I Left My Heart in San Diego

CURRENT STORY DATE: 07/09/11

Green Day had been on tour for two weeks, and I was three weeks pregnant. It was official; I was pregnant again. Aran and I had grown very close since my sister was born, so we were easily able to get out of the house to get me a doctor's appointment. And for the past month, I had been helping him plan his wedding to my mother. Yeah, that was official, too; my mom was getting remarried, and it had spurred in me a desire to find my biological father. After all, I hadn't seen him since he left my mother and I ten years ago. I wondered if he had another family, and I knew I wanted to tell him about my new family.

"Arizona?" Aran said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I shook my head lightly and looked over at him, smiling. "Sorry, Aran, I was just thinking about something," I answered.

"You've been thinking a lot lately," he remarked.

I chuckled. "Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind."

"You have a lot on your plate for an eighteen-year-old girl. You're married, with a three-month-old daughter, and another child on the way. All the other eighteen-year-olds are probably still vacationing before they go back for their sophomore year of college," Aran said.

I shrugged. "I'm almost nineteen, actually," I said.

Aran chuckled. "You still have another month before that, Arizona. So what have you been thinking about?"

I grinned at him, my face going solemn quickly. "Honestly, I've been thinking about going out to find my biological father. I'm almost nineteen, and my mom is getting remarried. Sure, I call you Dad, but I want to see my biological father before I get my roots in too deep here with Billie and Cadence," I explained. I placed a hand on my stomach, looking down at it. "And my new baby," I added.

Aran was silent for a moment, taking it all in. "That sounds like a solid plan, Arizona, I wish you luck juggling being pregnant for a second time with a young child already while your husband is traveling North America for two months and you finding your biological father while you help your soon-to-be stepfather plan his wedding to your mother."

I leaned in and gave Aran a hug. "Thanks, Aran," I said with a giggle.



"So what's it like?" Mary Jane asked me.

"What's what like?" I asked back.

She smiled. "Having the life."

"The life?" I asked again.

Mary Jane laughed this time. "The life, Arizona! You're married! And to a guy who's semi-famous, not to mention one who loves you and tells you so very frequently! You have a daughter, and you're pregnant again! And you're only, like, nineteen!"

I laughed this time, grinning at Mary Jane and shrugging. "I dunno! I don't know how to describe it. It's...it's something you have to experience for yourself. Marrying a rock star is every pre-teen girl's dream, and I got to do that, seven months pregnant on my wedding day. I then had Cadence, and my new husband left with your men, too, and I'm pregnant again, and I'm a month away from nineteen. It's crazy, and I'm not even sure how much crazier life is gonna get once I have this baby," I explained, placing a hand on my stomach.

"Speaking of being pregnant," Zie cut in casually. Both Mary Jane and I looked up at her, Mary Jane with a cocked eyebrow, and me with a dawning of realization.

"Oh my God!" I squealed. Zie grinned.

"What?" Mary Jane asked, looking back and forth between me and Zie multiple times.

"I'm pregnant!" Zie squeaked.

I reached across our little circle and gave Zie a huge hug. "Oh my God, Zie! Does Tre know? It is Tre's, right?" I asked.

Zie laughed. "Of course it is! And no, Tre doesn't know. I decided at the last minute before the guys left that I wouldn't tell him until he got back."

"But won't it be hard keeping that from him?" Mary Jane asked.

I looked over at Mary Jane, nodding in agreement, then looked back at Zie, my hands on her shoulders from my hug. "That's why I made the last minute decision to tell Billie because I wouldn't be able to keep something like that from him," I said.

Zie shrugged. "I dunno how I'll do it, but I will. And if I accidentally happen to let it slip, or something just really makes me want to tell him, I'll tell him, it's whatever. If I can keep it a secret for two months, I'll tell him when he gets back," she explained.

"Does anyone else know?" I asked.

Zie shook her head. "Just you two. Not even my parents know yet."

Mary Jane raised her eyebrows at Zie, and I gave her a disapproving look. "Zie, you have to tell your parents. How far along are you?" I asked.

"About a month," she answered. "I've been fighting with myself about when to tell him, and I decided last minute not to. I used your reasoning, Ari, that I don't want Tre worrying about me because we're not married or have another kid or anything."

