Endeavor
"Of all the times," Sam grunted. "For me to decide to do something insanely girly…Ugh, this was a huge mistake."
She stared at her foot, which was stretched out in front of her, resting on the coffee table. Three of her toes were painted bright red, and getting the other two done was proving to be quite the endeavor. And then of course she had a whole other foot to tend to.
While Sam rarely painted her nails, she had never had this much difficulty before. The task was undoubtedly made harder by the fact that she was currently eight months pregnant, and her very swollen abdomen made reaching down to her toes nearly impossibly.
"I give up," Sam panted, leaning back in the couch. "I'll just walk around with three terribly painted toes…I don't care."
"Alright, I think I finally got it right," Freddie said, coming into the house carrying a bag from Inside-Out Burger. "Two burgers with extra onions and pickles and no mustard, an order of curly fries, extra crispy, and three packets of barbecue sauce."
"Did you happen to pick up a chocolate milkshake too?" Sam asked hopefully.
"You didn't ask for a chocolate milkshake, baby," Freddie sighed. "But…I saw this coming."
He stepped over to her and handed her a large chocolate shake. "Am I getting good at reading these pregnancy cravings or what?"
"Thanks, Fredgut," Sam said, digging into her meal.
"So what are you up to?" Freddie asked, sitting down next to his wife.
"Eh, I was bored so I was trying to paint my nails," Sam said. "But I kind of failed miserably."
"You've painted your nails before," Freddie frowned.
"Yeah, but I've never had a person growing inside of me before!" Sam snapped. "Do you know how hard it is to reach my feet? Huh? Very! This sucks! All I wanted to do is paint my toenails to make my feet look somewhat presentable, because right now they're all swollen and gross and-and I couldn't even do that! It was just so hard and now-"
"Are-Are you crying?" Freddie asked as tears fell from Sam's eyes. He quickly grabbed her a tissue. "Aw, baby, it's okay."
"And now these stupid pregnancy hormones are making me cry like I'm some weak nub like you!" Sam wailed as Freddie wrapped his arms around her.
"Shh, it's okay," Freddie said, ignoring her last comment. He was getting far too used to Sam's mood swings to even take offense. "Look, don't worry. I'll paint your toes for you! All you have to do is sit back and relax."
"You can't paint my nails," Sam mumbled, wiping her eyes. "You're just a dumb boy; you'll make an even bigger mess than I did."
"I can paint your nails for you, Sam," Freddie said, rolling his eyes. "Trust me. And if I do mess up, which I won't, I promise, I'll call Carly and have her over here doing damage control in a heartbeat."
"Well…okay," Sam reluctantly conceded. "I guess you can do it."
"Great," Freddie said cheerfully, picking up the nail polish bottle. "You'll see, I won't-"
"God, Freddie, you're just such a sweet husband," Sam said, tearing up again. "And I'm so mean to you."
"What? No, no, don't start crying again," Freddie said, grabbing the box of tissues. "It's okay. Really. You're not mean to me. I love you, Sam."
"I love you too," Sam sniffed. "I swear, I think I've cried more during this pregnancy than I have my whole life."
"Just think, though, one more month," Freddie said as he began painting her nails. "And then you'll be done being pregnant!"
"Thank God," Sam mumbled. "Wonder if I'll miss it…"
"Maybe," Freddie said. "I mean, I know you must be super uncomfortable, but there must be some parts of it that you like."
Sam smiled as she rested her hand on her stomach. "I do like when I feel the baby kick. It's like it's telling me it's okay in there. And…And just knowing that I'm always with the baby…that's kind of nice too."
"But soon you'll be able to see the baby kick, once it's finally here," Freddie said.
"That's true," she nodded. "It feels weird, though. I mean all during this pregnancy we've been saying how we can't wait for the baby to be here, and it's felt like this whole thing has dragged on forever. But my due date's in four weeks…that's right around the corner."
"Well, we're ready," Freddie told her. "We've got the nursery all set up, the house has been baby-proofed for months, we've got enough diapers to wallpaper our bedroom…"
"Yeah…yeah, I know, we're as prepared as we can be, I guess," Sam nodded. "Heck I've read, like, a dozen parenting books."
"If that's not dedication, I don't know what is," Freddie grinned.
"You think we'll be good parents?" Sam asked.
"What do you mean?" Freddie frowned.
"You know, do you think we'll be those parents who have their kid talking by six months and potty trained by their first birthday and make all the other parents jealous?" Sam asked.
"I-I don't think those things make you a good parent, Sam," Freddie said. "I think what makes a good parent is, well, just loving the kid…no matter what. I think that if you give the kid all that love and support, unconditionally, then…yeah. You'll be a good parent."
He looked up at his wife. "And I know we can do that."
"We already do love this baby so much," Sam pointed out.
"Well…I guess that answers your question then," Freddie smiled.
"It does," Sam said softly. She glanced down at her feet. "Wow…you're actually doing a pretty good job."
"Told you I wouldn't mess up," Freddie smirked.
"How are you doing such a good job?" Sam asked, suspiciously. "Have you done this before?"
Freddie didn't reply.
"Oh my God, you have!" Sam gasped.
"Okay, okay, yes!" Freddie said. "I-I have painted a few toenails in the past."
"Why?"
"Um…okay, you-you're going to laugh-" Freddie sighed.
"Oh I bet," Sam said happily.
"Well, when I was younger, my-my mom she…" Freddie began. "She made me take an eight-week pedicure course at the community center!"
"No way!" Sam burst out laughing. "You took a class on doing nails?"
"Yes, yes, laugh it up," Freddie said, rolling his eyes. "You're lucky you're pregnant, you know."
"Or else what?" Sam grinned.
"N-Nothing," Freddie said lamely.
"How could I have been married to you this long and not have known," Sam said. "Do you have like, a certificate or something?"
"Okay, we're done here!" Freddie said, getting to his feet. "There, you're all done."
"Wait, I want to tease you about being a professional pedicurist some more!" Sam said.
"I am not a professional!" Freddie exclaimed.
"Fine, an novice pedicurist," Sam said, rolling her eyes.
"Cute," Freddie snapped, making to leave the room.
"Wait…baby!" Sam called after him.
"What?" Freddie said.
"I'm kind of craving some ceaser salad," Sam said. "Do you think you can go and get me some? And while you're out you should pick up some more nail polish. Now that I know about your talent, we can keep this little arrangement up for quite some time."
"This is my life now," Freddie sighed to himself as he grabbed his car keys.
