Indigestion

Well! Either someone's jumping the gun, or this pregnancy is moving along at breakneck speed. Wasn't it just three weeks ago when Nina's pregnancy was obscure enough for Margo to miss it? (though Margo is kind of oblivious to her non-Margo-related surroundings) This is an unheard of gestation period for any plotline in A3G, so I'm guessing Scott is just super-duper antsy. Otherwise... I hope Nina's not wearing white like the rest of the planet.

Twinsies!

Do you think Scott can sense over the phone that he and Margo are wearing the same outfit? Awkward!

I wonder why Scott is calling Tommie? To draw up their birth plan? Get one-on-one Lamaze coaching? Bounce some name ideas off of someone? I hope rats out Nina for smoking. Next time he should just have this baby himself, Schwarzenegger style.

What a Night

I like how Margo won't even spare a complete sentence on Tommie. Too early in the morning. In fact, I bet this scene started with a full five to ten minutes of silence, Tommie anxiously waiting for Margo to engage her in conversation, Margo staring deep into the refrigerator, possibly hungover, until Tommie finally breaks the ice with "Wow, what a night I had, Margo!"

Tommie's career is advancing fast... maybe too fast! Next week, Tommie will have to deliver a baby all by herself... and then perform a tiny little tracheotomy on it! When the procedure goes against the parents' wishes, will a tiny little lawsuit be involved? Because Tommie will be... a tiny bit liable.

Special Delivery

"Nina specifically said that she wanted the midwife that looks like Justin Bieber, and that she wants you to sing Baby while she's getting her epidural. Since you have no life outside the hospital, and since we let anyone from the donor families do whatever they want, we told the Blakes that you would be on call for the next 3-9 months to deliver the baby. I offered to do it myself, but Nina said she didn't want my man hands anywhere near that baby."

Tommie Made an Impression?

Ugh. I've been punished for posting late on Wednesday with more Tommie. Just when we were going shopping for hard-to-draw furniture, too. Although this strip is somewhat remarkable, as we learn that it's possible for Tommie to make an impression on anyone. Good for her!

Also, check out Nurse Rachet in the first panel! Do think she's thinking hard, or channeling Toddlers in Tiaras?

Let's Decorate

I know Nina doesn't want this baby and all, but Scott... how dare you 'decorate' with another woman? Even if she looks suspiciously like your wife and you look suspiciously like her pseudo boyfriend whom no one has seen in months. Sir Grizzly Bowtie knows what's up. Look at that expression in the second panel.

I think it would be kind of funny if they ran into Paul Linski, returning all of the prematurely purchased baby furniture he bought to outfit his and LuAnn's nursery. Or, alternatively, already out shopping for baby furniture for his new fiancee/victim.

Everything, I Guess

"Where should I shop for the baby? I already tried Toys R Us, and let's just say I found the selection unsatisfactory. Outside of the plush section, I mean." Who starts their nursery shopping trip with a teddy bear? He didn't even get a shopping bag, so now he's going to carry it around all day like a chump! Unless Margo does the practical thing and shows Scott how to use the internet. Odds on that are a kajillion to one.

Beary Exciting

The Men's Wearhouse in A3G NYC must have a on-going white shirt/blue blazer deal that can't be passed up. Paul Linski, the guy who weekly tells Tommie how disappointed Dan Diller is in her and now Scott Gaines, the proud father to be. If he was so into having a baby/being a dad, don't you think he would be with Nina at the appointment she's having somewhere across town?

This conversation seems that the panels should almost be reversed. At least it makes more sense to me that way. The bear's blank stare in the first panel and pained expression in the second lead me to believe that he agrees with me as well. I hear you, Sir Grizzly Bowtie, I hear you.

Teddy Bear

New Yorkers love to joke about county fairs, but I think they're the greatest! I still have a stuffed dolphin in my car that I won throwing darts at balloons. I didn't even hit that many balloons, guys! They still let me have it!

Sunday is for Coats!

Nothing new in Sunday's strip, except that everyone is wearing coats now? Weird. Tommie, is it really professional to be wearing your coat durring the ultrasound and everything? The ultrasound... which as a midwife, you are qualified to give. Just seconding Megan's post:

1. What, Tommie, now you're a doctor? That's really going to cut into your hours at the studio.

2. Nina smoking during a pregnancy?? Isn't this one of those things that educated, well-to-do woman would never do anymore, like blowdrying your hair in the bath?

Mother of the Year

Is Tommie a doctor now? Why is she delivering the results? And just because Nina has high blood pressure doesn't mean she smokes. She could have preeclampsia. Tommie, maybe you should stop playing doctor for a second and get a professional in there.

OK, I think we can stop beating the dead horse of how little Nina wants to have this baby and discuss how horrified I would be if someone that I knew was like "Hey, do you want to midwife my baby (that I don't really want)?" How could you ever have a normal relationship with someone after you've ripped a slimy, alien-looking life form from their loins?

Cute When It Isn't Annoying

Okay, just me, or is Tommie starting to look more and more like a transvestite bum? If it's just me I'll shut up about it.

Okay, prediction time: Nina overworks herself into exhaustion and has the baby early. Tommie delivers it, even though she took Midwifing 101 like five years ago when she was trying to cultivate a personality. I just wonder how much of the delivery we're going to get to see. This could take a turn for the graphic.

