Stranger Things Have Happened | Marcus Bontempelli

one-hundred & twenty.

"Feels like yesterday that we were walking in here and I felt like my life was over," I playfully joked as Marcus and I walked through the car park of Cabrini private hospital for my first check up.

"That was hands down the scariest day of my life. I didn't want to say it at the time but I don't really know how that would've panned out," Marcus replied honestly and I agreed – it definitely wasn't the right time.

"That was pre-covid and everything – god, imagine me being pregnant peak pandemic like Tiff..." I trailed off slightly horrified at the thought as we walked through the sliding glass doors and into the ridiculously luxurious reception, pulling our masks up before entering.

Marcus chuckled, "I feel a lot better about being here this time, that's for sure," He said before I checked us in and found a seat towards the back of the waiting room.

It was a peaceful and serene place – much like the last time we were here but unlike our visit towards the end of 2019, I could actually enjoy our surroundings. Was I shaking like a leaf at the prospect of seeing our baby for the first time? Absolutely. But this time it was on our terms and getting some solid information on how the baby was progressing was going to put my mind at ease since it was still early days.

"So they said in Adelaide they thought the baby was 5 weeks so by that logic, it should be 6 weeks along, right?" Marcus whispered as I crossed my legs and placed my handbag between us.

"You are so good at maths, baby," I teased, making Marcus' eyes roll into the back of his head as he nudged me gently.

"Fuck you," He mumbled under his breath – hyper aware that there were kids frolicking in the small soft play area in front of us.

"You did that and now here we are," I joked back and pointed to my stomach with a smirk as I looked around to see if I could find a restroom sign anywhere.

"I need to pee for the tenth time this morning – look after my bag," I whispered before tugging down my jacket and strolling off to find a toilet.

This was my life now – running to the bathroom everywhere I went and it was only going to get worse but it was comforting to know I wasn't the only person in the world going through this. A young woman came out of the cubicle beside me who appeared to be a lot further through her pregnancy and I couldn't help but ask the obvious question.

"The bathroom business gets worse, doesn't it?" I asked as the young lady looked over at me and chuckled.

"So much worse but you get used to it by the end," She replied as she washed her hands and narrowed her eyes in my direction, "You're Catie O'Sullivan," She said, catching me slightly off guard and I immediately tensed up.

It hadn't even crossed my mind that I might be seen at a maternity clinic or even worse, recognised and my mind was reeling. The last thing I wanted was this to be in the news before announcing it to my family – especially with the way Covid has made it nearly impossible to organise a get together.

"Uhm yeah – yep," I awkwardly replied before the mystery woman introduced herself and quickly reassured me that she was a friend.

"Oh babe – I didn't mean to throw you off. I'm Emily and my husband Tim plays footy for the Saints... Emily Membrey," She said with a little wave as I dipped my head and sighed with relief.

"We saw you and Bont walk in and wanted to come over and say hello but you guys looked so cute that we couldn't bring ourselves to interrupt – it's early days I'm assuming," Emily said sweetly as she looked down at my non-existent bump and I nodded.