Sweet Lantern

Chapter 41

Alice

It's Friday morning, I'm staying home from school to get the house ready for tonight. It's the game that the guys have been stressing, against Morrow High. They really want to win this one, just to show everyone that they can. Well... and to prove to themselves that they're better than those guys.

The household chores have been slacking a bit lately. It's really shown me just how much our moms took care of things around us without us even realizing all that they were doing for us. We have clothes everywhere, dirty dishes piled on the nightstands in our room, and in the kitchen sink. The trashcans are full in both bathrooms, and the livingroom needs to be straightened up.

I've also got to run by the grocery store and grab food for tonight. I'm going to do a buffet style layout of finger foods and sodas.

I've started to notice that this little one inside of me seems to sleep more when I'm up moving around. Play time is when mommy lays down to go to sleep or sits down to rest. So, the whole time I'm up cleaning, my belly is still. But when I sit to rest my feet and back, my stomach looks like it's made of playdough and it's being molded, as tiny little feet and elbows poke at me.

When the house is acceptable, I go to Henry's to grab stuff to make finger sandwiches, chips and fruit and veggie platters. I grab a few 12 packs of sodas and some cookies too. I'm looking forward to tonight so much. When they win this game, they're going to be stoked and then hanging out afterward will be so much fun. The only one that has even been by the house so far is Kevin. So, everyone will be seeing it for the first time.

I check out and take my bags out to the car. I'm glad Darry let me take him to school today so I could keep the car. I hate to bother my parents to stop what they're doing to have to take me places.

It's almost his lunchtime at school. If I can get these bags back and put the food away quickly, I might be able to just make it in time to bring Darry lunch and get to eat with him too.

I hurry across town and run inside with my four bags, putting the food away, I grab the plastic container of leftover chicken and rice from last night and two forks.

I make it to the school with five minutes to spare, so I'm not rushing into the building, thank goodness. I go into the cafeteria and find our table to sit down. The faces begin to pile in, Jessica and Brittany come over first, then Joel and Kevin. And then I see the most beautiful face in the crowd. Darry walks into the cafeteria, smiling and laughing with Matt, they look over at our table. Darry's eyes light up when he sees me sitting here and he picks up his speed.

"Hey babe! I didn't expect to see you here." He says as he bends down to kiss me. "I thought I'd come eat lunch with you. I missed you."

I open the container of food and we share the contents while everyone talks about the game tonight and then coming to our house after. Darry reaches down and puts his hand over my belly, gently moving his hand up and down, he leans down to whisper to my belly, and it begins to move.

"It's so cool how you can make the baby move by talking to her belly!" Brittany says, smiling at the dancing baby behind the belly.

"It looks weird. Like, doesn't that hurt?!" Joel asks, as the baby is getting very active and my belly moves quite a bit more.

"Nah man, it doesn't hurt her", Darry interjects for me. "She says it just feels odd, but not in a bad way. Right, babe?" he asks, looking at me to agree. I nod and run my hand over my moving belly, trying to settle the baby inside.

I look over and see Kev watching us, a look on his face that warms my heart. He has a half smile on his face and deep thought in his eyes. He seems to be enjoying watching my belly move, not disgusted or scared like the other guys seem to be. When he catches me looking at him, he blushes and drops his stare to look his lunch in front of him.

When lunch is over, me and the girls agree to meet at the field at 4pm to get ready for the game. Darry kisses me and my belly before turning to leave the cafeteria, assuring me that he's collecting any work that I might need to catch up on over the weekend. He's always very thoughtful about my education and making sure I graduate at the top of our class.

Tomorrow afternoon is our ultrasound appointment. We find out the sex of our baby, God willing. I doubt I'll be getting too much done then, I'm too excited.

A nap sounds really great now, so I head home to lay down and then I'll have some time to fix the sandwiches and put all of the food out on the counters before leaving out for the game. I like my naps a lot lately. Not so much when they happen in the middle of class though and Darry's having to wake me up to tell me to pay attention.

When I drive up in the driveway, I see my parents working in the barn. I park and walk over to see if I can help with anything. "Hey baby." My mom sees me walking toward them and runs out to greet me. "How are you feeling?" she asks, always so concerned for my well-being. "I'm fine mom, really, I'm just a little tired today. But I wanted to see if I could come help with anything?"

"Oh, baby, no, thank you, but no. You need to rest if you're tired. Believe you me, when that little stinker gets here, you'll want this time back, to sleep." She tells me, holding the sides of my belly, one hand on each side. Then she shoos me on, telling me to go lay down and smacks my behind when I turn to walk away, making me turn to glare at her. "I love you, baby girl", she says, laughing at my reaction to her smacking my rear end.

"I love you too", I tell her through gritted teeth. I hate when she smacks me, and she knows it. That woman, I swear! I shake my head and walk toward my house, eager to fall back on the couch and pull my fluffy throw blanket over me. If I'm going to stay awake through this whole game, I must sleep now.