Author's Note: Aussies and Kiwis have great and sweet affection for Brits and all others from the United Kingdom. They are very much loved Down Under except when the Cricket's Ashes Series and the Rugby World Cup are on; then all bets are off. Oh, a new term has been added to modern lexicon, Poms who became Aussies are called 'Possies'.
Dedicated to all my Pommy readers. Love, from your writer from Down Under.
Nesting
They celebrated the fourth month of the pregnancy with a date at their favorite Jamaican restaurant with Lewis' parents and his sister, Cheryl who recently got engaged to a young English doctor. "Look at you," beamed Mom Y who delighted just as much as their own parents upon hearing the news. Their excitement was palpable and their happiness contagious.
There were hugs all around before they sat down to order a variety of wonderful Jamaican fare. First off, they grilled Cheryl mercilessly over her choice of fiancé, "A Pommie! Why for heaven's sake?" Spike teased.
"What's a Pommie?" inquired Mom Y, confused.
Spike laughed and explained he learned the term of endearment from his Australian friend, "Down under they call the Brits or anyone from the United Kingdom, POME. According to her, it was short for 'prisoners of Mother England'. But coming from Billy, I'd take it with a grain of salt."
Cheryl thought about the explanation for a second and her sharp brain picked up the glaring error in logic, "If POME means 'prisoners of Mother England' then that term should refer to Australians. Aren't they the convict race?"
Spike gaped at Cheryl for a second and said, "I think I'll kill Billy." They laughed at him for being susceptible to Billy's craziness.
The food arrived and so he was rescued from further humiliation. "So, who's this guy?" he asked again, sounding like a protective big brother even though Cheryl was a year older. The exotic beauty turned on her phone and showed off pictures of her fiancé. He wasn't like anything they expected at all, the English man she was going to marry was a gorgeous hunk of gigantic proportion. "He was originally from Hawaii, Polynesian bloodline; adopted when he was just a month old and grew up in an English countryside."
"Don't tell him I called him a Pommie," said Spike straight-faced.
Cheryl ribbed him about being a wuzz, "Anyway enough about me... what's up with you guys? It's exciting, isn't it?"
Spike looked at Winnie to give her the floor, "Yes, it is... I still can't believe it even though I feel the baby grow inside me everyday."
"Do you know if it's a girl or a boy?" inquired Mom Y.
They both said, no, "We want it to be a surprise," said Win. "But a lot of people are guessing we're having a boy because I like salty food."
"I binged on sweets when I was pregnant with Cheryl but I craved for salty food when I was carrying Lou," said Mom.
"Me, too," said Dad Y. "Well, I had no choice, that was all there was to eat at home." he explained happily.
"What are you doing to prepare for the baby?"
"We haven't done anything yet, we're gonna do a bit shopping for the nursery after lunch," he said, holding Winnie's hand under the table and looking at her adoringly. "We both work full-time so yeah... we haven't done much but we've been told not to buy a lot of stuff for the baby. Family and friends are giving us some hand me downs."
Cheryl asked, "Winnie, just out of curiosity, have you thought how long you want to stay home with the baby before returning to work?"
Winnie shrugged her delicate shoulders, "I haven't made up my mind yet. Six month maybe," then she looked at her husband, "But I know if it's up to Spike, he'd want me to be a stay-at-home Mom."
"I won't deny it," he said, "But you know I won't stop you going back to work. You're free to make up your own mind."
"Will your Mother return to Toronto? Italian families have strong traditional family values, she may want to return to look after her first grandchild."
"That would be nice," he said thoughtfully, "But she hasn't brought up the subject yet."
"Maybe she's waiting for you to invite her back?" said Dad Y.
"Maybe."
Winnie, to his delight said, "I wouldn't mind if she wants to be near us. I'm sure, like my Mom and Dad, she wants to be in the life of our baby."
The conversation flowed, punctuated with loud laughter. The lunch lasting two hours. At the end of it, they walked the Lewises back to their car, saying goodbye with hugs aplenty.
Finally, Spike asked Cheryl what he's been dying to know since the engagement was announced, "When's the wedding?"
"In June...it's a beach wedding," she said. "Watch out for the invitation."
"Won't miss it," he said.
He turned to Dad Y, "Safe driving, ok?" The older man smiled broadly and handed him a box, "Our gift for the baby."
