*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated thank-you all so much*
"Are you okay, do you need me to help with anything?" Joe's mom asks me as we are in the kitchen as I am finishing my pasta salad.
"I'm all right," I say with a smile, "thank-you for offering to help me. You can make yourself comfortable and relax. Joe and I will take care of everything."
"You really shouldn't overdo it, Willow."
"I'll be all right," I say as my eyes meet Joe's as he is grilling the burgers, pork, chicken and hot dogs on the grill. We decided to have a family cookout for my parents, his parents, my brother and Joe's sisters' families for a little family reunion, for them to get to know each other but also so we could tell them about the baby's diagnosis. We want everyone to know before it arrives in a few months. We aren't doing it for opinion on what they believe we should do, how they believe it should be handled but because we are family and our child will be special needs. We want them to have a big role in its life. "You just relax," I say giving her a smile.
"I really like what you and Joe have done with the house. You wouldn't believe this but before you moved in the house was more of a bachelor pad than a family home. I like what you've done to the house."
"Thank-you," I say with a smile. She is not lying when I first moved in with Joe his house was a bachelor pad period there was no way around it. He was a single dad living alone so it was a bachelor pad, he never did his laundry, his fridge was filled with microwavable meals and take out containers. He even had it decorated as a bachelor pad but when I moved in it became a family home for all of us. We worked together to decorate the house so that it was both of us, we got a dog, his bare walls are now covered with more pictures of Alani, himself and I. It is a home, our home.
"Have you and Joe started anything with the nursery yet?" she asks as Joe walks in the door for a tray to put the food on.
"I'm going to paint it as soon as I get a chance," he says as he kisses the top of my head. "Someone couldn't make up her mind on what she wanted."
"She's pregnant, Joe that's what pregnant women do they can't make up their minds for anything. Give her a break," she says with a smile.
"I know," he says, "we finally decided to paint it green she wanted it to be blue but then she wanted yellow and then we finally agreed on green."
"Blue? Does this mean it is a boy?"
"We're not sure what it is," I say. "We haven't found out and we won't until it's born. I almost want to find out at my next ultrasound but I want the surprise of the sex. I'm happy with either sex as long as it is healthy that is all that matters to me," I say as he wraps his arm around my shoulders as my dad comes into the kitchen.
"You planning on burning the food, Son?" he asks jokingly.
"I'm going to take it off right now," he says giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before he gives one to his mom and heads out the door to get the food.
I pick up the bowl of pasta salad I had been working on to take outside before my dad takes it from me to carry it for me so I go to get a tray of deviled eggs to take outside before Joe's mom takes it from me. "I'm pregnant not disabled carrying a bowl or a tray of food isn't going to hurt me. How do you think I function when Joe is away? I assure you I am okay."
"No, you just take it easy, Sweetheart," says my dad. "You do far too much now. You're going to cut back."
"You're kidding right? I work out three times a week for an hour. I'm okay. The doctor gave me my limitations. I know how far to go and how far not to go. It isn't like I am rearranging the furniture in the living room."
"But you've tried," says Joe as we step out into the lanai.
"Shut up," I say with a smile.
"Willow," says my dad. "You know I am just 20 minutes away if you need me to move furniture call me don't try to do it yourself."
"Okay," I agree. "Next time I get in the mindset that I don't like how the house is set up and I want to change it on a whim I will give you a call."
"But Mark she could change her mind before you get here. That's all she has been doing lately. She can't decide. We keep flipping back and forth with names," he says as we take a seat at the glass table covered with red and white checkered table cloth. My stomach growls at the sight of food in front of me we have everything from burgers, chicken, pork, hotdogs, macaroni salad, Hawaiian fried rice, pasta salad, meatballs and so much more. Eating has become one of my favorite things lately now that I am eating for two. "Want me to get your food?" Joe asks.
"I can manage," I say as I grab my plate and maybe another plate to fill up with food. No one says a word to me about how much I am eating but I guess most of them have been where I am. Joe gets his food and takes a seat next to me as I am already eating. He looks at me with a smile. "What?"
