Heaven Knows it's High Time | Joanne

Chapter Sixteen

"Sweetheart, you're going to need to stay close to me. I can't walk that fast."

Emelia stopped in the street, waiting for Dianne to catch up.

"Sorry, Peanut," she said as she finally reached her, taking her hand, "the baby's heavy and it's hard for me to walk."

Emelia looked at her mother, who was red and sweating from the few metres they had walked towards the doors of the shopping centre. Her bump was now almost a perfect sphere, the size of a small beach ball.

Dianne took a breath. "Right, sweetie. Now we've got your school supplies sorted, the next job is to get Joe's birthday presents. What do you think he would like?"

Emelia grinned. "A baby?"

Dianne chuckled. "Well, he's definitely getting one of those. But it would be nice to get him some other things as well."

Dianne had already ordered Joe some gifts. A new vinyl record player and a collection of some of his favourite albums, a fancy old-school camera he had been on about for ages, and a grey shirt to replace one she had secretly borrowed and then spilt coffee on.

"Look! A book of dad jokes!" Emelia said, pointing in the window of a shop. "He loves jokes. And he's a dad."

Dianne smiled. "Perfect. Shall we get that from you, then?"

Emelia nodded enthusiastically.

"And then we need cards, gift wrap and some gluten-free granola so we can make him a special breakfast."

Dianne ended up picking out some extra gifts- a new set of notebooks for video ideas, a new cocktail-making set and a book about indoor plants for the home, plus two cards and some wrapping paper.

"OK" Dianne said to Emelia once the cashier had bagged up their purchases, "granola and fruit and then we can go home. Actually, I might need a rest before we get the granola. Shall we go and find somewhere for a drink?"

Emelia followed Dianne through the shopping centre until they reached a coffee shop. Dianne took a seat in the corner and handed Emelia her card. "Baby, can you go and get me a bottle of water? You can choose whatever you'd like as well. Good girl."

Dianne watched as Emelia went on her own up to the counter. She was a confident kid, and Dianne was comfortable letting her do these kinds of things on her own as long as she or Joe were close by to supervise. Finding a table in the corner, Dianne chose a high-backed chair with arms (it would make it easier for her to get back out of it) and sat down. Her back had been uncomfortable for months, and it had got worse since she had stopped dancing. She knew the baby was now facing downwards, which was making it much more difficult for her to hold herself upright for long periods of time. The last few days had been a struggle.

"There you go." Emelia said, handing Dianne her water. "And there's your card. I just got a juice."

Dianne smiled. "Good girl. Thank you for doing that."

Emelia uncapped her drink and took a sip. Dianne couldn't help but smile. "You're so grown up, Peanut. Look at you. I can't believe you're going to be in year four."

"I can't wait. My new teacher is so nice. And so funny."

Dianne nodded. "I like her too."

"Do you think the baby will be here when I go back to school?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe. The midwife said it could be any time now. Jellybean is ready to be evicted from the Big Brother house."

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