Henrik woke up shortly before Roxanna and he took the opportunity to sit up and study her still form. In the last three weeks, she had complained about putting on another pound or two, and he wanted to take a good look at her, to be able to allay her fears about something being wrong, even though she felt perfectly fine. Shoving the duvet to the foot of the bed, he gently turned her onto her back, his eyes roaming up and down her frame. The first thing he noticed was that her breasts looked a bit fuller, which got him thinking about reasons why that might be. As his eyes travelled downwards, he took in the gentle rise of her stomach, seeing how it had softened a little, the gentle rise there reminding him instantly of the first time she had told him that they were expecting a child.
Sucking in a shallow breath, Henrik felt a silly grin spread across his face as he bent down over her stomach, pressing his lips to the hope that he found there. She stirred a little at the soft touch, and he stretched out alongside her body once more, staring at her face as her eyes fluttered open. "Good morning, darling."
"Good morning," he replied, scoring his fingers through her hair. "How did you sleep?"
"Any night spent in your arms is a good night, Henrik. I feel like I get better sleep with you here." Smiling, she leaned in and kissed him softly. "And we both have the day off. How are we going to fill the morning?"
"Well, seeing as how it's Sunday, I thought we could go to church, lunch, and then come home to enjoy ourselves." He waggled his eyebrows at her, causing her to giggle, and then she was turning over and curling herself around him. "Roxanna?"
"You don't really want to go to church with me. You don't get anything out of it, and I don't want to force you to waste your time when you could be catching up on reading or working on a paper for publication." She caressed his face gently before kissing him once more. "But I would enjoy having you by my side, nonetheless."
"That's why I suggested it, darling. And it's only an hour of my time, which is spent with you, so that could never be a waste." He gave her another smile before tugging on a hunk of her hair and then slipping from the bed. "I'll go take a shower, if you want to start getting ready."
Roxanna nodded as she sat up, drawing her knees to her chest as she watched him walk over to the bathroom door. "Henrik?"
He paused, turning to look at her, wondering if now was when she'd reveal her news, and he smiled at her encouragingly. "Yes?"
"I love you."
He dipped his chin in acknowledgement, the smile on his face softening. "I love you, too, Roxanna." He watched her touch her stomach lightly, and he fought to keep his face neutral, knowing that he didn't want to jinx anything at that moment, since there was that chance this could pan out to be nothing, and he had gotten his hopes up for no reason. "Pick out my suit for the day, will you?"
"Of course."
He nodded and then made his way over to the bathroom, disrobing and folding his clothes neatly on the counter before stepping into the shower and letting the hot water wash down on his body. He knew that it was going to be so difficult to keep his thoughts to himself, as he wanted to shout to the world that they were going to be parents. "I'm going to be a papa again," he whispered to himself. "And this time I'll get to hold onto my child from the moment they're here."
Humming under his breath, he washed his body, picturing their future child. He seriously wanted it to be a girl, who looked like a perfect copy of his wife, with maybe a few hints of his mother blended in. After all, that would mean his two favorite women were represented in his future, and that thought made him incredibly happy. Finally, he knew that he had to get out of the shower, and he turned the water off before stepping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around his torso. Picking up another towel, he wiped the mirror clean of steam before watching his reflection as he dried his hair. He couldn't help but notice that there was a newly relaxed look about his face, and he hoped that Roxanna wouldn't pick up on that, since he didn't want to let on that he knew something was up with her. Wiping his hand across his face, he put on a more placid expression before traipsing across the hall and into the bedroom.
"Just in time! If you want to dress, I need to run and use the bathroom." She pressed her lips to his cheek before hurrying from the bedroom, and he chuckled a little as he watched her go, dropping the towel and stepping into his boxers before picking the towel up and draping it across the doorknob as he quickly dressed. He grinned to see that Roxanna had chosen a shirt that would match her dress. He had found that he really liked when they had coordinating outfits, since it was a subtle way to affirm that they were a couple, and she was always good at playing up the subtlety.
As he was adjusting his tie, he heard Roxanna come in, and he smiled as he turned to look at his wife. There was a small glow that haloed her face, and he sighed a little as she came up to his side, resting her head against his arm as they looked at each other in the mirror. "Are you ready to head out?"
"I think so, though I want to grab a bagel to nibble on while you drive to the church." He nodded and turned his head so that he could kiss her temple, breathing in the scent of her perfume as he did so. "You should probably grab something, too, Henrik. Breakfast is so important."
"I'll make certain to take a banana, darling," he replied as he took hold of her hand and they went out to the kitchen. Henrik smiled as she grabbed his banana, tossing it to him before getting her bagel and then picking up her purse and pulling her head towards the door. "That eager to be out?"
"Yes, because it looks like a gorgeous day, and if we leave now, we can walk and still be on time." He chuckled as he nodded, pulling his keys off the ring and following her outside, locking the door after them. Roxanna was right, it was splendid outside, and he peeled his banana, eating slowly as they made their way down the pavement. There was something soothing about this time, and he could easily imagine them pushing a pram towards the park in a few months. Letting out a contented sigh, he finished his banana and threw the peel away in the first rubbish bin they passed.
"So, what do you say to having John over for supper again? It was nice to have him over, even if it was a short visit."
"I might be all right with that, yes. And he did bring a delicious cake." Roxanna smiled up into his face as she took hold of his hand, threading their fingers together as they continued along. "The three musketeers are almost back in action." He nodded and squeezed her hand, hoping that the days ahead would be filled with this happiness.