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“Wow, I see you went to work, John. When is the due date?”
“…”
“What?”
Our little family of three was at the market, Ellis never missed the rare occurrence of cloth and textile vendors every quarter, bubbling as she went from one vendor to another. John was glad to be dragged about, holding the baby dearly as they ventured through the market.
The afternoon had been a good one for them all until a familiar neighbor commented.
John spurted, “Due date?”
“Yes. Anyone can tell that she’s pregnant with the second, no?” John turned then, if only to see what was so obvious- only to see Ellis’ head down and squirming.
“No, she’s not pregnant.”
-
It had bothered her as much as it did something else; both emotions made her want to throw up. Their neighbor had apologized, but as soon as they got home, she had to excuse herself to the bathroom, where she had been checking herself for quite some time.
She heard a knock and spun around; she had forgotten to close the door in her haste.
“Am I fat?” It sounded stupid as soon as it left her mouth. She turned away from his gaze. “N-never mind.”
“Ellis…” Arms drew her into a warm embrace. “Do you take it as a bad thing?” This was not about weight alone.
“N-no but it’s not like we’ve done- or even if we did, it wouldn’t-”
“But he doesn’t know that, does he?” One of his hands sneaks its way under her shirt. She was just bloated. They had eaten a big breakfast to keep them during the market, but he could see that the comment bothered her. She had always tried to keep her physical appearance as “perfect” as she could; he honestly did not see a need for that, but he kept his tongue so as not to offend her. It was not his place to speak after all.
He bent to her ear level, “I think you look lovely. I especially loved that my care for you has become so evident.” He kissed the spot behind her ear and watched as she squirmed.
The other hand snuck into the skirt she was wearing, grazing but not fully touching, “Can I?” She nodded, and he immediately got to moving his hand, pressing down hard, making her squirm more. “Wait…” He paused, “We can try it the other way, “She glanced up before averting her eyes, “If you still want to?”
-
“What type of question is that? Of course I want to, you know that.” He had scooped her up, brought her to bed, caging her in as he crawled up. “You know I want to know every inch of your body.” She felt hot like she always did when John got talkative during these things.
“Then we should hurry.” It was more whined out than she would like, but John was never one to tease in moments like this.
-
They had managed three fingers before it got unbearable for her, a good start nonetheless.
The family of three sat together, taking in the last of the evening sun, with the baby struggling to make words.
“mmm…” Her brows scrunched together tightly, and it looked like she was almost constipated with how determined she looked. “Mmm… ahh!”
“Mama, does the baby want to say, mama?” John was spurring her on, and Ellis sank into herself.
“I told you to stop teaching her that word.” It would be fine if the baby just called her by her name, really.
“But is that not what you are to her? her mother.” She knew in herself that she couldn’t really refute it, but she was still stubborn enough not to answer.
“Mama! Mama!” The baby was staring up at her now, chanting the title over and over again like it was nothing serious. Well, it wasn’t to her; she was just stating what she knew, and Ellis couldn’t really fault her for that.
She held the baby’s hand and couldn’t stop the small smile.