Chapter 21: Advanced Anthropology Rituals
Summary: Annie and Jeff celebrate their first wedding anniversary
Jeff sat at his desk in front of his computer, trying to think about the best course of action for tonight. Afterall, it was their first wedding anniversary and he wanted it to be special, but at the same time he knew Annie was not feeling the greatest and was in the middle of stressing over school papers and getting a jump on studying for finals. Her studiousness never ceased to fascinate him, but he hoped for the sake of their children that his laziness would temper some of Annie's tendencies.
Who was he kidding, he wasn't exactly complacent when it came to things that actually mattered to him. Annie was one of those things.
He hit confirm for their reservation, figuring the worst that would happen would be that they'd have to bail on it. What they were thinking getting married right before Thanksgiving he'd never know, for it was kind of a crazy time in terms of the school semester. It was also immediately before his birthday, and the way things were going this year, he wasn't sure if they were going to celebrate.
He leaned back in his chair and picked up his phone, pressing the speed dial for the florest, for having given up his aversion to flowers he thought he'd better have handy at all times. He figured Annie could use some perking up.
"Good morning. I'd like to make sure everything's ready for the bouquet I ordered. Name's Winger."
"Why yes, Mr. Winger. We have the purple lilies with the additions we discussed all together. You're welcome to pick them up at any time."
"Great. I'll swing by around four."
"I must say, you have excellent taste. Purple lilies denote royalty, and um, passion."
He grinned as he remembered the conversation with the florist a few days ago. She had certainly sized him up, using some flirtation that he only mildly and auto-played into until she realized he wasn't ordering flowers for his mother. At her visible disappointment, she seemed to rally and then taken an interest in romanticizing his life. What could he say but she had fallen for the now monogamous Winger charm?
Well, he hadn't ever been a cheater when it came to women, only tests. He had just been a serial monogamist, and for the most part more of the one night stand variety. Until Annie.
"Yes, my wife deserves to feel special."
"Jeff, can I bother you for a sec?"
Penelope's loud whisper startled him, and he quickly finished up the call.
"I'll be by at four."
He placed his phone on his desk and looked up to see Penelope standing in the doorway, her expression apologetic. He motioned her in, and she walked over, seating herself on the arm of Pierce's chair.
"I'm sorry to interrupt."
"It's fine. What's up?"
With a heavy sigh, she explained, "It's Hastings. He's here and driving me mad. Says he has a meeting with Mark, but as you know Mark's in Aspen through the weekend."
"No problem. I'll talk to him."
"Thank you." She smiled slightly, but it was one of politeness.
Hastings was kind of an ass, and he suspected Penelope had put up with him and other difficult clients for quite some time at their old firm by maneuvering away from them, often likely finding that their old colleagues weren't that helpful. While she had never come to him about Hastings specifically and rarely complained, he didn't want their new legal venture to perpetuate the crap from the old firm.
With a slight hesitation, he ventured with a serious look, "You know you can tell me if he said or did anything inappropriate."
She let out a breath and shook her head. "Thank goodness, no that's not the situation here, but I appreciate it." She then paused and added with a glower, "But he's still somewhat entitled."
"Entitled?" He smirked in an invitation for her to elaborate.
Now mirroring his expression, she replied with more gusto, "Yeah, he's a grade A level blowhard."
"Very astute. As my friend Britta would say, you have excellent douche-ray vision."
She chuckled, and it hit him that she actually knew Britta and was in fact familiar with the inner workings of Apartment 303. With a throat clear, he asked, "Speaking of Britta, how are things with Troy?"
He instantly mentally kicked himself for asking, as the collision of his two worlds was something he was still trying to get used to. She appeared surprised by the question, her brow arching as she seemed to consider it for a few moments.
Finally, she answered, "Very well, actually. He's a lovely person."
"And Abed?"
"What about Abed?"
"I'm sure you've picked up he's very protective of Troy. It must not be that easy to be around him all the time."
At this, there was an odd mixture of annoyance and amusement in her expression.
"I think Abed's one of the most interesting people I've ever met. And from what Troy tells me, he's been a really good influence. Troy says he'd never have opened up to his true self without him. So I'm very grateful to Abed that Troy's not still a meatheaded football jerk."
"I can't argue with that."
"And Abed's your friend too."
