While Misha and Jerry were cutting the cake at the gender reveal party, they found a black sponge where there should have been pink or blue. After the couple recovered from the shock, they finally understood why Jerry’s mother did what she did, no matter how absurd it seemed…
This was supposed to be one of the happiest moments of our lives.
After two years of trying, numerous medical consultations, and more tears than I can count, we were finally pregnant.
I felt that after all our struggles, the stars were finally aligning, and we were walking toward our happy future.
“This is our moment, my love,” Jerry, my husband, said to me. “Finally, we’ll be happy, and our family will be complete.”
“I know,” I agreed. “I can’t wait until the little one gets here and starts making their mark on the world!”
Jerry and I wanted to make a special announcement, so we decided to throw a big gender reveal party. We invited both sides of the family, ordered a cake from a local bakery, and left the ultrasound results with Jerry’s mom, Nancy.
“I’ll take care of everything, Misha,” she said. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll get the cake and buy a special gift for my granddaughter! I hope it’s a girl! I just want to be the grandmother of a girl and spoil her rotten.”
When Nancy offered to take care of everything, we trusted her to keep the secret. And, to be honest, it felt nice that she was so involved.
Nancy had been desperately trying to feel included ever since we told her about the pregnancy.
My mom helped me prepare for the big day, setting up dishes on the dining table and tying pink and blue balloons to every available surface.
It was a Pinterest-perfect atmosphere, and I loved it.
I couldn’t stop smiling. This was something I had dreamed of for so long.
The room was full of floral arrangements and a banner that said “Boy or Girl? We’ll See!”, desserts to satisfy all my cravings, and a beautiful white cake that was the centerpiece.
The whole family of Jerry, his cousins, brother, aunt — everyone came, filling the house with chatter and excitement.
Nancy showed up in black, which was odd, but I ignored it. She wasn’t particularly fashionable, maybe she thought black was slimming or elegant.
Who knew?
As we gathered around the cake, everyone was eagerly waiting. Mobile phones were ready, cameras— to capture this great moment.
Jerry put his hand on my shoulder, pulling me closer.
“Ready, love?” he whispered.
I smiled.
“Let’s do this!” I said.
The room began counting down with us.
“Three… two… one!”
We cut the cake together, the knife easily slicing through the soft layers. But when the first piece appeared, the energy in the room changed in an instant.
The entire cake was black inside.
Not blue. Not pink. Just… black as coal.
The room fell into silence.
My stomach flipped. For a moment, I thought it was a joke, but no one was laughing.
No one at all.
I looked at Jerry, who seemed just as puzzled. People exchanged strange glances, unsure whether to continue filming or put their phones away.
But it was like a car accident, people just couldn’t look away.
I scanned the crowd until my eyes landed on Nancy.
How could I have not noticed it earlier?
She stood there, all in black. Black dress, black scarf, black shoes.
And now… was she crying?
“Nancy?” I exclaimed, furrowing my brow.
She wiped her eyes with a tissue, her makeup running.
“Sorry. I didn’t know what else to do,” she said.
“What do you mean? Why did you order a black cake?” I demanded, trying to keep my voice steady and my blood pressure under control.
Jerry grabbed my hand, perplexed.
“Mom, what’s going on?” he asked.
Nancy wiped her eyes, clearly trembling.
“It’s not about the cake! It’s about what I was told… I couldn’t risk it.”
Jerry’s patience was running out.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
Nancy sniffled and took a deep breath, as if preparing to get rid of something she had been carrying for a long time.
“Ten years ago, I went to a fortune teller with my sister. She was incredible—so accurate that everyone was amazed. She told me that if my first grandchild is a boy, it will ruin your family, Jerry. And bring a terrible illness to me.”
Everyone in the room gasped.
Jerry’s jaw dropped.
“Wait, what? You’ve believed this nonsense for ten years?”
Nancy nodded, crossing her arms.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I couldn’t ignore it! She was famous! Everyone in town said her predictions always came true.”
My heart sank.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“So you decided to sabotage our gender reveal because of some… fortune teller?” I said.
Nancy looked down, shame clearly on her face.
“I thought that if it was a boy, maybe, if the cake was black, it… well, would change something? Maybe somehow get rid of the curse? There are three bay leaves in the cake too.”
I pressed my fingers to my temples, trying to make sense of this absurdity. I knew my mother-in-law was a bit eccentric, but this?
This was beyond anything I could imagine.
Jerry sighed heavily, clearly trying to hold back his frustration.
“Mom, you let a scam artist control your decisions? For ten years?!”
Nancy’s lips trembled, and I saw the fear— the fear she had carried all these years— shattering before us.
“I didn’t know what to do, Jerry! I just… I was afraid to lose you. And now, Misha! I thought if something happened to your family because of me… I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. I could never.”
And then she started sobbing quietly.
At that moment, Jerry’s cousin Megan, who had been sitting with her phone in hand, intervened.
“Wait, wait a second,” she said, narrowing her eyes at the screen. “J. Morris… is that the fortune teller?”
“Yes, that’s her!” Nancy exclaimed.
“She was exposed a few years ago, Aunt Nancy!” Megan said.
Megan held up her phone and showed everyone in the room an article.
“Here! She was exposed and completely debunked. Turns out she was fabricating her predictions and taking money from people who desperately believed. She’s a complete fraud.”
Nancy blinked, not believing it, her mouth agape.
She held the article up to her eyes, and her breath caught as the truth hit her.
“I can’t believe it,” Nancy whispered, hand on her chest. “All these years… I was so scared, and it was all for nothing?”
Jerry exhaled, shaking his head.
“Mom, you let this ruin such an important moment for me!” he exclaimed.
Nancy fell again, covering her face with her hands.
“Forgive me. I never meant to ruin your day. I just didn’t know how to stop believing. I was so scared.”
The moment of silence hung in the air. And though I wanted to be angry with her, seeing her like this—so broken, so human—made it impossible.
I walked up to Nancy and placed my hand on hers.
“It’s okay, Mom,” I said. “I’m glad we all know now. And I’m glad it’s over. Now you can enjoy the rest of this pregnancy with us. You’ll be a grandma!”
She looked at me with tears in her eyes and guilt on her face.
“Thank you. I’m sorry, dear,” Nancy said, smiling.
Jerry, still irritated, gave a small smile.
“Wait! Does this mean we’re having a boy?” he asked.
The room exploded with nervous laughter. Even Nancy managed a dry laugh, wiping her tears.
Jerry smiled at me and squeezed my hand.
“Well, I think we just had the weirdest gender reveal party ever.”
I couldn’t help but laugh along with everyone else. The tension finally melted away, and the awkward silence dissolved into conversations and jokes.
“Black cake?” Megan teased, snapping a photo of the cake. “I’m posting this on Instagram! #GothBabyReveal.”
In the end, we all took plates and ate the cake—white icing, black sponge, and everything else. It wasn’t the gender reveal I had dreamed of, but somehow it turned out perfect.
It was fun, funny, and relieving, and that was all that mattered.
Now, we just had to wait for our baby to arrive.
