Jac stood in the playground of the £30,000 a year private school that her and her husband paid for their son's education. Beside her stood Joseph taping away on his phone which seemed to constantly ping with incoming emails and messages. Around them stood groups and couples of other parents also waiting for their 'delightful' cherubs to finish for the day.
As the old fashioned bells rang out around the buildings and several doors flung open in quick succession Joseph turned his phone off and slipped it into the inside pocket of his blazer. As far as the male was concerned, the same with his wife, if he was needed then they would page him. The emails and so on could wait until he entered the hospital the following day.
'Incoming' uttered Jac as Harry ran towards them at full speed
'Look who it is!' laughed Joseph, swooping his son into his arms and spinning him around in the air before kissing the boys head 'Good day Master Byrne?'
Harry squealed before his dad put him back on the floor 'We played Rugby this morning'
'Hey, there you go Joe- yoru son can rugby tackle you in the garden now' smiled the female
'I'd beat daddy any day!' added Harry 'You'd never catch me daddy!'
'I bet I would' he replied, his hands on his hips trying to look stern 'I would definitely beat mummy'
'Mummy can't rugby tackle with a baby in her tummy' the boy explained, placing a hand on his mother's stomach lovingly 'How many days till I'm a big brother?' he asked inquisitively. Harry asked the same question every day at different intervals.
'Four weeks' his mum replied 'How many days is that Harry?' Using his fingers the clever youngster worked out how many days it was until he would be a big brother.
'Twenty...eight days!' he exclaimed before running off with ones of his friends whilst his parents followed hand-in-hand to the car. He could be heard announcing the exciting news 'Edward, I'm going to be a big brother in twenty eight days!'
Jac stood at the kitchen window that looked out onto their large back garden- complete with a climbing frame and trampoline. Rolling together on the grass were her husband and son, fighting desperately over the rugby ball Joe had sourced from the garage. She laughed to herself at the beauty of such a sight. The older male then proceeded to stand on the 'side-line' and order his son around, showing him the way to throw the rugby ball perfectly with just enough spin to travel smoothly.
'Now run that way' shouted Joe whilst pointing in front of him 'And throw it sideways to me' Harry sped off down the garden with his dad jogging lightly behind him. As the ball flew from his small hands it landed neatly his the male's 'That's it! You've got it Harry! You've got it!' The boy swung around and sprinted towards his dad, jumping into the safety of his arms. The elation on both their faces was heart warming.
Jac walked out of the kitchen and into the orangery that had been added to the back of the house. Exiting through the door into the garden the heavily pregnant woman made her way over to the double seated swinging chair on the patio.
'Mum-Mum did you see me and daddy playing rugby?' asked Harry excitedly
'I did!' she replied smiling 'And I saw daddy struggling to keep up with you' she added jokingly
'I had no such trouble!' Byrne exclaimed taking a seat next to his wife and putting his arm around her shoulders whilst relaxing into the soft chair that was swinging lightly. Their son ran off into the direction of his oversized netted trampoline which he catapulted himself onto and zipped the net behind him. His energy was seemingly endless as he bounced around and did somersaults in the air.
'This evening seems to have flown by' muttered the male to his wife as he glanced at the watch on his left wrist 'Half past eight already'
'And it's my turn to put him to bed tonight' replied Jac
'I'll swap you?' begged Joseph 'I'll get him to have a bath and put him to bed whilst you put the cot together'
'Not a chance!' she laughed, rolling her eyes towards her husband.
Jac, as quietly as she could, crept out of her son's bedroom pulling to door shut behind her. It had taken her over an hour to settle the young child. She had come to learn that children had more questions than time and their whole lives revolved around finding answers to trivial words.
'I'm glad you declined my swapsie' whispered the man from the room down the landing. Jac walked over to the doorway and leant on the frame 'There are only so many times I can answer how a baby is made'
'So you left me to it instead?!' she asked. Jac watched as Joe inserted the last screw into the frame and tightened it up; making sure the whole build was sturdy.
'Done!' He got up off the floor and examined his so called 'masterpiece.' The room had been painted in a cream colour and furnished with oak furniture; a wardrobe, chest of draws and shelves. The window that had been fitted with wooden blinds and bland curtains and in front was a wooden leather rocking chair and foot stool. After a lengthy period of discussion they had decided to carpet the floor instead of fitting oak flooring. It seemed the far more sensible option as their unborn child would be crawling before they knew it.
'Now, I don't know a lot about DIY but it looks like you've done a pretty good job there. Whatever you do though, Joseph, don't give up the day job!' teased Naylor. In response Joe swung his wife gently into his arms and carried her over to the rocking chair. Placing himself into the seat he rested his wife of his lap, holding her close.
'Four more weeks and then we get to meet baby Byrne' he spoke into her hair, inhaling her familiar scent as he rubbed her burgeoning bump 'We're so lucky to have you Jac'
'Will you help me, Joseph?' she replied, terror etched in her voice
'Help you with what?' he responded, a little confused about where the conversation was going.
'With being a mum' her voice trembled 'What happens if I fail our child? What happens if I'm just like her?'
'Now you listen to me, you have absolutely nothing to be worried about' Joe had spoken the same words numerous times in the months before hand, each time trying desperately to reassure his scared wife 'You're a fantastic mother to Harry and you're going to be an equally fantastic mum to our baby. We're in this together Jac, I won't leave your side' Jac rested her head on her husband's shoulder as he continued to talk lightly 'You will never end up like that woman. Everything about you is different'
