The Magician's Witch

Birthday Part II

She felt his presence before she opened her eyes. She smiled to herself, feeling him stir in reaction to her waking, his warm breath on the back of her neck.

She turned over, facing him, slowly opening her eyes to the pre-dawn gray. His eyes were still closed, his face peaceful. Her heart squeezed gently as she gazed at him, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

"Bonjour," she whispered.

He smiled, his eyes still refusing to open. Instead, the arm that was draped over her shoulder pulled her closer. She fitted herself around him, snuggling into his chest. She sighed contentedly, in no hurry to disturb the moment.

From down the hall, she heard the laughter of children, their chatter disrupting the perfect calm with their bubbles of innocent mirth. She heard the sound of a piano, someone's expert hands dancing across the keys. A little girl's voice sang along with the melody, rising and falling with the tempo.

"Sounds like the kids are up," Erik murmured sleepily, still holding Eilis close.

Eilis looked up at him, then looked towards the closed bedroom door.

"Is that Ronan playing the piano," she asked curiously.

"Of course," Erik responded, finally opening his eyes. "Who else would it be?"

Eilis turned back to her husband, a look of astonishment on her face. Erik smiled, placing a hand on her abdomen.

"He's almost here." He kissed her cheek.

Eilis woke with a start, frowning as she sat up in bed, reorienting herself to reality. She looked down at the empty side of the bed and sighed heavily.

"If only," she mumbled, recalling the dream she just woke from. She rubbed her face, pulled back the covers and slid out of bed, bracing her hands against her lower back as she stretched.

Ronan bumped her from inside.

"Good morning to you, too," Eilis murmured to her belly, rubbing her hand over it.

She walked down the hall, yawning widely as she went to wake Aria. As she opened the door, she caught Aria trying to climb out of the crib.

"Uh, excuse me, missy, just what do you think you're doing," Eilis scolded her daughter lightly.

Aria looked at her with an impish grin as she gripped the railing in her fists, trying to get one leg up and over the side, grunting with the effort.

Eilis shook her head, coming over to the crib, gently pushing Aria's leg back into the crib. Aria protested loudly.

"Well, next time, have a better plan," she told her.

Eilis changed Aria, then placed her on the floor, feet first. Aria wobbled for a moment, then stood erect. She looked up at her mother, grinning widely.

Eilis chuckled and began to walk out of the room as Aria followed behind, finding her footing like someone finding their sea legs. When they both got to the kitchen, Eilis lifted Aria into her high chair, then turned to the fridge pulling out some eggs, bread, butter, milk (she found Aria still liked goat's milk over cow's milk), and fig jam that Laleh had gifted her. She turned to the stove, about to switch it on when she felt her water break, staining her pajama pants.

"Oh, fuck," Eilis muttered under her breath. She looked to the door and the go bag she had packed and ready there. She looked regretfully at the eggs and placed them back in the fridge.

She quickly grabbed her phone and texted Bakhita that the baby was coming. Just as she sent it, she remembered that Bakhita was in the city today for some conference, and Malid was in court.

Eilis felt the first contraction grip her hard and realized there was no time to lose. She had mapped out the best route to the hospital...only ten minutes from here.

She looked at her daughter who was watching her curiously.

"Stay right there," she told Aria, walking at as brisk a pace as she could down the hall to the bathroom. She quickly yanked a brush through her hair and pulled it back into a messy ponytail. She then rushed into her bedroom, discarding her wet underwear and pants, pulling on new pairs of each. Just as she was done, another contraction rolled through her.

"Ok, I get it you want out," she said through gritted teeth, "But just wait until we get to the hospital, please."