Down the road of memories

She Expects a Paradise

Author's Note: In the next chapter, the characters will face a miscarriage. If this topic is sensitive for you, I suggest you skip this chapter.

Noah POV

Life slowly got back to normal after Thanksgiving. My mom was over the moon to find out she was going to be a grandmother twice this June. Their due dates for both girls were days apart and I got the shock of my life when Lee said it would be so special if both cousins were born on the same day... I think the world is too small for another set of twins like Elle and Lee.

The two girls' pregnancies are very different. Elle has a lot of morning sickness and has had to start wearing maternity clothes while Rachel has never had morning sickness and always wears her own clothes. Thankfully, after she was 12 weeks pregnant, Elle's morning sickness cleared up and her energy returned. I could also tell that she was enjoying being pregnant...much to my joy and relief.

One night when Elle was at work, Lee invited me over for a guys' night with him. Rachel was also booked at work so we were free to do whatever we wanted. Since the girls don't eat fast food, in Rachel's case for the health of her baby and in Elle's case to help with her acid reflux, Lee and I decided to be supportive of them and follow their dietary restrictions. But tonight, we both had a craving for fast food and alcohol.

We ate chicken wings and fries while drinking beer and watching a Rams game. I never thought I would have a relationship like this with my brother when we were in high school. I tended to think of him as my annoying little brother and he tended to think of me as Flynn the Bad Boy. Years have passed and since we all moved back to LA and got married, our relationship has deepened. And it was no surprise that I heard him ask me this question:
- Does becoming a father scare you, Noah?

I took a few minutes to think before telling him:
- In some ways yes and in others no! I wouldn't have seen myself starting a family with anyone other than Elle. The fact that we are together in this adventure reassures me a lot." I told him smiling. "I know that no matter what happens, we will team up together.
- You see, that's what scares me! " Lee answered me playing with the label of his beer. "Rachel wants everything to be perfect so much! She wants the perfect nursery and the environment to be completely safe for the baby even if he's not here yet! She doesn't want to gain too much weight during her pregnancy and respects all the dietary restrictions. She wants a natural birth and she wants to breastfeed absolutely. I know I am overwhelmed by everything that will have to be done and I feel like I have no room for error.

Elle and I have also had this discussion but in a way so different than Rachel and Lee... because Elle knows that not everything in a pregnancy goes as planned. And there was an obvious reason that I could not share with Lee.
- Elle's vision of pregnancy is definitely different than it is for Rachel.
- What do you mean, Noah?
- Elle has spent 6 years of her life studying all the complications that pregnancy can produce. She knows that it can happen! And... there are also all the emotions that she relives with the death of her mother. I have never seen her so emotional!
- She never told me about it! " Lee told me with sad eyes. "She's my best friend!

I sighed before telling him :
- Elle has always been like that, Lee! Hiding things or rather keeping them to herself so as not to hurt those around her. It's a habit that caused us a lot of harm during that famous summer before you left for college.
- Before everything went to hell!" he answered me, staring into space as if it made him relive those memories.
- The difference today is that it's easier for her to share with me what she's going through! I think the 6 years we lived apart taught us that a mature relationship is one in which we are honest with each other. It makes us a team in the good and bad times of life.