Chapter 1

The Brightest Time


"Be careful on your way, Nora," my husband told me as I pinned my very long, blonde hair up in a messy bun on top of my head. He got comfortable on the couch and turned on the television to the news channel.

"I'll be fine, Nate. You just enjoy your day off."

"I worry about you, that's all." He eyed my gigantic baby bump.

"I'm pregnant, not cripple." I smoothed out my pale yellow dress and resituated my left high heel so that it wasn't digging into the back of my foot. "Penny and I will be back in a few hours."

"You still going to see that movie tonight?"

"Yes. Maybe we'll get something to eat. Want me to bring you something back?"

"A hamburger and some fries would be good."

"You got it."

I grabbed my handbag and threw it over my shoulder. I glided over to my husband – positioned lazily on the couch and watching television – to give him a kiss. He accepted a quick peck on the lips before returning his attention to his show. I rolled my eyes at him and grabbed the car keys from the key hanger next to the door and my coat from the coat rack.

The September air chilled me. I threw my bag into the passenger seat and started up the engine. The seat belt was uncomfortable around my large stomach, but I made it work. I waved at my neighbors as I slowly backed out of the driveway. Ms. Rosa and her delightful brat across the street were arguing over whether he should be riding his bike in the road or not. Rosa had been restoring an old Corvega in the driveway for a while now with her son. Her husband died not long ago, and originally started the project. I felt sorry for her. I didn't know what I would have done if my husband died. Motherhood was hard enough to imagine with a spouse. Without one seemed almost impossible.

Mr. And Mrs. Sumner were out in their garden again. They waved at me as I got into the car. I smiled and waved back at them. They were a nice couple and great neighbors. They were excited to meet the new baby once he was born.

Careful not to bump anyone or anything on my way out, I moved the car at a slow five miles per hour until I finally made it over the bridge at the river. Boston was bustling with people already. I stopped at a little cafe and met up with my friend, Penny Jenkins, whose husband was still away overseas.

I did my best to keep Penny company, seeing as how I was on maternity leave and my husband was away from home often as well. Being a military family wasn't exactly easy.

I found Penny sitting at the usual booth in the middle section of the wall. It was the seat under the window. She was reading a gossipy magazine and sipping her cappucinno. When I arrived at the booth, she didn't take her eyes off of the magazine.

"What are you reading about?" I asked.

"Oh, my gosh, you wouldn't believe."

Celebraties and their personal lives, no doubt. "Don't bother telling me. I don't keep up with that stuff anyway."

She closed her magazine and laid it aside on the table. "You should. Reading about the misfortune of others is always entertaining."

I arched an eyebrow. "Better the misfortune of upper class than the misfortune of middle and lower class. At least upper class citizens have the money to pay for their problems." I reached for her drink.

She lightly slapped my hand. "Hey, get your own!"

I laughed and waved a waitress to our table. She greeted us with a smile. She couldn't have been more than seventeen, with silky black hair put up in a bow and a perfectly white smile. Her face was decorated with a light layer of foundation and blush and red lipstick.

"What can I get for you today?"

"I'd like an iced coffee. Decaf, please."

She jotted my order down on paper. "Will that be all, ma'am?"

"Oh, and a raspberry filled donut."

She wrote it down, as well. "Okay, that'll be just a few minutes, ma'am. They're making fresh donuts right now."

"Thank you." As she walked away, I looked back at Penny. "Oh, sweet God in Heaven. He must have known I was coming today. They're. Making. Fresh. Donuts." I could almost scream hallellujia.

"Nora, you should watch what you eat."

"I've been watching what I eat for eight months. I think I deserve a little something. I'm ready to drop this baby any day now."

"Maybe so, but you want to get your figure back after you have the baby, don't you?"

Penny was always the shallow type, as was about eighty percent of our society. Perfect figure, perfect hair, perfect face, perfect lifestyle. That's what was to be expected of women. I could care less about my figure; I enjoyed food. I had a somewhat high metabolism, so I didn't have to watch what I ate as much as Penny did. Penny could so much as smell chocolate and gain two pounds.

But, no. I didn't care how much I ate, what the 'norm' was, what people thought of me, or the latest gossip. In fact, I usually didn't care about what people thought of me outside of work. The only reason I cared about that was the fact that appearance and presentation was everything in court. As a lawyer, you had to defend your client and make people believe you.

