30 Weeks
More than once I had told our family that I did not want, nor require, a baby shower. Jane and I were fortunate enough to be financially blessed, and I could not fathom why we were required to be showered in gifts and attention any more than we already had been.
"Remember, it's not for us, it's for them." Jane reminded me quietly when we slowly made our way up the pathway to my half-sisters home. Cailin had sworn Jane to secrecy when she had started planning the baby shower, but Jane was more than aware that if we showed up and I had no warning; I would have spoken my mind without a second thought. We all know how terribly that could have gone.
"This is completely unnecessary." I whispered to Jane whose hand was wrapped around my waist, helping me waddle my way up to the house. She rolled her eyes at me, steering me toward the backyard.
"Just act surprised." She reminded me quietly as she pushed the gate open. I had expected to see our families and perhaps Frost and Korsak. I was not expecting to see just about every person I had ever met in the past five years in my sister's expansive backyard.
The screams of the word surprise echoed in my ears as my eyes went wide, my hand moving to grab onto Jane to help keep me upright as I jumped backwards slightly. I blinked a few times, trying to get my heart rate to slow down before I forced a smile toward the people who had come to celebrate our babies.
"Are you surprised?!" Cailin asked excitedly, skipping up to me and wrapping her arms gently around my waist. I held tightly onto Janes hand, still trying to regulate my heart rate.
"That could have sent me into early labour." I hissed at my half-sister, pinching her lightly on her arm until she let me go. I took a deep breath and looked around at the marquee set up with all sorts of different tables underneath it. After hugging more people than I cared to, I made my way to the closest chair. "This is ridiculous." I whispered to Jane as she handed me a bottle of water, a small smile playing on her lips. Jane had worn a long white dress by command of her mother, and I had to admit I missed her tight shirts and jeans already.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, the same question she had asked me three times every single day since I told her I was pregnant. I simply nodded in response, sipping the water in my hands slowly. "There's a cake." She told me, my eyebrows rising in excitement.
"Let's do the presents first!" Angela exclaimed, grabbing my hand and gently pulling me into a standing position. She guided me to the table were boxes upon boxes of blue and pink wrapping sat two metres off of the ground. My eyes scanned for Jane, desperate not to have to do this alone.
"I'm here." Jane whispered from behind me suddenly, placing a chair behind me so I could sit down. Everyone gathered around us and I could not recall another time in my life that I had felt more uncomfortable or overwhelmed. "Open this first." Jane told me, pulling a bag out from behind her back and placing it in my lap.
"I didn't get you anything." I realised aloud, frowning across at her. I had a weeks' notice of the baby shower and I didn't think to get her anything. She rolled her eyes at me, shaking her head as she pushed the bag further into my lap. I pulled the gift out of the bag, holding them up next to each other as I tried to make sense of what was in front of me. The second I did, tears burned behind my eyes.
I held the two onesies up for everyone to see. On the blue onesie was a picture of handcuffs, the words partners in written in bold along the top. The pink onesie had a picture of a scalpel with the finishing word of the sentence. Partners in crime. She pressed her lips lightly against mine, my heart swelling in my chest as she did so.In true Jane fashion though, the other two onesies in the bag read I was planned and I was not. Always a joker; my wife.
If there was anything left that Jane and I had needed to buy for either of the babies before today; we no longer needed to. We were given two of everything. Two baby baths, two high chairs and two sets of so many dummies I lost count. We were even given a twin carrying stroller that was made for jogging. I cannot believe I ever thought this was a bad idea, any stresses I had about being unprepared for the babies seemed to momentarily lift of my shoulders.
The only big ticket item Jane and I had left to purchase was the car seats; and I wasn't at all worried about that as much as I probably should have been.
The three tier cake Angela made us was the highlight of my whole day. It had both the babies' names written across the front in the appropriate gender conforming colours, and two candy strollers called the top of the chocolate home. I spent the best part of the day eyeing the cake, wondering if anyone would judge me if I took the top tier back to the table and ate the whole thing.
"They are so loved." I realised out loud, Hope sitting beside me as we ate small pieces of cake. It was the first time she and I had really had a moment alone since I found out I was pregnant and we still weren't really sure how to talk to each other as mother and daughter.
"You've got some very lucky babies in there." She agreed with an affectionate smile, her eyes directed at my stomach as she spoke. "You look so wonderful pregnant, Maura." I shifted awkwardly in my seat as I lifted another forkful of cake into my mouth. I looked down at the floor length light grey chiffon dress that covered my stomach and tried not to flinch at the fact I couldn't even see my knees over my stomach.
"I feel like a house." I joked, both of us laughing quietly as I sat back in my seat, resting both my hands comfortably on my now ridiculously huge stomach. "What was your baby shower like?" I asked casually as Jane came to take her place beside me again, pressing a light kiss to my cheek before she busied herself talking to the other guests around the table.
"When I was pregnant with you? Well, it was nothing like this." She laughed, looking around at the sceptical her other daughter had put on for me. "It was just a few friends in my dorm room." I nodded, frowning as a questioned crossed my mind. "You can ask." She said quietly, taking a sip of the champagne she had in her hand.
"What did you do with the gifts?" Her eyes drifted closed for a moment and I wondered if maybe I should have kept my question to myself.
"Your father took them; I do know what he did with them." She forced a smile in my direction, sighing and clapping her hands on her knees before she pulled her chair closer to me, looking down at my stomach before glancing back up to my face. After eight months I had figured out it was peoples silent way of asking if they could touch me.
