Pumpkin for Three

[JoHanna K Roberts]

“God your ass is so huge, just MOVE.” Jo said with frustration before she was able to get her key into the lock and pushed the door open. She scrunched her nose, jumping out her shoes as she simultaneously tried to rush to the kitchen to set the brown paper bags down that she was carrying, sliding them so that Kelin would have room as well. She pushed her hair from her face, hearing her phone starting to blast off in her jacket pocket. “Oh,” she said, taking her phone out. It was probably Rory since it was their first morning back in Michigan. Jo answered the phone, throwing it on speakerphone. “Hey girl!” she shouted out as she set the phone down. “Kelin and I got so much stuff at the market this morning so just..tell me everything while I’m unpacking,” she said, smacking Kelin in the arm slightly before she started taking little pumpkins out of the bag. “ Say hi to Rory,” she said, moving across the kitchen. “Jo this is Dr.McGowan, I’m calling about some results we got on your blood the other day.” Jo scrunched her nose, trying to figure out how she was going to explain this one to her parents. I mean she could have gotten anywhere, Rory wanted to try this hole in the wall restaurant the other day and that toilet seat was questionable. “You could certainly come into my office, and I advise that you do that soon. Jo, your labs showed that you’re pregnant,” she said. Roaring. That’s all that Jo could hear in her ears. She stood absolutely motionless, frozen in this moment. “Jo, did you hear me?” the voice echoed from the phone. She let out a slight breath, trying to process everything. “Jo,… You’re pregnant. Can you hear me?” Jo dropped her arms, the pumpkin hitting the floor before she started walking directly to Rory’s room. Her trench coat felt tight around her, yet she couldn’t seem to bring herself to take it off. She moved into Rory’s room, sitting on the edge of the bed as she stared at the wall.



Outfit

[Kelin Dean O'Reilly]

Kelin rolled his eyes as he followed Jo inside, "You love this ass," he offered, setting the bags down on the counter as Jo's phone began to ring.  As much as Kelin was looking forward to an entire weekend alone with Jo, and since Finn was with his mother they truly had it to themselves, he also knew there was still such a thing as phones and someone named Rory that could be on the other end at any given time.  He loved the girl dearly, really she was very sweet, but just this once couldn't she just enjoy her weekend getting engaged and let him have Jo to himself?  Kelin grabbed some things from one of the bags to put away as it became known that it was Jo's doctor on the phone, not Rory.  He heard the doctor tell Jo she was pregnant and he continued to put things away for a moment until it sunk in and he realized what she had just said.  Jo had dropped her pumpkin she was holding as the doctor confirmed what she said a second time.  "Jo?" he said quietly, trying to mask his excitement. She was pregnant?  Kelin initially felt happy.  Babies were a blessing.  And aside from that he and Jo had agreed that neither of them wanted the other to choke and die, which in normal people terms mean they were in love.  The idea of having a child with Jo was actually really wonderful.  But that thought was put on hold as she silently left the room,  leaving her phone sitting there talking into empty space.  Kelin moved to pick up the phone, speaking into it, "Thank you doctor, Jo will set up another appointment I'm sure soon.... Yes, thank you for calling."  He hung up, setting it down and headed to Rory's room as he passed Jo's and found she wasn't there.  "Jo?" he said again, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed.  Kelin was a little bursting with happiness and Jo looked either terrified or shocked.  Or something else entirely.  Kelin moved over to sit beside her on the bed, taking her hands hoping she'd look at him.  "Well?  It's really wonderful news, don't you think?"  Kelin moved a piece of hair from her face, offering her a small smile.  Whatever thoughts she was currently having she could at least know right from the get go that he was happy about the news.

