A Bump in the Road -- Watty Awards 2011 --

Chapter 4: A Waiting Game

At 3 months pregnant, Nicole knew that Joseph would be back from his prolonged business trip in a month and he would want to see her. And she wanted to see him too, but now it was so complicated. She knew from the moment he had lifted her from the pavement that she had fallen for this man.

Yeah, fallen pregnant that is. How could you have gotten knocked up like some stupid teenage slut? You’re 32 you should know better. P-r-e-g-n-a-n-t, she sounded the word out slowly like it was the first time she had heard the word.

Her flowy empire waist tops, previously used to hid the shame of a dinner out, now hid a rounding belly that was close to being called the beginning of burgeoning and she knew from her profile in the mirror that she was starting to show now, no person gained weight in one place – especially not outward.

Being in a senior position at work allowed Nicole to have kept her pregnancy under wraps for the last two months since she had found out, but now even the airhead interns were starting to stare at her in a way that was decidedly not comfortable.

With Joseph coming back this weekend, she would make the announcement to the office in the next week or so. If the rumours didn’t rise to fever pitch – so thankful she was for her private work bathroom she didn’t have to share for anyone else.

She could never have kept the secret this long if she had been forced to use the company restroom where the entire office could hear the sound of her miserable wretching. Flicking a stray, green prenatal vitamin around her desk – Nicole was interrupted by the clack of Jaclyns heels against the floor as she entered her office.

Even though Nicole now had a bonafide excuse for gaining weight she still couldn’t help but glare at the interns tight lean midriff. Her interest in the stomach of the intern was returned by the not too subtle stare of the intern at her own stomach as Jaclyn carefully held out the documents Nicole had requested just far out enough that Nicole had to stand to reach them without the protective cover of her suit jacket which no longer buttoned around her waist.

Eugh, perfect Jaclynn was so thin Nicole could see her ribs. Hmm now that was a thought barbeque Nicole perked up a little bit as she let her mind fantasize about yet another food craving. Any maybe with a side of…

Her stomach gurgled and pitched and Nicole sat back down slowly fighting back yet another wave of nausea that rolled across her leaving her with a sheen of cold sweat across the back of her neck making her hair stand up and she shivered. T

hat will be all Jaclynn she said impatiently before calling her back. Did you pick up the order at the pharmacy? Yeah, jaclynn stated snapping her gum as she examined her cheaply dyed split ends. If ya want my cousin has these great pills that make you lose weight like crazy, you hafta get em in from mexico too, pretty cheap compared to the stuff you’re taking, lemme know.

Diet pills? Ha! that’s a relief she thought as jaclynn left her office. She really thinks they’re weight loss supplements. The pretnatal vitamins came from a French company so all the wording was in French.

This Nicole could understand having spent a year in university abroad in paris and becoming a fluent French speaker, but all jaclynn could glean from the bottle was the stylized picture of a woman with a rounded stomach.

Wow, I guess she really does think I just gained a lot of weight. Reclining back in her office chair with the door closed, Nicole tried to look objectively at her stomach. She was just what you could call on the verge of looking possibly pregnant rather than just beer-bellied but it still could be mistaken for a large gut.

A few nights ago when the baby had demanded Chinese food, the man who embarrassingly knew her as as regular customer had refused payment for the array of tiny cardboard boxes and said ‘look after baby’ you late home too much. Go, go home.