-1Chapter Two: Unlike Me
"I love the way you live so intensely, enjoying every minute to life. With space to swing your arms around, laughing loudly. Unlike me…" - Kate Havenevik
"About time you two showed up." Maggie said pleasantly, standing up from the oval table to greet them. Lauren expected Fen to run up and hug the other woman like he usually did, but surprisingly he stayed glued to her side with his head bowed solemnly. For a two year old, he sure could hold a grudge.
"Sorry we're late," Lauren apologized, releasing the little boy's hand as she reached out to wrap her arms around the younger woman in a friendly embrace. "Somebody insisted on going to McDonalds first."
"You're still having those weird cravings?" Maggie asked in amusement, placing her hand on Lauren's rounded tummy. "I'll never forget the look on that girl's face when you asked if they could make you a Big Mac flavored McFlurry."
"No, no, no. Not me." Lauren explained, motioning towards the unusually silent toddler beside her whose gaze was still focused on his shoes.
"Ahhh, I see." Maggie grinned knowingly, crouching down on the ground until she was eye level with the child. "Hey, buddy! What's up?"
"Nothin'." Fen replied, shrugging his shoulders with disinterest.
"Nothing?!" Maggie gasped in astonishment, her voice animated in toddlerspeak. "I heard that you went swimming this morning."
"Yeah." Fen replied, looking up slowly to meet her gaze and Lauren could tell that he was slowly coming around. "It was fun."
"I bet it was!" Maggie exclaimed, reaching out to lift the little boy up in her arms. He wrapped his arms around her neck, legs dangling in the air as she set him down in the highchair that one of the waiters had placed beside their table. Lauren felt an unwelcome stab of resentment towards the other woman when Fen didn't protest. If she had tried to put him in the 'baby chair' it would have resulted in something akin to World War III.
"Did you go underwater?" Maggie inquired cheerfully, sitting down in her seat now that Fen was settled.
"A little." he replied, smiling with pride as he excitedly gave her a detailed account of his latest aquatic adventure. "And I swimmed to the ladder all by myself!"
"You should have seen him, Maggie." Lauren said proudly, easing herself down onto the comfortable chair. "He was like a little fish."
"Silly, mommy. Fish have fins! I have hands." Fen explained in youthful exasperation, holding his palms out for her to see. She leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss in his hand. He giggled in response and Lauren's heart swelled with warmth. All was forgiven.
"Did Shrek go swimming with you?" Maggie asked, noticing the small plastic toy in his lap.
"No, I just gotted him at McRonalds." Fen explained, picking up the green oger and walking him across the tables surface.
"Did mommy buy you a Happy Meal?" Maggie inquired and Lauren could tell she was trying to ease some of the tension that had developed between mother and son out in the parking lot.
"Yep!" he replied, grinning at the memory of his McNuggets. He turned his attention to Lauren and smiled in gratitude. "Tank you, mama."
"You're welcome, baby." she replied softly, her throat closing with emotion as she reached out to ruffle his hair. She blamed her reaction on the pregnancy hormones coursing through her body. Why else would the simple words spoken by her son leave her on the verge of tears?
"I went ahead and ordered you an ice tea." Maggie declared, motioning to the tall glass of amber colored liquid in front of her. There was a lemon wedge on the rim of the glass and Lauren took it off before taking a sip of the cold tea. Highly acidic fruits were bad for the baby.
"Thanks," Lauren replied, placing the glass back down on the table. She used the back of her hand to wipe away the sweat that had collected on her brow, taking deep breaths to try and regulate her body temperature. "I love the warm weather, but this heat sure makes waddling around a lot more difficult."
"I can imagine," Maggie nodded and something in her tone of voice caused Lauren to look at her quizzically. "When are you due again?"
"August 25th." she replied, choosing to ignore the other woman's evasiveness. For now at least. "Unless of course she decides to make her grand entrance early like this one did." Sensing that the women's focus had once again turned to him, Fen put his toy down and gave them both his undivided attention.
"I'll be tree in Octoba." he declared, grinning with excitement as he held up four chubby fingers. They both chuckled at his miscalculation and Lauren reached out to correct him, bending his pinky finger down so that only three remained erect.
"And your baby sister will be here by then to help you celebrate." Maggie chimed in, knowing that Fen was anxious to meet his new sibling.
"Yeah!" he squealed in excitement, pointing at Lauren's tummy as he looked up at her expectantly. "Can da baby have some of my birday cake, mommy?"
"No, sweetie. She'll be too little." Lauren explained, smiling at him apologetically.
"Dat's okay. More for me." Fen reasoned, his love of cake outweighing his concern for his baby sister's inability to properly help him celebrate. "You gonna come to my birday party, auntie Maggie?"