[JoHanna K Roberts]

Jo stayed staring at the wall, just trying to figure out what her next step should be. Call Rory? No. She was off getting engaged. Oh my god. What fresh hell was this? Well, being worried that her apartment was going to be lonely when Rory got married certainly wasn’t a concern anymore. She stayed focused on the same picture against her wall. Rory just looked so happy, all the time. She was a happy person. And now she was starting a family; except… so was Jo. Only, Rory’s beginning of a family wouldn’t mean getting fatter than some barnyard animal and puking her guts out. She sighed, relaxing her shoulders as Kelin leaned against the doorframe. “ News…” she repeated quietly. You know what she thought was great news this morning? Starbucks had a new latte.. it was some toasted graham something that she couldn’t exactly think of right now. “Oh my God this is going to hurt like hell,” she said, putting her face in her hands and leaning forward. Oh my god,” she said standing up before she started to pace in front of the bed. “ All the baptists at church are going to freak out. You haven’t even met my dad… “ she said, raising her eyebrows as she looked at him. “ He WILL kill you,” she said, crossing her arms. “Oh my god, I’m having a foreign baby. I hate foreigners.” she said, looking at him, rolling her eyes. “ I mean I love you, but I hate foreigners. They’re all.. oh that’s not a proper vehicle, I need a trolly. And some morning biscuits. Which aren’t even biscuits. You think biscuits are thin and crispy. Biscuits are fluffy.” she said, running her hand through her hair. ”Okay, just…calm down… There could be worse things I think.” she said, giving a nod. Jo stopped, turning to look at Kelin. “…What do I do now?” she questioned with a slight lift of her eyebrows.

[Kelin Dean O'Reilly]

Jo was silent for a while longer, Kelin losing his stride for a moment too.  Jo could barely tell him she loved him out loud, how were they going to handle a pregnancy?  At last she broke her silence with a waterfall of endless thoughts.  Talking about labor and pacing and the Baptist church and her father.  "Well I could meet hi- oh.. " well maybe wait until he didn't want to shoot Kelin.  He'd also heard her rant about foreign people all the time and that wasn't anything new.  Oh, she loved him, not foreigners though.  Well then.  She was taking this rather well.  Kelin smiled, stepping closer to her, "Well, we could... go paint those pumpkins?  We still have an entire fall day of activities."  So they were expecting.  They could still do all the things they planned today,  let things sink in.  Kelin leaned down to kiss Jo, lingering for a moment before taking her hand to lead her back to the kitchen, "Come on."  He turned to head back to the kitchen, but stopped and faced her, "I love you too.  I'd hate if you were to choke and die," he winked with a smile.

[JoHanna K Roberts]

How was Jo supposed to deal with this type of information with Rory not here? She crossed her arms, trying to think of an appropriate way to interrupt her and Ethan’s weekend. But that would be selfish. This could wait…Right? Maybe he hadn’t proposed yet. No.. This was Rory’s weekend. She brought her attention back up to Kelin, realizing that he was talking. “ Yeah fall activities without the pumpkin spice vodka I just bought..and what about the rumchata? We were supposed to have apple cider with butter shots in it tonight. But no. Apparently not…..Does that start right away? Like I can’t drink starting…NOW…or is that like once we get the little picture thing?” she said, taking in a deep breath. She was going to make herself sick with stress already. Okay. Maybe painting the pumpkins was a good idea. She followed Kelin, smiling faintly when he said that he loved her too and didn’t want her to choke and die. Well, too bad it was hard candy season, sir. Those red hots and caramels weren’t going to get rid of themselves. And in all reality, she was a super clumsy person. Jo sighed, giving him a kiss on the cheek before she moved to the kitchen. ” Why aren’t you freaking out? You should be freaking out. We are nooowwhere near married. This is your second kid. You’re gonna have a kid with two women, and married to neither of them. And not to mention wo-“ she started before widening her eyes. “Work. Everyone at work is going to know that YOU knocked up an intern. And I …” she said, pointing at herself. “Am that intern. They already don’t like me because I have to point out when they are wrong. Which is a lot, I’ll have you know,” she said, finally taking her jacket off. “ This apartment is not baby friendly…” she said, throwing her jacket onto the counter before she kneeled down to start trying to pick up the pumpkin. ”I can’t even remember to feed myself three times a day,”

