Whoops. Has it really nearly been two months since I updated? My bad. In that time I've been overseas and back. Then, the day I came home was the beginning of a month-long sickness while juggling the 2 weeks of assignments that I'd missed and more work hours than I've ever had! But, finally I had a chance to pop this one up.
It was briefly mentioned in the A/N on the last chapter, but I've started writing FFP 3. At THAT point, every chapter was 100% planned out. However, sometime between then and now, I've done some thinking and now I'm not sure of about 70% of the plots. The big one which encapsulates Cleo and Lewis mostly is staying the same, I may just add to that. However, I also have mains for a Rikki/Zane/Tam storyline and I'm not sure whether to leave it with what I had planned, or, to make it even bigger and more dramatic (but it would also fit in better that way too). Then, for Bella and Will's big one, I had one plot which I thought I'd settled on but now I'm kind of undecided on about 3 for them.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and double thank you for you guys' well wishes after my friend's accident. She's doing really, really well and getting there now :)
Terima kasih! (Like the only Indonesian I learnt while over there - look it up.)
Chapter Twenty One - Friends Like These
Cleo's POV
I always love a good party. I embrace the joy and happiness of every and any occasion that can be celebrated with my family and close friends. So, waking up this morning, I cannot wait for the events that lay ahead for the rest of the day.
Today, is the day that Rikki and Bella have been planning for my baby shower.
It's generally customary for baby showers to be held as a surprise event for the mother-to-be, but after Rikki and I hosted an epic fail of a surprise baby shower for Bella almost five years ago, we learnt our lesson about the downsides to surprises. Due to a communication mishap between myself and the other coordinator, Rikki and I managed to completely stuff up the dates and months for the shower we were holding Bella. So, long story short, Bella actually had her baby attend her baby shower since she'd given birth to Allie the week before the date we had planned the baby shower for. So, with my baby shower, Rikki made it well and truly clear that she would do anything to avoid hosting another epic fail of a baby shower and didn't intend for the event to be a surprise.
In the early stages of their planning, my friends had also turned to my step-mother and sister for a lot of advice in planning details so those two had sort of been pulled into hosting my baby shower along with Rikki and Bella. Somewhere in that time, the venue had decided to be held at my own home and since 8 AM this morning, I have been able to hear the four girls and my husband bustling around downstairs, shifting furniture, hanging, debating and then re-moving decorations and trying to work out the floor plan of my families dining, living and lounge room.
"How's it going out there?" I ask Lewis as he enters our bedroom, looking frazzled and red in the face.
"It's, it's… good" my husband says hesitantly, trying to lie and conceal the truth that I plainly see, reading straight through him, especially after hearing all the interactions coming from the storey below me. I know he has my best intentions at heart, trying to keep me from worrying or fretting about the preparation for the event from our bedroom that I have been banished to until I am allowed to come down, once the guests start arriving.
I warn Lewis simply and it does not take long, only moments, before my husband caves and spills the real truth. "Lewis…"
"Ugh, just be glad that you're up here Cleo. Sam's getting all perfectionist-y, Kim's disagreeing with every single person's decisions, Rikki's being short and not in a party mood given everything that's going on, Bella cannot make up her mind and I have had to move every, single, friggin piece of furniture around down there at least four times."
I laugh and press a kiss to my husband's frowning face. "Just stay strong and think about that pretty, female-free laboratory that you get to spend all afternoon alone in once you're finished up here."
"That's true. I think I'm going to need all of the strength that I can to get through setting up this thing with four women who have strong opinions... and just keep changing those opinions!"
Lewis lays a kiss to the top of my head before walking over to the door as I can see that he is preparing to exit our room.
"Alright. I better get back to it before Rikki and her not-so desirable mood get their hands on the staple gun out there!"
I laugh again and wave my husband out of the room as he walks out, just minutes after entering our bedroom in the first place. By leaving me, he also leaves me to my isolation once again until I'm given the message that I am allowed to go down and return to my families downstairs area once again...
After another hour, Bella finally knocks on my door to let me know that the guests have arrived and that I can finally attend my own baby shower.
"You excited?" my friend asks me conversationally and in a low whisper, for no apparent reason.
I nod as we start to walk down the stairs, before realising that Bella is looking straight ahead, not at me, so she would have completely missed my gesture to answer her question before I proceed to deliver it verbally.
"Yeah, I am. Thanks again for helping to organise this... I feel so special."
My friend gives me a gentle, playful nudge in my side. "That's because you are special. Now go and enjoy one of your last occasions of your freedom!"
Walking downstairs is made a little daunting as all conversation being carried out in the room comes to an immediate halt when my family and friends below catch sight of me making my entrance uncomfortably and far more grandly than I would have liked to as I walk down the staircase.
Fortunately, I can feel the pressure release its grasp and hold on me a little more as a slightly awkward moment ensues between everyone below me. A few people burst out 'surprise', namely my aunt, cousin and two of my childhood friends. Following this, they and a few other people look around the room and over to me, trying to wordlessly gauge whether or not the event is a surprise baby shower or not, working out who is wrong and who is right.
