Surprises
Chapter 12
Maddie had to admit having Mike at her doctor's appointment was nice. She had been alone when she was pregnant with Oliver and she realized now that having Mike there would have been wonderful. After the appointment, Mike insisted they go for lunch and then walked through a kid's department store because Mike was insisting Oliver needed something.
"He has so many toys." Maddie complained. Mike was certainly indulgent but after losing three kids; he had that right.
"He does but I don't want him to feel left out before the baby gets here. Katie was five when Hannah was born and it was a bit rough." Mike admitted.
"When should we tell him about the baby?" Maddie asked.
"Probably about the time you start showing." Mike answered.
"It seems so long. This baby will be here before Christmas. So far away." Maddie said.
"Not really. I still want a girl." Mike remarked.
"It was too early to tell." Maddie said. She had to admit; it was kind of cute how excited Mike was for the baby. She just hoped that he would be that excited if the baby was a boy.
"Yeah, I know. I don't mean to constantly compare them to my older kids." Mike said as he looked at a toy car.
"Its fine. My concern is that you won't be as excited if this baby is a boy." Maddie admitted.
"I promise, I will be fine with either. Didn't you hope for one gender or another when you were pregnant with Oliver?" Mike asked.
"Honestly, no. I was struggling with rather to contact you and then the last part of the pregnancy; I met Seth. There wasn't much room" for excitement or hope." Maddie admitted.
"Oh…what about now? You know you're safe." Mike asked.
"Honestly, I just want an easy and uneventful pregnancy and a healthy baby. An easy delivery would be nice too." Maddie said.
"There's a lot of planning to do though and there is nothing wrong with a bit of hope and excitement." Mike said. Maddie picked up a gender-neutral blanket and smiled.
"Isn't that cute?" Maddie said, looking at the yellow blanket. Mike nodded and picked it up.
"We could just wait and not find out." Mike remarked.
"That would be fun." Maddie said.
"So, we can do that. You ready to go home?" Mike asked.
"Yes, are we getting those?" Maddie asked, pointing at the car and blanket in Mike's hands.
"Yes, ma'am." Mike said. She took the blanket and they walked to the cash register. Mike paid for the items and they headed home. She went inside and put the blanket away while Mike went and got Oliver from Kara. As they walked back across the street, hand-in-hand; Maddie realized how lucky she was.
She had a beautiful son. A nice house. A baby on the way. A husband who would give her anything she wanted. If she had only called Mike when she first realized she was pregnant with Oliver, she would have had it all along.