All The Stars in the Universe

Chapter 4.

By the time Bex was eleven weeks pregnant, her mornings had taken on a routine; wake up, puke, get dressed, try to eat breakfast, puke again, go to work. She didn't even have to pretend to abstain from coffee anymore, because the smell of it alone turned her stomach.

On the day of her eleven week ultrasound, Bex had already finished two points of her morning routine, and grabbed some clean clothes from the hall closet. She retreated to the bathroom, the only place in the apartment where she had any real privacy, and started to get dressed. She pulled her shirt over her head and slipped on her favorite jeans. They were full of holes, naturally, which never ceased to confound her mother. Celia never could understand why anyone would pay money for clothes with holes in it (or ninety-percent of Bex's remaining wardrobe, for that matter). At thirty years old, Bex still got satisfaction out of wearing and doing things her mother wouldn't approve of, the same as when she was an adolescent. Except now, she didn't have to sneak her cool clothes to school in her backpack, and change out of her 'mom-approved' clothes in the girl's room before homeroom.

She tugged her jeans up and tried to button them around her waist, but they had less give than usual. They were actually snug. She stood still, her heartbeat speeding up with excitement. Then, she rose on her tiptoes, trying to see her waist in the small bathroom mirror. When she couldn't , she hurried to Andi's room.

"I need your mirror," she said breathlessly.

Andi was combing her hair in front of the large mirror over her dresser. She glanced at her mother in the doorway. "Why aren't you wearing pants?"

"Hold that thought." She lifted up her shirt and studied her abdomen from the front and the side. It wasn't her imagination. She was getting a baby bump. She sucked in her breath excitedly. It was small and hardly noticeable, but it was definitely there. She placed her hands on her stomach, unable to tear her eyes from the mirror.

"Mom?" Andi asked. "What are you doing?"

"Andi, I have a baby bump!" she squealed. "Look!"

Andi looked down at her mother's stomach. "I see it," she smiled. "That's so cool."

"I have to show Bowie," she said, rushing out of the room, Andi following close behind.

Her husband was in the kitchen, making breakfast. "Bowie," she said. "Guess what?" She put her hands on his shoulders, barely able to contain her smile.

"What's up?" he asked. He looked her up and down. "And where are your pants?"

She ignored his last question. "I'm getting a baby bump," she grinned, raising her shirt to show him.

Bowie looked down at the small swell of her belly. "Aww," he gushed. "That's the cutest thing I've ever seen." He placed both his hand on her stomach. "I can't believe our baby's in there. It feels so unreal."

"Just wait until you see the sonogram today" she told him. "It's the most amazing feeling in the world."

"I can't wait," he said, planting a kiss right in the middle of her forehead.

"Mom," said Andi, quietly. "Don't forget, I'm going shopping with Cece after school today."

"I haven't forgotten," Bex told her. "What are you guys shopping for? Do you want me to come with you?"

"No!" Andi said too quickly. She slapped her hands over her mouth. "You can't come, and I can't tell you what we're buying."

"Oh." Bex nodded knowingly. "So it's a surprise for me?"

"I'm not saying anymore," Andi told her firmly, zipping her lips with an invisible zipper.

"What is it?" Bex cried, taking Andi in her arms and tickling her sides until her daughter burst out in a fit of giggles. "Tell meeeee! You know I hate suspense!"