The next Sunday officially marked my twelve weeks, which marked my start into the second trimester. Today was the day that Sodapop and I were going to tell the whole gang. We decided on having a big family dinner. We didn't tell them that we had important news, just that we wanted to have a big hang out with just the gang. Had we mentioned we had news, they all would have figured it out pretty quickly, considering they all already knew that we were engaged.

We decided to just flat out tell everyone that we had big news. I ended up talking to Two-Bit beforehand, to remind to him pretend to be surprised. Sodapop was aware that Two-Bit knew, as I'd warned him just in case Two-Bit got too excited and blew the big surprise. Besides Two-Bit being a dad himself, I don't think I'd ever seen the guy so giddy about anything in his life, which was saying something because Two-Bit got excited about going on car trips to the gas station.

The whole week after Ponyboy and Cathy's wedding and leading up to Sunday dinner, I was a nervous wreck. I hoped they wouldn't be mad at us for keeping it a secret and I especially hoped Hannah wouldn't be angry with me for not telling her, especially since she knew what I'd gone through; not to mention, I'd been the first person Hannah told when she found out she was pregnant.

In that week, despite being nervous about the dinner, I got moved to the office to work, which made me happy. Even though I was only eleven weeks along when I started my office work, it was nice to know I could still work efficiently while being pregnant. It was only a matter of time before I started to get big and my feet started to swell. As much as I loved working in the garage, it was no place for a pregnant lady.

By the time Sunday rolled around, I was just looking forward to getting the night over with. I knew I shouldn't, as it was just our family and friends there, but I just wanted to fast forward to the part where everyone was excited and no one was sad or disappointed that Sodapop and I had kept this massive secret for so long.

"Will you stop scrubbing the dishes?" Sodapop laughed as I scraped furiously at a pan. "I think it's clean enough to be brand new, doll."

"I'm sorry. I just need to be doing something or I'm just going to pace around."

"I still don't understand why you're so nervous," Greg quipped as he sat at the table with Robin, who was busy coloring.

"Because--" Sodapop took the pan from my hands and pushed me out of the way gently before going to rinse it. I dried my hands against my jeans, my fingers trembling with anxiety. "Because, what if they're upset that we kept it a secret? And Hannah--"

"Listen," Sodapop said, turning off the tap and placing the pan in the dish rack to dry. "No one's going to be upset. They're going to be excited. I'm sure maybe they'll be shocked at first, but once we show them that picture of the baby-- our little baby-- I don't think they're going to want to be mad. They're going to see Baby Curtis and fall in love with him or her just like we did." Soda placed his hands around my upper arms and squeezed them reassuringly.

I nodded, still feeling anxious, but less than I was five minutes ago.

"Now, let's finish getting dinner ready. What else needs done?"

"The table needs set and the mashed potatoes need done, but other than that, everything's ready." I motioned to all the food I'd laid out on the counter.

"Smells like Thanksgiving in here," Claire commented as she walked in from the bathroom. "Candy, you always knew how to make a good meal."

I blushed. "I had to, especially when Greg eats eight square meals a day," I teased, making Greg whip his head around to glare at me playfully.

"I'm a growing boy!"

"I'd say so. How tall are ya, buddy?" said Sodapop with a cheeky grin.

"Almost six foot."

"You are not six foot," I retorted.

"I said almost! Keywords, Candice. You're a writer."

I let out a huff. "You are not six foot. I'd say five-six at the most. I'm still taller than you."

"Hey, that's almost six foot!"

"Whatever you say, Gregory," I commented.

Greg gave me a real glare that time. No matter how much you were joking with him, Greg absolutely despised being called 'Gregory'. He turned back to coloring with Robin without another word and I turned to the stove.

Green beans were done, macaroni and cheese was done, Ham was done.

"I'll do the potatoes, babe. You go sit down. You look exhausted."

"I can finish," I argued.

"I know. But let me. I want to."

I sent him a small smile, then turned to sit down at the table.

"Oh!" I exclaimed.

"What?" Soda shouted, nearly dropping the fork he was holding.

"I freaking forgot to make tea," I groaned, throwing my head into my hands.

"I'll make it, Can," Claire said and got up to make it.

"Thanks, honey," I told her. She sent a smile my way and she moved over to start making tea.

There was a knock at the door.

"I got it," Greg said. He got up and walked over to the front door. He threw it open and welcomed Steve and Evie inside.

"Hey, guys!" I called.

"Smells good in here!" Steve shouted, kicking off his shoes by the door. He and Evie walked into the kitchen to sit with us at the table.

"Supper's about done," said Soda from the stove.

"What, are you cooking for once?" Steve teased.

"Hey, I cook all the time, thank you very much."

I rolled my eyes as I took drink from my glass of water that had been sitting there.

"Y'all want tea?" Claire asked as she set the pitcher down on the table.

"Oh, yeah," said Evie, sounding relieved. "It was a scorcher out today."

"Yeah it got up to ninety-three, I thought," I added.

"Heat index was over a hundred," said Steve. "I really didn't wanna mow, but our yard looked gruesome."

"Do you know how weird it is hearing us talking about adult responsibilities," I joked. "When we used to talk about parties and rumbles."

Soda shot me a smile over his shoulder.

"We're really growin' up," Steve said, sniffling for added dramatics.

"That we are," I said, taking another sip of water. Robin moved her coloring stuff over next to me.

"Whatcha coloring?" I asked her.

"Elmo," she replied.

"Aw he looks cute," I said. I noticed she'd colored the normally red monster purple instead. "I like him much better purple."

