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The dawn light broke through their window of the lover’s bedroom, warming them from the inside out. Normally, this would be a problem and they would relish in the warmth but this hasn’t happened in months and that only meant one thing.
Eurydice shoved her face into her pillow and rubbed the sleep from her eyes and, at first, enjoyed the warmth. But the meaning slapped her in the face real quick as she was coming out of dreamland.
She shot up like a bullet and scrambled out of bed to get dressed, “Orpheus, get up!”
“Mmhm, no, it’s warm.” He mumbled, gripping onto a pillow.
Eurydice slipped on a black maternity tank top (which was already getting smaller on her. Damn you outdated measurements!) and turned to glare at him, crossing her arms.
“Love, when was the last time it was this warm?" She asked
After a moment, he grumbled, "Last Summer, what about it?"
In her head, Eurydice counted down from five. Her husband might be a musical genius but sometimes he was so thick-headed it's hard to imagine he's thought of anything.
Once she reached one, she watched his eyes widen with realization, "Persephone is coming back today."
"Ding, ding, ding!" She teased, "C'mon, get dressed, she's probably almost here!"
Orpheus, in record time, threw on his nicest t-shirt (which meant one without any rips), a pair of blue jeans and his suspenders.
In the meantime, Eurydice was struggling with her shoes as she was reaching the point in time where she was not only swollen beyond belief but now couldn't even see her feet!
“Here, let me help,” Orpheus said, bending over to slip on his wife’s sandals. Usually, she wouldn’t be caught dead in those shoes as she thought they weren’t practical but now that she was nearing her third trimester, the idea of practicality changed to one of comfort.
But that doesn’t mean that her stubbornness stopped her from trying to do everything herself.
“Orpheus, I can do it myself.” She shrugged him off and tried to lean over. After a few minutes of trying, she huffed and crossed her arms.
“Can you put them on?”
He bent back down, trying to hide the smirk on his face but failed miserably.
“Oh, you’re so funny, ‘Phe.” Now, hurry up, I can’t wait!”
—
The two had made it just in time to see everyone dispersed around the tracks, some people playing card games, other talking, and a little band was already being set up to play music.
“Hey, Orpheus, you gonna give us a show?”, Someone with the band waved over to Orpheus to try and get him to come up and play.
"Not today, sorry guys!" He called back.
Eurydice frowned. He always played with his friends, especially when Persephone was coming home. She loves his voice being the first thing she hears when she comes back up top.
“‘Phe, go play. You always perform when we wait for the train.” She tucked a lock of his hair behind his ear.
“But you’re just-“ Eurydice cut him off quickly
“I’m pregnant, not helpless. I don’t need you dotting on me, no matter how cute it is. C’mon, play for me?”
You could see the conflict in his eyes before nodding and turning over his lyre that was strapped to his back.
The small crowd that was forming cheered as he jumped up on the makeshift stage. Orpheus sat on the edge and set down his bouquet of flowers before beginning to strum openly
A little girl, who couldn’t have been older than six, stumbled up to Orpheus and tapped on his foot to get his attention. He leaned down and the girl whispered something in his ear.
Smiling, he whispered something back. She nodded and climbed to sit next to him.
Orpheus began to strum the chords that everyone around knew like the back of their hand.
“Heavy in heart is the heart of a king.”
His voice when he began the song was accompanied by the little girl’s, the young and mature vocals blending into a gorgeous contrast.
“King of iron, King of steel.”
Later on, he would tell his wife that the girl asked to play the “spring song” and he said he would play it if she sang it with him.
“The heart of a king who loves everything like the hammer loves the nail.”
The sight warmed Eurydice’s heart. Watching her husband treat everyone he meets, no matter how young, with the biggest heart and the most respect made her fall in love with him all over again.
Her hand wandered down to her stomach and felt the stirring of her child at the song that helped save not only herself but the world.
She remembers the times where the only thing that surrounded her was cold and the dead. Now all she sees is life.
The final strum of his lyre caused an eruption of applause among the audience. The girl wrapped her arms around Orpheus’ neck and although he was a little taken aback at first, he quickly hugged her back.
A minute later, a sharp train whistle could be heard and it took everyone’s attention away from Orpheus and onto the tracks. The girl hopped off the stage and toddled into her mother’s arms. You could clearly hear her babble about the “nice man that let her sing!”
Hermes figure could clearly be seen leaning out of the window and waved at the group who cheered, knowing that they were going to be treated to six full months of comfort, something they hadn’t been able to rely on for years.
He leaned back into the car and pulled on the break, bring the train to a screeching halt. Everyone crowded even closer to get even a glimpse of the woman in green. The doors open with a groan of air and Persephone finally stepped out, immediately hugging old friends and chatting up a storm.
Orpheus wrapped his arm around his wife and gave a kiss on her temple. The two decided to stand back because they knew they would get their time with her soon enough.
Although, the childlike heart inside of him wanted to run as fast as he could and hug the woman he considered his mother. When Persephone came back to the surface, he always felt the nerves from when he was younger. That his new mom would leave just like his birth mom did.
Speak of the devil, she finally made it out of the crowd but once her eyes landed on the coupled, she stopped. You could see her eyes clearly well with tears as they trailed down lower towards Eurydice’s clearly swollen stomach.
“Oh my goodness!” She ran forward to give the two a hug, “You kids could have told me! How far along are you? Oh, I have so many questions.”
“Almost seven months. They’re due in May.” Eurydice looked down and smiled.
“Oh, good, they’ll be born while I’m here. Any name ideas yet? Poet, I remember when you were little, you named anything after musical terms. The number of toys you had named things like Melody and Harmony and Cadenza and whatever else.”
