"Eight and a half," I heard Claudia say.
The sun was out and beaming down on us. Or at least, it was beaming down on Claudia. I was trying to stay out of the sun, but more importantly, out of sight. While Claudia was stretched out in a skimpy bikini soaking up the rays, I was reading while huddled under an umbrella and covered up with an oversized t-shirt. Times like these made me more jealous of Claudia than I had ever been in my entire life.
"Seven," she said, under her breath. I turned over to look at her. She had her sunglasses on, but I could see that she was looking in the direction of a group of guys who were about to start a game of beach volleyball.
"You're rating those guys," I observed. Just then, the ball was hit over in our direction. A skinny guy who seemed to be working up a bad sunburn ran over to retrieve it. He flashed a smile at Claudia who in turn smiled back, but when the boy ran back to his group, Claudia turned to me and said: "Four."
"A four?" I echoed. "Claud, he at least gets a six."
"Four," she said stubbornly. "I have high standards."
"Snob," I teased her.
"You ought to have two kids," was her reply, ignoring my jest. "Two girls, just like us. You older daughter can be a super genius who graduates from college at the age of twelve. (I laughed) And the younger daughter can be an artist with a flare for fashion who takes shopping trips every weekend with her Aunt Claudia."
"What if the genius wants to go shopping?" I asked.
"She already has her entire wardrobe," Claudia insisted. "All of your old clothes."
"That's right," I smirked. "...Well, I know I want more than one child. It's good for kids to have siblings. You wouldn't be nearly as tough as you are if you didn't have me to fight with for all those years."
"And vice-versa," said Claud, nodding. "When do you think you and James will have another baby?"
I groaned. "I can't even think about that right now." Then I paused. I actually had given the matter some consideration. "But right now, I'm saying at least four more years, maybe five. As long as there are no more surprises."
"That long?" Claudia didn't bother hiding her dismay.
"I need to be sure that I can be a good mother with one before try to take on two," I pointed out. "I can hardly imagine what one child of my own is going to be like, let alone two." Then Grace came into my mind, and I fell silent.
"Like your student," Claudia said, reading my mind. "Grace, right? The girl that's my age?"
"A year younger than you."
"Well, how is she doing?" Claud wanted to know. "How are the twins?"
"They've been home for two weeks," I said. "So far, so good."
Once the twins were strong enough to breathe on their own and gained enough weight, Grace was finally able to take them home. By then, Grace was regaining some of her strength. Recovering from a Cesarean section is said to be more difficult than recovering from a vaginal delivery.
"She never gets any sleep," I told Claudia.
"No, I guess not," Claudia said, shaking her head. "Poor thing."
"But her mother helps her out," I added quickly. "She allows Grace and the twins to live at home and is helping her take care of them."
Grace had been raised by a single mother for practically all her life. Her father walked out when Grace was really little. Her situation was like that of Claudia's friend, Kristy Thomas. In fact, Grace had mentioned to me once before that not having a father was part of the reason she used to do anything to get attention from guys. Anything at all.
"That's good, then," Claudia said. "Still doesn't make up for the father not being there."
Once again, Claudia and I were on the same track.
"No... no, nothing could make up for that."
Grace hated to talk about the father of her children. She had never even told me his name. And yet she had said to me once that she would always miss him.
"Mmm," was Claudia's response, and then she closed her eyes and turned over. Clearly, she was sympathetic towards the situation, but having not ever met Grace, there wasn't much more to be said. So I dropped the conversation and closed my own eyes.
"Hey, Janine?" Claud said after a few minutes or so.
"Hm?"
"You fell asleep."
"I did?"
"For about fifteen minutes," Claudia said. "You feel okay? I noticed that you didn't have much energy yesterday. Mom noticed, too. She's been a little worried about you."
"Some days, I'm full of energy. Some days, I just want to sleep," I explained. "You know, I'll have to ask my doctor, but I think I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions ever now and then. Especially when I walk around a lot. It doesn't hurt, but sometimes it does take my breath away. That would explain me being more tired than usual."
"I'll bet. And then add that to the fact that you've got extra weight to carry."
"Still growing," I sighed. "Though I don't see how I could get any bigger."
"You look beautiful," Claudia insisted. "Radiant. You glow."
"Well... thanks."
Her eyes lit up then. "Oooh, I have an idea!" She jumped up. "Make that an artistic inspiration! I brought my camera with me to the beach to get some pictures for my summer photography class. But then I thought, a beach... well, that would be pretty, but since this is August and everything, half of the people in my class are going to have beach photos at the exhibit. The exhibit is three weeks away..."
"What are you getting at?" I asked, taking note of the way she was talking to my stomach instead of my face, already suspecting what Claudia was about to say.
"Can I take pictures of you?" she asked. "On the beach. Oh! At sunset, maybe. You could wear something really silky and flowy, with the shirt open to show off your belly."
"And put the pictures up at your exhibit? Gee, I don't know..."
"Please, please, please, Janine?" She begged. When she saw my doubtful expression, she tried something else. "How about this? Just let me take the pictures and if you don't want them on display, I can use something else. And then the pictures would just be for you to keep. Wouldn't you like that?"
I started to smile, and Claudia was grinning from ear to ear, aware that she had succeeding in convincing me. Claudia was a great photographer; no doubt about that. She had been interested in it ever since she took her first photography class at the age of thirteen. The pictures would be beautiful, and they would be great keepsakes. Without much hesitation, I nodded.
Claudia kissed my cheek and then she darted off, mumbling something about finding the right wardrobe and accessories. Typical Claudia... always thinking about what to wear.
Not long after she left, James came along. "Hey, beautiful. Happy Anniversary. How are you feeling?"
I had mentioned the Braxton Hicks contractions to him the night before while trying to explain my lack of energy. Instead of making him feel relieved, he seemed more concerned than ever. I tried to explain that it was no big deal and completely normal, but he still wasn't convinced. Now, accompanying every greeting, was the phrase: 'How are you feeling?' Naturally, I appreciated the fact that he cared about my wellness so much, but eight more weeks of that question was going to drive me crazy.
And if everyone starts treating me like a sick, little child... like some kind of invalid. Well, then, I'll crack for sure.
"Great!" I said, making my point by standing up and kissing him. "Great."
He raised his eyebrows. "Well...great." (I fought the urge to yawn.) "Want to go swimming?"
"Sure!" I exclaimed. "Just what I need."
Dammit, I was going to be perky and fun even if it killed me. For one week, somehow, I would keep my mind off of my backaches, swollen feet, and other unmentionable discomforts. Yeah, that was the plan, anyway.