"And I love him. But sometimes I want to strangle him."
"That's probably only when you know he's right."
Jeff flinched for a brief moment before he recovered his composure, but he knew she had noticed. Her social perceptiveness was one of the reasons he appreciated her, as he knew that was a skill that could not be taught. It was also a quality that he was coming to realize might endear her to Abed.
He smiled tightly and said, "That's why I hired you." Rising, he added, "I'll take care of Hastings."
"Thanks. Oh, and happy anniversary."
X
X
X
After stopping by the preschool and making some pleasantries with his mom groupies, he whisked Sophie away and picked up the bouquet from the florist, who he was pretty sure was solidly smitten with him as a now monogamous married father. He couldn't help puffing out his chest just a little but then resisted the urge to actually flirt and hauled Sophie off to the car.
He was feeling a little pent-up sexual energy, as there had been no sexy times in a bit, and he was judging there wouldn't be any for quite some time. He frowned as he stared at the steering wheel and began to mentally calculate how long it might be before he and Annie actually had sex again. From what he had read, it would likely be at least six weeks after she gave birth, and even then he just couldn't imagine her wanting to do that after pushing out a human. Then again, she had wanted to after having Sophie, but that was quite some time later. He mentally la-da-daed over the sperm donor and Vaughn parts before reflecting on their first time.
Damn that was hot.
"Daddy, I wanna get something for Mama too. Can we go to the candy store? Please?"
His attention snapped back to the present moment, and he smirked into the rearview mirror, noticing Sophie's intense helpful expression from the backseat of the Lexus.
"That's very thoughtful of you, munchkin. But I don't think Mama wants candy."
"No, she does. She say-ed she wants ice cream. Daddy, can we get candy and ice cream? Please?"
"Why candy and ice cream? I thought she only wanted ice cream. You need to tighten up your argument."
"The candy is for me, Daddy, ok?"
"Gosh, I had no idea."
"But you can have some too, if you're nice."
Suppressing his urge to laugh, he nodded and started up the car. "Fine, but we have to make this trip quick."
"Yay! I love you Daddy. You can have some candy, too."
X
X
He found himself humming with happiness as they strolled through the apartment hallway. He had the pint of ice cream (mint chocolate chip, Annie's favorite) under his arm and a bouquet of purple lilies in hand. Sophie skipped by his side, a small bag of half eaten Skittles in her greedy adorable hands. He briefly considered Annie might not be happy about Sophie ruining her dinner, but he was not in the mood to deny Sophie anything. She had given a persuasive argument.
Plus, Britta was baby-sitting tonight and would be the one who was actually going to have to worry about getting Sophie to eat.
He fished out his keys and then opened the door, letting Sophie jump ahead of him, her pink backpack jingling as she ran toward the living room.
He yelled, "Take off your shoes!"
The shrieking giggles didn't give him much confidence, as he knew she had probably spied Britta. He managed to kick of his office shoes and forged ahead. He then peeked around the corner to see Sophie flung into Britta's arms on the couch, Britta giving her soft kisses on the top of her head. Annie was seated on the other side of Britta and seemed to be enjoying the display, her eyes twinkling. She then spotted him.
He grinned, "Hey." Stepping out from behind the wall, he shielded the bouquet behind his back and held up the ice cream. "We made a stop. This is from Sophie."
Sophie nodded emphatically and began to gush about the goodness of ice cream before showing Britta her candy bag. Annie thanked her and then arched a brow in his direction. She slowly stood. He started to approach, and she waived him off, completing the ever-challenging maneuver and shuffling over to him.
After she tugged him into the kitchen, he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, and although she smiled against his lips, he sensed the imminent reproach.
"Jeff, you can't just let her have candy before dinner."
"Eh, she's Britta's problem now."
She sighed, but she didn't seem too mad. Her eyes then darted to the ice cream, and he held it up and wiggled it. She swatted for it, and he finally relinquished it.
"So, the munchkin was right."
"God, I'm so hungry."
He teased, "Aren't you worried about ruining your dinner?"
Appearing not to be amused by this, she proceeded to open the container and deftly procured a spoon from the utensil drawer. Her efficiency was outstanding, and he briefly wondered if she'd ever notice he was hiding flowers behind his back.
Her eyes closed in ecstasy as she put the first spoonful in her mouth, and the resulting sound was something he hadn't heard in a little while, certainly never outside the bedroom.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. But you should probably thank the munchin."