His face was covered with a tomato red blush as his wife laughed at the memory from his childhood, finding it so... Orpheus . Hearing stories like this always made her smile and gave her hope for their own child’s future.
“Well, for a boy, we were thinking Leto.” She said.
“Wait, Wait, Wait, Leto for a boy?” Persephone’s eyebrows furrowed at the thought, to the two’s confusion.
They looked at each other and shrugged, “We thought it was cute. What’s wrong with it.”
The older woman burst out in laughter, bending over and clutching her stomach.
“Songbird, that’s a girl’s name. That your Orpheus’ grandma’s name!”
An embarrassed blush covered the couple’s cheeks at their mistake in naming. Eurydice put her head in her hands (this is what she gets for not researching into the name beforehand!).
“Anyway, what do you have if it’s a girl?” Persephone asked as she wiped away her hysterical tears.
“If it’s a girl, we wanted to name her ‘Melita’,” Orpheus placed a hand on Eurydice’s stomach, “If that’s alright with you.”
Orpheus knew what this meant to her. She had lost all of her children to Olympus and she never thought she would have someone to call her own, let alone the prospect of grandchildren.
That was until Orpheus himself came along. A young boy who had been abandoned by both of his parents and left on Hermes doorstep without a clue about why his dad took him there. He found a mother in Persephone and she found a son in Orpheus. Giving the baby a name inspired by his surrogate mother was one of the ways he could honor all she’s done for him.
Persephone’s eyes widened before she took a deep breath. She smiled wider than they had ever seen although you could see that tears fell freely from her eyes
“Yes, that’s mighty alright with me. Little Melita. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
Orpheus ran forward and hugged her tightly, not being able to hold back. She was caught a bit off guard but hugged him back just the same.
“I’ve missed you, Mama.” He whispered.
“Missed you too, poet,'' She whispered back before pulling away, “Well, let’s get back to the bar and we can talk all about it.”
—
The bar was slow, only a few people milling about so they decided to take this time before the rush to catch up. Persephone was perched on top of the bar, legs swinging while the couple sat at bar chairs, having to look slightly up so they could make eye contact with the woman.
Orpheus’ hand rested protectively on Eurydice’s stomach, a nervous habit he had picked up in the last 7 months.
“So, do you have a midwife yet? My own mama had me prepare to be one ’fore I got married if the need should come up.” She said, tossing her head back to finish off the wine she was drinking.
“No, I guess we haven’t thought about it. Could you do it? I don’t think I’d feel comfortable with…” Eurydice trailed off, not wanting to explain what made her uncomfortable. The idea of someone she didn’t know down there freaked her out too much.
“Sure, Songbird. I’d be glad to do it, Just let me know when you want me to move in, so I’m close by.” She said, reaching down to pat her knee.
“Thank you. I’ll be back in a minute, I have to use the restroom.” She stood up to leave, but before she left, she gave her husband a soft kiss.
Once she was gone, Persephone turned back to Orpheus,
“Tell me everything, Poet. What’s it been like for you?”
He was a little taken aback, not used to being asked this question but answered anyway.
“It’s been good. She was really sick for a while but she’s better now. I’ve been working really hard to save up money all winter and we’ve already set up the baby’s nursery…" He trailed off.
Persephone jumped off the counter and sat on a chair next to him, placing a hand on his arm.
“You didn’t answer my question. What’s it like for you ?” She insisted.
“I’m so excited, I love this little one already, I’ve just been really scared recently because I didn’t really have the best dad and how am I supposed to be a good dad if I don’t know what one should be?” He let his feelings rush out, knowing that Persephone would understand.
She sighed before grabbing his hand.
“Orpheus, do you remember when you were little and you found a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest?” She asked.
He nodded, the memory bringing him back to when he might have been seven or eight.
“You cried the whole day because you couldn’t find the nest so you made a makeshift one and basically nursed that chick back to health,” She continued,” You have a fierce selflessness and the most beautiful heart. If anyone is going to be a good dad, it’s you.”
The older woman could still feel his hesitance and she chuckled and patted his knee.
“You remind me of my husband. When Melinoë was born, he was so scared ’cause he didn’t have a good dad either but when she was born, he loved that girl something fierce. He would tear worlds apart for her and, well, you already have.”
Orpheus looked at the sincere smile on her face and knew she was right. She was always right.
“Thanks, ‘Seph. I needed that.” He whispered.
“Anytime, boy.”
The quiet moment was broken by Eurydice making her way back to her seat. She stopped when she saw the two sitting but Orpheus simply motioned her over to sit on his lap. He gave her a kiss behind the ear as she got comfortable.
Persephone gagged when she saw this, “I can’t believe this, even when you’re pregnant you guys are still all touchy. If Hades touched me while I was pregnant, I would have puked all over him.”
“You’ve seen nothing yet, sister!” Hermes called from the entrance of the bar, having just walked in to hear her comment, “Just wait till the music starts up and they’ll be dancing like there’s no tomorrow!”
Orpheus blushed and hid his face in the crook of his wife’s neck, and she leaned over and kissed the top of his head.
“Get a room, gods!” She groaned and scooted her chair away from them.
“You’re no better. Remember Hera’s birthday party?” Hermes asked eyebrows raised as he walked towards their little circle.
Persephone’s face went beet red as she tried to hide her face in her glass, not realizing that she had already emptied it.
“Oh, I have to hear this story.” Eurydice said.
And that’s where the four remained for the rest of the afternoon, swapping stories and catching up from the last winter.
This was going to be a good spring.