Ever The Same

Week 9 - Surprise, Surprise

And when the sun comes out tomorrow
It'll be the start of a brand new day
And all that you have wished for
I know will come your way
Well, surprise, surprise, surprise
Yeah, surprise, surprise, surprise
Well, surprise, surprise, come on open your eyes
And let your love shine down
——Surprise, Surprise, Bruce Springsteen

Week Nine
Your baby is the size of a green olive

October 10, 2021

Cait was desperately trying to open her eyes. But it just wasn't happening. She heard Grayson talking to her. But she was too tired to respond.

"Maybe we should just let you sleep," he finally whispered.

"Please," she groaned. "So tired."

"Okay," he sighed. "We'll be back after church. You sleep." He pressed a kiss to her head and Cait snuggled back down into the covers.

She had good reason to be tired, she told herself. Will and Sherry's visit had been a whirlwind. From Grayson's birthday dinner with not only his parents, but her father, Joan and Connor, to a birthday celebration with some of his teammates, to baby shopping that Sherry had absolutely insisted on, to the preseason game the night before, Cait had been run ragged.

She'd taken Friday off from work, so she needed to go to the office the next day. All of which meant that now she just wanted to sleep.

*****

Grayson was driving when his mother spoke up from the backseat.  "Do you think she's okay?" she asked.

"She's exhausted, Mom," he replied.  "It's been a busy few days and she's just out of gas.  At least she's apparently eating, because she's complaining about how much weight she's gained."

"She's supposed to gain weight," Sherry frowned. 

"Yes, she is," Grayson conceded.  "But in spite of being so sick that she can barely keep anything down, she's gained more than expected.  It's just all concentrated in that baby bump." Grayson got his cocky little smirk and puffed his chest up. "I apparently made a really big baby."

That got a simultaneous eye roll from his parents. "Maybe because you are a really big baby," Will said dryly.

"I probably should have taken her shopping for maternity clothes," Sherry frowned, changing the subject before Grayson could respond to his father. 

"Somehow, I doubt either of you would have enjoyed that as much as looking at crib sets and newborn clothes," Grayson smirked.  Sherry was already knitting baby blankets and sweaters and hats.  And she'd bought some gender neutral baby clothes.  And some Duke onesies. Grayson and Cait hadn't had the heart to tell her that they hadn't even settled on a room for the baby yet. "But that's going to have to happen soon. She's already complaining about her clothes not fitting."

Sherry had noticed that her daughter-in-law had worn leggings all weekend. Usually with one of Grayson's shirts. And when Cait had put on her own shirt to go to the game, that bump had actually been somewhat visible, if you knew to look for it. Which was surprising. It was a little early for that.

"She just seems to have really extreme symptoms, the poor thing," Sherry noted. 

"Well, that figures," Grayson sighed. "For someone who dislikes the medical profession, she manages to have plenty of interaction with it.  I won't even be here for her appointment this week."