The Fast Times

It was like a roll of thunder that hit the house. Pete's father roared like a beast when his wife broke the news to him. Pete had jumped from his sleep, waking Nancy with him; both blinked in the dim lighting, trying to gather what had happened before they fell asleep.

"I want him out now!" Peter shouted from the top of the basement stairs.

"Leave them alone!" Dale shouted back.

Her hands grabbed his coat and pulled him back to the landing, then shut the basement door. The argument continued as Pete and Nancy sat up in bed. She rubbed her eyes, a wave of nausea crashing through her, "I'm gonna be sick!"

Nancy shot up and raced up the stairs, Pete following closely behind. She rushed to the first floor bathroom around the corner from the kitchen, pushing between Peter and Dale; both stopped their arguing to see what the hell rushed through them. Pete maneuvered around his parents, following Nancy.

Nancy fell to her knees, lifted the toilet seat lid and spewed. Pete grabbed her hair, holding it up and then he ran his hand up and down her back. Nancy threw up, eyes burning with tears, while her stomach tensed and ached.

Dale followed in, "Honey, are you okay?"

Nancy sat back, Pete let go of her hair, "Y-yeah, sorry."

Pete stood and helped Nancy up as he legs and knees wobbled and shook. Dale sighed and grabbed a bottle of mouthwash, "Here you go."

All while this was going on, Peter waited for them all to emerge so he could yell at them. That was his only thought, asserting his dominance. Dale came out first, giving him a hard look, "They need us more than ever right now, and if you don't like it you can leave."

Peter only glared back, "This is my house, I pay the bills--"

"You pay half!" Dale snapped back at him.

Pete and Nancy came through the kitchen, interrupting them. Pete had his arm around Nancy's waist while she held him to keep from falling over. He looked at his father without any hate or anger, "We aren't gonna be here long. We're saving up, as soon as I graduate we're gonna leave. You only have to tolerate us for four more months. We'll stay out of your way."

Peter didn't respond, he could only watch his son help his girlfriend back down to the basement. Dale glared at Peter once again, "They aren't hurting anyone," she hissed. "You should be proud that he's owning up to his responsibilities and that he's making sure they make it -together."

Peter wasn't deterred, "I will never be proud of him for throwing his life away from some slut!"

"She's not a slut," Dale muttered, "Jesus, Peter, our son and Nancy made a little mistake, but they're dealing with it. Blaming her and calling her names isn't going to change anything. Pete knows he's the father and he's taking care of his responsibilities, he's not a coward and he isn't running away. His future hasn't been thrown away, he could very well play soccer and go to college, it's just going to be extra hard with a child. Nancy's the mother, you think she's just going to put the baby on Pete and make him do everything? It's 50/50, they're doing it together, you need to think before you go and write everything off as being thrown away."

Peter didn't speak, he showed no emotion as he left the kitchen, heading straight to his office where he shut the door hard behind him. Dale sighed and went downstairs to check on Nancy.


The rest of the evening was quiet until dinner. Nancy managed to wear off her nausea and sit at the dinner table with the Wentz family, minus Peter. She sat beside Pete, with Hilary and Andrew sitting across from them and Dale at the end of the table beside Pete.

"How hungry are you?" Dale asked Nancy as she began to serve everyone.

"I could eat the entire meatloaf," Nancy kidded.

Dale smiled and gave her a large portion. Pete rubbed her back, "You okay?"

"Just starved," she replied, "don't worry."

Pete smiled at her, leaning over and kissing her cheek. Andrew made a gagging noise, "Gross."

Nancy and Pete laughed; she looked over at Andrew, "Sorry, we'll keep all the love-y crap out of your face."

Andrew blushed and looked away, causing Pete and Dale to laugh. Hilary shook her head, "Andrew has a crush on you."

"Shut up, Hilary," he grumbled.

"It's okay," Nancy cut in, "we can be friends, Andy, you know? I'm gonna...be in your family now...in a way. You're gonna be an uncle, you don't have to be shy around me."

Andrew smiled at her, feeling gratitude and kindness from her. He cleared his throat, "Uh, what does your baby look like now? Mom already showed us the picture of your baby blob."

Everyone settled to listen to Nancy respond; she poked at her food and answered, "Next week I have an appointment...I've been feeling sicker a lot lately and I wanted to see what was up so I'll see if I can get another scan to see what the baby looks like now."

"Have you thought of any names?" Hilary asked before eating.

Nancy and Pete both shook their heads, "Not yet. I'm just getting used to all this baby stuff."

"When are you due?"

"Doctor says around the end of July," Nancy answered, then exhaled, "I can't wait because this baby is killing me. I'm starting to want to eat yogurt and cheese mixed together."

