⇾ 𝐌𝐀𝐘𝐁𝐄 𝐈'𝐌 𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐙𝐄𝐃 | 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐌𝐜𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐈𝐈

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮-𝙎𝙞𝙭 ➪ 𝙎𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚!

ꕥ June 25, 1969 ꕥ
11 weeks

"Paul, how's your music going?" my father asked as I silently enjoyed strawberry fool. My mother had always been good at making it and every summer I enjoyed it.

"We're recording again on the first," Paul said with a light sigh. "I'm thinking it won't last much longer, though," he admitted.

"What are you going to do if it doesn't?" my mother asked him.

"Well, I'm gonna make albums of my own, of course." Paul smiled. "Music's just about the only thing I know how to do."

Mary came up beside me and stared at the treat in front of me. "Can I have some?" she asked me, pulling my attention away from the conversation at the table. She looked tired. I figured she had just about run herself out of energy and soon she'd be laying down for a nap, but for now, she wasn't there. She wasn't the biggest fan of napping and she didn't give in to her tiredness easily.

"Of course you can," I responded with an affectionate smile, scooping a bite onto my spoon and offering it to her. She opened her mouth and took the bite, smiling delightedly when she tasted the sugary goodness.

"Mmm," she said approvingly and Amelia appeared beside her.

"You like it?" I asked with a smile and she nodded.

"More!" Mary demanded and I grinned.

"How about we get you your own bowl?" I asked them both and they nodded. I stood up and took them by the hand. "We'll be right back," I told everyone before going towards the house.

When we returned, Mary crawled onto Paul's lap and Amelia sat down next to Arabella. Martha sat down right next to Mary and Paul on the ground, eyeing the treat in Mary's hand as if she expected someone to share, but she knew not to get too close to it. Otherwise, she would get yelled at.

Arabella was watching Paul and me intently. It seemed that the only person who knew about the baby that wasn't about to burst in anticipation was me. I took another bite of my food and then looked over at Paul, who was staring back at me, a slightly nervous look in his eyes. I returned my attention to everyone else. They'd run out of things to discuss, so now seemed like quite a good time.

"So, what have you two been up to?" Arabella asked us and I cleared my throat, taking another bite of my food. She was handing us the opportunity right here.

"We've been fixing the house in Scotland up," Paul said.

"Have you?" asked my father. "If you ever need any help with anything, I'd be happy to help!" Before he retired, my father had been an architect. It was why he was so good at building things for Mary and Amelia.

Paul smiled. "Y'know, I could really go for one of these picnic tables up there," he said, gesturing to the table we were sitting at.

"And, I'm sure I could make that happen," my father replied.

"We've actually got something we want to tell you," I said finally, swallowing my sudden nerves.

"Yes, we do," Paul added, folding his hands on the table.

My parents looked at us both imploringly. Arabella looked like she was trying so hard to suppress a smile.

"Well, we wanted to tell you that—," I began, but I couldn't seem to find the words. They died in my throat.

My mother's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What is it?" she asked.

Suddenly, Mary looked up, whipped cream all over her face and smiled, stealing the words from us. "Mummy's having a baby!" she said enthusiastically as if she knew exactly what was on our minds. I widened my eyes in surprise, but secretly thanked her because deep down, I knew that if she hadn't spoken up, I would have never found it in me to be the one to say it aloud.

I quickly looked at my parents to try and read their expressions. They looked completely and utterly shocked, but not mad, so that was a good sign!

When they finally decided that they'd just heard Mary correctly, they looked over at me. "You're pregnant?" my mother asked, a smile beginning to form on her lips. I could have cried in relief.

A smile broke out on my face and I nodded. "Yeah," I replied. "I am." I looked over at Paul and saw that he too was smiling.

"That's wonderful news," my mother said finally. I'm sure it was. The past two times she had been told this, it had been out of wedlock and therefore unacceptable. Now, however, I was happily married, and that's what married couples were supposed to do, right? Reproduce!

"How far along are you?" Arabella asked me.

"Eleven weeks," I responded. "You know, I was worried you'd notice my stomach before I could tell you," I added. "I'm getting a lot bigger than I was last time around, so I'm looking quite pudgy these days." I took another bite of the strawberry fool in front of me and noticed that I was running low, so I stood up. "I think I'm gonna get some more," I told everyone.

ꕥ ꕥ ꕥ

It was a great day. Everyone was delighted with our news. We went out to eat that evening before Paul and I started back towards London, and as soon as Paul had started the car, Mary was asleep in the backseat. A glance in the mirror showed her hand in Martha's fur on one side and her head leaning against the car door on the other side.

The sun was setting and sleep was pulling at my eyelids too. I couldn't wait to get home and fall asleep in my own bed.

"Did you have a good day?" Paul asked me, his voice rather quiet so as not to wake Mary up.

I looked over with a smile and nodded at him. "I had a great day...but I have a feeling all the food I ate is going to be a bad thing tomorrow morning." I rolled my eyes.

"You did eat quite a bit," he said teasingly.

"Shh," I responded, my voice groggy with sleep. "I'm feeding your baby too. That means you've gotta feed me extra. Got it, buddy?" I scowled.

Paul chuckled. "Yeah, I got it, buddy."

I grinned crookedly. "I love you," I told him.

"I love you too," he responded.