I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

I'm not sure if Nina is so excited because she thinks as a midwife, Tommie can get this thing out of her in time for her 1:00 meeting, or because she has no idea what a "midwife" is, and is operating under the misunderstanding that the term has something to do with being a sort-of-wife, meaning that Tommie could act as a stand-in for Nina and help her poor husband raise their spawn... er... child. Either way, she's in for some huge disappointment.

Talk that Talk

Why show when you can tell? Lu Ann and Ruby are having a grand old time with Granny Wright. Do you really need to see them to know this? No. Isn't just as good to hear Margo say it? Yes. Yep. This is going prettttty good. I hope the Professor calls in next. I miss hearing what he's doing second-hand.

Telephone

Sorry Tommie, did you want to talk to Lu Ann? I was getting an urgent call from 1998 on this Nokia phone, so I had to hang up. I also got the neat feature where instead of hitting the end button and getting a beep, you just shake it and it makes a click like an old timey rotary phone. Did you want to play Snake while you wait for Lu Ann to call again?

Happy Valentine's Day to all the loyal blog readers! I hope that you've found a relationship with more depth and future than any in the A3G world.

A Strong-Willed Woman

Wait, is Nina really thinking she'll be a surrogate mother for her husband? Because... that's kind of an awesome concept. "Welp, here ya go! One fresh baby. I hope you were planning on being a stay home dad, cause I have a 2:00 tomorrow that I have GOT to prep for. Nurse, get this IV out of me. Formula's in the fridge, Scott; I'll be at the bar."

The Ultimate Sacrifice

One of the things that I love about this strip is that it's so prudish and tame that it's entirely conceivable that when Nina says that Scott has been begging for two years, that she's talking about marital relations and not having a baby.

Is this pregnancy the ultimate sacrifice because the child is not of this world? Is it going to rip out of her womb like in Alien? Or is this baby going to be given as sacrifice to the Gaines' satanic neighbors like in Rosemary's Baby?

Delightful!

Oh my goodness, this is delightful. Margo had a whole conversation with Nina, even complimented Nina's "flawless figure" without even noticing Nina's custom-tailored dress shirt hugging her distended stomach? I guess the dye job was just to distract Margo from her unusually low baby bump. She looks like a reverse camel. I love Nina's sly/agressive look in the second panel, too. Like "Oh YEAH?? You think I look GREAT huh?? Clearly no one is ever allowed to see our torsos in this strip so I'll make a special exception for you KABAMM!! Preggo." It's a reveal only A3G could engineer.

Good Causes

Oh, silly Nina, those aren't chocolates. You think Margo would waste perfectly good chocolates on you? More likely it's a bottle of hair dye, or some other thinly-veiled hint at your imperfections and/or poor life choices. It's cute that you not only seem to be head-bobbling, but hair-bobbling too, in response to the gift. Don't be disappointed. Trust me, this is how she shows she cares.

Artwork

It's bad enough that Nina's hair looks like it's about to fly away back to the 50's, but now it seems Margo's jaw has decided to secede from the union?? I mean, what is going on with her face in the second panel?? (click image for full size) It's pulling itself apart!

I know I know, someday, some young hotshot artist with a modicum of relevance or social awareness will start penning the strip, and then I'll miss the frumpy wardrobe and straight-out-of-the-shower hairstyles.

Anyway, so uh, the gallery reopening. Yup. What ever happened to Trey, anyway? And does Margo have any artwork for this grand opening? Because I'm sure Queen Bee would be happy to spit on a few canvases for her.

New York, New York

No Nina, I really dropped by to show off my new fecal toned coat with complementary dark urine hued collar, but feel free to keep yammering on about the Big Apple.

What is it that Nina actually does? If this little storyline doesn't result in another Queen Bee appearance, I'm going to be really mad!

Love Your Hair!

Okay, so no one's going to accuse me of knowing a lot about hair... stuff... but can a woman this blonde go this brunette without a dye job? Also, could a gal with hair this dark really dye her hair that blonde in the first place? I have to assume there was some kind of uproar about how Gina looked almost identical to Lu Ann, and so of course she had to be differentiated by staining her hair. She can't just go around wearing a nametag all day! And drawing her a different wardrobe is out of the question. There is one place to buy clothes in New York City, and it is Woolworth's.

So, with Nina's reappearance, I'm hoping we're going to get Margo reengaged in the NYC celeb scene! Please! Please please please! More celebs, not a storyline about Nina's crappy marriage.

Saturday Recap

Friday, February 3rd

No, Tommie, you don't sound like a woman who has a passion for music. To be fair, you never sound like you have much of a passion for anything. Except dressing like Peter Pan and worry bobbles.

Saturday, February 4th

We're all a little disappointed in you Tommie. You've been singing the same tune for months now! Aunt Iris went to all the trouble of getting you a piano and introducing you to Dan Diller and you're just going to throw it all away because you can't say no to Nurse Ratchet? Not Paul Linski is right, make up your mind already! You can deliver babies or number one hits. Not both. Unless you're Beyonce.

Breathless

Dan is as frustrated as everyone else at this storyline. Isn't this where we left Tommie months ago? I bet the strip will cut out to a more interesting Margo plot annny minute now. What celebrity will she work with next??? Or uhh... anything else?

Tommie, save your breath for saving the children. It's your true calling, you and Nurse Ratchet both know it. Unless, of course, you want to write a song and we get to read all the lyrics, because I think that would be awesome. Sing for the children, Tommie! "I believe that the midwives are our future....?"

In a Bind

Two, count 'em TWO of my midwives left me in the lerch last week! Two! See how many fingers I'm holding up? Two. TWO of them, Tommie! TWO!!