Jessica’s Baby – Part 1

Autumn, Year 0
Paul is 44, Lisa is 41, Declan is 18, Jessica is 18, Tegan is 0

Jessica cradled her daughter and stared in mild astonishment. Tegan was still a tiny baby and Jess was having trouble seeing herself as a mother. She hadn’t quite expected a baby before heading to University and it certainly presented some complications to her life.

Fortunately for Jessica, her parents were happy to help her out and had converted the spare room into a nursery for Tegan. It would require a large adjustment but they were willing to make it work.

For a start, Jessica’s father, Paul, was hoping to improve communication with his daughter by finding out exactly what the situation was with Tegan’s father. So far, he’d not been able to glean much from Jess.

Talk at the dinner table wasn’t quite a casual affair, either. Paul had a lot of concerns about Jessica’s future; specifically, her education and career.
Lisa tried to calm him down and stand up for Jess where possible.
“Dad, I’m still going to Uni,” Jess explained after yet another tense meal. “Mum said that you’d both be happy to help babysit Tegan while I’m at Uni. I’ll be home during the holidays!”
Shaking his head, Paul tried again. “It’s not a long-term solution though, is it? We’ll babysit for you for the next three years and then what? What about a job? What happens then?”
Jess could feel a headache coming on.

So could Paul. He wasn’t nagging Jess to be difficult; he was genuinely worried for her and he wasn’t completely convinced she was thinking this far ahead. She wasn’t even looking for a part time job to start bringing any money in.

Lisa decided it was a good time to get Paul out of the house. Jess needed some space but Lisa was also worried about Paul’s wellbeing. Additionally, she thought it would be good for the two of them to spend a little quality time together. They’d planned to spend a lot more time together after Jessica had gone to University but becoming active grandparents so soon had scuppered those plans.

When Paul and Lisa returned home, they were delighted to see Declan had come round to visit. Jess was in the living room, showing him some photos from Tegan’s birth. Lisa was particularly pleased to see him; she was rather attracted to the young man.

Sensing her mother paying just a bit too much attention to their conversation, Jess guided Declan upstairs to the nursery to meet Tegan.
“Can…can I hold her?” Declan asked, nervously. He wasn’t quite sure what the situation between him and Jess was right now but he definitely wanted to be involved with Tegan. However, Jessica’s facial expression, or lack thereof, put him on edge.
“I don’t think so. Not yet,” Jess replied, holding Tegan a little tighter. “Maybe when she’s a bit bigger.”

She put Tegan back in her cot and turned back to Declan. “Look who wants to be a good father,” she said sarcastically. “So where have you been the last couple of weeks?”
Declan frowned. “You asked for some space after Tegan was born. I was getting my stuff together for Uni next week. Actually,” Declan paused for a moment. “I did want to ask something about that-“
“Oh, you’ve got it all planned out then? Straight off to Uni the minute your daughter’s born?”
“She’s three months old, Jess.” Declan replied. “This is the first time you’ve let me in to see her.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Jess replied. “I know it’s been a while. So long in fact that I had no idea you were planning to grow a moustache!” She hid her mouth behind her hand to stifle a giggle but Declan heard it anyway.
“Jess,” he began with a pained expression. “I do want to talk to you seriously. Preferably without you mocking my appearance.”
“Oh get a sense of humour,” Jess said, rolling her eyes in disgust. “Anyway, there’s nothing to talk about. Mum and Dad are going to babysit Tegan while I’m at Uni, so you needn’t worry about that.”
Once again, Declan felt somewhat dismissed and out of his depth. He’d been hoping to talk to Jess about letting his parents come and meet Tegan but now didn’t seem to be the right time.

Dejected, Declan went downstairs after Jess shooed him out of the room so she could feed Tegan. He drifted into the living room, where Paul and Lisa were sitting, talking.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t realise you were both in here,” he said, embarrassed. “I’ll, uh, wait in the kitchen.”
“Nonsense!” Lisa exclaimed. “You weren’t interrupting us at all. We’d like to chat with you, anyway. Jess hasn’t told us much about you, really and we’d love to get to know you.”
“Oh.” Still feeling a little awkward, Declan began to tell Jess’ parents about his plans for University.