I scoffed and waved her off, sitting back against the couch like I had been previously. "Oh, shush."

Zie chuckled and sighed, a happy sigh. "I'm happy that I'm pregnant. I hope it's a boy," she said, rubbing a hand over her flat-for-now stomach.

"Yeah?" Mary Jane asked, and Zie just nodded.

Zie then turned her attention to me and asked, "What about you, Ari? What do you hope the sex of your baby will be?"

I smiled. "I want my baby to be a boy, too," I said.

"Because you already have a daughter?" Zie asked.

I laughed, nodding. "Yeah, I want to have the experiences of raising both a son and a daughter."

"How weird would it be if your kids had the same birthday?" Mary Jane joked.

"It would be easy to remember, but I wouldn't like it 'cause when they get older, they would start fighting over who would get to have friends over on that day because there is no way that I'm letting both my children have their friends over at the same time. I don't want that many teenagers in the same house as me and my children when they get to be that age," I explained, laughing lightly towards the end.

Zie and Mary Jane chuckled with me. "Yeah, I guess that would be a pain in the ass," Mary Jane said, smiling.

It was then that I received a phone call, my ringtone going off in my pocket and startling all of us. "Holy hell, who is calling me?" I muttered. I didn't recognize the number, so I answered it. "Hello?"

"Arizona?" I would recognize that voice anywhere.

My eyes started to well with tears. This was the first time I had actually talked to my father in almost eleven years. "Dad?"

"Hey. I got your message when you called last week, it's just that I've been really busy helping to plan my stepdaughter's wedding, and today was the first day I actually had enough time to call you back. I hope you understand," he said.

I nodded profusely even thought Zie and Mary Jane were the ones to see me and not my father. "Yeah, yeah, I completely understand. I've been busy helping my soon-to-be stepfather plan his wedding," I replied, chuckling.

"Your mom's getting remarried?" my dad asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah," I said. "He's a good guy, Dad, you don't have to worry about that."

I heard a small sigh of relief before my father spoke again. "So, how are you, Arizona?" he asked.

"Really good. Life's been pretty crazy since Mom and I moved here to Oakland."

"Yeah? Crazy good or crazy bad?"

"Good. Definitely crazy good."

"Care to share a little bit? I know it's been almost eleven years since we've even spoken, and we can catch up in depth later, I have my schedule right in front of me, but you've got me curious as to what you mean," my father said.

I smiled. "It's not really something I can summarize," I said.

"It can be a tad long, I don't mind."

"Well, let's just say that I met a guy on the night we moved in, and I haven't had the life of a normal teenager since then," I said.

"Okay, now you and I definitely need to get together and catch up. How about lunch?" my father asked.

I smiled even wider. "Lunch sounds wonderful. What day did you have in mind?" I asked.

"Hmm." I heard my dad flipping pages. "How about Monday afternoon at around two? I have the afternoon free of wedding planning and I'm not working," he suggested.

I thought for a moment. "Yeah, that works. Have anywhere special in mind?"

"How about I meet you in Oakland? I'm staying in Fresno, so I don't mind driving a couple hours out there."

"Uhm, yeah, if you want to drive out here! I know this awesome little cafe that just opened. Why don't you bring that stepdaughter of yours with you?" I suggested.

My dad laughed. "I don't think she'll stop talking about the wedding, so why don't I bring my wife? And you bring that man of yours?"

I laughed this time. "My man is out of the country at the moment, but I'd be glad to bring your granddaughter," I answered.

"Alright then," my dad said, and I could hear the surprise in his voice at my mention of the word "granddaughter," but he held it in because he knew I would just tell him that he would see her on Monday. "Can I have the address of this awesome little cafe?"

"1805 Telegraph Avenue, here in Oakland," I told him.

He paused a moment to write the address down. "1805, okay. You can expect Morgana and I to be there by two o'clock on Monday afternoon."

I grinned. "Okay, Cadence and I will meet you there at two o'clock."

"Great. See you on Monday, Arizona," my father said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Yeah, see you then. Bye, Dad," I said, and hung up. I looked out at Zie and Mary Jane.

"So that was your dad?" Zie asked. I nodded. "Awesome."

I nodded. "I'm glad I finally get to see my dad after almost eleven years. It's like I'm going to reliving the past years with him."