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‘Excuse me,’ Howl said politely as he conjured a bucket to vomit in. The cause of this sickness? Well, aside from the copious amounts of alcohol consumed the night before, Sophie had just announced she was pregnant. This was an interesting, but very Howl, response to the news that he would soon be a father.
‘I’m no expert but I think morning sickness is usually the other way round,’ Sophie smirked, still holding her belly.
‘Pregnant?’ Howl managed in between spews.
‘It means she’s going to have a baby, idiot.’ Calcifer rolled his pair of fiery eyes from the fireplace. Normally, Howl would come back with a witty retort, but his mind was rather preoccupied currently.
‘When did you find out?’ He managed.
‘Yesterday - I was going to tell you last night but of course you had that rugby reunion, and then when you came in you would have been too drunk to remember.’
‘Are you completely sure?’ Howl’s voice reverberated from the inside of the bucket.
‘Yes - I went to see Megan as soon as I suspected and she got me one of those sticks,’ she said, going a little red at the memory of having to urinate on the strange device.
————
‘And you’re sure there’s no other way to tell?’ She had asked Megan in the front room of her Welsh home.
‘This is the easiest option.’ Megan replied in her usual matter-of-fact way.
‘But do I really have to...pee...on it?’ Sophie asked embarrassed.
‘Yes. I know you’re young but surely you know how one of these things works! What are they teaching in sex education these days?’
Rather than answer that she had no idea what sex education was, Sophie just let out a forced chuckle and thanked her for the test.
———-
‘So, Megan knows?’ The revelation prompted Howl to lift his face out of the bucket in shock, and possibly fear.
‘Well, I haven’t confirmed it with her - of course we’ll have to go to Wales one of these days to break the news.’ Both Sophie and Howl shuddered a little at the thought of another uncomfortable dinner with Megan and Gareth. At least Mari would break the tension with her excitement at the prospect of a baby cousin, and Neil‘s video games would provide a soundtrack to cover the awkward silences. It hadn’t escaped Sophie’s notice that Howl had yet to express any joy over her pregnancy, which made her worry a little. ‘Howl...are you happy?’ Her eyes dropped to her belly, which still had no sign of their growing baby inside.
‘Sophie...’ he said, clutching his now empty stomach as he pushed himself up from the sofa. Weakly, he hobbled over to his wife, who seemed to be on the verge of tears now. He touched a hand to her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, ‘Of course I’m happy, cariad! It’s just a lot to take in, especially when I’m hungover.’
Sophie chuckled, softening under his touch as she always did. ‘So you’re not mad?’
‘Why would I be mad? I had some part in this too, I imagine, unless you’ve been seeing someone on the side?’ Howl laughed.
‘Well, Lettie and I were talking about doing a sort of husband swap.’ She giggled, which turned Howl’s wide smile into a serious frown. ‘Kidding.’
‘Seriously cariad, I’m over the moon - your timing just happened to crossover with the rest of the vodka exiting my body.’ He was kneeling down in front of her now, hands resting on her stomach. ‘Do you think we’ll have a wizard or a witch?’ He smiled.
‘I’d be happy with just a baby.’ She squeezed his hand, and he moved his face to hers, preparing to kiss her, when a finger made its way between their lips. ‘No way - not until you’ve cleaned your teeth.’