So, I made a big boo-boo with the last chapter and posted the wrong one. Instead of switching out chapters and confusing everyone, I've tweaked the next couple of chapters a little bit. Sorry for the confusion. I'll blame lack of sleep on this one.
The Brother From Another Mother
(Thank God)
Who knew that ordering some food at a café down the road from work would be so much . . . work. Is the meat cooked all the way through? Does this have shellfish in it? Are the eggs that are used in the Mayo raw or in dried format? Can we have a decaf coffee without all the mumbo jumbo of names and sizes? And that was just me asking the questions!
I didn't know where half of it came from, though, but all of a sudden, my Daddy side was poking its head out of my brain. Was any of this safe for Princess and the baby? Did we have nine months of this? Couldn't I just wrap her up in bubble wrap and make her sit on the couch until she was due? All of a sudden, I saw hazards everywhere. It was all screwing with my brain. Walking down the sidewalk, she had to be on the inside, far away from the possible dangers of the road. Did her bath have a mat in it, so she didn't slip? Was it safe for her to drive in her condition? My mind wouldn't shut the hell up!
"Edward, I'm sure you're a man I will grow to love, but if you keep cutting in every time I go to order something, I will stab you with this pretty silver fork. I don't need you to take over with everything. I just want some food. I've read the same books you have, I know what is, and isn't, safe, and I know what questions to ask. You don't have to go all caveman on me,"
But I thought she liked me pulling her hair . . . No, I can't think like that. Not now, not today. All I wanted to do was sink into her and enjoy ourselves in bed, but she kept on being sick, and I had . . . Issues. I'll work them out, but I'm not talking to her doctor about it. No way, no how.
"But, Princess, what if it hurts the baby or makes you sick?" I asked. The poor waitress was looking at us like a tennis match spectator.
"I know what I can and can't eat, Prick, back off,"
"Fine. Just don't come to me when you hurl your guts up in here," I was a brave man. In just the short time we'd learned that she was having our baby, she'd turned into the spawn of the Devil himself. Snappy, crying, and tired. Princess being tired was the worst bit because it made her moods completely unstable. So yes, I was a brave man for speaking up.
"I won't. I'll save it for when we're back in your office. Now shush, I want to order. Good afternoon and I'm sorry about the idiot. Can I please have a 6-ounce steak, with no blood at all, but not well done enough to break my teeth. Some crushed potatoes with garlic and spring onions. Also, some onion rings, a side helping of peas, and do you have any mint gravy?"
"Mint gravy?" The waitress asked, dumbfounded.
"Normal gravy, but with mint sauce in it,"
"Is that sausage gravy?"
"No, the brown stuff. Sausage gravy looks like cat sick,"
"We have beef stock gravy, and I'm sure we have some mint sauce somewhere,"
"That's brilliant. Can I just have both and I'll mix it myself, cheers." The waitress nodded dumbly, took the menu from Princess and walked off.
"Mint sauce? Don't you have that with lamb?"
"I don't care. I want mint sauce,"
"Aw, is this your first craving? We should write it down as a memento. Oh! We could start a scrapbook with all these events." I knew it was stupid the moment it left my lips.
"Can you confirm, just for the record, which one is the lady in this relationship?" Smart mouth woman.
.
"Good afternoon and welcome to Spring View Health Center. How can I help you?" Before Princess could even open up her mouth, I directed her to a seat and moved back to the reception desk.
"Good afternoon. My partner, Bella Swan, is here to see Doctor Em," I replied, looking at the scribble on the paper in my hand. I was sure that I'd written it down right. I couldn't be too sure because I was wrestling the phone from Bella this morning.
"Well, that's just grand. A new baby for the town, how sweet!" Wow, the woman needed to dial down her cheeriness. Or sugar intake.
"Yeah, not just yet, but in about seven or so months," I replied awkwardly. I didn't dare tell her that the baby wouldn't be for this town. Bella refused point-blank to deal with the doctors in Forks, so We'd moved doctors to PA. Hopefully, Princess would try and maim this doctor.
"Well, just take a seat with Mommy to be, and I'll let Doctor Em know that a new Mommy and Daddy are here to see him," she grinned again. I stumbled back to where Princess was sitting.