[Kelin Dean O'Reilly]

Kelin led Jo back to the kitchen and began settling in his mind what he already new about pregnancy.  Jo needed to let things sink in and straightened out in her mind.  And then when she needed to  start making plans and appointments he was there if she needed him, or wanted him to be.  Kelin sighed and smiled, taking the alcohol she had just bought and put it away in the liquor cabinet, "You know what, hot cider sounds just perfect for tonight."  Kelin let her continue her worried rant as he put things away.  All valid concerns.  Honestly it didn't bother him, the whole havigf two children with two different women.  It wasn't a life he had planned but life happened.  Heartbreak happened, but so did love.  Yes his kids wouldn't have the same mother.  But he didn't doubt the fondness that Jo had for Finn and at the very least he would have two children that were just on the receiving end of extra love and affection.  What could be wrong with that.  He was strangely very calm and collected about this.  Maybe he wasn't freaking out because she needed to have her freak out right now. Kelin laughed, reaching over to grab her hand as he unpacked another bag, "Well I guess I don't look at it as knocking up the intern.  You aren't just the intern to me, after all. Maybe things are just falling into place the way they're supposed to."  Kelin looked around at the pumpkins, trying to keep their plans for the day on track to give her something to focus on.  "We have time to figure out things, don't worry," he smiled.  "Now.  Please guide me with the appropriate amount of glitter that should be on a pumpkin."

[JoHanna K Roberts]

“ Things are FALLING into place?” she exclaimed while lifting her eyebrows as high as she could possibly lift them. Look, the balance and life and blah blah blah stuff was only cute when Rory did it. Because otherwise, Jo was a planner. You planned life. You planned what you did each day. There were to-do lists. And the last she checked, ‘Get Knocked Up’ was not at the top of any of her to do lists. She turned and looked at him as he suggested that he did not in fact know how much glitter went on a pumpkin. She stared at him blankly, blinking, as she tried to remind herself that he really was trying. He was trying to keep her calm, he was trying to be ‘Rory’ in the fall, he was trying to distract her. And he was really pretty. He was a really pretty man who was trying…for her. She sighed, stating as though it were obvious. “Each pumpkin obviously needs a different amount of glitter. And it depends what you’re doing with it. We have to have two lace pumpkins for every glitter pumpkin. Okay?” she questioned before setting everything on the table. “ I like to plan things,” she said in defeat. I mean, it wasn’t often that she spoke about her “feelings” with people other than Rory. “ This is a big unplanned thing. That is now going to require lots of planning. What if they fire me? I still need this job for another year and a half. I’m counting on it as part of my internship.” she said, picking up her phone as she scrolled through, ordering a pizza on her app. Chinese sounded good too. Stress eating was a lot more fun when you baked. But when your kitchen was full of pumpkins, it left little room for baking. She puffed her cheeks out, going to the app for the chinese restaurant and plugged in what she knew Kelin’s favorite order was before ordering chicken lo mein for herself with cream cheese wontons for them to share. What if he ended up resenting her for some reason? Or what if he felt like his real family was with his first wife? Why was she worrying about how he viewed her as a family… Jo stopped, resting her head on the table as she placed her hands over her hair. “…..Can you put on some Blake Renner please…” she asked quietly, braiding her hair upside down as a way to try and calm herself. “ Well in the morning that settles it, we have to go get those things where you can’t shove forks in the electrical outlets. I’ve been meaning to get those because of Rory anyway.” she said while tapping her fingers on her chin. “What else do babies get into? OH my god… My baby is going to get into everything.” she said after giving a second to think about it. Jo looked at Kelin, dropping her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I’m freaking out. I’m hogging the freak out time.” she said, getting up to go over to him before she wrapped her arms around his lower back, resting her cheek against his chest.