She nodded and proceeded to shovel in another spoonful, and he made the decision to pull up a stool and sit, placing the flowers on the counter.
Once she opened her eyes once again, she squeaked.
"You got me lilies!?"
He nodded in amusement and said, "Happy anniversary."
"Oh, Jeff, happy anniversary!" She took one more quick spoonful and placed the container on the counter, stabbing the spoon into the mixture before making her way around the counter to him. She kissed him once again, and this time they took their time, both enjoying the mintiness. He felt the blood begin to flow to his lower regions but the presence of the bump made him stop.
He chuckled as he noted it, his hand going to her belly, and she sighed wistfully.
"I'm such a whale."
"You're beautiful."
"You don't need to say that."
Nuzzling her neck, he growled, "I'm so happy you're my wife. Let's go party it up."
She smiled, and he handed her the flowers.
"I have something for you, too."
"We said we weren't doing gifts. Just having a nice meal each anniversary, remember?"
She made her point by indicating toward the lilies with her head, and he had to internally admit he had gone back on their agreement, but he couldn't resist the Annie-receiving-flowers face. He groaned his acquiescence, and she shuffled off to the bedroom, returning in a surprisingly short amount of time.
"This is for you, my husband." She smiled coyly and handed him a envelope. She then added, "For the first anniversary, it's supposed to be paper…"
-"Annie, we said we weren't going to do that silly anniversary year stuff."
Her brow crinkling with determination, she said quickly, "I know, and I promise I don't intend for us to get into a silly gift-matching game, but I just really wanted to write you something. Was that okay?"
She fluttered her lashes, and he was instantly helpless. With a groan, he said, "Of course, I'm not heartless. If you want to write me something mooshy, who am I to complain?"
She squeaked, and he smirked as he opened the envelope. He pulled out the card and opened it to reveal a neat and elegantly written declaration, in purple pen. He silently read.
Jeff,
You are my everything. The moment I saw you, I thought you were dashing (and sexy), but you have continued to amaze me as I grow more in love with you each day. Thank you for being a loving (and still very sexy) husband. I look forward to many more years of anniversaries as we move forward in sharing our life together, with our little family.
Love, your equally sexy wifey. Now give me a kiss."
He barely looked up before he was smooched.
X
It was about ten minutes later, and Annie had gone off to change, strangely taking the pint of ice cream with her, but he knew better than to comment. He ventured into the living room and then proceeded to yank off Sophie's shoes while she sat on the couch next to Britta, gabbing away about her day at preschool. She giggled as he took off the last shoe, and he gave her a mock reproachful look before exaggerating a sigh and standing.
"Daddy, can I watch Ariel and Sebastian? Please?"
He nodded, and Britta reached for the remote and proceeded to turn on the television.
He explained, "The Little Mermaid. She's been obsessed with it. It's likely already queued up unless you and Annie have been watching something."
"Tit-ta I love you so much. Gosh, I can't believe you're going to watch this with me."
Britta smirked at her and then hit play on the movie. She motioned for Jeff with her head, and he walked over to her other side and sat down.
As Sophie leaned forward and stared in ecstacy at the television, Britta addressed him with a whisper.
"Just so you know, Annie's kind of upset."
This was certainly news to him. He had assumed the candy wouldn't be that big of a deal, and he wondered if Britta misread that interaction. It wasn't the first time he had indulged Sophie, and Annie usually got over it relatively quickly so he wasn't concerned at all. Plus she had seemed in good spirits with her ice cream and bouquet, which was now safely in a vase on the dining table.
He whispered back, "She seems fine. What happened?"
"I'm sorry, it might have been my fault, but I thought it was my duty to make her aware of all the risks."
"Hmm?"
"Of circumcision."
He closed his eyes in pain, for Britta's intrusiveness was certainly not welcome on this issue. They didn't even know if they were having a boy or a girl, so there was no point in thinking about that right now. Plus, he figured they'd circumcise. Annie was Jewish, and it was just something people did.
He opened his eyes and managed, "Why would you even."
With a huff of indignation, she said, "It's an important issue, Jeff. It's genital mutilation and a baby is incapable of giving consent."
"Sadie-baby?"
