at the same time, it’s almost as if she was trying to will herself into being pregnant. Finally, she got the results.

“YEEES!!!!”

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“Look, daddy,” she whispered, “I’m pregnant!”

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She ran through the house to go find Giancarlo because she had to be at work in about ten minutes.

“Look, baby! Look at what we did!!!”

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“WHOA! Are all 50 of my children in there?? Why are you so…ummm…so…so pregnant…right now?”

“I don’t know! We’ll have to wait and see!”

“That’s soo great, Bianca! Congratulations, you two,” Amira said.

“I hope there’s 50 of them in there,” Giancarlo said.

Later that day, it was time for Lance to give up his bassinet for a real bed. Only time will tell, but it looked like that signature Pruett look would be lost forever. Not only was Lance the first mixed heir, but also he was the first non-blonde heir!

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“Ha! The curse of the blonde hair is broken,” Brandon thought to himself.

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Not only did Lance look like his mother, but he also inherited his mother’s love for the outdoors.

lance

Amira very much enjoyed being a mother. She spent a lot of time playing with her son as they both enjoyed the outdoors playing chess on the balcony. She loved being a mother, but she enjoyed being a wife more as her romantic whims always outweighed her family oriented ones. But she kept a good balance between wooing her husband and nurturing her son. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their new roles as parents–even the ones who weren’t exactly parents yet.

“Your pregnancy glow makes you soo incredibly stunning. I would have my way with you right now, but I don’t want to hurt the baby.”

“You can’t hurt the baby unless you plan on kicking me or something.”

“I know.”

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“Ummmmmmm…should you be doing that,” Giancarlo worried.

“I’m shaped like a Pruett. Of course I should be doing this!”

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“Hey babe. What are you watching?”

“You waddle.”

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“How big is your database, dude? Do you have quips for everything?”

“Quips? Who’s been reading the dictionary now?”

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“ANYWHO…when I get home tonight, I need you to help me do something.”

“OH BOY!!”

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“Baby, please! I need you to be serious for one day.”

“Ok, pumpkin. What do you need me to do?”

“I need you to come with me to my mother’s house.”

“You want to see me be serious? Come with me….”

He took her by the hand an led her to their honeymoon suite.

“Uh uh, Giancarlo. I don’t have time for this. I have to be at work soon!”

“BJ…get in here. I’m being serious, remember?”

She reluctantly went into the room and closed the door. But to her surprise, he wasn’t trying to get in a quick romp.

“I wrote you a song…just now.”

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He cleared his throat, tuned his instrument, and began to sing.

Her hair is a golden a the sun

But I am blinded by her light

Her eyes twinkle like the dust in the sky

But her loving way number them

Her skin is caramel, just like candy

But she is sweeter

Bianca Janine

She is my queen, the fairest in all the world

Bianca Janine

She makes me sing, my destiny she unfurls

Oh oh oh oh oh

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“I love you. Have a good day at work.”

Chapter 65: Time Waits For No One