Andrew laughed, "That sounds like a challenge."

Dale gave him a look, "Don't you dare eat anything like that, you'll be puking for a week."

Everyone shared a small laugh and continued to eat. Dale remembered her plan to move them in, "Oh, tomorrow, while you're at school, I want to go over to your--" Dale paused when Nancy looked over at her, "I want to get your things...unless you want to do that yourself?"

Nancy exhaled, "I'd...rather do it, Mrs. Wentz. I don't work tomorrow until 6, so I'll go over there. You're very sweet to do all of this for me. Thank you."

Dale smiled, "I would do it regardless if you were pregnant or not. You mean a lot to Pete, so you mean something to me too."

Nancy bit at her lip, holding back a grin, "Thank you, again, Mrs. Wentz."

"You're very welcome, Nancy."

Nancy cleared her throat, "I, uh, want to apologize for...the tension in the house--"

"You can say that again."

Everyone looked towards the entry of the dining room, finding Peter there. You could smell booze on him, his tie was undone and his pinstriped button up had two buttons undone with the sleeves rolled up at the sleeves. He sat down at the other end of the table, facing Nancy.

"Hello Mr. Wentz," she murmured quietly.

"You and I need to talk, Nancy," Peter said shortly, his eyes darting between his son and her. "How do I know--"

Dale cut him off, "Peter, knock it off!"

"No," he grunted, his breath was pungent with whiskey and vodka. "I want to talk to her."

Dale was feeling out of control and didn't know what to do or say to stop it. She watched her husband carefully as he turned his attention back to Nancy. The entire table was silent, but you could sense the anger rushing through Pete.

"Dad," Pete spat out, "don't start--"

"Shut up," Peter growled at him. "I'm your father, I say what goes 'round here, got it?!"

Nancy flinched back. She swallowed, afraid of what his father would say and do. Everyone else, aside from Dale, was nervous as well.

"What do you want to know, Mr. Wentz?" Nancy asked with a shaking tone.

Peter looked back at her, "I want to know if my son is really the father of that baby your carrying."

Nancy blinked rapidly, "He is...he's the only boy I've slept within the past year. Believe me, sir, I was just as shocked to learn I was pregnant. I didn't ask for this, this was simply a little..." She paused, "I don't want to say mistake because I don't believe babies are mistakes...this was a...surprise. I know it's terrible to have children when you're just a child yourself--"

"My son has a chance to play pro. He got a full ride to Columbia," he spat this out and then reached into his slack's pocket. He tossed an opened letter onto the table, straight at Pete, it landed between their glasses of soda.

Nancy's heart filled with guilt, her stomach tightened. Pete grabbed the letter and unfolded it, reading it; he had gotten a scholarship to Columbia through soccer. His jaw slacked for a moment, he set the letter back on the table; everyone was silent.

"He can still go," Dale broke the silence.

Pete bit at his lip, then nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I can. I can still go. It...they're paying for everything, I can get an apartment there -me, Nancy and the baby. We'll be okay."

Despite the encouraging words, Nancy still felt guilty. Peter was still upset and drunk. He stood up fast, causing the chair to topple back onto the floor, and left the dining room, heading back to his office.

The entire table fell under silence again. Nancy stood up, mumbling an "excuse me" before jetting off to the bathroom to throw up. Pete followed behind her, wanting to make sure she was okay.


Nancy didn't return to the table, she returned to the basement with Pete in tow who sat with her. Nancy was crying, due to the pain and the nausea with guilt piled on top of that. Pete laid her down and ran his hand through her hair and rubbed her back.

"I'm sorry," she kept repeating. "I'm sorry I messed up everything."

"You didn't mess up anything," Pete told her softly, "stop crying, Cy."

Nancy couldn't stop, her chest and head hurt, along with her heart. She missed her family and wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and wake up to the last year and a half having been a nightmare. She buried her face in a pillow, sobbing until her throat and eyes burned, then she whimpered. Pete cooed to her, kissing her cheek and rubbing her back soothingly.

Nancy fell asleep soon after; Pete noticed, then covered her up and kissed her forehead. He exhaled and returned upstairs, out of nothing else better to do. His family was still at the table, quiet and eating, but their attention fell on him once he entered, "Nancy's asleep," he murmured.

"Is she okay?" Hilary asked with a sadden look upon her face.

Pete exhaled, wanting to shrug, but held back, "Y-yeah...she's asleep now. She's really sick."

"I'm sorry about your dad," Dale muttered disdainfully. "He'll come around, honey, don't worry."

Pete couldn't come up with anything to say. He had a few choice words, but decided to keep them to himself.