Jeff snapped to the awareness Sophie was sitting right there and said with a light tone, "Oh, Auntie Britta's just being silly. I need to talk to her for a minute. Are you okay sitting here? You have Ruffles…." He then realized with some bafflement the dog was not there and hadn't been since they arrived. He peered under the coffee table.
Britta explained, "She's with Ian. He agreed to keep her for an evening lab meeting on campus, and then he's coming by with her in like an hour."
"I hope Ruffles likes school today."
"She does, you'll have to have her tell you all about it." Jeff patted Sophie on the head and stood, tossing her the bear which he had just found under the table. "I'll bring Auntie Britta back in just a sec."
"Okay." Sophie giggled as she squeezed her bear.
Jeff yanked Britta off the couch, and once they got into the kitchen, he hissed, "You have no right butting into this. Annie's Jewish."
Britta shifted her shoulders back in that way she did when she was starting to jump onto her soapbox. He readied himself as she said, "That's just an excuse. And from what she and I talked about, she hadn't seemed to even have thought about it. I merely brought her awareness to it and then told her she better do the right thing." Jabbing her index finger into his chest, she added, "If that baby is a boy, he'll thank me one day."
"Look, this is..."
-"She said you guys hadn't even discussed it, and then I said well I guess that makes sense since Jeff's circumcised, but then she got all weird and told me to back off, but she was probably just hungry."
He stared at her for a few awkward moments and then finally asked, "You mentioned I was circumcised?"
With an eye roll, she said, "Well, duh, not like she doesn't know that, but my point was that you assume that's what people do and you probably haven't thought about the ethical issues either."
He clarified, "You reminded her that you know what I look like naked?"
"Oh, crap."
He sighed and patted his flat hand on the counter several times, his wedding ring clinking as he considered this information. Annie was more emotional these days, not that she ever really wanted to think about him and Britta having sex, and this was not good.
He managed, "It's fine. I'll talk to her."
"But you're not going to circumcise, right?"
With a sigh of annoyance, he replied, "Of course we are. Again, Annie's Jewish. There would be a bris or something."
"Jeff, please, don't. Ian's not cut, and he's fine."
"I can't believe you found a way to make this conversation even more awkward. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
He made a decision in that moment to let it all go. It was something he had been working on in therapy, practicing gratitude and trying not to be bogged down in trying to control people, as he had recently been reflecting on the way he behaved with Troy and Penelope.
Britta meant well, and she was doing them a huge favor tonight. He forced the image of a naked Ian Duncan out of is mind. It took a little longer than he would have liked, but he supposed it couldn't be helped.
With resignation, he said, "Crap, Britta, I just want to have a nice first anniversary dinner with my wife. So, thank you for agreeing to babysit Sophie. I'll check in on Annie, and then we'll head out to our early dinner. I'm not sure when we'll be back exactly, but Annie's tired these days, so probably not that late. I'll text you."
"Ah, Annie mentioned to me you guys haven't had sex in awhile. She's been uncomfortable."
He startled but then figured Britta had maenueverd that information out of Annie somehow or perhaps even had just inferred it and was gauging his reaction. He smiled tightly, and she seemed pleased, which made him suspect the later.
She added, "But don't give up hope, Jeff. Annie said she wants the baby out soon, so if it's getting near the due date and nothing's happening, you can always try to trigger labor with sex. Many couples do this. I know it may be awkward, but…."
He calmly placed his hand over her mouth.
X
X
X
"Happy anniversary, Jeff."
He smiled across the table, taking in the sight of her in good spirits. They were back at their spot, and he remembered the last time they were here was likely the night they had conceived the baby. He hoped there would be no Mitchell this time and took a quick glance around to make sure. He had requested a private spot in the back with instructions that they were not to be disturbed.
"Happy anniversary."
Tracing her finger over the tablecloth, she mused, "I can't believe it's been one year."
"Yeah, it hasn't seemed that long, and yet a lot has happened."
She grinned. "You and Sophie adopted each other, you graduated, you started your own business, and we're about ready to welcome this one." She tapped her belly and then stared down at it in thought.
He didn't really want to raise the subject, but ever since talking with Britta, it had been nagging at him. The thought she was upset and thinking about him and Britta horizontal didn't seem fitting with their anniversary. But he had learned not talking about things often made them worse.