[Kelin Dean O'Reilly]

Kelin tried to understand her ratio of lace to glitter, although he wasn't even sure about how to 'lace' a pumpkin. If Rory was here she would tell him to just observe and roll with it, which honestly Kelin was becoming very good at. He looked around at the supplies, nodding in agreement that yes, it was all very unplanned.  "We have time, we can plan everything out, make lists, whatever makes things easiest."  Kelin thought for a moment nd he knew that what they thought about her at work was important to her, "Jo, love, they aren't going to fire you.  They can't firstly, but also they won't.  They'd be ridiculously stupid to do that." Kelin knew Jo was ordering food so he headed over to put on some good ole Blake Parker music, thinking one day he would have to thank Blake in person for writing whatever it was that Jo needed in her life. When Jo mention getting those little protectors for the power outlets, Kelin laughed out loud, nodding in agreement. Kelin was a little bit surprised when Jo came over and wrapped her arms around him.  There were moments when Kelin wasn't even sure she liked him that much, and there were others like now when every weird thing she put him through was worth it and welcome. "It's okay, you can hog the freak out time.  I'm freaking out a little too, but I'm also really... happy.  Jo," he said, kissing the top of her head where she rested, "I know we haven't had a traditional type of relationship, but I truly am happy.  We are going to be fine.  We're going to be great, even.  I know you are weary about it now but... it'll work out." 

[JoHanna K Roberts]

Jo held onto him tightly, clutching the fabric of his shirt between her fingers as she just listened to his heart beating. It was strange really, that the rhythm of his heart beating was more comforting to her than anything that could come of Renner’s lyrics. He was her favorite rhythm. Maybe she didn’t voice that very well, but how was she supposed to? It was too easy for people to disappoint you. And the worst part was being left to look like an idiot. Someone couldn’t take away from you what you didn’t give them. “ So we can just be freaked out together then?” she asked, finally dropping her arms from him. “ I ordered us pizza and chinese food.. and I’ll make us some pumpkin bread. And I’ll bake the seeds. If Rory was here I would make miniature pumpkin pies. Do you want a miniature pumpkin pie?” she questioned, looking over at all of the things on the counter. She looked over shoulder, catching a slight glimpse of Kelin before she turned to face him again. So in life’s scary moments you had a way of seeing things clearly, that was the thing right? You saw your life flash before your eyes? Except she didn’t see her life flash before her eyes; she saw what their future was flash before her eyes. It wasn’t fair to expect the worst out of him when he had done nothing but treat her better than he should since they met. Jo stood up on her toes, wrapping her hands tightly around his jawline before she kissed him. He did have a piece of her forever now.No matter what happened, that wasn’t something she could just walk away from. She’d always kept him just outside the fence of whatever perfect life she had constructed for herself.. with Rory. Except now he was on the porch, knocking at the door. And maybe it didn’t mean the same future that Rory had with Ethan for example, but whatever it was, it was theirs.

[Kelin Dean O'Reilly]

Kelin didn't really want to let go of her, smiling at the thought, "I think freaking out together is a good idea." Jo was handling this exceptionally well actually. She was handling things and going about their day. For Jo that was quite a god first step. "You know, mini pumpkin pies sound really good. What can I do?" he asked, looking around at whatever ingredients she had collected together. He wasn't expecting this reaction from her, wasn't expecting her to kiss him like they had done something right, maybe. The thing about children was they tied you to someone else and Kelin saw a future with Jo in it, baby or not. It was just that now there was something to solidify that. And she seemed okay with it. They could build something around this.  There was a lot to be figured out.  Surely Rory would be moving out at some point.  And Kelin was keen on the idea of himself and Jo living together but those were things to bring up at another time.  After she had kissed him, Kelin had a glimpse of things being like this for a long, long time. It was nice. But after a moment he smiled, "Alright, give me a job to do."