"Thank you but you didn't have to do this," they said, humbled and touched by the gesture.
"We didn't have to, we wanted to..." said Mom Y.
After the Lewises drove off, Spike loaded the box in the trunk of their car. "Shall we?" he asked. She hooked an arm around his waist, happy to start shopping for their nursery. They went to browse at a shop specialising in baby things. The place was massive. It boggled his mind. Spike's heart palpitated, he turned to Winnie and said, "Are you sure we're not better off shopping online?"
She pouted and said, "You're not backing out on me now, are you?"
"No, no," he said with exaggerated hand gestures. "Far be it from me to deny you this experience of a life-time. Just don't ask for my opinions, ok. Please."
She replied, "Promise".
First, they looked at cots. His eyes bugged out, he didn't know there were that many designs for a thing for babies just to sleep in. Win turned to him for advice, he said, "Ah, ah... you pick, I pay, that's the deal." he said. She smiled. That smiled that should have triggered alarm bells in his bright head but he was too infatuated with Mrs Scarlatti to take any notice.
Next, the chest of drawers and change table and toy box and laundry hamper. She decided for a coordinated look so using the cot as the central piece, she chose the add-on furniture accordingly.
Spike thought they were done, but not so. They walked up to the second level to look at strollers and prams. His jaw dropped. Who would have thought there's a floor dedicated to baby buggies? Three wheelers, four wheelers, one-way facing, reversible, some even has suspension. He jokingly peered under one to look for a muffler, Winnie covered her face, told the other shoppers, "He's not with me." Fortunately, it didn't take long. She selected the one she liked having done tonnes of research beforehand.
Then they went to another section for "others". Mobile toys, wall friezes, cushions, pillows, bedding accessories.
He followed Winnie around till they reached an area in the shop where mobile toys were stacked from floor to ceiling. He couldn't comprehend why a baby would want a toy that simply goes round and round overhead. His logical mind told him the baby was likely to develop crossed-eyed syndrome following the dangling thing as it spun around. But, he thought, what do I know?
Next, wall friezes. Right, he could understand why this could be educational especially if parents plastered the walls with alphabets, numbers, pictures of animals and the map of the world. Better still, with the periodic table, if it was available.
Then they had to get cushions, pillows, beddings and curtains. She looked at him, trying to assess what he thought of it. "Fine, bella, fine," he assured her. But he shuffled on his feet, shrugged his shoulders occasionally and quietly added the sums in his head, it was going 'Ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching.'
Three hours later, they were done. He wasn't at all fazed when the purchase were added up, he was off in his calculations by just $2.50. They made arrangement for a delivery date and left the store relieved they got that out of the way.
When they reached home, she wanted to see what was in the box. "Do you have to open it now?" he asked.
"Yeah, I want to see."
"Ok, first, what about you sit down and have something to drink and we'll open it together." She complied; he returned with a glass of orange juice for her and a glass of red wine for himself.
They opened the box, in it was an envelope. Written in Mom Y's pretty calligraphy was a note: Over the years, I made these for my future grandchildren. One for Lou and another for Cheryl. Since Lou's not here to give us a grandchild, we would like you to have it. Love, Grandma and Grandpa Young." He passed the note to Winnie.
"I don't know," she said, tears brimming in her eyes, "Should we take it?"
He smiled, "Of course...our child is their grandchild, too."
They checked out the stuff in the box. "Oh, they're so cute," she said. Inside were hand sewn felt baby booties, crocheted beanies, one-of-a-kind bibs, quilted winter blankets with matching pillow cases, and the cutest playsuits ever. He called them that night to thank them for their thoughtfulness.
Back at the Barn the next day, Sam asked how the shopping expedition went, he jokingly said, "I need to talk to the Boss about getting some overtime."
"Don't worry," said Sam. "Most of them you'll re-use for the next and the next and the next."
"Why, how many are you planning?" asked Spike.
"I want five," he said.
"And what does Jules think of that?"
Sam winked, "I'm still trying to persuade her."
Spike offered a suggestion, "Try for a second but make them quadruplet!"
Just then, Ed caught up with them, "Hey Samo, any news when Jules is coming back." Before Sam could answer, Spike blurted out, "Never! They're having quads."
"What?!" said Ed. Sam quickly refuted it while Spike swiftly scooted out the door!