"That one afternoon, I kissed you. In the middle of the street, where a white truck zoomed past our connected lips. And boy, it caused problems we couldn't have seen, but wasn't it also amazing?"
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"I'm here for our weekly checkup!" Lori sang from the front door of the house.
She let herself in after I waved my hand and scurried her way to the living room where I was lightly cleaning. I was just about to reach above the mantle to dust its surface when I heard a loud screech. I knew it was Lori before I could even protest and I immediately dropped my arms to my sides.
"No stretching above your head! You know people say it's bad for the baby. No heavy lifting, reaching to high heights, or restricting activities. We've gone over this."
"I know, I know," I replied. I sat down the duster on the floor and turned to Lori with a saddened expression. "I'm just trying to stay sane. With Deen policing me every second there's little time to get a sense of normalcy."
"I understand completely. Well, I personally don't understand but I've heard from all of my patients that they feel the same way. Here, sit down so I can examine you."
I was seven months pregnant and feeling about just all of it. Lori had been helping me since the day I told her I was with child which coincidentally was the day after I told Deen. She was a nurse herself so when I told her the news, she slightly freaked out and wanted to be my "neighbor-nurse" as she calls herself. Her checkups were usually once a month but once I hit the seventh month, she started coming more often.
Entering the third trimester of the pregnancy hit me like a ton of bricks honestly. My belly was big and round almost like a balloon gradually getting larger. With the fluctuation in my weight, my back pains were increasing and my balance seemed to be off-kilter every once and a while. I slipped on a towel in the bathroom once and ended up scaring Deen half to death. He ran over to Lori's house in a frenzy and she ended up having to come over in her pajamas and do a look-over on me. It was chaotic, to say the least.
"Okay," Lori started. She sat beside me and turned my face in front of her. "Your skin looks amazing. Anything different with your eyesight? Taste? Smell?"
"No. Only my face is getting chubbier. I have the cheeks of my six-year-old self. I can tell because Deen is always pinching my cheeks and saying how cute I look. It makes me feel bad," I said.
"Your face looks fine. You look gorgeous. Don't talk down on yourself now. It can get hard in this last stretch before the baby comes. Anyways, have you been feeling out of breath lately? Abnormal heartbeat? Dizziness?"
"Nope. Other than getting tired easily. The baby's getting so heavy now." I looked down at the sudden kick of the baby. I frowned as the baby kicked once more towards my lower stomach. I murmured, "I'm sorry for talking about your weight, but you really are taking a toll on me. My balance is off because of you."
"That's a given. Baby girl. . . Or boy, is growing rapidly. Let me feel your stomach if you don't mind."
I sat quietly as Lori felt around the stomach. The baby moved here and there, squirming around in my stomach at the touch of a stranger. She felt for the little taps and hiccups of the baby and said it was good that they were moving around. I had always wondered what pregnancy felt like and experiencing all the little sensations now was shocking. After she was done, she put her hands on her lap and announced that I seemed to have a happy body and baby.