"Nothing, it's just I have never seen you eat this much since we've been together. It's nice to see and you are the most beautiful pregnant woman I know."
"Aww," says his older sister. "Joe, you really know how to make a woman feel special."
"He does," I say with a smile before I kiss his cheek. "I love you."
"I love you too," he says giving me a kiss on the cheek.
"So you're getting married in December?" asks his sister, "are you excited?"
"I'm pretty excited," I say with a smile keeping our secret only our parents know and our two best friends know that we are married.
"Have you picked out a date?" asks his other sister.
"Well," I say, "we are thinking and planning on getting married on Christmas Eve. I have a whole theme and idea picked out. I want to do a Winter Wonderland type wedding. I want to have reindeer, fake snow, I want it ALL. I want blue dresses and I want my colors to be blue and silver. Those are just ideas."
"I had no idea," Joe shrugs. "I'm letting her do her thing. I want it to be the best day of her life. It is already mine." He makes me smile. "I'm good with Christmas Eve finding a priest to marry us on Christmas Eve may be a bit complicated with midnight mass and such."
"We can always get married during the day it doesn't have to be at night."
"That's true," he agrees.
"Do you have a wedding party picked out or no?" asks his mom.
"Well, my best friend Renee is going to be my maid of honor, Dean will be Joe's best man, Alani will be the flower girl of course and we don't know if the baby will be a flower girl or a ring bearer but Kaia is going to be our ring bearer. We don't want a big wedding party it isn't necessary."
"I see," she says with a nod. "Have you gotten your dress?" she asks as I think of the whole wedding dress debacle in Tennessee with my mom. She was upset that she wouldn't be a part of the wedding planning so I promised her that she could go dress shopping with me. Since our trip we have been getting along better and we talk to each other every day. I have forgiven her for everything she did to hurt me in the past.
"No not yet I have to go shopping but I think I should wait until after I have the baby because hopefully I lose all my baby weight by December."
"You'll be fine," she says with a smile. "What names do you have picked out for the baby? Are you two getting excited?"
"We're pretty excited," says Joe. "I'm ready to be a father again. It's been 8 years since I had a baby to take care of. I'm pretty excited to hold our baby in our arms. As for names we have been tossing some back and forth we have a couple that were set in stone but of course she's second guessing her names."
"I just want our baby to have the perfect name."
"I know you do," he says.
"Family names?" asks Sika. "Are you using any family names?"
"Um not really but sort of for a boy anyway," I answer. "We wanted to use names that mean something to us that have some type of significance to us."
"Family names in our culture are important. We pass them down from generation to generation. Joe is Leati Joseph Anoa'i. He has my name. Alani Tovale is named after family. It is important to carry on the legacy remember the Samoan Dynasty."
"We can't forget the Calaway legacy either," I say. "We chose names that mean something to us that have meaning to us and this is why we aren't telling anyone until he or she is born."
"Good idea," says my dad. "That way it is your choice and you have no one's opinion but your own."
"Exactly and once it is on the birth certificate we aren't changing it but Joe and I do have something to tell you all about our baby. That's part of the reason we had this cookout not only because we want our families to get to know each other and get along with one another. We wanted to tell you about our baby," I say as Joe takes my hand into his.
"Is everything all right with the baby?" asks his mom with concern. "Is something wrong with the baby?"
"Well," I say, "we went to our NT scan when I was 12 weeks along that's when they do a screening for chromosomal abnormalities and all sorts of abnormalities. When they did the scan they said that it was possible our baby would have Down Syndrome because of some of the markers on the screen, the flatten nose, the fluid on the neck but they weren't 100% sure that it would have Down Syndrome it was only a possibility but it was more than likely that it would. Well, a couple weeks ago I had an amniocentesis done to check the chromosomes to find out if the baby has Downs or not. They did the test and the results came back that the baby has 47 chromosomes and not the normal 46 one of us provided an extra chromosome they are calling it Trisomy 21 which is another word for Down Syndrome," I say.