"I couldn't find my red crayon."

"Did it fall on the floor?"

She shook her head.

"I'll getcha a new box," said Soda. He turned on the mixer and the loud sound drowned out any chance of anyone holding a conversation for a few minutes. When He finished, he dumped the mashed potatoes from the pot into a large bowl. "Hey, Greg, wanna help me move food over to the table?"

"Yep," my brother replied.

"I can help," I said.

"No, we got it, honey."

There was a knock on the door.

"I got it," said Claire and bolted over to open the door. I pouted and sat back down. I hated not helping and it seemed the more pregnant I got, the less people wanted me to help.

Hannah, Mikey, and Two-Bit came in, and right as Claire was about to close the door, Tasha and Darry made their way inside.

"Hey, guys!" I greeted. The five of them made their way to over to the table. Darry looked like he was about ready to start jumping for joy. I'd never seen him so excited before.

"What's gotten into you, Dar?" I asked.

"Me? Oh, nothing huge, but we couldn't wait for dinner so we could tell everyone."

"Oh, really?" I asked. I couldn't help but grin widely. Had he finally proposed to her? Were they getting a puppy? Had they won a couple grand of a scratch card? The possibilities were endless.

"We just waiting on Cathy and Ponyboy?" Two-Bit asked, picking Mikey up and setting the little boy in his lap.

"Yep," I replied.

"Always the kid," Steve joked.

"Hey, they said they were coming. They should be here before too long."

The group sat around talking for awhile. I struck up a conversation with Evie, who was telling me all about her ideas for the wedding. She couldn't wait to get all us girls involved so it could start going underway. They were planning for mid- to late-winter, which didn't give us very much time at all. Evie told me and Hannah how she'd always wanted a winter wedding, how she thought the snow would be so beautiful with a white lace dress and light blue accents. I couldn't contain my excitement very much. It almost made me want to go ahead and start planning mine and Sodapop's, even though we still hadn't even picked a date yet.

"We know it probably won't be until late next year," I said. "Maybe fall. I'd love a fall wedding. That way it'll be nice and warm in the day and then a little cooler at night time."

"Oh, this is so exciting," said Hannah. "I loved helping with Cathy's. She's gonna be so excited to dive right back in and start planning with us."

Just as Hannah finished her sentence, the door opened and in walked Cathy and Ponyboy.

"Sorry we're late," Cathy called. They kicked off their shoes and set them in the pile where everyone else's was and they came to sit down.

"We waited for ya," Soda told them. "Food's hot and ready."

We didn't waste anymore time after that to start piling our plates. I was glad I was out of my first trimester now as I'd slowly been able to start eating more food without being sick. I knew from here on out, I'd probably be gaining weight and it wouldn't be too much longer before my small baby bump would become more noticeable.

We talked over the food and engaged Cathy in on Evie's wedding plans. We were having such a great night, I didn't want it to end. I was always happiest when it was the whole family together for a big dinner, all of us laughing and enjoying ourselves and retelling old stories.

After dinner, we all sat back in our seats, none of us able to move after eating so much. Darry and Soda attempted to clear the table, so we had more room to just sit and talk.

It was getting down to it, the moment where Soda and I were finally gonna tell everyone that we were expecting a baby in just a few months.

"Alright folks," Sodapop said and everyone quietened down and turned to him. "Candy Cane and I wanna tell y'all something."

I glanced over at Two-Bit, who was trying desperately to hide the giant smile on his face.

"You got the picture?" I asked Soda and he nodded before pulling it out of the breast pocket of his flannel.

"Oh my god," I heard Cathy gasp and she turned to look at me, her eyes sparkling like diamonds.

"What, what?" asked Steve, who just sat with his eyebrows scrunched together.

Sodapop set the sonogram picture face up in the middle of the table. Darry reached for it.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"What is it?" asked Ponyboy, struggling to lean over to see what the picture was.

"We're having a baby," I said finally. All eyes flashed back and forth between Sodapop and I and it was silent for all of five seconds before Two-Bit and Steve started screaming excitedly, all the girls emitting, "Oh my god!"s to each other and fumbling over the picture.

I saw Tasha and Darry glance between each other, both of them sharing matching smiles before they blurted out in unison, "So are we!"

"Oh my god, are you serious?" Sodapop screamed and he and Ponyboy pulled their older brother into a tight hug.

"Three babies!" Two-Bit yelled excitedly.

I couldn't help but laugh at the scene; no one knew whether to laugh or cry. Tasha, Hannah, and I were all pregnant at the same time and Hannah and I were due at or about the same time as well. This group was so close, even our kids were going to be close.

"Oh my god," Sodapop said, tears staining his and Darry's cheeks.

"Oh, this is memorable," said Tasha. "We couldn't figure out when to tell y'all. I'm glad you guys had this dinner."

"So are we," I said, feeling nothing but joy as I looked around at everyone. I was so glad everyone was happy. Not to mention, Tasha and Darry had shared their big news, too.

"So does this mean you guys are getting married?" Sodapop asked Darry and Tasha, who both blushed. Darry looked over to Tash, who was smiling widely.

"Well, whadya say, darlin'? You wanna get married?"

Tasha tapped her chin, pretending to think on it. "I guess so," she said, turning to Darry with a mischievous grin.

"That wasn't very convincing!" Hannah shouted.

Tasha turned back to Darry and just laughed. "I was kidding, baby, of course I'll marry you."

We all let out whoops and hollers.

"A new sister-in-law!" Soda shouted excitedly. He turned to me and kissed my cheek.