"It should be a crime to be so cheery in a doctor's office. People are here because they're sick. It's like she's mocking us," Princess griped.
"Keep your voice down, Sweetheart. I know it's getting under your skin, but you don't have to be so loud about it," I whispered.
"Why do people whisper at the doctors? What's the purpose? Whispering won't make anyone feel better, and it's not like we're at a funeral. They're not dead yet,"
"Princess, it's a mark of respect. Just read a magazine or something," I huffed. She was cranky. She slept well last night, and I'd just fed her, so it must have been her hormones playing up again.
"I'm not picking up a baby magazine. They mock me. All those smiling and cheery women on the front. Why don't they have real-life women? You know, the ones that heave up the content of their stomachs twenty-four seven and their hair is a total mess." I really hoped to God that she would cheer up soon.
"Miss. Swan to room three, please,"
Thank God!
We made our way to the room, and a nurse met us there. She weighed Princess, took a sample of blood, then handed her a small pot.
"What's this for?" Princess asked.
"We need a urine sample, Miss Swan,"
"How am I supposed to pee in something this small?"
"Bella, please? Just pee in the cup so we can see the doctor," I whispered.
"Fine, but I'm not washing my hands afterward on principle. If I pee on them, I'm making you hold my hand all the way home, urine and all," she huffed and walked into the adjoining bathroom.
"You're going to have your hands full with that one," the nurse laughed.
"Going to? I already have. Tell me, though, will it get any better? Her moods? They won't always be like this, will they?" I was clinging to hope.
"Usually around twelve to fourteen weeks, they even out, somewhat. The first few weeks are always tough. New hormones, tiredness, morning sickness. It takes it out of a woman," she replied. It made me start to wonder if anyone lists what it takes out of a man when we make a baby. We end up being a moving target board for women's emotions.
Bella came back into the room a minute later, and she was smiling. I didn't know if it was because she did pee on her hands or not. Either way, I didn't hold her hand.
"You can go into the next room and see the doctor, now. It won't be a long appointment. You just need to cover the basics today." The nurse said, and off we went again.
"Dude!" Wow, eardrums. I looked up to see a familiar face. Damn!
"Em? Damn, dude, what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question. Didn't you get told in Bio 101 to wrap it before you tap it?" He joked. Princess growled.
"Apparently, no protection is 100 percent," she huffed. "Are you going to fill me in on the whole 'dude' thing?" She asked, pointing at Em and me.
"We met at college, sweetheart. He's my brother from another mother. Which is good, because his mother hates my guts. Bad influence, apparently. She still cold as ice, Edward?"
I thought it was a complete load of bollocks that he got Princess to smile so radiantly.
"I think I'm going to love you on principle, Em," Princess giggled.
"Yeah, she's still got some issues with her lack of warmth," I muttered.
We both took a seat, and for the next twenty minutes, we answered all questions and filled in more forms. I learned more about Bella in that time than I had the whole time we had been together. She was chattier now and seemed to get on well with Em.
I didn't know how I felt about that. He would be having very close access to her over the next several months.
"Prick, time to go," she said, bringing my attention back to the room.
"Prick?"
"Long story, Em. We'll have to get together really soon and catch up, and you can tell me more about your wife," Princess said, and we were soon exchanging numbers, shaking hands, and leaving the doctors.
"Why do people call him by his first name?" She wondered, and I laughed as we headed to the car.
"His name is Emmett Andrew Fitzpatrick-McCarty. He always used to bitch like a little girl that he didn't have enough space on forms to put his whole name. I suppose that's why they just call him by his first name here,"
"His mother must have hated him," Bella said, smiling as I opened the car door for her.
"You shook his hand," I said, thinking aloud.
"And your point is?"
"Did you wash them first?"
"Like I'm going to tell you that," she giggled, and we headed home.
So, while making sure that the States actually has Mint Sauce, I hopped onto the Walmart website and nearly died! I couldn't believe how much a jar of Mint Sauce actually was. nearly $12! We pay about £1.50 for our jars, which is less than $2.00. Then I was told that it was imported. That explains a lot. I still can't get over the price, though LOL
Oooo! Have you read my new one-shot? It's called Enlightenment and it's quite sexy, if I do say so myself. I'd love for you to give it a read and let me know what you think! ;)