Undercover Lover

Chapter 21

The taxi journey home is very quiet. Not awkward but nice, neither of us needs to speak. Calvin is looking out of the window, whilst I sit comfortable at his side. I think we both need time to contemplate what happened earlier. Calvin learnt that he is going to be a father and I was afraid of losing our baby. Some time to think about everything is definitely needed. I like this though. They say that if you find a person with whom you can stay in a comfortable silence and you don’t feel awkward, he or she is the one for you. I hope that is the case with me and Cal. Since the scan I’ve had a constant smile on my face. I don’t think anything could bring me down now.

I watch his face, squinting at the rows of shops at the side of the road. His lips are pursed in concentration.

We pass in front of Rome’s most famous landmarks such as The Colosseum, Saint Peter’s Basilica and Castel Sant’Angelo. To say I was amazed is an understatement! This city is so magnificent! Centuries of history are passing in front of my eyes and my interest in archaeology has resurfaced. I take in every road, every building… There is a sight around every corner and I really wish we had some time to visit some of them. However, we are here to save Calvin’s mom. Sightseeing can wait… And I’m definitely going to persuade Calvin to come back here sometime in the future. Maybe with our baby as a proper family… Who knows? I can only hope!

'Stop the car!' Calvin says suddenly to the driver who immediately thinks there’s a problem and slams on the brakes. Calvin puts his arm protectively in front of me to stop the impact, even though it is only very slight.

'Just pull over here', he says and the driver does as he's told. 

'What is it?', I ask leaning over to see out of his window.

'We’re going into this shop', Calvin says to the taxi driver as he hands him some money. 'If you could just wait here…'

He steps out of the taxi and puts his hand down to help me up. When I step out of the cab, I instantly see what we have stopped for. A store which is decorated in baby blue and pink. The big sign at the top reads "Bambini Felici" and is accompanied at either side by giant alphabet ABC blocks. The window is displayed with teddy bears and baby maniquins all dressed in traditional clothes. He takes my hand and squeezes as he leads the way through the door.

We walk down the first isle and see several outfits all hung along the wall. Calvin has already picked up a basket. I feel very happy that he cares about our baby so much! He just saw a shop with baby’s essentials and he stopped the taxi so that we can shop for Him! I’m sure he’s gonna be a great father!

'I like them all!', I say quietly just staring at the huge wall of baby clothes. They are all so nice. So many different colours and designs… And they are so small! It makes you wonder how a human being can be so small to fit into them.

'I like this one', Calvin picks up an outfit and holds it up. It’s a white polo top with three buttons at the neck. The pants are what look like a light denim but are actually cotton. A red cardigan is wrapped around the top. The way it’s set up on the hanger looks like a baby is already wearing it. 

'He'll look just like his dad in that one', I say. I reach to a beige dungaree set I’ve just spotted on a higher shelf. It’s quite high and Calvin gets it and passes it to me. I spot a small suppresed smile from the last comment.

'Here', he says as he passes me the basket. 'Pick some of the nice ones and make sure you get lots of different sizes. I’m having a look at the rest of it.'

I take the basket and begin packing it full of different clothes each one in at least 2 different sizes. I move along and realise that the last section was only for 0-1 years. The toddler clothing is even nicer. After picking up some more toddler dungaree sets my basket is over flowing. The man behind the counter rushes over with a trolly and transfers everything over. He doesn’t speak. He just smiles and makes gestures. I assume he can’t speak English which is something common in Italy.  People are nice, but the majority doesn’t speak English, so communication is a bit difficult if you don’t know some basic Italian phrases.