"So the baby is going to have Down Syndrome?" asks his mom.
"Yes," says Joe as he wraps his arm around me. "The baby has Down Syndrome. We wanted to inform you so that you are aware and that you know. All of you will have a major part in our child's life but you should know."
"I don't want to sound rude or inconsiderate," says his sister, "you're keeping it? I don't mean anything negative by it."
"Yes," he says, "we're keeping it. We understand it won't be easy and that it will be a lot of work but this baby is a blessing to us. God gave it to us for a reason and the best thing we can do is love it and provide it the best life possible. Of course he or she may never be in the WWE or maybe it will but we'll see we just know we are going to do everything we can to give the baby the best life possible."
"Is everything else okay with the baby?" asks Michelle. "I know sometimes babies with Down Syndrome have other issues like heart problems. Is everything else okay with the baby?"
"As far as we know, when the baby is born they will do some more tests to see if there is anything else. The heartbeat sounds great though. It is so strong and the baby is a soccer player already," I say with a smile.
"You have felt it move?" asks his mom with a smile.
"ALL the time, the baby is very active more so at night than during the day though. It likes to keep me up already."
"You better get used to that," says my dad jokingly, "Kai has been keeping us up for 3 years now. And the fact it is YOUR baby you're going to go without 10 years of sleep."
"I wasn't THAT bad," I say with a smile.
"You were a handful," he says with a smile.
"Okay maybe I was BUT I don't think my child will be anything like me."
"If your baby is anything like Joe," says his mom with a smile, "be prepared for a very active child. Joe was a very hyper and active child. He could never sit still. He was all over the place."
"Remember when we would time him to run out to the car or run to get us something?" asked his brother with a laugh. "I don't think he ever realized we weren't timing him. Mom is right if the baby is like Joe you're in for a very active and hyper baby."
"Thanks," I say with a smile.
"But know we are all here to support you two," says my dad. "I'm sure that Joe's parents can agree with me that if you two need anything we are all here to help you. We support you in whatever you decide. Your lives are going to change having a baby but a special needs baby on top of it. It isn't going to be easy. If you need anything please call us and we'll help you out. If you need a weekend to yourselves please don't hesitate or if you need a day to yourself or if you want one of us to take Alani for a little we will. We will help you any way that we can," he says.
"That's right," says Sika. "Family is everything. Family is your biggest support system we will be here."
"Thank-you," I say with tears in my eyes.
"And we don't live that far away," says his sister. "We will help you whenever you need us to help you."
"Thank-you," I say nearly crying overwhelmed by the love and support for us and our baby. "I'm sorry," I say wiping my tears away. "I'm just an emotional mess lately."
"It's okay," his mom says touching my hand as he hands me a napkin to wipe the tears from my eyes. "We're all here for you. Joe are you going to take time off after the baby is born?"
"Yes," he says. "I plan on taking a couple months off to be at home with Willow and the baby. The baby is coming around the slow time for WWE which is good. Willow is due in September so once the baby is here I think I am going to take time off until early 2017 so that I can be home with Willow and we can get married on Christmas Eve like she wishes and spend some time together after we get married before I go back on the road."
"That's probably the best time to have a baby," says my dad. "At least you conceived when you did because the baby is due after Summerslam which is perfect. September, October, November and December are slow months. The busy months are January through April."
"Well, I'm glad that her birth control chose to fall out when it did," he says as I elbow him. "I'm sorry," he says. "It was just perfect timing."
"It was," I agree. "Thank-you all so much for being here for us and supporting us, we really appreciate it. I'm so glad that our baby will be born into a caring and loving family; a big caring and loving family," I say with a smile. "I love all of you."
Later that night after Joe's family heads back up the coast to Pensacola and my parents go home we are lying in bed together. "So that went well," I say as he runs his hand over my growing stomach as my t-shirt is lifted.
"It did," he says before he kisses my stomach. "You said it best our baby is going to be born into a family with so much love and a group of family members that truly care. Our baby is going to be one lucky boy or girl."
"It certainly is," I say with a smile.
