Ginger underwent the surgery for her tumor a month after the doctors said she needed it. After fully recovering Dr. Whyte said that it seemed to do the trick and she was in remission again. She felt wonderful for the first time. She didn�t have any of the extreme mood swings and she hadn't needed close attention in months. She didn�t have to take any medication anymore, which is a big load off. Kris is fine now; she�s recovered yet they haven�t caught the guy who�s been doing this. They don�t let her stay by herself anywhere. She enjoys the attention. Her and Taylor tried at the relationship for a few more weeks, but both of them knew it wasn't working out so they decided to break up. All of us took it pretty hard, like they figured we would, but they seem to do okay now.
The first year of my marriage passed without any problems. It�s January now, so she was still in the happy mood from the holidays. With her cancer in remission and her sister better, everything couldn�t get better. Well, actually it could�and it did.
�Hey Zac,� Ginger called out, sitting in the living room, in between watching television and filing her nails. Zac walked out of the kitchen and into the room. She hadn't been feeling well lately and she had a sneaky suspicion about something so she asked her doctor to run an extra test when she went to see him today.
�Yeah?�
�When I was at the hospital for my check-up, Dr. Whyte pointed out something very interesting,� she said, a slight smile on her face.
�What?� Zac asked, sitting down. She waited for him to get settled and stopped filing her nails to look at him.
�I�m pregnant.� Neither of them had expected it to happen so soon; they weren't trying to have a kid just yet. They really wanted to make sure everything would be all right before they tried to have children, but when she went to the doctor, he said that she was in perfect condition to have a child.
Zac, surprised, got up and pulled her out of the chair. "That's so wonderful!"
"I know!"
"I love you."
"I love you too." He gave her a kiss before spinning her around in happiness. Ginger knew how much he'd wanted a child, especially since she'd been well enough to have one, so this was a big deal for him.
"I hope that isn't some weird sex thing cause then this would be really embarrassing," Kris said from the doorway. Zac and Ginger turned to the doorway where both Taylor and Kris were standing. Ginger noticed they were holding hands.
"No, it's not. Unlike other people when they were dating, Zac and I don't have sex all the time," she said, pointedly.
�Well, we got something to say, so stop making jokes at our expense,� Kris said, dragging Taylor in the living room with her. Zac and Ginger squeezed into the chair she had been sitting in earlier. They loved sitting in that chair together and they always found an excuse not to use any of the other chairs in the room. �Well, Taylor and I are getting married.�
"Oh my God would you give me five minutes in between life-altering news?" Zac asked, his voice loud and sounding rather annoyed. Kris gave him a look.
"What the hell is your problem?" Kris asked.
�I just told him I�m pregnant.� Kris squealed in delight and ran over to her sister, capturing her in a hug, nearly squishing Zac in the process.
�Oh my God girl!!� she said. �That�s so cool!�
�Well hello I think your news is totally better,� she said. �I�ve been hoping for a baby for a while now, I had no fucking clue you two were even back together!�
�We weren�t,� Taylor said, walking over to the crowded chair. �I just proposed and she accepted.� He nudged Zac. �Hey dude, you�re gonna be a father!� Zac put one of the couch pillows over his face and screamed. Ginger couldn�t control her laughter. �I�m guessing he�s excited.�
�You�re damn right I�m excited,� Zac said, after taking the pillow of his face. �Do you have any idea how much we want a baby?�
�Um, no, but I�m guessing a lot from the looks of it,� Kris said, now moving out of the crowded chair and sitting on the leather couch in the back of the room. �I need to call someone.� Kris picked up the phone and dialed her home number. Isaac picked up. �Hey dude, get you and Roni over to here right now." She paused. "Why? Because I said so, that why." Kris put the phone back on the hook and they waited a minute until Isaac and Roni came in.
�Hey! Guess what!� Ginger said, not even waiting for them to get settled in. Roni could tell it was exciting because she sounded excited.
�What?� Roni asked, and sat down next to Kris.
�I�m pregnant!� Roni let her eyes widen and looked at Zac. He waved and smiled. �Aren�t you surprised?� Ginger asked.
�No, not really,� Ike said, �It was kind of obvious that you wanted a kid, we knew it was just going to be a matter of time before it actually happened. We�re just kind of shocked that you�re still in your teens yet you�re married and pregnant.�
�Well we�re special so we can do that,� Zac commented. Ike turned to him.
�And you, you�re still going to be in your teens when the kid is born. Your birthday�s ten months from now. At least Ginger over here�s gonna be 20.� Zac smiled.
�I told you, we�re special so we can do that.� Zac thought about a few things, then turned to Ginger. �Hey Ginger go eat something.�
�Why?� she asked.
�Cause you don�t eat and now you�re not eating for two!� Ginger rolled her eyes and got up. As she headed to the kitchen she decided not to pick a debate.
