The Stacks

Chapter 45: Family Meeting

Song: "Faithfully" by Journey

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I woke up to wonderful smells on February 1. I was surprised that I hadn't heard Anne puttering around in the kitchen before then, but as soon as I was awake enough to realize what was going on, I cuddled close to Harry and whispered, "Wake up, birthday boy."

"Mmmrmrr." His standard morning response.

"Happy Birthday, love," I said, kissing his cheek.

"Thank you," he mumbled in his gruff morning voice.

"Oh, so he speaks," I teased.

"I'm not a morning person," he chuckled. "You don't know this by now?"

"Well, it smells like your mum is making something yummy. I can't wait to see what a full English breakfast involves." Anne and I had gone shopping the day before so she could get the necessary foods to make Harry's birthday breakfast. I wasn't entirely sure about pork and beans on the breakfast menu, but I would try it in honor of the special day.

"I thought I heard voices," Anne said, walking over to where we slept. "Can I get you some coffee or tea?"

"Tea would be wonderful, mum," Harry said, groaning with a stretch.

"I'd love some coffee, but first I need to eat something," I said.

Harry popped up saying, "I'll get it." We had done enough research to understand that morning sickness was often caused by low blood sugar, understandably so since the night-time period was the longest time I usually went without food. Before I even got out of bed, Harry usually brought me a glass of juice for quick blood sugar and some cheese or a cup of yogurt for longer-lasting protein.

He went to the kitchen area, chatting with his mom while I sat up slowly, hoping to avoid dizziness. After my pre-breakfast ritual, the next thing was to get a large glass of water so I wouldn't get dehydrated. After all of that, I enjoyed a cup of coffee. Even though experts were now saying that caffeine might be bad for the baby, I remembered my mom saying at various times that she drank coffee when she was pregnant with all of us. I wasn't planning to overdo it - I bought the half-caff stuff - but I needed at least a taste of my joe in the  morning.

Breakfast was something else; even I was stuffed by the time we finished, a situation that probably wouldn't last too long since I seemed to be hungry all the time lately. Funny that a tiny little baby could require so much sustenance. We ate eggs, sausage, beans, toast, tomatoes and mushrooms. Anne told me about something called black pudding that they regularly ate with the meal as well, but since Harry wasn't fond of it, she skipped trying to find the unusual ingredients. It was a good thing since it sounded rather disgusting, being made from pork fat or beef suet, pork blood, and oatmeal. I was fairly sure I would never be convinced to eat something made from blood. Ever.

With the first round of Happy Birthdays exchanged, we all set about getting dressed for the day. My parents were going to come over early for reasons still unknown to them, but we had a lot to cover today, in addition to celebrating my love's birthday. My parents had no knowledge of the engagement, wedding, baby or Harry's house project. The morning after they had arrive, we had told Harry's parents we wanted to get married while they were here. They were thrilled and seemed just fine with the suddenness of it all. I hoped my family wasn't too blindsided, and that everyone would be free on Valentine's Day. Cliché, I know, but the date worked out quite well, so why not?

I had told my parents only this: to please arrive early on Harry's birthday and to set aside all of Valentine's Day for an event to be disclosed. I also asked her to run the Valentine's date by my siblings.