Beside me, Bella bites her lip uncomfortably and on the ground below, both my sister and Rikki look on the verge of laughter, biting their tongues as I try to pinpoint which one would crack and break first. At the same time, my stepmother begins to whisper to my aunt and cousins what I can only guess to be the fact that she is trying to inform them of how my baby shower is not in fact a surprise as they had originally thought and expressed, loudly, when I walked downstairs moments ago.
After I mingle with my guests for a few minutes and receive what feels like a thousand 'hi, how are you', 'congratulations!' and hugged greetings, the baby shower finally begins to get underway...
The girls announce the plans for the day; eating, drinking; opening the presents and playing a few completely baby themed games. None of these proceed before the announcement that comes from Bella as she speaks aloud to the group.
"Now, thanks for coming to Cleo's baby shower everyone. I know that most times, the gift opening is one of the last things that you do" Bella says as she gestures to the giant pile of presents that I hadn't yet seen sitting in the corner of the room. "-but right now we're going to do something a little bit different today. We're actually going to do the gift opening first off now."
After opening the assortment of humorous outfits and especially unisex t-shirts from Rikki, the enormous range of organic (mer-safe) lotions, gels, creams, soaps and moisturisers for babies, along with a whole assortment of toys, bits and pieces for the nursery, baby clothes and blankets of every season, colour and thickness, I think that it's safe to say that we had all had enough of gift-opening.
"Now, I have one more present for you, Cleo. It's imported."
After whispering to me, Rikki dashes off towards the front door of my home and goes outside for roughly half a minute before returning indoors again. However, this time she is not alone like she had been upon exiting.
"Emma! What are you doing here?!" I squeal, rushing over to one of my three best friend's, whom I last saw over a year ago.
The blond and I wrap our arms around each other in a comfortable and excited bear hug for as long as possible before I remember the other twenty or so guests in the room that I had long forgotten about after the surprise attendee.
"As if I would miss my best friend's baby shower, Cleo" Emma smiles warmly.
"It's a bit of a different story when you're living halfway across the world, Em! But, saying that, I am so glad that you're here."
After I have the first dibs on hugging and greeting Emma, there are several other people in the room like some of my old classmates that I have kept in touch with, Lewis's mother and Bella who come up to greet my childhood best friend who has been living abroad since the final year of high school.
Later in the day, after the baby shower wrapped up and long after some of the remaining guests left, myself, Rikki and the less familiar Bella finally have the time and privacy to catch up with Emma. So far she has been through every little detail of her studies, her apartment, her family, her adventures, her travels and her relationship.
As much as I have missed her and as much as I have missed having one of my longest best friends in my life, seeing her almost day to day, I can see that her families decision to pack up and move from their Gold Coast residence has resulted in little to regret.
"So how long are you here for?! How long have we stolen you for?"
"I've taken some annual leave off from work, so I'll be here for a few months… At least until this little one's made an arrival. There's no way that Aunty Emma's leaving the country until I've had baby McCartney cuddles."
My friend gestures to my bulging stomach and the visible sign of what has been growing within me.
"It's still so weird seeing you pregnant, with a belly… You've been as thin as a twig our entire lives. That, along with the fact that I've known you since we were the baby's is taking me a bit of getting used to!"
I laugh at Emma's explanation, before Rikki changes the subject of our conversation by asking Emma a question.
"So where's Ash? How is he?"
Since our second to last year of high school, Emma and Ash have been on and off. The two would tend to be off while she and her family were travelling, but as soon as she began studying or settling in a country for a time, he would never be far behind and the two would rekindle while he would manage to pick up different management jobs globally. However, after Emma began studying abroad in Nepal for the last twelve months, she and Ash have been rather solid as far I know, based on what I have heard from both parties.
"He's going well aside from being a bit grumpy from the jetlag - I think he's glued to the TV remote back at the hotel. We will have to do a dinner sometime over the next few days. He's looking forward to seeing you guys again!"
"Yes! It's been so long since we've seen him and caught up" I say enthusiastically, while Rikki too agrees with Emma and I's plans and counts herself in.
There is a silence in the room and Emma and I must make a mental note of the same person at the same time, who is sitting in the room with a calm smile, but clearly feeling a little uncomfortable and out of the loop. I am glad for Emma to make an effort to reach out to my other friend who has had very little and surpassingly less to do with Emma than Rikki and I have after years of friendship.
"So Bella, don't you have a little girl? Sorry, I can't even remember her name. I just remember her being pretty cute when I met her last time. Where's she today?"
Emma and Bella have met in the past and while they are both always been pleasant and friendly to each other, the fact they haven't spent much time together means that their relationship has never really scratched the surface and become anything other than superficial acquaintances. Thankfully, there has never, ever been any confliction or any jealousy between the two who are both considered a part of our group, but were rarely ever a part of it at the same time as each other.
"Yeah, I do... Thanks. Allie's with her dad today."