I hated my job. I didn't see myself as a lawyer, but . . . parents always seem to have a plan for their children. I went through with law school because my father paid for everything. I left him and my mother back in Louisianna when Nate and I got married and moved out here to Concord. He was stationed at the east coast.

The waitress returned with my coffee and a straw. "Here you are, ma'am. Your donut will be ready shortly."

"Thanks, hon." I took the straw out of the paper and stuck it in my iced coffee. "She's fairly new. I haven't seen her in here before."

"She seems sweet," Penny said with disinterest.

"She does. Poor girl. Being a waitress at her age is rough, I'm sure."

I looked out the window and watched the cars go by as Penny finished up her magazine. I saw a Mister Handy bot cutting flowers by one of the shops in town. It reminded me of the conversation Nate and I had the other day. He had been talking me into getting one to help around the house after the baby was born. I wasn't sure of it, though. Robots have been known to glitch and go crazy. I didn't feel comfortable knowing that a robot's metalic appendages would be feeding and changing my baby. Still, I had promised Nate that I would think about it. I had to go back to work at some point.

The Mister Handy must have belonged to a shop owner and was under a business contract. That's the only way you could have robots outside of the home. Personal or business use was allowed with permits and such, but it wasn't like you could take your robots everywhere with you at all times like dogs on a leish or personal butlers.

The waitress returned with my donut and a piece of paper. I said thank you and wasted no time digging into the warm, gooey pastry. The paper was a bill. The amount came to roughly ten dollars. When we finished at the cafe, I left the waitress a five dollar tip, just because she probably needed the money.

Penny hopped in her car, and I followed her in mine to the drive-in. She wound up joining me in my car before the showing started. The movie was some chick-flick that I knew she was excited to see. She laughed and cried and threw popcorn everywhere as the movie played on her emotions.

After the movie, we stopped at a burger joint and got dinner. I remembered to get Nate's hamburger and fries 'to go' before we left the restaurant. On the sidewalk, Penny asked me a surprising question.

"What's wrong with you lately?"

"I didn't realize I was acting any different."

"You've been spacey all day."

I clutched the brown paper bag in my hand. "It's nothing. Just married life problems."

"You're afraid things are going to change with the new baby, aren't you?"

"Not exactly. I don't really want to talk about it."

"Okay, well . . . I won't make you. Just call me if you need someone to talk to. Ciao." She turned and hopped back in her car.

By the time I got to my car, she was already driving away. I didn't exactly lie. I would like to talk about it with somebody, but not necessarily with her. I loved her, but she was a gossip.

It had been a long time since I had felt connected with Nate. Ever since he found out I was pregnant, he had become unbearably clingy. Not the type of clingy you would expect a husband to be; he became like my personal life coach and doctor overnight. I found myself shamefully excited when he left for work. With him gone, I could watch TV, go for a walk, or eat whatever I wanted.

I haven't had a passionate kiss in months. Once my belly started to show, we almost stopped having sex completely. When we did, he made it extremely uncomfortable, trying to get around my stomach without putting too much weight or pressure on it. It became distracting and annoying.

I remember the day we first felt the baby kick. Nate was so shocked. I think, in that moment, it became very real to him that he was going to be a father. We decided on a name a few days after we heard it was going to be a boy. Shaun. We named the baby after Nate's great-great-grandfather, who proudly served in the army and became Nate's role model.

I was somewhat irritated about not being able to pick a name myself. I would have went with something more like Jude or Maxwell. Something sophisticated, yet unique.

Some days, I asked myself if I was sure he even loved me anymore.

By the time I got home, Nate had the porch light on, but had fallen asleep on the couch at some point. His food was still warm, so I shook him awake so he could eat.

"Wha- what?" he stuttered groggily.

"I'm home." I hung the keys by the door and placed his food on the counter. I took my coat off and slung it lazily over the back of the couch.

"Oh, hey, honey. How was the movie?"

"It was good. We had a good time."

"Well, I'm glad." He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Can you heat that up for me?" he asked after a moment, pointing to the bag on the counter.

