“I will, I promise. Bye Fern, Eric.”
We hang up and Brad pulls me into his chest where I soak his t-shirt with my confused emotions.
“I’m sorry, I don't even know why I'm crying. I actually expected it to be worse,” I sniffle.
“Ok, firstly, never apologise for having feelings. Secondly, is your mum always so negative about you like that? And thirdly, Fern isn't a particularly Asian name.”
My watery laugh pulls a smile from him, which, in turn, earns me a gentle kiss.
“Firstly, thank you. I can only imagine I will have many feelings over the next however many months. Secondly, she is obsessed with weight. It seems to be a Malaysian thing, or maybe even just Asian in general. At least, generationally speaking. And I know she isn't doing it to be mean, but it's so hard not to let it get under my skin,” I shake my head.
He just hums, noncommittally.
“And thirdly, Fern is a sort of nickname. Most of my mum's side of the family officially has Malay names, but an English nickname that they go by. My mum's actual name is Khadijah.”
“So the surname Jones, is that your maiden name, or was it your married name?”
“No, it's my maiden name. As I'm sure you could tell, my father is Australian. Well, Welsh, but his family moved to Brisbane when he was young. How were you not intimidated by him, though? I'm sorry he was so harsh.”
“Blaze, he wasn't harsh at all. Just looking out for his daughter, and I'm sure I'll be the same with our baby, whether it's a girl or a boy.”
I'm still snuggled into his chest, and the warmth of his body and his words lull me into a sleepy haze until something occurs to me.
“Wait, have you told your parents yet? About the baby?”
If I weren't pressed up against him, I might have missed the tensing of his muscles.
“No. Not yet. I, uh, I was actually hoping we could tell them together.”
I sit up at this.
“Wh-what? You want, you want me to be there when you tell them?”
“I know it's a lot to ask, but I honestly feel like they'll take it a lot better if you're with me. My mother, especially, will imagine the worst if you're just a faceless entity, but she'll love you when she meets you. They both will.”
“Yeah, because I'm probably about their age!”
“You're not their a?—”
“They'll think you've randomly brought a new friend home for them. So I can't imagine it going down well when you drop the bomb that this old lady darkening their doorstep is a third of the way through her geriatric pregnancy with your baby!”
“Okayyyy, let's take some deep breaths, love. You're working yourself up a bit there.”
“I’m not hysterical, you are!”
“Umm, I never said you were, Blaze,” he says with a slight chuckle. “Come on, deep breaths with me. In. And out. That's good, that's good.”
My shaking breaths saw in and out of my lungs until they finally start to calm.
“Listen to me, Shari. None of that is going to happen because you're not old and my parents will be happy to see that I'm having a baby with someone so wonderful, regardless of our age gap. I promise.”
Famous last words.
10
BIOLOGY! SOCIETY! HORMONES!
SHARI
