rshort1202

I’m lying with Melissa in our bed. The setting feels exactly similar to our bedroom in real life. It seems like nighttime, though it’s not very dark in here. It’s a dim lighting that’s not suggestive of any particular time. She’s on my left and I reach my hand over to rest it on her lower stomach. There is a slight, firm bump. I ask her what it is and she responds that she’s pregnant. I respond that I’m not ready for that, but she makes it seem like it was planned. Again, I did not think that was the case. There is a sense of helplessness that things will be proceeding in a way that I don’t want and am not ready for.

I am talking with Melissa when she somewhat casually mentions ‘my son’. I ask her what she means, and she tells me that I have a son that’s been living in some small town with another family. She tells me that she got pregnant her junior year of high school. She then revises it to her freshman year and then to ‘two years before high school’. I incredulously ask “you got pregnant in middle school?” She grins meekly but somewhat mischievously and says yes. This is news to me. She then lets on that she used to be pretty promiscuous, to put it lightly.

I am in the kitchen at Dad’s house with him, Scottie, and I think one other. The atmosphere seems jovial. Dad and Scottie are making jokes about pregnancy, until I realize that they’re actually easing into the fact that she is pregnant. I’m slightly taken aback, but I guess also happy for them. Their happy expressions look like they won’t be changed by any reaction. I glance at her belly and think she can’t be that far along but maybe it does look larger. I figure that Dad’ll be 70 when the kid is 10 and 80 when it’s 20.

I think I’m at either Matt and Sara’s or Opa’s house. It seems to be a family gathering. There also seems to be some tension between Matt and Sara. I find Sara alone and ask what’s going on. She tells me that she’s pregnant but Matt won’t stop drinking. Sure enough, I look over and see him holding what looks like a glass of whisky.




I am on a promenade along the river. I think some of the family is here too. I also can’t shake the feeling that this place is very familiar somehow.