Spring can be the least predictable season of the year. Some years, the cold lasts too long. Other years, there's too much rain. And there are sometimes years where it seems to skip straight from winter to summer. As such, the unpredictable weather can cause delays in projects. For instance, Abby and Samson would have moved to their new homestead that was part of her Uncle JT's farm in Montana, but the weather has caused more than a few delays with construction. They had been hoping to fully move in at the beginning of spring, not more than halfway through it.
But now the construction was complete, the movers had transported all their belongings, and the newlyweds were ready to move into their new home. However, since Mother's Day was just around the corner, Abby held off on the move so she could spend the day with her parents, who had another surprise waiting for them.
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"Really? Pregnant? Again?" asked Abby.
"Indeed," said Josephine, rubbing her belly, "And we did a DNA test. It looks like you're going to have a baby brother."
"Wow, that's great and all, but I would have thought Ava would be enough for you to deal with," said Samson, "Why have another foal now?"
"Well, I suppose part of it is my broodmare nature, part of it is I want your father to have that father-son relationship he never had," said Josephine, "But I think another big factor is that I haven't had any grandchildren to dote on yet."
"Josephine, you can't rush them into this," said Martin.
"The two of them have been mating for nearly 9 years at this point," said Josephine, "They've already married last year. So why no grandkids yet?"
"Well, Mother, part of it is financial, part of it is spacial," said Abby, "But also, I wanted our firstborn to be born in the Year of the Horse."
"An Animalian foal does take nine months to gestate," said Josephine, "It would easily fall into that range if you got pregnant now."
"True, but I want to be able to compete in the Year of the Horse competition," said Abby, "I wouldn't have a problem if I was only a few days pregnant, a month tops. But any more than that I won't be able to sign up. But after I win, I very much intend to have Samson knock me up."
"Er, Abby, I'm not sure if your plans would line up quite exactly," said Martin, "You may miss your window of opportunity to have a foal within that year."
"Not to mention you seem overly certain you're going to win that contest," said Josephine.
"Oh, don't worry about that," said Abby, "I've been talking to Lucy Greenwall about getting some natural supplements."
"It better not be something that's meant to slip under the steroid test," said Josephine.
"What? No, of course not! I wouldn't even consider competing if I did something like that. Lucy says she can prepare an aphrodisiac so potent, it could bring me into heat early. And mares in the northern hemisphere tend to breed more between mid-February and early June anyways. And if that's not enough, I can always deposit an egg into the bank for later," said Abby.
"I'm sorry, what?" asked Martin.
"You don't think it's only sperm that they can keep in long-storage, don't you?" asked Abby.
"I...don't think I'm ready to have a conversation like this with my daughter," said Martin uncomfortably.
"It's not exactly pleasant for me either," said Samson, "Especially if she wants to do in vitro fertilization."
Abby patted her husband's hand and said, "Samson, it's not at all about your capability of impregnating me. It's about me getting pregnant at the right time. I'm sure it took Mom and Dad more than a few tries to-"
"Can we change the topic?" asked Martin, uncomfortably.
"It's fine, dear," said Josephine, "Our little girl has grown up quite some time ago. Though I think it's still presumptuous to assume she'll be Miss Year of the Horse."
"Who else has a better chance than me?" asked Abby.
"You think I couldn't beat you?" asked Josephine.
"Gee, Mom, have you actually been a physical athlete before?" asked Abby.
"Don't forget who taught you how to ride in the first place," said Josephine.
"The only horse-riding I do now is in the bedroom. I've learned how to run, bicycle, and swim as a horse without your coaching," said Abby.
"Oh, well, if my daughter can master that so easily, it shouldn't be that hard for me," said Josephine.
"With your belly?" asked Abby.
"Your brother will be born long before the signups start," said Josephine.
"You'll have to work off the pregnancy fat first," said Abby.
"Nothing simpler," said Josephine.
Martin and Samson just exchanged looks as mother and daughter verbally sparred with each other. Of course, they knew that mares can be very catty with each other. Abby had received that sort of treatment from the uplifted mares early on when they resented her claiming Samson for her mate. They can only presume that Josephine's pregnancy hormones was making her more competitive with Abby. If they were mundane mares, they would probably be trying to bite at each other at this point. Fortunately, their husbands knew they wouldn't let a little bit of rivalry ruin their relationship. Especially with Mother's Day right around the corner.