"New and IMPROVED New Moon" dedicated to Harley Englebert and Taylor Clifton

Ten years later…Continued

I was lying on the bathroom floor holding my stomach. Morning sickness. My clothes were raggedy and dirty. Fredward came into help me.
“Okay?” he asked knowing good and well I wasn’t.
“You’re lucky robots don’t give birth. Well, guys in general.”
“I know,” he smirked. “I need to talk to you.”
“Okay.”
He closed the toilet seat. He picked me up and sat me down. He sat down next to me on the edge of the bathtub.
“I have to go,” he said, “People are getting suspicious and I need to hide this.” He showed no emotion.
“But don’t you think it’d be more suspicious to leave your wife and eleven kids with one on the way?” I shot back at him quickly.
“No one can know, though. I’m a robot, Hun. Get used to it,”
“You cold, cold person. Robots really don’t have hearts do they?”
He looked back at me and flinched. I knew that had gotten him.
“Goodbye,” he said.
“Wait,” I said sadly, “Where are you going?”
“Germany.”
“Why?”
“Not all robots are perfect like me. You see, only German robots and humans too, are perfect. Perfect skin. Perfect hair. Be careful. Don’t do anything that would harm the baby.” As soon as he was finished with his sentence, he left, closing the door behind him.
I put my head in my hands and cried. Did he really just leave? I asked myself.
“Mommy,” I heard from outside the door, “Where did Daddy go?”
I pulled myself to my feet and walked to the door. When I opened the door, I could see all eleven kids flooded in my room crying. I bent down and hugged them all.
“He went to his hometown,” I said quickly. “He’ll be back soon.”
“But, Mommy,” they all seemed to say at once.
“We will be okay. He’ll only be gone a few weeks. We can make it. Okay, okay, everyone up. Go wash your faces. Get ready for school. Come on.”
I followed them out of my room and into the kitchen. Five of them were around the sink trying to wash up at the same time. The rest were running around trying to get there last minute things done.
“Bus!”
The swarm of kids ran out of the kitchen and out the front door. I watched from the porch as they all pilled onto the once empty bus. As the bus drove off, I walked back into the house and quickly got dressed. I grabbed the keys off my dresser as I threw on my shoes.
I waddled outside and hopped into my truck cranking it up quickly. I keyed in “La Pull” into my GPS and waited on directions as I pulled out of our driveway.
As I drove down the street, I pulled my cell phone and dialed my father.
“Hello?” He answered after the second beep.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Hey. Something wrong?” He asked immediately.
“No, no. Nothing is wrong. Just, where does Bocaj live?”
“La Pull,” he replied.
“I know that,” I said, “But where in La Pull?”
“First house after the ‘Welcome to La Pull’ sign coming from the East.”
“Okay! Thanks. I have to go. Bye,” I said before hanging up the phone.
I turned the radio on to my favorite station, 10.12 F.M. and “I’ll Be” came blasting through the speakers.
I found Bocaj’s house without any problem. I guess I didn’t need the GPS. Right as I pulled up, he ran out to my car.
“I haven’t seen you in forever,” he said as he opened my door. “Wow,” He said when he saw my stomach, “You’re pregnant.” He sighed. “Again.”
Bocaj was my friend from second grade and I knew whenever I needed something, he’d be glad to do it.
“You were alienated, weren’t you?” he asked as he walked me up the drive way.”
“How, do you, know?” I hesitated.
“I can’t say… Here.”
“Okay.”
We walked inside his house and walked down a flight of stairs to the basement.
“I am an alien,” he said.
“What?” I asked stunned by his bluntness.
“I am. So, how are you?”
“I’m good. I want to do something… Reckless.”
“But you are pregnant.”
“I know. I’m mad at Fredward and I want to get back at him by putting our baby in harm.”
“That makes no sense. But okay. I know something we can do.”
“What?” I asked intrigued.
“Follow me.”
He stood up and took my hand. He helped me up gently. As he led me through the basement, he didn’t let go of my hand.
“There,” he said as he pointed to two unused scooters.
“Let’s do it.”
“Okay,” he said as he picked them both up with one hand.
He led me back up the stairs and out the door.
He dropped one of the scooters and handed me the other.
“You know how to ride, right?”
“I have eleven, almost twelve kids. Of course I know.”