Clearing his throat, he said, "Britta told me about your conversation. I'm sorry she upset you."
Her expression instantly morphed into worry, and she said with a tremble, "She did? Oh."
He reached over to wipe the tear that began falling down her cheek, and she let him which gave him some comfort she wasn't mad.
"It's not a great memory for our first wedding anniversary, for sure. If I could go back in time and stop it, I would. I hope you believe me."
She seemed puzzled and tilted her head. "Jeff, what did Britta say to you?"
With some befuddlement, he replied, "She told me she reminded you of the fact that she's seen me au naturel. God Annie, I'm sorry."
Her ensuing chuckles confused him, and when she had finally banished them, for giddy Annie these days tended to last longer as well due to the emotionality, she wiped a now laughter-induced tear and said, "Jeff, I don't care about that anymore. Clearly, you've chosen us."
"Right, then, err, what?"
Her expression shifting once again back to worry, she explained, "She brought up circumcision."
"Oh, yeah, she told me about that."
Looking at him intently, she explained, "That's what's upsetting to me, Jeff. I can't believe some of the things she said, but I looked them up, and she's right." She cast him a wary gaze as she added, "If the baby's a boy, would you be okay if we didn't circumcise him?"
He was certainly startled by this shift in topic and to her conclusion. He managed, "But you're Jewish."
She sighed, "Which is why I don't think I considered other options. But really, it's just something unnecessary, and it wouldn't be his choice, and while rare, there are still risks to the procedure."
"Risks?"
"I'll show you some of my research later. But ultimately, if it's something that doesn't need to be done, why would we do it to him? But of course, I know you'd probably want him to look like you."
He stared into her pleading eyes and considered the whole thing was ridiculous. He didn't care what his son looked like in that area, and he figured he was just fine with Sophie not 'looking like him.' The creeping uneasiness of them having not even considered the issue startled him.
Reaching across to grab her hand, he urged, "Annie, I don't care about that. We don't have to do it." He paused and then added, "Crap, I don't think I've actually given much thought to the fact that we might have a boy. I keep assuming it'll be another little Sophie."
Once again she tilted her head and smiled slightly. As she accepted his hand squeeze, she said, "Awww, it might be a little girl, and then we wouldn't have to think about this."
"She'll be adorable."
"And a little boy would be sweet too."
They both nodded, and he felt some sense of relief. They seemed to come to an agreement on the subject, which he supposed hadn't taken that long. The fact that he had undergone some highs and lows confused him, but then again he supposed the reality of their imminent arrival was hitting him.
He found himself asking, "How religious do you want the kids to be?"
It was something he hadn't ever really asked her before. Sure, Sophie was at a Jewish preschool, but that had been convenient, as Rachel was generously paying for it. There were some religious elements at the school, but from what he understood nothing too intense. They also celebrated the various holidays with Annie's family, but he had always been under the impression that it was more of a way to connect with them. But then again even before the reconciliation, Annie had always seemed to want Sophie to know her roots.
"I don't know."
They sat in silence, regarding one another and offering tentative smiles. He supposed they should have discussed all of this already, given that Sophie was already four, but having stumbled into their family, they hadn't really coordinated much. But it had all worked well so far.
Finally, he shrugged and said, "I wasn't really raised religiously, but I'm open to what we do with them as long as it isn't anything too extreme. So far, Sophie seems to enjoy your family's faith, although I strongly suspect some of that is motivated by food." He squinted at her in an attempt at levity, and she chuckled.
"We'll figure it out, Jeff."
"Yes, we will."
She stroked his hand for several moments before she mused in a lighter tone, "Speaking of food, Sophie has some plans for your birthday."
"Oh, we don't have to worry about my birthday this year. We have a lot going on."
She pouted and said with full assertiveness, "Yes, we do have to celebrate your birthday, Jeff. It's important. She wants to go get a haircut with you."
Feeling his heart swell, he said quickly, "Of course. I want that too. I wasn't planning on skipping that part."
He'd never bail on that part of his birthday. He briefly wondered if the next kid was going to be upset about it at some point. He considered it didn't seem right to have both the kids included in it, as it was his and Sophie's thing, so he'd have to come up with something else for baby number two.
Continuing to caress his hand, she smiled slightly at it and said, "And she wants to make you a cake, so I'll help her with that. And then she wants to give you a present she's been working on. It's very special to her, so please keep your best daddy straight face."
