I woke up relatively early to do some last minute house tidying and to make myself and Bard breakfast. Bard hid the bedding he had used on the bench, seen as his parents didn't know we weren't sharing a bed.
Even though I had just met them, I didn't want to upset them, they seemed so happy with Bard and my relationship. Neither of us wanted them to know of our dislike for each other, so we were just pretending we were happy for their sake.
Soon enough Eibhlin and Bran arrived at our home and Eibhlin quickly got me to leave my home to go to the small market that Laketown had. There wasn't much there, but there were a few shops and stalls, but really it wasn't great. But it would do for the purposes of just going shopping with my Mother in law.
Really there were only a few stalls and a few more shops. Most of the stalls held imported goods, whilst the shops held goods from Laketown.
Eibhlin was happy, looking at ingredients for the dinner tonight, and she seemed a little too happy. She had such a cheery demeanour it was odd to think that she was actually related to Bard.
Once we had bought any food we could possibly need, we both walked through the shops and around the stools even though we had no desire to buy anything else. We didn't have much money, but everything we had gotten was relatively cheap, and now we were browsing rather than actually shopping really.
As I thought the shopping would end soon Eibhlin found a small shop that consisted of objects for children and babies. It seemed unlikely that Eibhlin was expecting a child, and from what I knew Bard was her only son, and she had no daughters. I was very certain that she wasn't expecting a grandchild either, unless Bard had another wife that I did not know of.
Eibhlin picked up a small outfit that could only fit a young infant.
"Don't you think this would look so sweet on your child one day, hopefully a day soon?" Eibhlin smiled, giving me a suggestive look.
It threw me for a moment, but it then clicked that she thought Bard and I were a happy newly married couple. And most newlywed couples partook in activities that would lead to the birth of a child. She didn't know that Bard had been sleeping on the bench at the dining table, and I didn't plan on telling her that piece of information.
"Hopefully. But Bard and I are taking things slow, we don't want to grow our family too quickly, we did only meet a few months ago, so we just want to make sure we can create the perfect foundations for a family," I smiled lying with every word.
Her smile grew as she rested a hand on your shoulder.
"Oh darling, you are the daughter I never had. You and my son, are so happy together. You may be new to this family, but it's as if you have been here for an eternity," she sighed, "Ailish as soon as I saw you on your wedding day I knew you would be perfect for my son, but now I know the original thought I had is now a reality."
She was so sweet, and it hurt me that I couldn't make her happy, I had to lie to her to do so.
"Thank you Eibhlin, I see you as a Mother. Bard was lucky to have as amazing parents as you and Bran," I smiled softly, not lying this time.
"Dear, we just did the best things for our son. It felt so wrong to force him into this marriage but he lucked out with an amazing wife. And sweetheart you will be an amazing Mother. I'll get your little one this for now, but when you are pregnant we can go shopping for more baby stuff," she stated still holding the tiny outfit.
"Eibhlin you really don't have to," I reasoned.
She laughed holding onto the outfit and picking up a small rattle as well as she went and paid for them. I let out a sigh following behind her to the cashier. I attempted to convince her that buying stuff for a baby that was likely to never to be born, was pointless, but she wasn't taking any of it.
Even against my better judgement Eibhlin bought the baby objects.
Once she had paid for them we headed back home. This shopping experience made me feel bad about disliking Bard, he couldn't be that bad if he was raised by such a kind and compassionate woman. Eibhlin was so nice, there was no way the spawn of Satan that I called a husband could be so bad if she had raised him, which she did.
I hadn't spent as much time with Bran, but he seemed nice also, there was no way they could have create such an aggravating child.
We walked home and soon enough we were there. When we entered the small house Bard and Bran were sat at the table talking about something or other, but I couldn't exactly make out what they were saying, as they stopped speaking when we entered the room.
Bran stood up and walked over to Eibhlin pulling her into an embrace kissing her. Bard looked up at me before realising he had to show some form of affection towards me. He came over to me wrapping an arm around me pecking my cheek.
"How was the market?" Bard asked with a fake smile.
"It was pleasant, we got everything for dinner," I smiled in returned, "How about you help me in the kitchen, and allow your parents to rest?"
"Nonsense my dear, I can help," Eibhlin stated.
"No Eibhlin, rest, you have done too much for us already, it can be our treat. It's not much of one but it is a treat nevertheless," I said encouragingly.
This time she gave in, she and Bran sat down on the furthest end of the table away from the kitchen so they could talk, but give Bard and I a bit of space. Together we unpacked what we had bought, beginning to talk in hushed tones, keeping smiles on our faces, to make his parents think our conversations topic was pleasant, although it probably wouldn't be.
"Did you know your Mother is expecting a grandchild from us? She was very persistent to buy baby things," I stated.
His smile wavered but he tried not show it too drastically.
"What do you expect Aila? They think we love one another, and couples in love will usually produce a child. My Mother spoke a lot of a grandchild before our marriage now she and my Father speak of when we will give them the baby they desire. Honestly they are so much more thrilled by our marriage and relationship than we are, but we aren't exactly keen on each other," he explained.
I let out a sigh.
We cooked the meal before sitting down at the table to eat it with his parents. Together we sat opposite them, before we all started on the meal. Most of the work had been mine, but at least this time Bard pitched in with the cooking.
"This is wonderful," Eibhlin smiled, "you two are splendid cooks."
Bard chuckled wrapping an arm around my shoulders pulling me into his chest, kissing my hair.
"The work was all Aila's, her cooking is wonderful, I was merely there to look pretty, although she did a marvellous job at that herself," he smiled.
Although I knew there was no truth to his words, they still tugged at my heart, warming it slightly. As he pulled me close to him, I inhaled his scent, it was homely. He smelt of burnt wood and vanilla. It was pleasant, it didn't fit with his personality and if I didn't know he was what I was smelling I would feel a strong sense of comfort and protection. Even knowing it was my husband it still made me feel safe.
"So you two," Bran started, "You've been together for a short while, broken in the bed yet son? Your Mother can't wait to be a grandmother."
Instantly my cheeks became inflamed. I turned my head to hide it in Bard's chest. Surprisingly he rested a hand on my shoulder in a protective manner. It wasn't completely desired, but it certainly wasn't unwelcome.
"Dad," Bard hissed through his teeth.
"You're embarrassing her," Eibhlin laughed, "But look at them, I'm sure we will have little feet running around on these floors."
Bard let out a laugh as I turned around to look at his parents again, pulling slightly out of his embrace.
"Don't worry Mum, one day we will have a child, and they will love their grandparents dearly, but at the moment, Aila and I want to take things a bit slower, get to know one another, and be comfortable together before we even think of adding a child to the mix," Bard explained.
"Well you look pretty comfortable together now," Bran stated.
Bard chuckled squeezing his arm around you, "We are but there is no reason to rush anything."