Spinach and the Third 'Mission Mom'
Author's Note:This is a follow-up to my story 'Brownies and Surprises', and takes place a few weeks later. There are one or two allusions to that story, so it might be good to read that one first. This one will have three chapters, but I'll post them fairly quickly. I know next to nothing about pregnancy and all the related symptoms and medical stuff, and have done only some very basic research, so please forgive any inaccurate information.
Chapter One
Harm's POV
It's less than a week to Mac's 40th birthday. She says she wants a quiet celebration at home and has left the details to me, but I'm still not sure what to do. The kids have been involved in planning the festivities… yesterday, I summoned them to a strategy meeting on the subject, and this is how it went:
Me: So it's Mom's birthday on Saturday, and we're going to have a party!
(Cue a chorus of cheers from Katie and Jack, complete with jumping up and down)
Me: Alright alright, settle down. Now I'm going to need your help to figure out what kind of party Mom would like. What do you think?
Katie: I think Mommy should have a big, pink 'Dora the Explorer' cake, and ice cream… and… a crown and a princess dress… and… Daddy, can you get One Direction to come sing for Mommy?
Jack: Yuck, Mom wouldn't like that. Mom's a Marine, she should get a Marine cake! And we should have a pool! With things that explode and splash all over the place! And we should have a treasure hunt with pirates!
Me: (taking notes) Ok… Dora cake, Marine cake, One Direction, games in the yard… erm, exploding things that splash…. These are great suggestions, guys, but Mommy's a grown-up, I think she might want to do some more grown-up stuff.
Katie: Like when you wear really pretty clothes and go out at night and leave us at home with Andrea?
Me: Well….
Katie: Or when you kiss Mommy and then go to your room and whisper and make funny noises?
Jack: Yuck! That's not what Dad's talking about Katie! He's talking about a party – with games and treats and clowns and….
Katie: But Dad says she wants grown-up stuff….
Jack: Mom loves treasure hunts, Dad.
Katie: No, Mom loves to play princess, and she loves Dora the Explorer!
Jack: Dora is dumb!
Katie: Is not!
Jack: Is too!
Me: Ok kids, no fighting. Jack, don't tell your sister that the things she likes are dumb. That's not nice. Are you going to apologize?
Jack: Sorry, Katie.
Katie: That's ok.
Me: Ok, back to our meeting. You're both right about one thing – Mom loves Dora, and princesses, and treasure hunts with pirates. She loves all those things. But she might not want all those things for her birthday party – it might be a little too much fun for her.
Katie: Because of the baby in her tummy?
Me: Yes, we don't want Mommy and the baby to get too tired. So here's the plan – I'll ask Mom exactly what she wants, and then we'll get together as a committee and make it happen. Thank you so much for your great ideas!
Katie: What's a… c-c-comidity, Daddy?
Later last night, as we lay on the couch listening to my new jazz CD after putting the kids to bed, I briefed Mac about the deliberations of the party-planning 'comidity'. When she was done wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes, she gave me her feedback.
'Oh my gosh, you guys are too sweet. Let's keep it sweet and simple, how about a picnic at the park?'
'We go to the park almost every weekend, Mac.'
'Uh huh, and what's that you always say? Oh yeah… "you can't get too much of a good thing".'
'Harriet is going to be mad at you.'
'No she's not; I told her a week ago that we would have a quiet family celebration. And we agreed that they would visit us at Christmas so they can meet the baby, remember?'
'Yeah, I remember.' My hands wander over her and rest on the still gentle curve of her stomach. 'How are you and the baby feeling today?'
'Amazing. Right now I feel as strong as Popeye on a full stomach of spinach. Mmmm, spinach. Harm, do you think you could make me a spinach omelet? The one I had for breakfast was divine.'
Yeah, that's right – the Queen of the Beltway Burger and all things unhealthy and artery-clogging is currently on a spinach kick. First, it was all about brownies… now it's all about healthy vegetables. I am enjoying this new, health-conscious Mac, even though I sometimes (perversely) miss the French-fry-inhaling Mac… as she often reminds me though, this veggie thing will probably fade away just as swiftly as it came.
After making Mac a spinach omelet and watching her wolf it down with great relish, we lingered on the couch a bit longer and talked more about the picnic. We agreed (or rather, she informed me) that we wouldn't invite anyone – it would be just us and the kids.
Finally, Mac let out a huge yawn and linked her arms behind my neck. 'What do you say, babe? Wanna go upstairs and make some of those "funny noises" Katie told you about?'
'Thought you were tired, what with the way you almost took my head off with that yawn.'
She swatted my leg playfully. 'That wasn't a sleepy yawn; that was a bored yawn. I'm tired of talking about parties; I want to go start a little party of our own. Besides, why do you think I just asked for that spinach omelette?'
Katie's POV
Mommy's tummy is getting bigger. She says it's because the baby is growing inside her. I don't like the baby. If it grows too big, I'm scared it will hurt Mommy. When I told her I was scared, Mommy laughed and said the baby could never hurt her. She said that her tummy would get bigger so the baby will have room to grow (I think that sounds scary). She said the baby will make us all very happy. I won't be happy.
I see babies all the time – at the park and at my friends' houses, and all they do is cry and eat all the time. They can't even talk or play, because they don't know how. They make everyone work so hard and look so tired. When the baby comes out of Mommy's tummy, Mommy and Daddy won't have time to play with me anymore. Daddy says we'll all play together, but it won't be the same. And Mommy won't call me 'baby' anymore. She says I'll always be her baby, but I don't think so, because she'll have her real baby. I hope the baby likes me.
Jack's POV
I'm really happy that I'm going to get a little brother soon. Mom and Dad say it might be a girl, but I hope not. I want a little brother to play ball with. I love Katie and we play together a lot, but she likes to play girly games. Mom and Dad found me and Katie at an orphanage. Our real parents couldn't take care of us, so we had to stay with the other kids in the orphanage until Mom and Dad made us their children and brought us to the United States. They said they knew we were theirs from the moment they met us. Sometimes I forget that I used to live at the orphanage. What I remember the most is that I was sad there, but now I am always happy with Mom and Dad.
The new baby will be different than me and Katie, because it's going to come out of Mom's tummy, and Mom says it will hurt, but not too much. I don't want Mom to be hurt at all, but Mom says it's a natural part of life. I can't wait for the baby to get here. I'll feed him and change his diapers until he's big enough to play with me in the yard. I can't wait.