The weekend of Claudia's Birthday.
*A/N: Claud's Birthday is July 11th*
"Janine, what happened to your ankles?"
Dazed, I looked down at my feet. I was wearing black flip-flops. And my poor ankles had practically disappeared because of all the swelling. Not only the fact that I was six months pregnant in the middle of July, but also added to that, the fact that I had been teaching two classes and then attending two classes at Yale in the evenings was taking effect. Being stuck sitting down in an uncomfortable chair during long classes was why my ankles were swelling up every now and then, according to my doctor.
"It's hideous, isn't it?" I moaned. Following my doctor's orders, I propped my feet up on the picnic table. Propping up my feet theoretically would relieve the swelling. My concerned mother leaned over the table to give my ankles a quick, soothing rub.
Meanwhile, the entire family was getting everything ready to surprise my little sister. It was just a small party with the family, but I knew that it always meant the world to Claudia to have us all together.
The Yamakawa clan also happened to be moving into their new house in Stoneybrook during the same week. (Except for Will, of course, who was still going to be living with a friend in Ashfield. He was with his parents and his younger brother, helping them get settled.)
And James and I had the chance to escape our busy lives and hectic schedules, and just enjoy spending time with the whole family all at once. That had not happened the entire time I had been pregnant. I'm not sure when the last time was, but it had been at least six months since we had all been together.
So here's the picture of our entire family (minus Claudia, at the moment) together at last: We were all sitting in the Kishi backyard, where a couple of picnic tables had been set out under a shade tree.
Sheri (my mother-in-law) was putting the finishing touches on a birthday cake that she had baked for Claudia. She was spelling out "Happy Birthday, Claudia!" in chocolate and white frosting on a home- made cookie cake. It looked exactly like the kind of cake that costs a fortune if you get it from a bakery.
Mom didn't stay put and rub my ankles for very long. Her cell phone rang, and she got up to answer it. It was Claudia. Mom had actually sent her to the grocery store while the rest of us came over and set up her party in the backyard. (We had been previously stationed at the Yamakawas'.) Claud wanted to know why Mom wanted chips and soft drinks. Our parents have never been fond of junk food. Mom made up a very clever excuse, telling Claudia that she was getting it for an open-house party that she planned to throw for the Yamakawas. She blushed a little when she caught my eye and saw my raised eyebrows.
"All for a good cause," she said.
The Yamakawa brothers and I were sitting at one of the picnic tables. Our fathers sat at the other. James was telling his brothers a few funny stories about interning. Will talked about moving in with his best friend, Tony. Zach seemed to be okay with his new home in Stoneybrook so far.
"How did finals go? Did they pass?" Zach wanted to know. I had been keeping him updated through email. He knew all about the classes that I had been teaching. And he had been talking to me about moving out of Ashfield.
"I had a really impressive passing rate with the remedial science class," I announced proudly. "I was so proud of Natalie. She managed to make a B in the class, and she said she feels like she can do really well in her sophomore science class this fall. I don't know about my chemistry students, yet. They took the Advanced Placement exam, you know, and those scores won't be in for another month or so. I'm dying to know, especially about Grace."
"How is Grace?" Zach wanted to know. I had said plenty about her.
"She's fine," I said. "Well, fair; she's fair. I'm pretty sure she passed the exam because she was one of the best students in the class. But we'll have to wait and see. She and I have been attending some parenting classes together. And a couple of times, we tried yoga. They have this yoga class for pregnant ladies at a nearby fitness center."
Will snickered. I made a face and sitting to the left of him, James gave his little brother a tweak on the ear. To his right, Zach did the same thing. Then we all started laughing. The Yamakawa brothers always kept me entertained.
For a brief moment, I almost wished I was having a boy. Then I remembered that I had wanted a girl all along. A boy would have been okay, but my heart had been set on having a little baby girl to dress up in cute little dresses. She'd grow up playing with dolls and having tea parties, and playing games that were usually quiet. You cannot have that kind of peace and quiet when you're raising little boys...
"She's home!" Mom exclaimed. We could all hear Claudia pulling into the driveway in her classic '67 Mustang that she'd been driving for the past two years. "Hide!"