"Go ahead." I told her, letting my hands droop down beside me to give her better access to my stomach. I was more than used to people touching and talking to my stomach at this point. "Who paid for all this?" I asked, looking around at the extravagant decorations around us. She smiled up at me, nodding toward my mother and father who were sitting beside us.
"Did you pay for all this?" I asked, looking my father in the eye while Hopes hands lingered on my stomach. I could hear her getting excited about one of the babies kicking, but my thoughts were preoccupied.
"That's my first set of grandchildren in there." He said with a warm smile, Jane turning to look at me with the same smile on her face as he spoke.
"But you paid for one of the cribs, you shouldn't have…"
"Maura darling, complain all you like but if you had of let me pay for furnishing the whole nursery we would have." My mother interjected, taking a sip of her champagne when she finished speaking. It was strange, seeing my parents suddenly so attentive and involved in my life.
After countless baby games and having the same conversation with every person there; the day was finally over. I stayed exactly where I was, letting everyone come and say goodbye to me until it was just Jane, Cailin and I sitting in the backyard. I could see Hope, Angela and my mother scurrying around packing the gifts that could fit into our car in the car, but I didn't have the energy to offer my help.
"This was way too much for us." I started, pointing at my half-sister across the table, my eyes tightening on her. "But it was amazing, so thank you." I softened my voice, needing her to know how strongly I appreciated the effort she must have gone to in order to make this as incredible as it was.
"Stay for dinner." Cailin begged, reaching across the table and grabbing my hands, pouting her lips in my direction as she did so. I turned my head to Jane raising my eyebrows in question.
"Only if you don't cook." Jane joked, winking at my sister across the table.
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"I cannot remember the last time I was this tired." I complained, my eyes closed as I sat with my head resting against Janes shoulder. She hummed in agreement beside me, sighing quietly as the sound of Cailin returning with Chinese food made us both sit up.
"Are you okay?" Cailin asked me quietly as I hobbled toward the dinner table, pulling the floor length dress up to my knees as I climbed into my chair at the dinner table, not waiting for anyone else to join me before I started eating. I smiled and nodded up at her, my free hand resting on top of my stomach underneath the table.
"Can I get you anything?" Jane offered, leaning down and pressing her lips lightly against the top of my shoulder. I shook my head, my mouth full of noodles.
"Okay… So I have so many things I want to ask you about being pregnant that I haven't because I know you hate people only talking to you about the babies but…" Cailin trailed off, pursing her lips.
"Go for it." I laughed quietly, Janes hand that wasn't holding her chopsticks moving to rest on my thigh gently, her thumb moving in circular motions.
"Did you get stretch marks?" Cailin asked, scrunching her nose as she looked down at the place where my swollen stomach rested under the table. I laughed quietly again, shifting my chair backwards and pulling the dress I was wearing up and over my stomach. It hadn't occurred to me that no one except Jane had seen my bare pregnant stomach until now.
"Not even one." I said proudly, looking down at the pale white skin of my huge stomach. Jane rolled her eyes at me, pulling my dress back down with a small smirk.
"What about sex?" Cailin asked, whispering the last word as her eyes shifted to Jane momentarily. Jane raised her eyebrows, looking down at her food awkwardly. I bit down on my bottom lip, wondering how much about your sex life it was appropriate to share with your younger sibling.
"We are quite sexually active." I shrugged casually, Janes wide eyes moving to rest on my face now. "In fact this morning we got into this crazy position where I was standing on the…"
"Okay, Maura. She gets the idea." Jane said, covering her mouth full of food as she spoke. Cailin giggled quietly from across the table, nodding in understanding.
"Do you know when you're having them yet?" Cailin asked, crossing her arms across her chest, resting them against the table as she nodded down to my stomach.
"We have our next scan in two weeks and they'll hopefully be able to set a date." I said with an excited smile, desperate to hide how anxious I was starting to feel about the prospect of the babies finally being here and not safe in my stomach. "Baby B was still pretty small three days ago, but we're hoping he's doing well enough to stay inside until 39 weeks."
"Isn't that really rare? For twins to go to full term?" Cailin asked, the curious medical student coming out in her, her eyes tightening in confusion as she spoke. I nodded, shoving a mouthful of noodles in my mouth.
"We can always hope." Jane said with a small smiling, answering my sisters question on my behalf. I nodded along to her words, swallowing the last of my food before Jane gave a slight nod in Cailin's direction, her eyes on mine as she did so.
"Oh! We need to ask for your assistance with something." Jane rolled her eyes at my formal words, Cailin's eyebrows rising in anticipation. "Janes family is somewhat religious, and they keep asking us who we have picked for God parents of the babies…" I trailed off, assuming she would full comprehend where I was going with my statement.
"Do you need help picking someone?" She asked, her eyebrows still raised. I pursed my lips, trying to stifle a giggle.
"We were sort of hoping you would be godmother." Jane said simply, taking a sip of the beer sitting in front of her. My sisters eyes widened as she sat back in her chair, her eyes fixed on my stomach.
"My brother Tommy will be the godfather, he has a kid already so if anything happened to us you wouldn't have to live with the babies but we would like it if you could at least…"
"I'll do it, of course I'll do it." Cailin said, interrupting Jane as she spoke. Before I knew what was happening my sister was standing behind me, her arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders. She pressed a light kiss to my cheek before she moved to do the exact same to Jane.
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Thank you SO much for the amazing reviews and personal messages I have received for this story. You're all incredible and I am so happy you're all loving this little story as much as I am! I am still trying to decide if I'm going to continue it after the babies are born but either way, thank you!