"I'd love to see her again. She was a bit of a cutie and I bet she's grown heaps since I last saw her. You'll have to bring her with you next time we meet up!"
I appreciate Emma paying an interest in and making an effort for my usually bubbly friend who seems more than uncomfortable on the outer. This is especially nice considering that in the past, Emma has been less receptive while Bella has made more of an effort to bond and get to know each other. However, today, the interaction is like a role reversal for Emma who has always been more conservative around the newer member of our group that was brought in years ago, not long after she left.
One development that I hope for during the time that Emma has returned for is that the two different worlds and dimensions that equate to our group will be able to be bridged together and fused in a way. Rikki, Lewis and I are the common denominator between Emma, Bella, their consecutive partners and their separate lives in the group that one girl left just before the other joined.
"We'll have to do a big group thing together! A party at Mako or something… You can bring Will and Allie, Bella and Em, you'll have to bring Ash. It'll be great!"
I look around at the girls that are by my side. Rikki looks as keen as punch at my idea, far brighter and chirpier than she had been earlier in the day, looking just about as enthusiastic as I am for the idea. Bella and Emma wordlessly look over to each other and share an exchange of glances and I can only assume that they are confirming that neither is treading on the other's toes and making the other uncomfortable. In this case, I feel a little relief as the only exchange after the look is a mutual smile before Emma speaks first.
"Yeah that would be great. I'd love getting to know the others more."
"Fantastic. I can't wait… It's so good to have you home, Em."
"Hey" Lewis says as he walks in, immediately pressing a kiss of greeting to my lips. "How did the baby shower go?"
"Really good… And guess what?! Emma flew in especially for it! She's down here until the baby's born!" I gradually bubble over with excitement as I explain the most significant event of today.
"Oh really? What a nice surprise, hey?"
I see the askew smile form on my husband's lips and by this point I already have my suspicions. I eye Lewis intently, trying to watch him closely to pinpoint any body language or indicating factors that may even slightly tip off and confirm my suspicions.
"You knew, didn't you? You knew Rikki had been planning for Emma to come back for the baby shower! And you didn't tell me!"
Immediately, the second I catch him out, the slightly mischievous grin spreads across his face and contaminates his expression, giving him and his abysmal hiding abilities away immediately.
"I was the one who kick-started the idea, actually. I mentioned it to Rikki about surprising you by seeing if Emma would be interested in coming back for the baby shower and then those two took it over and teed it up."
I gasp and Lewis's face lights up even more with pride at the surprise he had been able to contribute to pulling off and executing as a surprise for me.
"No way! You sneak! If you got away with that, it makes me wonder what else have you been hiding and arranging behind my back?!" I laugh, after I give his arm a slap that is no way hard enough to hurt, with the intention of simply causing a sting and getting my point across to him.
"Well, now that you mention it... There's my secret family and my other wife I'm hiding in Brisbane, my multi-million dollar job that I landed a few years ago and that beach house that I bought in the Bahamas last week…"
After Lewis's joke, I respond by teasingly giving my husband's stomach a nudge with my elbow. "Oh shush, you. Bet your other wife isn't a mermaid, you bigamist."
Our mutual laughs eventually subside and Lewis re-positions himself more comfortably and seriously besides me.
"Seriously though, how did the shower go? Good turn out? My mum didn't spend the entire afternoon reminiscing about when I was 'just a boy'?"
"It was a really great baby shower. Pretty much everyone came and your mum really managed to impressively refrain herself from telling too many of those stories at all. Seriously though, are we going to have one spoiled and very unisex kid, or what? You should see all the presents and the mountain of stuff we received for it. We are going to have to change his or her clothes hourly just to manage to get through all of the stuff that we have been given!"
Lewis smirks before teasing me and my love of fashion and clothing. "Constant outfit changes?… And you'd hate that, wouldn't you?"
"I like clothes, so what?"
"So, nothing… I'm sure you understand my science fetish just as little as I understand your enthusiasm for bodily coverings."
There's a pause between our conversation and a silence before my husband speaks up once again.
"Hey, you know what I just realised? Unless any of our other friends or family members decide to pull a big surprise out of their hat quickly, the next thing we'll probably be celebrating will be the birth of bubs… At whatever point this year that that will occur!"
I smile and glance down at my burgeoning baby belly before returning my gaze to Lewis. "Yeah… That's true. Wow..."
Given that the only date we have to approximate a due date of the baby is knowing the day that I learned of the pregnancy. Aside from only knowing that there is no way we would have our child any later than eight or nine months from that day, we are really clueless as to any day or date to expect the addition to our family.
Just like a due date, Lewis and I are equally oblivious to just how soon and early the impending arrival of our unborn child is set to be…
Oh my goodness I wrote that chapter so long ago. Seriously, I wrote it after attending my own friend's baby shower and her baby is now 8 months old.
285 reviews for a brand new chapter, babes.
Next chapter: I'm bringing yet another character back when poor Will has to deal with Allie… and her powers… and Sophie… and Bella.