Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1608

"Ugh..." Keaton bolted upright, as if propelled by a spring, and lurched over the edge of the bed to gag again. By now, there was nothing left to bring up; he was just dry-heaving. Keaton wanted to cry. What had he done to deserve this? He wasn't even sick, so why all the vomiting? His own parents just twisted the knife. "He's vomiting so badly, it's painful to watch. Thank God it's not Winona." "This baby is certainly making its presence known. When I was pregnant with Jessamine and Keaton, my morning sickness wasn't nearly this bad. Looks like this little one is going to be a handful. Heh, well, let them be a handful. As long as they're bothering their dad and not their mom, they're a good baby in my book." Keaton: "..." He felt like he was the free prize in a cereal box. He also felt like he actually was pregnant. Spotting a kiwi in the fruit bowl, Keaton waited a moment for the nausea to pass, then leaned back and said, "Mom, can you hand me a kiwi? A hard one." Janelle replied, "The hard ones are so tart. Let me pick a softer one for you." Keaton refused, "No, I want something sour." Janelle turned to look at him, a glint in her eye. "They say craving sour things means it’s a boy. Honey, do you think you're carrying a boy?" Richard stood by, a man in his fifties, rubbing his hands together in excitement at the mere mention of a baby. He grinned foolishly. "A boy or a girl, either would be wonderful! If it's a boy, he'll be the spitting image of his grandpa! If it's a girl, she'll look just like her grandma and her mom!" Anything but looking like his father, the playboy. Keaton rolled his eyes and deadpanned, "Why don't you two put your ears to my stomach and have a listen? I've got a whole litter in there! Boys and girls!" Janelle chuckled and gave him a light slap on the arm. "You and your nonsense!" She picked out a kiwi and began to peel and slice it for him. Keaton devoured it, his appetite suddenly returning. "Mom, can you cut another one? That was delicious." Janelle tasted a slice herself. It was incredibly tart! She turned to Richard and whispered, "It's definitely a boy!" Richard smiled. "A boy is great. We're not old-fashioned, a boy or a girl, they're both treasures." Keaton couldn't be bothered to respond. He just focused on his kiwi. It was strange, really. He never used to like kiwis, and he definitely didn't like sour things. But today, it tasted absolutely divine. If he didn't know his own biology, even he would start to suspect he was pregnant. Seeing how much he was enjoying it, Janelle cut up two more for him. Then she sat on the edge of the bed and asked, "You still haven't answered my question from before. You and Winona didn't have a fight, did you?" Keaton didn't dare tell the truth. If he admitted Winona had left to avoid him, his parents would be heartbroken. "You two need to stop overthinking things. She's just busy." Janelle persisted, "But her health is the most important thing! She's just barely..." Keaton cut her off. "Winona is career-driven. Acting is her dream. And now that she's suddenly blown up, she wants to ride this wave of fame. Nobody can stop her." "I'm not trying to stop her," Janelle said. "I'll support whatever she wants to do. I'm just worried she'll overexert herself. Being pregnant is hard enough without adding work on top of it. It's just heartbreaking to think about." "As long as you two didn't fight, that's what matters. But you need to take extra good care of her. She's just newly pregnant, she needs her rest." "Also, does Winona's family know she's pregnant?" "And what about the wedding? Shouldn't you two start planning?" "Your father and I have already set aside the money for you. Wherever you want to get married, whatever kind of wedding you want, where you want to have the baby, it's all up to you two. We'll pay for it!" Richard, excited by the topic, looked at Keaton with a new warmth, like a truly loving father. "Don't even think about trying to save us money. This is a celebration! We don't care how much it costs! We're happy to spend this money! It makes us happy!" Keaton: "..."