Mommy Mouse (sequel to City Mouse)

Chapter 36: Random Convos

"Mommy?"

"Yeah?"

"You know how Beanie's in your tummy? Your uterus?"

Mouse laughed, and silently thanked the Santangelo twins for teaching Leo the new word.

"Mm hmm."

"I was just wondering..."

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering how she was gonna come out?"

Mouse and Leo were lying together on a chaise on their terrace. It was very cold, but the sun was bright, and they were protected from the wind. Happy was out there with them, and the cats were watching them through the French doors.

They were bundled under a comforter, enjoying the sunshine, and just being together. It had been a few weeks since Leo had spent the night at the Santangelos, and Leo was doing much better. His cast had finally come off, and he was sleeping through the night, though he did sometimes climb into bed with his parents.

Mouse took a sip of her hot chocolate, giving herself time to think. She and Henry had wondered when this would come up.

"Well, um, you know how everyone goes to the bathroom?"

Leo sat up to stare at Mouse.

"You're going to poop her out?"

Mouse snarfed her cocoa, narrowly avoiding spilling it. She carefully set it aside.

"Oh my god, Leo, no!" she gasped, laughing.

"But you said--" he began, drawing his tiny eyebrows together.

"Let me finish, please," Mouse said, grinning. She gathered him to her and pulled the comforter up to cover him snugly. "So, like I was saying, everyone, men and women, have two openings, right?"

"One for number one, one for number two," Leo filled in, and Mouse could feel him nodding against her.

"Right," she agreed, stifling more laughter. "The thing is, in addition to a rectum and a urethra, which is what those openings are called, by the way, women have another opening."

Leo sat up again, eyes wide.

"Really?" He looked at her carefully to see if she was teasing.

"Really truly," Mouse told her son. "Between those two openings, we have another one, called a vagina, that's connected to our uterus. And when the baby's finished growing and is ready to come out, she'll turn upside down and I'll push her out."

Mouse stopped talking, wondering if that would be enough.

Leo lay back down, putting a hand on her belly under the comforter, patting it.

"Does it hurt?"

"I don't know for sure, because I've never done it, but I know it's hard work," Mouse told him. "That's why its called 'labor,' get it?"

"Oh." Silence. "Seems like it might hurt. Even a little baby's pretty big, right?"

Thanks, Leo, because I wasn't worried enough.

"Well, we'll find out soon, won't we?" Mouse tried to make her voice light.

"Can I come and watch?" Leo asked.

"No, it can get kind of messy and gross, and sometimes there might be an emergency that someone your age shouldn't see, you know?" Mouse tried to sound matter of fact and nonchalant.

"A 'mergency?" he repeated. Mouse felt his hand grow still on her tummy. "Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know, sometimes the mother is in a lot of pain, and they have to give her medicine, or the doctors decide that the baby has to come out faster than the mommy can push, so they have to do a special operation, called a C-section, to take the baby out--" Mouse realized she was not helping the situation.