“Right,” he laughed to himself. “Follow me.”
He took off quickly and flew down the street.
“Hurry,” he called back.
We rode for an hour before we even got to somewhere reckless.
“Where are we?” I asked as I dodged a tree branch that fell through the air.
“Outskirts of La Pull. Never been down her?”
“Can’t say I have.”
“Watch your head,” he said cautiously.
“I picked up on that,” I said as we reached a huge, downward hill.
“Can you handle it?”
Say no. Turn back now.
“Come on,” Bocaj said.
Don’t do it.
“I’m going to do this,” I told the voice in my head.
I asked you to be careful.
I pushed my foot against the ground and flew down the hill. The wind felt nice against my face.
I was enjoying the ride for more than just one reason. I was glad to see Bocaj again, for one. And I was glad to hear his voice.
I reached the end of the hill when a huge tree fell right across the road.
BAM!
November
December
January
February
March
April
I woke up to find myself in a hospital bed. Bocaj was sitting in the chair next to me sleeping. I pushed the nurse button and waited for a nurse to come in.
“Oh, my cousin! You’re up,” said the nurse as she came in. She was short with light, brown hair. “My name is Raylla.”
“Raylla?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “Odd name, isn’t it? My mom liked ‘Rachel’ and my dad liked ‘Lela’ so they put it together and got ‘Raylla.’”
“Interesting,” I thought about Fredward. “What happened?”
“You hit your head. Scooters really are dangerous if you think about it. You and your baby are both healthy, so don’t worry. It’s January and you are due next month, right?”
I nodded.
“Good. You should be back in perfect health by then.”
I nodded again.
“Bocaj, I think, has been here everyday since you came. You are a very lucky girl to have him.”
I nodded out of confusion that time. Bocaj had a life he should have been living instead of spending all his time her.
“We got a call from a young lady named Alejandra saying that a certain Fredward was on his way to see you. Brother?”
“No,” I shook my head.
“Oh, then,” she looked awkward, “Okay. The doctor will come in a minute to check things. We are glad you are up.”
“Bocaj!” I yelled as I threw my pillow at him.
“What? What?” he asked as he waved his arms in the air blocking the pillow.
“Fredward is on his way.”
“No, he isn’t,” he didn’t sound worried.
“The nurse-“
“-is wrong. Part of being an alien,” he said in a whisper, “is that I know what is about to happen. He isn’t coming. He is going to kill himself.” He looked at me sympathetically. “However a robot does that,” he said to himself.
“You know?”
“Honey,” he said as he took my hand, “I knew before he did.”
“Oh.”
“You going to go try to stop him?”
“No,” I shook my head.
“Why not?”
I sighed. “He was a horrible husband. And father. Plus, the way you make me feel,” I trailed off.
He stood up out of his chair and lend over me. He looked at me in the eyes and lowered himself to me.
“Don’t make me come all the way,” he joked.
I leaned forward off the bed and landed on his soft, warm lips.
“Hey, now, watch it,” a tall, dark man said as he entered the room.
Bocaj stepped away from the bed and sat back down in the chair in the corner of the hospital room.
“Doctor?” I asked hopeful.
“Yes,” he said as he checked some charts.
“How are my kids? Where are they staying? Are they safe?” I asked in a panic.
“Yes. Yes. Yes,” he answered calmly. “They are with Bocaj’s father. Just a few a miles away from here. Would you like to call them?”
“Please.”
I watched as the doctor left the room.
“Here,” Bocaj said as he handed me the phone from the corner of the room. “I dialed the number already.”
I took the phone and listened as the rings continued.
“Hello,” a voice from the other end answered.
“Honey!” I called, “Are you okay?”
“Yes, Mom. Calm down. Do you want us to come over?”
“Yes,” I sobbed into the phone, “Please.”
“We will be there in a second. Bye.”
I handed the phone back to Bocaj and watched him put it back on the receiver.
“They’ll be here in a minute,” I said to Bocaj.
“Good,” he replied.
We sat in silence as we waited on the kids on to arrive.

June…
“Little John,” I said as the nurse put my new born baby boy in my arms.
“Welcome to the family,” Bocaj said to John as he looked down at us.
“Family,” I said back, “is the most important thing in the world.”
Bocaj leaded over me and kissed me softly on my forehead then turned and did the same to John.