Baby Deyes: A Zalfie Fanfiction

Week Eighteen: Luck and Lions

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"I feel like going bowling." Alfie said over breakfast. "Shall we go bowling tomorrow?"
"We can't just go as us two! I'll invite some people, if it's ok."
"Who do you have in mind?"
"Lou, Tan, Jim, Joe, Caspar, Poppy, Sean."
"What about Darcy?"
"She's too small, isn't she?"
"She'll be fine. Plus we can have two teams of five. We'll rent two lanes and say it's a party for the baby."
"He's not due for another five and a bit months." I reminded him, pushing him lightly.
"That doesn't matter! It's just delayed joy. Okay, fine. How about an anniversary party? Last week it was two years since I proposed."
"That's more reasonable." I compromised.
I texted everyone, and booked the two lanes necessary. The next day we agreed to meet at the lanes.
"Alfie!"
"What?"
"Don't you "What" me, young man. What do I wear?"
"Wear your favourite maternity dress. The pale blue one with the white ties."
I stepped into the short-sleeved blue dress and tied the ribbon above my small bump. There wasn't much to see, but I loved the soft protrusion of my stomach and already felt very protective of my baby boy.
"Come on! We have ten minutes until the lanes are open. Our booking is at ten thirty, so we have a bit more time."
We got to the bowling alley at twenty past, to see Louise, Tanya, Jim, Darcy, Poppy and Sean.
"Joe and Caspar, late as always." Alfie mock-frowned as the out-of-breath pair hurried up the stairs.
"I organised teams. On my team is Joe, Tanya, Louise, and Darcy. Alfie's team is Poppy, Sean, Caspar and Jim."
"Why are you two team captains?" Joe moaned.
"Because we're the hosts." I nudged him forward and began entering our names.
An hour later, Alfie had landed a strike and was dancing madly in the alley as his teammates cheered him on.
"We're in the lead by twenty points, Zozeebo!" He called. "Beat that!"
As if in answer, Joe, with unexpectedly perfect aim, scored three strikes in a row.
"Luck!" Alfie yelled. "It's luck!"
"So was yours!" I called back, and hi-fived Joe excitedly. "We've won!"
"Up yours!" Joe yelled to Caspar.
We all turned to children, with the exception of Darcy who sat repeating sadly: "Mummy gone cwazy. Mummy cwazy."
After lunch we all went into the arcade on Brighton pier. Alfie dragged me over to a little toy grabber.
"Zoe, I'm going to win you a lion!" He said, feeding pennies into the slot. He enthusiastically grabbed for a little bear and got one, but dropped it before he could bring it in.
"Keep going, Alf."
It took a while, but eventually he caught hold of a lion that I'd secretly wanted. I squealed in joy and hugged him hard. By now a small crowd to ten or fifteen people, including the rest of our party, was cheering him on. A couple of fans snapped a selfie with us and after exploring a bit more we headed home.
"I love my lion, Alfie!" I said, hugging him and the soft toy. "I'm going to call him Party."
We unlocked the door in the late afternoon sunlight and herded everyone in. Darcy started falling asleep, and I felt like joining her. I was exhausted.
Louise noticed and discreetly gave me a heavy Darcy. "Take her upstairs. I'll tell everyone you've gone to tuck her in. Have a little lie down and come back when you feel better."
"Thanks chums." I gratefully carried Darcy upstairs and began to tuck her in. She curled in a sleepy ball on the spare bed and I lay down next to her.
I didn't sleep, just lay. After about half an hour my back had stopped hurting, so I got up and stretched gingerly, without waking Darce.
"Hey everyone! Darcy's asleep so I'm back." I went back into the kitchen.
It wasn't long before everyone began to disperse. Louise carried Darcy downstairs, strapped her in, gave us a hug and set off. The only two left were
Tanya and Jim.
"Have you recovered a bit from last week?" Tan asked.
"Still tired," I admitted, "But better."
"When's your next appointment? Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Honestly, Tan, I'm fine. I'm carrying a baby that I already love, with a gorgeous husband, a lovely little pug to hug -" I picked up Nala. "Don't worry about me."
They left. They had barely left the driveway before I had crashed on the sofa, fast asleep.