Some Day One Day

62

The moment I heard chugging at the front door I quickly sprang up to my feet despite the heavy weight of my stomach and threw the newspaper I was reading elsewhere. Whisking to the front door, I ignored the bleak aching that circled my ankles.
He was haggard and exhausted when I met him at the door. I felt unfair for noting how good he looked that way, knowing he must have been all sorts of tired.
"Hey..." I greeted with a sympathetic smile. My smile wavered when I saw a bag from an expensive designer store that I was familiar with. When he saw that I'd noted that, he raised it to me.
"Here."
Reluctantly, I took the bag from him and pulled out a dazzling dress.
"So this is way you asked for my measurements a few weeks ago..." I tried to sound pleasant but I felt a tad uneasy. He'd been buying me things ever since the day I told him I was pregnant. At first they were small gifts, but they just kept getting bigger and bigger.
"Like it?" He asked mildly, entering the house.
"I love it." I did love it, but I just didn't like the idea behind it. How many times was I going to have to tell him he didn't have to buy me anymore? I was here. I was going to be here no matter what.
Smiling brightly to conceal my thoughts, I tiptoed and gave him a quick kiss, taking his brief case from him.
From the way his features tautened I knew what he was about to say, "You might hurt yourself and the baby doing that."
I rolled my eyes peevishly, "Don't be silly Shawn."
His attire was dotted with raindrops and despite his wet state I grabbed his cold and damp face to give him a welcome home kiss.
"How was your day?" I asked him as we made our way up the stairs. Shawn took the initiative to stand behind me with his hands lightly on my waist. He'd had a habit of doing that ever since I began to show with a swelling stomach.
"Tiring." He murmured gruffly.
When we got to the bedroom, I set his briefcase at its spot on the wall and added yet another collection to my already brimming closet.
Subsequently, I found him in the bathroom with his head hanging low and his hands perched on the edge of the sink.
I made my way over to him and gently run my hand over his back, "You okay?"
"Yeah. Just really tired. My leg hurts."
"Do you need your brace?"
"Yeah but I'll put it on later." He answered as started to take off his shirt.
"Let me get that for you."
His shirt was already unbuttoned at the collar and I buttoned him all the way down, peeling the shirt off of him. As I did so, I smiled at the way the diamond ring winked beautifully at me. A few weeks after Shawn helped me overcome my fear of entering the house, I'd rummaged through my room until I found the ring. Every time I looked at it I felt warm inside.
While helping him undress, I couldn't help but add soft kisses to his neck. I was hoping the kisses would help him relax. Shortly I proceeded to lift his beater up only for his hand to push mine back down.
"It's fine Beyonce, I got it. Imma take a shower and meet you downstairs."
Casually Shawn took off the rest of his clothes and stepped behind the shower curtain before running the shower. Meanwhile I stared at him feeling not only shocked, but hurt. I shouldn't have been shocked, because this had been happening for the past few weeks. ' This' meaning him being so distant and unaffectionate. I tried to figure out what was wrong with him, but couldn't.
It was such a sudden change that I began to worry if he'd finally realized he'd made the wrong decision to get back with me and no longer wanted to be with me.
Sighing heavily with droopy shoulders, I left the bedroom and went to the kitchen to reheat dinner. My hand lay on my four month old belly and I rubbed it thinking of the little person growing in there. All that showed was a very faint bump that nearly wasn't noticeable to the naked eye, but to me it was. Nervous energy clouded me whenever I thought of the child. I was going to be a mother. I remember how I'd always wondered what kind of grandparents my parents would be to my child.
The child was all that I thought about these days. I'd even completely forgotten about smoking, and the urge didn't even strike me. The baby was something of a blessing in disguise because I no longer had the urge for addiction like I had before. The baby had become something of an obsession. Not only for me though.
Ever since he'd learned of my pregnancy, Shawn practically begged me to stop working at the place that I did. I told him we had to reach a compromise. So I no longer worked at housekeeping, but I still worked at the kitchen.
We were still in the process of looking for colleges that would accept me. I began to wonder if my finances were part of the problem. I couldn't take a loan because of my bankruptcy and had to wait seven years until I could truly start over. The mere thought of Shawn paying for me to go to school was still a very hard thing for me to succumb to, but I hoped that wasn't part of the reason for his recent stress.
Normally Shawn would ask me how my day was, but lately he didn't even bother. Neglected and dejected, I began to think of the worst, but I tried to keep my head high. Hell, momentarily I'd assumed my weight gain from the baby turned him off from me. Even though we cuddled from time to time and occasionally kissed, I had this strong gut feeling that he didn't want to put his hands on me.
I felt as though he was keeping something from me, but I couldn't quit tell what.
By the time I dinner on the table, thirty minutes had passed. Marissa had just called to inform me that she and Dreux were going to watch a movie after having dinner. When the house grew too quiet I often wished to have her present, but that was just my selfish thinking.
Forty minutes passed forcing me to go upstairs to find out why he hadn't come down yet. Only I stopped short when I got there because Shawn was fast asleep.
Without my control my eyes smarted with tears then I gripped myself and told myself to stop being so overemotional. He was tired, like he'd said. My hundredth sigh left my stuffed chest as I changed for bed.