So the rest of us got up and "hid" in a little corner of the yard that was hidden by the house. Mom went inside to greet Claudia and lure her into the backyard. As planned, Mom brought Claudia into the backyard, let her take in the stack of gifts and cake for a brief moment, and then the rest of us popped out of our hiding place and yelled, "Surprise!"
"Augh!" Claudia jumped up and down, truly surprised. She was wearing one of her typical Claudia ensembles today; a yellow t-shirt underneath a navy-blue buttoned down Boy Scout shirt that she had found at Goodwill. It even had a bunch of patches sewn on it, and it fit Claudia exactly right. She had on a pair of jeans that she'd cut off to display her ankles and her converse sneakers without socks. But more interesting than that was what Claudia had done to her hair!
"When did you cut it?" I wanted to know when she came to greet me and give me a hug. "And... red streaks! You've got red streaks in your hair! Are they permanent?"
"Yes! Hahaha!" Claudia got a kick out of my reaction. I glanced over at Mom, who shook her head slightly, but didn't look bothered by Claud's wild hairstyle. "I got it done last week. I surprised everyone with my new look at Mallory Pike's slumber party. I knew you'd be visiting for my birthday, and thought I would surprise you, too. But you guys surprised me!"
"Well, I love it," I told her.
"You do not!"
"Yes, I do!" I protested. "Seriously. It's an ideal expression of your um... creativity."
"Thanks!" She laughed. "Look at your belly! Oh my gosh, I haven't seen you in awhile, huh? Wow, look at you!!!" I'm sure I was blushing a good bit while Claudia took a moment to make a huge fuss over me. I guess it is a really exciting thing to see your older sister pregnant. And we had not even told the family the news about having a girl yet, even though James and I had known for weeks! We were waiting for a moment like this to tell everyone. And I knew exactly how I'd go about it...
"You want to feel her kick?" I offered. Claudia nodded anxiously, not catching the pronoun that I had casually tossed in. As I was letting Claudia feel where the little foot was softly kicking, I glanced up and looked at my mother. She had caught what I said, and her lips were parted slightly. After a moment, Claudia caught on as well.
"Her?" Claudia's eyes met mine. I smiled. "Oh, my lord, you're having a girl?!"
Upon hearing this, everyone got excited and all started talking to me and James at once. It was quite a reaction! After receiving such attention, I was feeling guilty because the focus was supposed to be on Claudia and her birthday.
Luckily, Claudia didn't seem to mind, and I was soon forgotten when Sheri lit the candles on Claudia's cake and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to my eighteen year old "little" sister. (She was slightly taller than I was so I could hardly see it fit to call her that anymore.) Claud blew out the candles, and the cake was served.
Claudia then had three presents stacked on the table to open, one from Will and Zach, one from Sheri and Joseph, and one from James and I. James and I gave her a CD organizer (because she always puts her CDs all over her dresser), and James burned a CD for her after I told him what kind of music my sister seemed to like. James took it from there and assured me she would love it.
Where was Mom and Dad's present?
"Claud," Mom began. "We wanted to get you something extra special this year. And we also wanted to get something special for Janine and James as an anniversary gift. So we decided to get you kids the same thing." She glanced over at James and me. "So, Happy early-Anniversary."
"What is it?" Claudia and I asked at the same time.
"Well, first let me say that the anniversary gift to James and Janine is from Joseph and Sheri as well," Mom said. "James told us that he wanted to do something special for your anniversary, like take a vacation. Tell her everyone what you told me, James."
"I told you," James began. "That I thought Janine and I would have a nice time if I took off work, and we went to Sea City. And I knew that Claudia had been there before so I wanted you to find out about it."
"And that gave me an idea of my own," Mom smiled. "So I asked James if he wouldn't mind my stealing his gift idea... and if he would allow me to arrange a trip to Sea City for the whole family!"
"Sea City?" Claudia exclaimed, clearly thrilled out of her mind.
"Are we going, too?" Will wanted to know.
"We're going, too," Sheri answered.
"You knew all along?" I asked James. He kissed my cheek.
"It's okay, isn't it?" He whispered his question in my ear. "That it won't be just us."
I kissed him back. "Yes. It's okay."
(A/N: Thank you, Greer, for those great ideas!)