I glanced at it from the kitchen chair. I had just taken my heels off of my sore feet. "It's still warm."

"But I want it hot."

"Can't you get it?"

He sighed. "I guess I could. It is the burger and fries right?"

"Ye-e-es."

"Okay. Just making sure. You have a habit of getting your cravings and forgetting to pick up what I asked for."

I literally only did that one time.

He grabbed the bag, took the food out, flattened down the bag, and placed the food on top of it in the microwave. He set it to a minute.

I walked to the bedroom and threw my heels in the closet and changed into a night gown. I pulled the pins from my hair and shook it loose. My next stop was the bathroom sink where I picked up my brush and brushed the tangles from my hair. I cleaned off my makeup next, which was always the worst part for me. I went from supermodel to sickly-looking everytime I took off my makeup.

Shaun was kicking up a storm tonight. I wondered what had gotten into him. Something I ate, maybe? Either way, he was making it uncomfortable. It felt like he was practicing gymnastics in my stomach. Can't wait for you to come out already, I thought.

I hopped on the bed in our room and flipped on the nightstand lamp. I had a book sitting there that I was reading. I flipped it open and picked up where I left off, tracing the lines with my book marker.

I heard Nate rustling the paper bag from his fast food. He wadded up the bag and threw it in the garbage can. He rummaged through the fridge for a moment. I heard glasses tinkling as they slightly hit together. He was making an awful lot of noise. It became difficult to read. Finally, he settled for a beer and joined me in bed. It was a lot harder to read with him looking over my shoulder, so I shut the book with my marker inside.

"Can I help you?" I asked with sudden annoyance.

"Whoa, why so hostile?" he asked, cracking open the beer bottle.

"Firstly, I don't want you to drink too much. You know how you get when you've had too many. Secondly, I'm trying to read and you're making it hard to concentrate."

He scoffed and left the bed. "I can't wait for you to have this baby. Maybe you'll stop being such a grouch," he said as he left the room.

I balled my hands up into fists and took deep breaths. I opened my book again and tried to concentrate on reading, but he just pissed me off. There was no point in trying to read now.

When Nate was at work, I usually read out loud to Shaun. He'd become really active after I started reading to him. It was amusing. Nate just didn't bother with things like that.

After listening to Nate watch TV in the livingroom for a while, I finally started trying to read again. I got about half a chapter in before I fell asleep with the book on my chest. I didn't remember Nate even getting in bed. When I woke up in the middle of the night, he was snoring loudly next to me. My book was in the floor and my arm was asleep, hanging off the bed. I wiggled it around to try to regain some feeling into it.

I had to pee really bad. I slipped off the bed and waddled my way to the bathroom. I was so sure that Shaun was sitting on my bladder. I wasn't sure I'd make it in time. Finally sitting down on the toilet was a relief. I was still drowsy, so it took me a few tries to reach for the toilet paper.

When I was done, I started walking to the kitchen to get a drink from the fridge.

Suddenly, I felt liquid running down my leg. That's weird, I thought. I'm sure I emptied my bladder. I was embarrassed, to say the least, and reached for the paper towels on the counter. Then it hit me: my water broke.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I tried rushing to the bedroom without making myself fall and shook Nate's arm.

"Nate. Wake up."

He snored louder.

"Nate, wake up!"

He still wasn't listening. The man could sleep through a tornado.

I grabbed my book from the floor and slapped him in the face with it. "NATE."

He jerked himself upright and muttered something incoherant.

"Nate, are you awake?"

"Yeah, what? What's wrong?"

"My water broke."

He was suddenly alert and throwing his clothes on. I grabbed a towel from the bathroom to take with me and put in the car so that I wouldn't get the seat all nasty. There was no way I was changing; I was going to the hospital in my night gown. I was already in a panic.

The contractions set in and I had to dialate to a certain degree before the doctors would even consider having me to actually push the baby out. After a painful wait, I could finally start pushing. I wanted to choke someone during the whole thing. I was ready to shoot Nate between the eyes for causing me so much pain.

However, after everything was said and done, I was ecstatic to see my little boy for the first time. He had my nose and my eyes, and his father's dark brown hair and tan skin tone. He was gorgeous. I fell in love all over again for the second time in my life. In that moment, he became my world.