Come One, Come All to This Tragic Affair

I waddled down the stairs of our new house, my eight months pregnant belly leading the way. Our baby was getting big and making me as big as a goddamn house.
Frank still said I was beautiful, although I’m pretty sure he was blowing smoke up my ass to make me feel better.
Mood swings are bad enough, but mood swings for the women in my family are killer.
Especially since I have to go to a funeral for my great uncle Giorgio and my entire family will be there and Frank is coming with me.
He looked so damn gorgeous in a suit, even though it did nothing to cover up his tattoos. The scorpion on his neck and the tattoos covering his hands offset the suit and made him look even better in my opinion. There was little he could do with his hair, what with it being so long now, so he’d settled for combing it and tucking it behind his ears.
They don’t sell much funeral wear for pregnant women, but I’d managed to find a black dress that was passable with black flats.
“The minute you want to leave, we can go.” I said as we pulled up to the church.
“Jadey, this is important to you. I’ll stay as long as you need me to.” He kissed my hand, right over the ring he’d given me.
Our wedding had been small and private, only about seven people and a priest. Frank’s band, Charlie, and Frank’s parents had shown up.
My parents weren’t invited, by my choice.
I didn’t know how they were gonna react today and I hoped it wouldn’t be negatively.
Although hiding this massively pregnant belly of mine is not gonna work.
Frank and I sat in one of the pews in the middle, sitting quietly and trying not to be seen.
It worked until after the ceremony, when my uncle Jacob spotted us.
“Jaden!” He called, walking over to us. He had white hair, a white beard and the kindest smile I’d ever seen. He was actually my great uncle and he’d spoiled me rotten.
“Hi Uncle Jacob.” One thing I’d noticed was that it was hard to hug people with this belly of mine.
“Your mother didn’t tell me you were pregnant. Or that you’d gotten married.” Uncle Jacob looked upset.
“She doesn’t know actually.” I said, looking down at my hands. “Uncle Jacob, this is my husband Frank Iero. Frank, my uncle Jacob Peretta.”
“Nice to meet you.” Frank had taken out his piercings, not that it changed his appearance much.
“Welcome to the family son. Iero, is that Italian?” Uncle Jacob said, shaking Frank’s hand.
“Yes, yes it is.” Frank hit it off with my uncle while I looked around for my parents or my brother.
My mom saw me first and she looked livid.
“How dare you show up here, with him, like this?” She hissed when she got up close to me.
“I came to pay my respects Mom.” I said. Frank slipped his hand into mine, squeezing gently. Mom spotted the wedding ring on my finger.
“You got married again?” Her head looked like a fire engine, it was so red.
“She’s pregnant with my child. Of course I was going to marry her.” Frank piped up, stepping forward slightly so he was half shielding me from my mom.
“And you’re Frank I assume.” Mom looked him up and down, taking in the tattoos on his hands and neck. If she only knew how many tattoos he actually had and how crazy the birds on his hips drove me.
“Frank Iero, nice to meet you Mrs. Peretta.” Frank didn’t sound that pleased, but neither did my mom.
“Now if you’ll excuse us, I think its time for the pregnant lady to go home.” I leaned over and kissed my uncle on the cheek before we ran for it.
“I never want to do that again.” I said once we were in the car.
“Neither do I.” Frank agreed.
--
I screamed again, clutching onto the sides of the bed. I sounded like Frank on his Leathermouth CD.
They never tell you that labor feels like something is ripping your insides apart. I let out another stream of curse words and Frank’s mom Linda crossed herself again. She’d reacted a lot better to the news that I was a recent widow who’d married her son and was having his child than my mom did. Frank had called her when my water broke this morning, something about her helping me through the labor.
So far all I’d done was swear at Frank and make some comments about his parentage.
“One more push, Mrs. Iero.” The doctor said from under the tarp thing covering my private regions. I yelled one last time, a long vomit of swearing and collapsed against the pillow.
“You did great baby.” Frank said, kissing my sweaty forehead. I couldn’t answer because I was still breathing so hard.
“Here’s your little girl.” The nurse said, putting a small pink bundle in my arms.
She had dark hair, like we both did, and when she opened her eyes they were Frank’s hazel green.
“Leana Jaden Iero.” Frank told the nurse, who wrote it down on the paperwork.
“She’s ours.” I said softly, stroking her little cheek. She grasped onto my finger with a surprisingly strong grip.
“She looks just like you. Except the eyes. Those are my Frankie’s.” Linda said, looking at our little girl. “May I hold her?” I almost didn’t want to let her go, but I passed her into her grandmother’s arms.
“Jaden?” I looked up and saw my parents standing in the doorway.
“Come on in.” I glanced at Frank, who didn’t look all too happy to see them.
“What’s her name?” Mom asked, looking at Leana where she lay in Linda’s arms.
“Leana Jaden Iero.” Frank answered.
“She’s beautiful.” I saw the moment where Leana unfroze the cold spot in my mom’s heart. “I was hoping we could talk Jaden.”
“Okay.” I smiled.
Maybe my daughter can help bridge the gap between my parents and my new family.
All I know is that I have Frank standing by me to help me through.
And that’s all I could ask for.