�We�re not going to get into this now, Zac. You shut up.�
�Aw man,� Zac said. �Your mood swings just stopped coming and now you�re pregnant so they�re gonna come back again.� Ginger smiled and shook her head, now in the kitchen. She opened the fridge and picked out an apple before returning to the living room. When she came back, the three boys had migrated to sitting on one couch while Kris and Roni were sitting on another.
�There, I�m eating now,� she said, taking a bite from the apple. Zac smiled. �When was the last time all three of you sat like that?� Ginger asked, looking at the guys. The three brothers were on the love seat, and they�re all thin so three of them could sit like that�Isaac, Taylor, and Zac in order from youngest to oldest.
They looked at each other and laughed. The old spark that had been missing since they stopped performing was suddenly back, even if it didn�t last long. �Our last interview,� Taylor said. �Right before our final concert.�
�March 30, 2003,� Zac said, and sat back. �Almost two years ago.� They all let out their breath, ironically at the same time, and thought about where the time went. Zac let his eyes wander to Ginger. She was looking right back at him with a smile on her face. �I love you,� he mouthed. She smiled and mouthed it back.
Zac�s mind started drifting to what he would if he kept his career. He didn�t have to give it up, he knew it, but he had been exploited during his early years to the point that he didn�t want it to happen to Ginger. They always found a way to get her in there somehow, or the tabloids would find a way to make is seem like he was cheating on her. Giving up his career was the hardest thing he had to do; he often thought why he put himself through so much. Glancing over at his brothers, he realized that they were still in pain from it. There was the band too, and they gave it up with him, they gave it up for him. They had so many good times with the band, onstage, during interviews, with the hype. Now he was set on a road he didn�t know. He could only think of what he had and anticipate what was to come.
A loud rumble of thunder soared overhead and the lights flickered out. It was still light outside, but the sun was to go down soon. �Oh damn,� Ginger muttered. �Hey! It looks like you people are stuck here cause I�m not letting you walk home in this weather!�
�Ginger you wouldn�t let us walk home in a sun shower,� Roni said. �Aren�t you in mom-mode a little too early?�
�Never too early to start,� she said, smiling. Roni gave her a look. �Fine, but in nine months I expect all of you to deal with me cause once you�re a parent you�re never a kid again.�
�Oh damn! I forgot about that,� Zac said, attempting to dramatically fall over again, but just ended up clanking into Taylor who clanked into Isaac and they all fell over.
�I love you guys too, but get off me,� Isaac said, pushing them back upright.
�Hey guys,� Ginger said. Everyone looked at her. �Y�all realize that I�m gonna be a parent in nine months?�
�And I�m gonna be married soon?� Kris asked.
�And I�m gonna be stuck around the house wondering what the hell I can do with my life?� Roni asked. For a second, they all thought about it, until Taylor decided to open his mouth.
�You can get back with Ike.�
�Will you shut up about that?� Roni said. She got up and started towards the door. �We�re not going to get together as much as you people would like it. It�s not your life. It�s mine and I don�t want anybody making my decisions for me.� She opened the door.
�You�re not going anywhere missy, get your butt back in here!� Ginger shouted. �Oh my God I just said missy.� She took a deep breath and waited for Roni to storm back in the room.
�You stop talking to me like you�re my mother!� Roni said. �You are five years younger than me, start acting like it.�
�Maybe if you would stop acting like you�re two years old with bad language!� Ginger stood up and tapped on her forehead. �Is there a brain in there?� Ginger whispered making sure no one else could hear her but Roni. �What is the deal? It�s been a year, you can�t be anymore obvious.�
�I don�t want to be with him,� she said, keeping the same level.
�Why?� Roni grabbed her arm and pulled her into the kitchen, away from everyone else. The last thing she needed was to have everyone hear it, and he was in the room.
�I�m so in love with him I can�t think,� Roni said, �but he hurt me before and I don�t want to be hurt again.� Ginger gave her a strange look.
�How can he hurt you in any way, shape or form? He�s so in love with you he�s trying to be careful with every word, every moment, everything.�
�He slept with another woman, that�s why we broke up and that�s why we�re not together anymore.� Ginger's eyes grew and she stuck her hand over her mouth. �Now I allowed you to slip before but if you slip this time he�ll hate me forever.�
�How��
�At Zac�s bachelor party he got dead drunk and slept with the stripper.� Her hand slipped off her mouth and she turned away. �I found out that night and we broke up then. He never knew what happened. I wanted to forgive him so bad but I don�t have his trust anymore. If we do get back together I couldn�t trust him to go anywhere that has alcohol and women.� Ginger turned back around.
