'Baby Time': 5 Minute Freewrite

Here’s my freewrite for today. Those of you familiar with the musical Waitress may recognize the scene:

---

Jenna crumbled on the inside from the cost of her lie. Her future of freedom and hope dashed away with just a few words, leaving her far behind. Earl started to ease his desperate grip around her, but didn’t release yet.

“You’ve been hidin’ money…for the baby?” He asked. Jenna tried to pull herself together as best she could.

“For a crib, and toys. You know, baby things.” Earl started to pull back, the wads of cash still crushed by his fist.

“I thought I told you not to love this baby more than me.”

Jenna found herself frozen by the plaid, worn couch, already feeling the bruises forming on her arms. She braced internally for the possibility of more. But Earl slowly put the money in his jean pockets and made his way to the door. Before stepping outside, he turned back and said, “I don’t know why you have to make things so hard, Jenna.”

At the heavy sound of the door closing Jenna wobbled to the upturned couch cushion, a repository now filled with nothing but the old cotton fluff. In the silence, alone with her thoughts and the growing life inside her, she felt the fears and sadness she’d dared to dream away reemerge. With a powerful strength they cracked open from her hopeful suppression. They took the form of retrospection, of who she used to be. A girl who was messy, but kind. Lonely. A girl of contradictions and a strength Jenna couldn’t feel anymore.

Standing there, Jenna’s hands found their way from wiping tears to holding her belly. A baby she didn’t choose but was now giving gentle little kicks. Jenna realized that the girl she used to be was gone. But it was this baby that made her begin to fight for her again. It was for this baby that she needed to keep trying. At that moment, she felt a pain between her hips, a pain that could only mean one thing. It was baby time, whether she was ready or not.

---

One of my favorite things to write as a preteen were novelized scenes from video games. As in, turning the video game’s story into prose, like the novels that come out for a lot of movies. Today’s prompt of “baby time” reminded me of a scene from the musical Waitress (one of my favorites!) and I thought I’d take a shot at novelizing it.

This definitely reads like a first draft I think, more so than usual, and I could easily turn this into many paragraphs. But in the spirit of a freewrite here it is, rough draft and all. I did commit more like 15 minutes to it, though.

Anyways, thanks for reading!

Picture source (edited by me)