November 12, 1981
No!" Britney screamed as she watched the tiny pink dot appear. Sitting on the edge of her bed, her hands began to shake as she dropped the pregnancy test into the trash. She could hear frantic footsteps moving down the hallway, making their way to her room.
"What happened?" Her mother, Betsy, asked as she opened the door. Britney looked up at her mother with a tear stained face; "I’m pregnant." She said softly as she looked at her feet, still hugging her pillow. Betsy let go of the doorknob and leaning against the frame of the door, slid to the ground as her eyes welded with tears as she raked her fingers through her wet hair.
"How? After all those lectures I gave you." Betsy said quietly, "I TOLD you how hard it was, when I had you and I was your age, and here you are, pregnant at seventeen!!!" She finished her voice shrill and harsh as her voice rose to a yell.
"I know, I’m sorry." Britney said softly.
"So, what are you going to do?" Her mother asked her.
"Keep it, raise it." Britney said, "I’ll quit school if I have to."
"NO. You will not quit school. You will graduate with your class." Betsy told her, "I can watch it while you’re at school." She said as she stood up, "I hope you know what a mistake you made." She said as she walked out and slammed the door shut behind her.
*Four Months Later*
Dropping down onto her bed, notebook in hand, Britney began rattling off names, "Julie? Jainie? Jennie?" She said to herself as she scribbled in the book, "Jason? Jasper?…No, No No, No, NO!" Frustrated, Britney scribbled the names out. Britney shifted uncomfortably on the bed, her stomach was visible, even with her extremely baggy shirt. She’d just begun her second trimester, and while she seemed unusually large, her doctor had said not to worry, as some abnormalities are common in teen pregnancies.
"Honey, where’s your black overalls?" Betsy asked as she came into the room with her clean laundry.
"In the hamper. I wore them yesterday, and threw up on them." She said as she tapped her pen on the side of the notepad. Her mom sighed as she put the laundry away into Britney’s drawers.
"Mom, why did you name me Britney?" She asked as she chewed on the pen cap.
"Well, your father’s name was Bayley and I’m Betsy so I found a name that started with B, and there you go." She said, "Why what names do you have so far?"
"Well," Britney said as she flipped back a few pages, "Byanka, Becka, Belle, Brooklyn, or Barbie for a girl."
"Wait a sec, you are not naming my grand daughter Barbie." Betsy protested.
"AND," Britney said, ignoring her mother’s comments, "Brandon, Blake, or Benson."
"Benson?" Her mother asked as she raised her eyebrow.
"Yes, Benson, I don’t see anything wrong with naming my baby after its father."
"
Well, considering he left you?" Betsy asked."
Whatever." Britney said as she crossed the name off of her list."Come on, time to visit the doctor." Betsy said as she helped her daughter stand up.
Once at the doctor, and after waiting in the reception area for what seemed like forever, Britney and her mother made their way to see the doctor, and upon Britney’s ultrasound, the doctor had Britney dress and met with her and her mother in her office.
"Now, as you know this will be a difficult birth, since you’re so young. However," The doctor told her as she passed a picture to Britney of the ultrasound. "You’re not having one baby, you’re having five."
"Five?" Britney squeaked out, "As in, five?!"
"Yes," The doctor repeated, "Seeing as how your mother is one of triplets, it’s not uncommon for children of multiple birth parents to have more than one child."
"But, five…I can’t…I can’t…five?" Britney sputtered.
"I know, this is very hard for you, your due date isn’t for six more months, but expect to be delivering at least a month early."
"A month? That’s June…I graduate in June." Britney told the doctor.
"Not anymore." The doctor told her.
*Five Months Later*~June 3, 1982
Crying, Britney sat in a wheelchair as she watched from behind a window at four tiny babies who were sleeping in individual incubators. Holding a tiny pink blanket in her lap, Britney motioned to a nurse who wheeled her away from the painstaking sight as a suited, clean cut man followed her. Once back in bed, the man opened his briefcase.
"They’ve all agreed to your conditions." He stated as he handed her a large stack of papers.
"All of them?" Britney asked as she dabbed her teary eye.
"Yes," He said as he read off of a paper, "Names will remain the same, birth dates, and they’ll be told when they’re 18."
Britney nodded as she signed the papers, tears flowing down her cheeks.