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Chapter Three

Sookie POV

Scrolling through the racks at the bridal shop, I sigh as I look at the dresses. I am trying to find the perfect wedding dress, but not many bridal stores carry a decent variety of maternity dresses. The ones that they do carry usually look like big tents. I do not want to get married in a tent-dress.

Eric and I had agreed on and set a date in October, which is just under 4 months away, for the wedding, and at that time I will be around eight and a half months pregnant. We had to rearrange the dates and times for the reception and ceremony places, but everything is all back in place and ready to go. All we have to do now is find our formal attire and order the cake.

So here I am, shopping with Mia, hoping to find the perfect wedding dress. Is there such a thing as a 'perfect wedding dress'? Maybe not- but I am determined I'm going to find it anyways.

"Don't worry Sookie, we'll find something pretty." Mia was saying.

"I don't want to be just 'pretty'...I want to look perfect on my wedding day...I want to be perfect for Eric." I tell her.

"Eric doesn't care one bit about how you look on your wedding day, I bet he'd marry you even if you were wearing nothing more than a potato sack." Mia says.

I sigh. "I know...but maybe I want to look beautiful. Maybe I want to have a pretty dress and marry the man of my dreams. I mean the first time I wore a white dress, and things didn't go so well for me then."

Mia frowns. "Actually they did. You and Eric finally got together while you were wearing that white dress."

"I suppose...but still, a new wedding means a new dress." I say.

Mia nods. "That's right...a brand new day, brand new beginnings."

I smile and turn to continue looking through the racks.

"Oh look, what about this one?" Mia asks as she pulls out a floor-length cream dress. I look at the dress and instantly my heart starts beating faster. It is gorgeous, with spaghetti straps and intricate beadwork on the bodice of the dress. It's made of layers of the softest chiffon, and is an empire cut dress, with a sash under my breast, and then it flows easily into a full skirt. No matter how big I am by our wedding day, I will still be able to wear it and feel beautiful. Eric will love me in this dress and I will love wearing it.

"It's perfect!" I blurt out just as I start to cry, "Oh goodness, why am I crying now? God, I hate pregnancy hormones!" I mumble loudly to myself.

Mia is shaking as she tries to hold back her laughter and shrugs her shoulders in sympathy. It wasn't too long ago that she was dealing with her own bout of hormonal overflow. She holds the dress out to me silently, the amusement still shining in her yes.

I sigh and take the dress from her. "Well, I'll go and try this on."

I walk into the changing room, closed the curtain and begin to change.

"So, uh, this placenta thing with you and the baby...is it gonna get serious?" Mia asks me seriously.

I sigh quietly as I pull the dress over my head, "I thought we weren't going to talk about this?"

"I know, but I can't help it. I mean, you just told me out of the blue you know? And I don't know what to say!" she cries out, and I can feel her fear and frustration at not knowing how to help me.

"Don't say anything. I will be fine." I tell her, trying to so as strong as I can.

"But how can I not say anything? Sookie, you or the baby might die." She says timidly.

I finish adjusting the dress and pull the curtain open. When I walk out, I look Mia in the eyes and say, "Mia, I'm gonna be fine. We know the risks, and all of the bad things that might happen. But nothing's happened yet so, I'm gonna stay positive because it's the only thing I can do at the moment. Besides, I don't want to think about the situation I'm in today, because I just want to focus on the positives."

She nods and I see the tears pooling in her eyes. "And what's that?"

I grab both of her hands. "That, I'm having a baby with the man I love. That I am marrying that same wonderful man in a few months and I have the greatest best friend a girl could have."

I give her hug just as Claudine gives a loud cry from her pram. Mia pulls away from me reluctantly and walks over to her daughter. She lifts Claudine from the pram and begins to rock her soothingly, cooing and patting her tiny bottom to calm her down.

"That will be me soon, holding a baby in my arms and rocking it to sleep. I'm scared Mia." I tell her.

She nods. "I understand, I was too, but there's nothing to be scared about. You're going to be fine. I'm sorry to have said what I did, I'm just worried about you."

"I know...well on to happier things, what do you think about this dress?" I ask perkily as I turn from side to side.

She looks at the dress and smiles. "It's beautiful. It suits you well and I think you should buy it."

"But it's the first dress I've tried on." I say.

She shrugs. "So? If you like it and it suits you; then buy it. It doesn't matter how many you try on, this one is perfect for you."

I smile and hug my best friend carefully so as not to wake Claudine again. I'm pretty damn lucky to have a friend like her.

Eric POV

"Hey Babe, what do you think about a horse-drawn carriage?" I ask as I flick through the pages of the newspaper. I take a drink of Coke as I settle into the recliner.

After a long day at the high school, I am ready to relax and plan the wedding with Sookie, who is sitting next to me reading bridal magazines.

"No...no horse-drawn carriage. The cars will do fine." She tells me

"But that's what Sam and Jason did for their weddings." I point out.