"I don't think calling it, it anymore is really a good idea. I think we should give the baby a name."
"What's on your mind, Baby?" I ask running my fingers through his thick and curly hair. It is as soft as it looks. I love playing with his hair.
"How about we call the baby Squishy?"
"Squishy?" I ask with a smile. I love my husband's childlike joy when it comes to the life we created together. I can see how much it has changed him and how much better of a man it has made him. Honestly becoming a mother changed me too. Squishy is the best thing to happen for us.
"You don't like it?"
"I like it," I say with a smile. "I think it's cute. Squishy it is. Squishy is going to be one lucky baby."
"I agree. What do you think it is? Can you feel what the baby is?"
"I don't know I had a dream that the baby was a boy and sometimes I feel like it's a boy but I'm not sure."
"I want to say it's a boy too," he says kissing my stomach. "I can't wait to meet Squishy. It is going to be one of the best days of my life. I remember the day Alani was born. It was the best day of my life. Watching Vanessa give birth to our daughter was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Then when the doctor put Alani in my arms for the first time I knew I was in love with her. You don't know what love at first sight is until you hold your baby in your arms for the first time. It is the most beautiful thing in the world. I can't wait to hold Squishy in my arms for the first time and see that perfect little face and that perfect creation created from our love. It's going to be beautiful. You'll see."
"Joe," I say with tears in my eyes.
"I'm sorry, Baby," he says sitting up after kissing my stomach. "I don't mean to make you cry."
"I know, I can't help it that was beautiful."
"I love you," he says.
"I love you too," I say before I kiss his lips softly. "I'm scared."
"Of what?" he asks rubbing my stomach but cuddling close to me.
"Giving birth and just being a mom. I'm scared it's going to hurt really bad and I'm scared that I'm going to be a terrible mom. I don't know how to take care of a baby let alone a baby with special needs what if I do something wrong?"
"Everything is going to be fine," he says. "You have nothing to be scared of I promise. I will be with you every step of the way and I'm going to be in that delivery room by your side. You're not in this alone. You'll be okay. You can do this we'll go to childbirth classes if you'd like."
"I would like that," I say with a smile.
"As for being a parent just remember there is no such thing as a perfect parent. Everyone has expectations on what they are going to do and what they aren't going to do but the reality is when the baby comes things are different. You don't have to know how to be a mom you will learn. I had no idea how to be a dad before I had Alani but she taught me. She taught me how to love harder than I ever loved before. She taught me how to be a dad just like our baby is going to teach you how to be a mom. No parent is perfect but the only thing that truly matters for a baby and a child is having a loving parent that loves them no matter what, cares for them, spends time with them. It's not about giving them the latest toy or giving them the latest video game it is about giving them the love they need, the encouragement and your time. That's all that matters with a baby. You have nothing to be afraid of Willow. You're going to be a great mom. I know you will and you're not going to be alone. I am going to do everything I can to be home and spend as much time with you and the baby as I can. Everything is going to be all right. I promise. You have nothing to be afraid of. We can do this and soon you'll see there is no greater joy in life than being a parent. Okay?"
"Okay," I say with a smile. "Thank-you."
"I'm just telling you the truth, Willow everything is going to be okay. I promise," he says making my fears disappear instantly. We just lie together cuddling as he continues to rub my stomach until I fall asleep in his arms and my head resting on his chest. It is one of my favorite places to be. Life doesn't get much better than this, it possibly can't get any better.
*A/N: What did you think of their cookout? What do you think of their families? Do you think they are a great support system for Joe and Willow? What do you think of Willow and Joe having their wedding on Christmas Eve? What do you think of how their families reacted to their news? You have seen Joe and Willow a lot and things have happened a lot of things have happened in the time they have been together do you think that Willow getting pregnant helped her grow up more? Does she seem to have changed? What about Joe, has he changed since the beginning of their story? What do you think of Willow's fears? Do you think Joe did well with easing her fears? What do you think can happen in their lives yet? What do you think their baby is a boy or a girl? Please review and thank-you for reading.