[JoHanna K Roberts]

Jo smiled to herself momentarily after he asked for a job to do. Baking… she could do that. “Okay,” she said, clapping her hands together quietly. She moved across the kitchen, getting two aprons. After putting hers on over her neck, she handed Kelin his own. “ So you have to cut open the top of the pumpkins and we’re going to separate the guts from the seeds,” she said, starting to put her hair up in a ponytail. “ Some people use pureed pumpkin from a can, and they are what is wrong with America.” she said matter of factly before taking out a knife for him to use to cut the top of the pumpkins. They had to take the guts out before they painted them anyway so they wouldn’t go rotting all over the apartment. “On Thanksgiving I will make you a sweet potato pie. I’ll never admit I said this because fall is like my crack, but sweet potato pies are better than pumpkin pies,”. Jo started pulling out the ingredients, putting some marshmallows and butter into a bowl before setting into the microwave. “……… You can make the whipped cream,” she said, after noticeably struggling with whether or not to let him do it. Jo picked up the carton of heavy cream and set it down beside the sugar and mixer. Jo hummed quietly to herself, going to turn on the oven to get it all warmed up before she started mixing Crisco into a bowl with flour, egg, white vinegar, and salt. She stood on her toes to dig through the spices, settling on cinnamon before placing some of that with a vanilla extract into it as well. “Are there any traditions from home that you want to do this year?” she asked, looking over at Kelin. It was strange, really. Because Jo so did not like incorporating other people’s traditions. But Rory always was allowed to bring her traditions in. And over the past year, Kelin’s had been slowly developing as well. Her apartment wasn’t technically his home, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t be comfortable. A lot of the stuff here was his stuff from set she had stolen anyway.

[Kelin Dean O'Reilly]

Kelin nodded and picked up the knife before he began cutting the tops off the pumpkins.  Jo told him about making pies and how she actually like sweet potato pie better, "Good, I have something I can look forward to for Thanksgiving," he joked, since being from Ireland he was only just beginning to celebrate it with Jo and Rory and their other American friends.  "I won't tell anyone your secret," he winked at her about the pie situation.  He wondered how long they would keep this secret for.  She couldn't possibly be that far along, he wondered when she was going to want to tell a few people.  Kelin kind of figured he and Jo could wait to tell Finn.  Telling his ex-wife would be an entirely different story.  "You'll have to explain the whole whipped cream thing.  I don't know if I put sugar in here or what, or how much...?" he questioned, grinning sheepishly.  He had sure learned quite a bit about cooking since being around Jo.  He thought for a moment when Jo asked about his own traditions.  In Ireland things were pretty similar, however just slightly more attuned the the holiday's history.  "I usually make colcannon, my mother used to make it when I was a kid on Halloween before we went out in our costumes.  I started making it for Finn, you put little coins in it for kids to find."  His ex-wife didn't know how to make it and Kelin had taken it upon himself to make sure Finn got a lot of Irish traditions integrated in his childhood as well.  

[JoHanna K Roberts]

Jo watched Kelin as he asked about how he was supposed to make homemade whipped cream, with her fingers pressed against the sides of her temples. Okay. Someone impregnated her who doesn’t know how to make whipped cream. This is not the end of the world. She sighed, looking at him, unable to stop herself from thinking that his handsome looks spared him a lot of trouble. But as he spoke about colcannon, she smiled slightly. “ I actually don’t know how to make that, so maybe you can teach me instead of the other way around,” she said, looking down at the pumpkin puree she was attempting to make. The first person she wanted to tell was Rory, and she couldn’t do that. Cause it was Rory’s week. ‘ Oh my god, we’re gonna have to wait like six months to tell anyone. Cause Rory will get back, and it’s her weekend. And then she announces it. Then they have an engagement party. There’s never a good time to be like “ Hey, Irish knocked me up,” she said, dropping her shoulders. " Maybe the baby can just tell her," she said, scrunching her nose slightly as she tried to think of the best way to time this. But that was the thing, wasn't it? The timing wasn't what she had thought it was going to be on. On Kelin. On a baby. On Rory getting engaged. On any of it. And of course she had cabbage in her place now. She never had cabbage on hand, and then she started dating the Irish guy. She groaned quietly to herself, moving across the kitchen to go get the cabbage for Kelin before holding it out toward him pathetically.