�Zac had a bachelor party?� Roni started to walk away. �With a stripper?� Ginger noticed her leaving. �Roni, I was kidding, come back here,� she said. Roni rolled her eyes and plopped down on the couch. The sun was about to set and the power was still gone. Figuring it�d be out for a while, she grabbed some candles and matches and set them around the house.
When Ginger walked back in the living room, everyone for some reason had gotten off the couches and was now sitting on the floor. �What? We have comfy couches and you people sit on the floor?� she asked. They all shrugged. �Well then I�ll make myself comfortable.� She took a seat on Zac�s lap.
�I�m just so happy you�re comfortable, Ginger,� Zac said. Ginger smiled and leaned against him. He stuck his arms around her and rested them on her stomach.
�I�m bored, let�s do something,� Kris said, pretty much speaking for the rest of us. �We can be kids again and play truth or dare!�
�Oh yeah, I can just imagine that, Kris,� Roni said. �Hey Ginger are you a virgin?� She shook her head.
�No, I'm not.�
Kris gasped. "You whore!" They laughed, all together for the first time in a while. They didn�t do much as a group of six lately. It was mostly a group of four, or three, or just two. All six of them rarely sat in a room and talked.
�So tell us,� Zac said, directing to Kris and Taylor. �Have you two set a date yet?� Taylor shook his head.
�Not yet,� he said. �We were thinking about February 15th, but that�s just too soon. So we�re planning on February 15th of next year because then we don�t have to worry about Ginger having to be run to the hospital to have the baby or having to run out because she needs to puke or something, so it can�t exactly be in the next nine months.�
�Yeah but that�s more than a year away, guys,� Roni added. �That�s a long time to be engaged.�
�We don�t want it near you two�s anniversary cause you know I have a feeling on your anniversary he�s going to think it�s ours and stuff,� Kris said, smiling.
�Hey!�
�I�m sorry Taylor but I know you, and you don�t even know my birthday.�
�Yes I do, it�s in March�March 25, right?� Taylor asked. She shook her head. �That�s not it? I could be sure it was��
�That�s Ginger�s birthday! Guess again.� He thought about it, and remembered it was before his.
�The sixth?� Kris shook her head, sighing. �Fifth?� She finally got to nod. �All right! Third time�s the charm.� Kris looked at Ginger and she smiled.
�Zac knows our anniversary. Our wedding and the day we started going out.� Taylor looked at Zac, astonished.
�Hello, it�s on the same day. November 22nd.� Ginger smiled and looked at Taylor. He was clearly upset.
�Well I remember the day me and Kris started going out,� Taylor said. �Cause it was the day of the final concert.�
�You know I bet you anything he can remember the first time you guys performed, when and where, the first time you were on television and all that but he still can�t remember my fucking birthday,� Kris joked.
�I remember that day too�� Taylor said. Kris shook her head and rolled her eyes. �You stop doing that, it gets annoying.�
�Well so are you,� Kris said, and kissed him. Roni looked between Zac and Ginger cuddling and Taylor and Kris kissing. She was fed up with being single.
�That�s it! I�m getting tired of seeing you people together all the time!� Roni got up and ran upstairs. Ginger looked to Ike and motioned for him to get up and follow her. He didn�t think it was going to do any good, but he got up anyway.
When Isaac got to the stairs he heard the door of one of the bedrooms slamming shut. Sighing, he climbed up the stairs and to the door of the bedroom. He knocked and opened the door. �Roni?� he asked, poking his head in.
She sat on the window ledge, looking out into the rain. It was almost evening now and the room was dark. Isaac was about to reach to turn on the light but then realized the power was still gone. He grabbed the matchbox that Ginger had handed out to everyone just in case they ventured into a room that wasn�t lit up. Lighting a candle, he walked over to her. She decided to speak after he set the candle on the nightstand next to the window.
�Isaac are you in here as a friend or as an ex-boyfriend wanting a second chance?� she asked.
�Actually, I�m kind of both.� He sat down on the bed, which was across from the window. �Roni what�s wrong with you? You�re edgy about everything lately.�
�I want to give you that second chance, but I can�t trust you anymore. I can understand you going somewhere and having a good time, I can understand you going to a bachelor party and having fun with the stripper, but not that much fun�� She stuck her head in her hands.
�I was drunk, I had never been before and I haven�t been since. Roni, night and day I think about you and I can�t get anything out of my head. I think about what we had and what we could have if you just let me try again. I think about what I did and how insane I feel about it all.�
�You know we never really talked about this,� Roni said. �Zac was right, I hate to say it but the loser was right. I am too pigheaded to see anything.�
�I don�t think so.�
She turned her head to him. �What do you think? Should we try this again and see how it goes?� Isaac smiled.
�You have no clue how long I�ve been waiting for you to say that.� She let her grin grow as he walked over and kneeled by her feet. �I love you, Roni.�
�I love you.