He nodded and said, "Who am I to deny the munchkin anything."
Meeting his gaze, she bit her lip in thought for a moment.
"You're such a good daddy."
As long as he had been functioning as Sophie's father, being called her daddy had never faded in its appeal and yet he still semi-froze at times when Annie used it. He managed, "Thanks." After taking some gulps, he couldn't help but add, "I'm sorry I got all weird about the Britta thing. I know it's our anniversary, and I just wanted things to be out in the open in case you were upset about it. She just has a way of taking conversations to a whole awkward level."
The flash in her eyes indicated her agreement.
"She told me she's willing to deliver our baby, so I should call her as soon as a feel a contraction."
"Of course she did."
Annie's tightened expression shifted into sympathy, and she said, "It was actually pretty sweet of her. She did a fine job with baby Ben."
"Still."
They regarded one another for several beats before Annie made the wise choice.
"Right. I'm having this baby in a hospital."
They clinked their water glasses in agreement.
X
X
Although their anniversary proceeded the way Jeff thought it would, meaning Annie got sleepy shortly after dinner and they headed home, he thought they had celebrated in a nice low-key way. It was quiet, it was romantic, and it didn't involve any of their friends randomly showing up.
It also involved a little bit of a makeout with some hands stuff, so he had gotten some release.
He was terrible.
His birthday two days later was a little noisier, for it involved a squirrely Sophie, who was giddy at the prospect of surprising him. They went to get their usual haircuts, and then they returned home to find Annie and his mom setting the table for dinner, a big obviously homemade blue cake in the middle of the table.
"I made this for you, Daddy! Happy Birthday!"
He smiled and kissed Annie and then hugged his mom. He then peered over the cake and remarked, "Wow, that looks great, munchkin. Thank you. I can't wait to eat it."
She was now somehow standing on a dining chair and gesturing wildly. "You can't eat it now! You'll ruin your dinner. It's blue."
"I see. Nice."
"It's blue because you're a BOY!" She then erupted in a fit of giggles, and he squinted at her.
"I guess. So, boy's are blue? But can't girls be blue too?"
"No, boys are blue and girls are PINK, Daddy. Everyone knows that."
"I don't know about that, munchkin."
His mother tapped his arm and said, "Dear, don't worry about it. She's just going through that stage."
"I guess I'd like her to be a little more enlightened."
"She's obsessed about knowing if the baby's a boy or a girl. She told me all about it the other day."
"I wanna baby sister. Sadie-baby. But I love you daddy, and you're a boy. Mama says baby brothers are nice too."
He nodded and reached down to scoop her up in his arms, and she squealed in contentment. He said, "That's true. And hey, thank you for the cake. I love it."
"You're welcome."
She arched back a little and placed her thumb halfway in her mouth, regarding him with some hesitancy, which he suspected was due to the baby sibling part.
"So, you wanna know if the baby's a boy or a girl, huh?"
"Yes, I can't wait. I want to know now. I wanna name the baby."
He calmly explained, "Well, we do have some names, like Sadie-baby, but we might not know which is the exact one until we meet the baby, so I guess we'll have to have a little patience."
"What's pa-scents?"
"We have to wait."
At her scowl, he kissed her cheek and then walked her over to the living room, where he proceeded to toss her on the couch and then bent down to nuzzle Ruffles, who had been darting around his ankles for the past few minutes. His mom rejoined Annie in the kitchen, as she went to finish up dinner, and he sat down next to Sophie.
"Ariel and Sebastian, please."
"You know it's called 'The Little Mermaid,' right?"
"It's Ariel and Sebastian."
"I understand Ariel's the mermaid, but Sebastian is just a crab. He's not a main character."
Sophie swatted the remote in his hand, which startled him. He stared down to find her regarding him with an intensity he rarely saw outside of Annie's latest food cravings.
"Sebastian is the BEST, Daddy! He a little crab, and he's soooo cute and red and he's a good friend."
"I'm sorry. You're right."
She gave him one last reproachful look before she seemed to comfort herself with his apology and tapped the remote.
He obeyed.
As he scrubbed Ruffles under her chin, he asked, "Hey, what's my birthday present?"
"I can't tell you, Daddy. It's a sur-prise."
"But it's my birthday."