"Of course!" she exclaimed and Lauren wondered how they had begun discussing a party that was still over five months away. "Though by then, I'll be the one waddling around."
"What do you mean?" Lauren asked in confusion, but the smile on Maggie's face said it all. "Are you and Paul…"
"Yep," she nodded, her smile growing broader. "The doctor confirmed it on Friday."
"Congratulations!" Lauren exclaimed, reaching across the table to clasp the other woman's hands in hers. "I'm so happy for you both."
"Thanks." Maggie nodded, still grinning as she reached up to wipe away the tears of joy that were threatening to spill down her cheeks.
"Why you cry?" Fen asked, his eyes wide with concern.
"Auntie Maggie is going to have a baby too, just like mommy." Lauren explained cheerfully, trying to assure her son that nothing was wrong.
"More babies?!" he exclaimed, shaking his head in frustration as he peered at Maggie's still flat stomach. "I hope it's a boy."
"So, do you know when you're due?" Lauren asked distractedly, reaching into her purse and pulling out a box of crayons and a pad of paper. Placing the writing utensils in front of her restless son, she smiled when he immediately lost interest in Shrek and began working on another masterpiece that would soon be proudly displayed on the front of their refrigerator.
"Late December." Maggie replied, tucking a strand of dirty blonde hair behind her ear.
"A Christmas baby," Lauren grinned, her attention now focused solely on the other woman. "Mary must be thrilled."
"She doesn't know yet," Maggie admitted, sighing warily before taking a sip of her lemonade and placing the glass back down on the table. "Paul and I are taking her out for Mother's Day dinner tonight and he wants to break the news to her then."
"That should go over really well." Lauren said teasingly. She knew all too well how difficult Paul's mother could be.
"Tell me about it," Maggie groaned. "She's already upset about us 'living in sin', I can only imagine how she's going to react when she finds out she's got an illegitimate grandchild on the way."
"Are you two still adamant about not getting married?" Lauren asked curiously.
"I just don't see the point," Maggie sighed, making it clear that this was a subject she had spent a lot of time agonizing over. "We don't need a piece of paper to legitimize our feelings for each other, and with the divorce rate what it is…"
"I know what you mean." Lauren muttered under her breath, reaching out to take another drink.
"Not that I don't believe in marriage, it's just not for me." Maggie rushed to explain, not wanting to give Lauren the wrong impression. "But when I see couples like you and Michael who are so deliriously happy together, it makes me think that maybe married life isn't so bad afterall."
"It has its ups and downs." Lauren said distractedly, her eyes focused on the condensation clinging to her glass. She ran her finger along the cool surface, tracing a pattern on the tall glass that mirrored the one Fen was drawing on his notepad. Apparently he had inherited her ability to be easily distracted.
"Is everything alright at home?" Maggie asked gently, interrupting her wayward thoughts.
"Yeah," Lauren replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "If you can call it a home."
"Lauren…"
"He's just always working, Maggie." she blurted out, surprised by her own words but needing to get things off her chest. "It's one case after another and I try to be understanding, but it's just…it's hard."
"I understand." Maggie said, nodding her head empathetically.
"I miss him so much, and I know that Fen does too. He's always asking me 'when is daddy coming home?', 'why isn't daddy eating dinner with us?' and I have no idea what to tell him anymore. He doesn't understand why his father is always at the office and not at home with us and quite frankly, neither do I." Lauren sighed in frustration, tears stinging her eyes and she reached up to wipe them away. "He promised me things would be different, and now with the new baby on the way…"
"Look, I know I've only known you and Michael for a couple of years but a blind person could see how much he adores you and Fen." Maggie declared, reaching out to squeeze her hand reassuringly. "Sure, his work is important to him…"
"I know that." Lauren murmured, sounding irritated and more than a little annoyed.
"But nothing is more important to him than his family." Maggie continued, ignoring Lauren's attitude and turning her attention to Fen. Lauren followed her gaze and saw that the little boy had finished his drawing and had decided to amuse himself by dunking his Shrek toy into Lauren's ice tea. "I think what you guys need is a vacation."
"Yeah, right." Lauren sighed, reaching out to remove the toy from her glass and giving Fen a disapproving glare. "Michael would never go for that, he's in the middle of a high profile case. He barely has time to eat let alone plan a vacation. Leaving town right now would be out of the question."
"You never know until you ask." Maggie declared knowingly, using her napkin to dry off Fen's toy.
"Trust me, Maggie. I know my husband." Lauren assured her, placing a hand on her stomach to calm the baby who had suddenly begun to kick. "As much as he loves his family, he'd never be willing to go away on vacation while he's working on a case."
"Ask him, Lauren." Maggie urged her gently, giving the boy back his toy before signaling the waiter for another glass of ice tea. "He may just surprise you."