Exes' Baggage And More

Special Chapter Six

"Where are we going, love?" Macy asks curiously. She sounds a little anxious, and who can blame her? She is only almost two weeks away from delivering their baby, mere walking and sitting are becoming serious exertions for her.

"You'll see when we get there, love." Andrew smiled mysteriously, concentrating harder on his driving.

Macy decided not to spoil the fun for her husband so she just sat back and try to relax. Watching the scenery outside flying by, her mind begins to wander.

"Love?"

"Yes, love?"

"The doctor mentioned the birth complications..." she mutters absent-mindedly as she recalls their last conversation with her doctor during the consultation.

"She said that you have nothing to worry about, both of you are very healthy." Andrew said solemnly.

"Still, what if-"

"There's no what if, love. Both of you are going to be okay." Andrew is very adamant.

Macy was still in deep thoughts when she heard that they are finally on their destination.

Looking out of the window, she saw that they parked before a photography studio. She turned to her husband with a questioning look. And instead of answering, Andrew got out of the car to help her out.

"What are we doing here?" Macy asked as they walked in.

"Remember our baby's baby shower?"

She nodded.

"Well, this is one of the baby shower gifts we got." Andrew continues to explain while they wait for the girl at the counter to finish her call. "I called to check if they can do a whole series of photos for our baby"

"You're going to take a picture of my belly?" she asks the photographer incredulously.

"It's what is in now. It will be the first picture of your baby." the photographer explains with a kind smile.

"We will start our wall of family portraits in the baby room with this. When you give birth, we will be going to be back here, of course with Marcus and our baby." Andrew reminds her.

Still not quite convinced but alas, she went along with the plan. Standing before a white backdrop, she waited as Andrew rolled up her shirt to reveal the perfectly round bulge around her midriff. Then her husband takes her place before her, folding his arms around her. Andrew intertwined their fingers and brought their hands over her belly, their wedding rings glittering in the light against the smooth taut skin.

A few shots later, the photographer invites them to check the results. Sitting before a laptop, they scrolled through the pictures. None of the shots show their faces, only Macy's belly and their intertwined hands were in focus.

Macy smiles for the first time today. She squeezed her husband's hand and mouthed a 'thank you'. Then she turned to the photographer with the same smile. "It's beautiful."

*****

Andrew is kept on his toes every second of the day during the last week before his son is due to arrive. His stomach is always in painful knots and he checks his phone every other minute. Not to mention that he couldn't concentrate during meetings, constantly afraid that the important call will come in when he is unavailable to take it.