Paul began to notice a shift in Lisa’s interactions with Declan. She was very definitely flirting with him, right in front of Paul and he began to feel uncomfortable.
After a few too many compliments and mildly inappropriate comments, Paul reached the end of his tether. Even Declan was looking uncomfortable at this point.

Jess reappeared downstairs in time to witness her parents screaming at each other. “What the plumbob is going on here?” She asked incredulously.
Declan looked uncomfortable still. “Your Mum was being a bit…much. Your Dad got upset and, well…” He sighed. “Look, Jess. I wanted to give you this.” He produced a rose from the depths of his inventory and handed it to her. “I really think we need to talk about our relationship. Perhaps now isn’t the best time,” -he added, hastily, as the volume of Paul and Lisa’s argument increased- “but definitely soon.”
This time, Jess just nodded. Declan smiled slightly and left to go home. He didn’t live far – just across town.

That night, Jess went to bed still listening to her parents screaming at each other. She’d been hoping for peace and quiet but clearly, that was not to be.
All in all, the day had been pretty terrible.

Very early the following morning, Paul was up and quietly checking his phone in the bathroom. He winced at the message he found and sighed. It was inevitable, really. This week was proving to be a very challenging one, in more ways than one.

Meanwhile, Jess was downstairs having breakfast with her mother and generally chatting.
“I feel like you need to get out a bit, Jess.” Lisa said through a mouthful of toast. “Get yourself out into town for a bit and get some air. You seemed a bit stressed after Declan’s visit yesterday.”
“A bit.” Jess sighed. “I think he’s keen on us being in a proper relationship,” she explained.
“And I take it you’re not too keen?” Lisa prompted gently.
Jess shrugged. “I don’t know. On the one hand, he is gorgeous and we get on well. We have Tegan together and I would like to actually have a concrete answer when people ask about my relationship with him. On the other hand, I feel like meeting someone new and different, like at Uni, would be better.”
“I understand.” Lisa smiled. “Why don’t you go out for a bit? Enjoy a bit of freedom before you get tied down to studies.”

So Jess took her Mum’s advice and went down to the old thrift shop in town. It really was therapeutic, browsing through the racks of clothes and settling down for a drink at the table. She could feel herself unwinding immediately.

It did give her time to think, too. Her mind drifted to thoughts about Declan first. He was very handsome and they got on well. Woohoo with him was very good and they did have Tegan together. Perhaps it was time they settled into something a bit more stable?
However, her thoughts shifted to Daniel, another friend who she’d mildly flirted with not so long ago. He was also handsome but they didn’t have much in common. As much as she’d like to hook up with him, there probably wasn’t much of a long term relationship in there.

Since sitting in the shop hadn’t helped much, she went for a walk instead. She found herself strolling up to an old, disused barn at the top of the hill. She smiled as she remembered coming here with Declan when they were children. He’d once told her the place was haunted and she’d never forgotten the first time they’d snuck up here as teenagers, when it was dark and nobody was around. The hooting of an owl had made them both scream.
She had known Declan since they were five years old. Maybe they owed it to themselves to give a real relationship a try.

By the time she got home, Declan was there again, this time talking to her father. Jess felt herself wince slightly as she sat at the kitchen table. Her father actually looked pleased, which did make her worry. She understood Paul’s concerns about her but she would much rather both her parents stayed well out of this one.
“Do you want to come up to my room to talk?” Jess asked, hopefully. Declan nodded and they made their way silently upstairs.

However by the time they made it upstairs, Jess didn’t really have talking on her mind any more.

Meanwhile, in the next room, Lisa picked up her granddaughter and cuddled her close. She felt bad that Jess wasn’t paying this baby half as much attention as she ought to but at least she was there.