Appearing not to have considered this, Sophie turned to him and opened her mouth for a moment so that it was a perfect o.
"I go get it. Don't watch Ariel and Sebastian without me."
"Of course not." He hit pause and stifled his giggles as she ran off toward her room.
He felt is mom sit down next to him.
"I'm coming over here for Thanksgiving, dear. Annie and I felt it would be better than having you all at my house."
He sighed and turned toward her. "Mom, I'm not that upset with your house. We don't have to disrupt tradition, especially since you won't be hosting Christmas this year."
She shook her head and said, "That's not actually our reasoning. Annie doesn't feel up to the drive, and well given what she's telling me, I really do think it's best if she stay in the vicinity of your hospital."
He felt his eyes widen, which always annoyed him, but he couldn't help it. "Hey now, we have a month."
"Not necessarily. That's why her doctor is seeing her weekly now, dear. Just to monitor the situation. It could be anytime. She's almost considered full-term."
He snapped, "Why the hell do they say full-term when in my mind, that should be forty weeks, which I shall remind you, is the due-date."
"I don't know, dear."
He felt a flood of relief that he didn't know he needed as she pulled him to her shoulder, wrapping him in a hug. Ruffles moved off toward the side but he could feel her nuding her head against him.
She whispered, "Everything will be just fine."
"What if it's not?"
"You'll be wonderful with the baby. I'll be around to help."
"I can't have anything happen to Annie."
"She's done this before, dear. She'll be good."
"Yeah?"
"Yes."
He closed his eyes, and he felt comforted and freaked out simultaneously, probably because he had voiced another fearful thought. The idea of Annie giving birth and something going wrong was terrifying, and the more he read about things the more he had become aware of potential complications and nightmare scenarios. His therapist had suggested he stop compulsively reading, but he just couldn't help it. But his mother's touch and calm voice soothed him. He wondered if this was how babies felt and was glad no one could witness it.
His mommy. He had her back.
"Awww, Daddy!"
His eyes popped open and he sat up to see Sophie standing there with a huge grin. She was holding something behind her back but appeared tickled at seeing him with his mom.
"Hey, munchkin." He exchanged a surreptitious look with his mom, who appeared to have a remnant of a tear on her cheek.
Now speedily moving on, Sophie brought forth a neatly wrapped package.
"For you, Daddy. MAMA, you come in here! I give Daddy his present!"
Before he could shush her, his mom tapped his arm, and he smirked and accepted the present, eyeing its crisp folds. This was Annie-wrapping to be sure.
He waited, and Annie soon appeared, wiping her hands on a cloth and giving Sophie a teasing yet reproachful look.
"How do we ask for things, sweetie?"
"Oh, sorry, Mama. I wanna give Daddy his present."
"Well, okay." She smiled and stood near the armchair, attempting to sit slightly but then deciding better of it.
"Annie, please sit down."
"I'm more comfortable standing."
He felt bad once again at contributing to her discomfort, and gave her an apologetic smile, which she returned for some reason. He then regarded his present and said, "Oh, maybe I'll shake it and guess."
Becoming even more squirrely, Sophie pleaded, "Just open it!"
"Well, okay." He ripped off the paper with gusto, ignoring Annie's flinches, to reveal a medium-sized cardboard box. He lifted the lid and stared inside at the lumpy clay figurines.
"It's a dinosaur-ama."
"Diorama, sweetie."
"Dino-rama. Look, it's all our people."
He peered more closely and discovered there were ten figures, one noticeably smaller than the others which he assumed was supposed to be Sophie. The tallest figure had spikey bits of brown yarn on its head.
"Oh, hey, I like me."
Now very pleased, Sophie pointed at each and explained, "And this is ME, and this is Mama, and Tit-ta, and Abed, and Troy, and Gampa Peas, and Shirley, and Gamma and Buzz-buzz."
"Wow, amazing."
"We in study room at Mama's school."
"This is really good." Deciding to make a slight white lie, he added, "Everyone looks like everyone. You must have put a lot of thought into this."
"Mama helped me but I did all of it."
"I see."
He placed the diorama on the coffee table and pulled her onto his lap, giving her a kiss on her head.
"Thanks for a really great birthday present."
"I wanna put the baby in it too. But I'll WAIT."
Smirking at her scowl, he said, "Patience, munchkin, patience."