1999
*knock knock*
‘Come in.’
‘Ooh, isn’t this lovely? You, getting married!’
‘I feel hideous, Mum. They’ve been moving a lot today.’
‘I bet they’re just excited! Won’t it be nice for them, being a part of their parents’ wedding day?’
‘You’re wearing white? That’s pretty bold.’
‘Brie!’
‘Oh, Brie, don’t be like that!’
‘I’m just saying, Tate might send her back under the Trade Descriptions Act.’
‘He’s going to be making an honest woman of her. They’ll be married by the time they have the babies. It’s all good.’
‘I’d rather have done it after. I look awful.’
‘Nonsense. You’re practically glowing! A radiant bride if I ever did see one.’
‘I’m gonna puke.’
‘What was that, Brie?’
‘Nothing, Mum.’
‘Good. No need to be jealous, cariña. That’ll be you one day.’
‘I'm not jealous. Just nauseated.’
‘Ugh… must be more Braxton Hicks. I’ll admit, we’re a bit close to my due date for my liking...’
‘Well, Tate didn’t know it’d be triplets, did he? 33 weeks would’ve been fine for a normal pregnancy.’
‘Well, sorry for having two more than the standard.’
‘Don’t be silly, Roxxi. Why the sour face? This is a happy day! Do try to act like it. I’ll wait outside for you to be ready.’
‘Bet you’re regretting picking Tate now. I’d at least choose someone with a better face. Is he good in bed, at least?’
‘Brie! You’re thirteen, for God’s sake. I’m not talking to you about that kind of thing.’
‘Whatever. We all know it's a sham. Why else would anyone wanna marry an old man?’
'Don't talk about my fiance like that.'
'You didn't argue about his face, I'm noticing.'
'Yeah, well, I'm not blind.'
'Oh, so you do admit he's ugly.'
'Not as ugly as you're acting right now. Let's just go. I don't wanna be late.'
‘I have to pretend to be happy for them, right?’
‘Please do. I don’t think Dad will be happy otherwise. And we shouldn’t embarrass Roxxi. It’s her wedding too, after all.’
‘This is still stupid. Who does she think she's kidding? Why is everyone acting like it's some perfect romance?’
'Oooof...'
‘...Are you okay?’
‘Yeah, fine. Bit of a stomach ache.’
‘Has it been glowing green again? Cos you should really get that checked out. It’s not normal.’
‘Not recently, no.’
‘I went on the internet and it said it happens when men are having a-’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. Stop looking at weird things on the computer, okay?’
'Ah, it looks like the bride is here!'
‘Okay, it’s starting.’
And so the wedding of Tate and Roxxi Farrington took place.
'How lovely was that?'
‘Ooof… Oh God…’
‘Are you okay, my love?’
‘No…’
‘Oh God! I think that was my waters! I think I’m in labour!’
‘Told you she was cutting it fine.’
‘That’s not nice, Aria.’
‘I’m not nice.’
‘Alright, everyone, the wedding’s over. No reception. I’ve got to take my new wife to hospital. Thanks for coming, and the next time we see you, we'll be parents of triplets!’
‘Shame. I’m hungry. I was looking forward to that buffet.’
‘I’ll take you two home and order us some food, how about that? I suspect Dad and Roxxi will be gone a while.’
‘A takeaway? Awesome!’
'How long will it take for Roxxi to have the babies?'
'It depends on what they do. With it being triplets, they may deliver by C-section, but since she's already gone into labour, I guess they'll let it continue if there's no other complications other than them being premature. But multiple births usually are.'
'Will she stay in the hospital?'
'I would imagine so. At least for a few days, probably longer.'
'Where did Olivia go?'
'I... don't know. Doesn't matter... I'm here for you.'
'You don't look well, Ellis. You keep moaning like that. Are you sick?'
'...I just need to go to the toilet, then I'll see about getting you some food. Right? Back in a minute.'
But on a cursed day such as this, even a simple trip to the toilet wasn't just that.
'Please...'
‘Oh God! Oh my God…! It's really...!’
‘Shh… let’s get you wrapped up warm, huh? Come here, little one.’
‘There. Is that better? I’m sorry, sweetheart… I should’ve prepared. I let you down…’
*knock knock knock*
‘Ellis! What’s going on? We heard a noise!’
'A noise?! Sounds like he's shitting a boulder! What kind of crap are you taking, Ellis?'
‘...’
‘Whoa, what’s that?’
‘He’s a baby, Raya. You’ve got a little nephew.’
‘Did you just poop him out?!’
‘......I guess I did, yeah.’
‘It is an alien! Why did you lie before?’
‘Oh, Ari… c’mon girls, let’s just go downstairs and sit down.’
'Can you even sit down?'
'......'
‘Okay… I was in denial. I can’t remember much, it’s just one night last year, when it was dark, I went out and was gone ages, remember?’
‘Yeah.’
‘I saw flashing lights in the sky, and that’s all I remember of it. I was so freaked out by the whole thing. They did something to me. Of course I researched it online, and found some weird sites… We all know alien races exist, but they’re so uncommon here. There’s none in this town at all. You’ve seen the way supernaturals can be treated. They often form their own little communities, their own towns, but even there aliens are rare.’
‘People have been claiming to be abducted for ages, but not many cases have come back with a real live male pregnancy.’
‘You just gave birth all alone in a toilet! Are you okay?’
‘I'm fine. And I know. I guess that’s better than being treated like some kind of lab specimen at the hospital, though. Still… poor thing, I need to get him checked out by a doctor. Just to make sure he’s healthy.’
‘He’s really cute, though.’
‘He is, huh?’
‘But why didn’t you say anything?’
‘Again, I was deep in denial. I buried my head in the sand and pretended it wasn’t happening. I didn’t even know where to begin. Go to the doctor, claim I’ve been abducted, demand an examination? Then what if it’s positive? You think Dad wouldn’t have made me get a termination?’
‘What’s a termination?’
‘An abortion. They… um, kill the baby while it’s still too small to feel anything.’
‘Oh…’
‘So I acted like it never happened, and ignored everything happening to my body. I knew, deep down, that this’d happen in the end. I just couldn’t face it. I still don’t know how I will. We can’t fit four babies here… Dad’s going to go mental.’
‘Will he throw the baby out?’
‘He’s not touching the baby. If he throws me out, however, that’s a different story… Ugh. Let’s just go.’
‘Go? Are we gonna run away together?’
‘Oh, Ari… I can’t bring up three kids. You think he’d let me take you?’
‘Why not? He doesn’t care about me or Raya.’
‘We can’t… It’s not possible. I’m just gonna take you two to the diner up the road from the hospital, okay? I don’t know how long it’ll take for me to be seen but when you’ve eaten, you can come find me if you like, as long as you watch the roads.’
‘Okay.’
‘Thanks for being so good about it, girls. You’re lovely kids.’
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