"I want the cars." She snaps.

I frown. "Okay...so, we're going to have the ceremony at the Gold Coast Lake and then head to the Hilton for the reception and the entire wedding party is going to be transported in Holden Commodores. Oh, and maybe Paris for the honeymoon, right?"

"Oh sure, so you're just gonna take over the planning, are you? Leave me out of things because of my pregnancy and because I need bed rest and such. Well that's just fine." She pouts.

"Sookie, is everything okay?" I ask, worried about her behaviour.

"Oh, I'm fine Eric! Just fine!" she shouts as she gets up from her seat as quickly as she can, and I can tell that I am in for a serious dressing-down. "I'm pregnant, so that means I'm gonna get fat and being fat will mean I'm ugly and you'll want to leave me because I'm fat and ugly and so you'll go out and see other women and leave me at home to look after the baby. You know what? Fuck you! Fuck you and your bloody sperm! I hate you!" she storms to the kitchen, leaving me sitting on he recliner in shock.

"What the fuck was that?" I mumble to myself as I get up and warily walk into the kitchen. When I arrive, Sookie is already sitting at the table, crying and sobbing like mad.

"Oh, honey, what brought that on?' I ask, sitting next to her and putting my arm around her so I can pull her closer to me.

"You're not gonna love me when I'm big and fat!" she sobs.

"Sookie, don't say that. So what if you're gonna get big? That's just part of being pregnant. I'll still love you anyway...I will always love you." I assure her.

"Really?" she almost purrs as she gets up and starts to take off my shirt, lust in her eyes and a soft growl in her voice

I jump up and away from her in shock, "Sookie what the...? I mean, just moments ago you were sad and angry and now you're horny?"

Sookie sits on her knees. "So now you don't want me either? See, I told you that you wouldn't love me."

She begins to sob once again. I go to her and hug her. "Oh Honey, that's not what I meant. What is going on with you?"

She pushes me away. "Go away...I'm upset and I need to be alone. Go!"

I frown, not amused in the slightest by these sudden mood swings. "Go where? I don't want to leave you like this."

She sniffs. "I need some ice cream... No, I wantsome ice cream. Would you just go and get me some chocolate chip ice-cream... Now!" She is almost yelling at me by this point.

She begins throwing the plastic knives that were on the table at me, and I decide it is probably safer for me to just leave. I thrown my hands in the air in the universal sign of surrender, "Okay, alright, I'm going!"

I walk out of the house, grabbing the keys and my jacket before heading out. I shake my head as I think about Sookie's strange behaviour. She is acting really strange. I open the car door but before I get in, Sookie comes outside and screams, "And pickles too, the dill ones, but not the spicy kind...oh and Milo! Thanks honey!" and with that, she bounces happily back into the house.

I stare at the closed door for a second in shock before I shake it off and get in the car. I start it up and reverse out of the driveway. I drive out of my street and head onto the highway, heading to the local shopping centre. On the way, I think only think about what just happened between me and Sookie. What in the world is going on with my fiancée?

I find the shopping centre and I turn into at the entrance and park my car in the first open space I see. I get out and walk through the centre's doors, the quick rush of the air-conditioning hitting my face as I do, and head straight for the ice-cream aisle. I find the chocolate chip ice-cream and I grab a tub. I also grab a tub of mango and macadamia gelato for me and then proceed to the pickle aisle. I grab a jar of pickles and a tin of Milo, which is a powdered chocolate milk mix. I personally don't like the taste of it, but many Aussies do and Sookie is one of them. Now that my arms are loaded down, I make my way to the check-out counter.

I place my items on the bench and sigh, and the check-out lady smiles fondly at me. "Let me guess, you have a woman in your life that is pregnant and is feeling hungry."

I frown, wondering briefly if she is telepathic or maybe even psychic. "How did you know that?"

She chuckles. "Been there done that. I have two little ones myself and I remember all of the cravings I use to have."

I nod in understanding, "Oh...well my fiancée is not only hungry, but she's acting weird...all mad one minute, then crying, and then happy, then back to mad and stuff."

"Like really mad, blaming you for everything and suddenly her mood suddenly changes again?" she asks.

I nod. "Yeah... I just wish I knew what the heck is wrong with her."

She laughs politely at me. "It's her hormones, dear. She's might to be acting like this throughout the entire pregnancy. Seriously though, it's completely normal for her to act crazy. You just need to remember that it's not all her fault, and get ready to be sweet to her, no matter what she says or does, trust me."

I laugh and sigh in relief that it's only hormones. The lady places my items in a plastic bag and gives it to me with a smile.

"It's gonna get better right?" I ask as I begin to walk out.

She nods. "Yes... and you'll be just fine."

I nod and walk out after thanking her. Yeah...I'm gonna be fine...we're gonna be fine.

Love blackNdeadly