Chapter 39
Aiden's POV
It had been a few months since we moved into the house together and found out that we were expecting. Life was going pretty good and sailing smoothly since then.
Standing by the archway, our eyes met as I smiled at my love who was quietly fanning herself amongst the crowded room full of family and friends. Once she finished fanning herself, she started to make her way towards me as family members and friends stopped her to chat or congratulate her. By the time she got to me, she was quietly fiddling with her dress.
"Are you okay, my love?" I asked while handing her a bottle of water as she thanked me before taking a few sips. "Nervous?" I added as she nodded while quietly pulling at her dark blue dress.
"Does this dress look tight to you?" Natalie questioned back while now rubbing out wrinkles around her large stomach. She had been worried about what her family would say once they saw her around her seventh month of being pregnant. "What if they don't even show up at all?" She rambled on as I gently caressed her cheek.
"I'm sure they're just as happy and excited as we are to be welcoming a new member to the family. The judgements that they had at the beginning of your pregnancy probably were dismissed when they knew that I was going to stick by your side." I stated while kissing her forehead. "You're beautiful and gorgeous. The dress brings out the color in your eyes." I added as she hugged my waist before I hugged her back.
"You know you're a smooth talker?" She inquired while burying her face into my shirt. "I guess it'll be okay though." She mumbled while sighing quietly before looking up at me as people moved in and out of the room around us. "Have you thought of anything to name him?" She added while I quietly shook my head before her mother came and found her.
"It's almost time to open up the gifts, are you ready?" She asked as Natalie sighed while looking from her to me before kissing my cheek and leaving. "Come on, Aiden. You too." Natalie's mom added while guiding me to the area where all of the gifts sat. After I made sure that Natalie was comfortable, I handed her the first gift that was wrapped in pink wrapping paper with a large pink bow on top. We hadn't told any of the families what we were expecting.
"It's from Aunt Gigi." Natalie smiled while slowly unwrapping the box before peering inside as she quietly pulled the card out of the box. "To my youngest niece. With love." She read aloud while placing the card aside before pulling out the bottle warmer with a set of new baby bottles. "Thank you so much." She smiled on while placing it off to the side as I handed her some more of her presents.
It took us almost thirty minutes to finish opening up gifts before I came upon one that looked carefully wrapped and tied together by a blue polka dot bow. Quietly handing it to her, I watched as she read the name of the sender before picking up the card.
"La mia bellissima nipotina (My beautiful Granddaughter), I hope this gift reaches you in time as I'm not able to make it there just yet. When I first heard of you having a baby, I was overjoyed that I started making this even though I was never told the gender. I hope you like it. Yours lovingly, Nonna (Grandmother)." She read before unwrapping and opening the gift. She sat there for a second, quietly touching the fabric inside the box before pulling it out to show the rest of us. The light orange fabric was carefully stitched together with silver trimmings to reveal a small blanket with amore (love) in the middle of it. "Thank you for all of the gifts." She smiled on as the raw emotion showed clearly in her eyes. "Enjoy the food." She added while I helped her up before she disappeared down the hall. Quietly grabbing a plate, I filled it with some fruit and sweets while grabbing a bottle of water before heading towards the hall. Slowly walking towards the stairs, I carefully sat down next to Natalie as she held the blanket to her chest with her eyes closed. "Do you think they'll make it?" She asked warily without opening her eyes as I put the bottle down in front of her before rubbing her back.
"I'm sure they'll be here before our little one is born." I quietly informed while kissing her cheek as a smile slowly slipped onto her face. "I brought you some sweets." I added as she looked over at me before I handed her the plate. I learned that sweets and fruits were something that helped her calm down whenever she was angry or anxious.
"When I was younger, I used to stay with my nonna and my nonno a lot. We always spent time at their restaurant or at the beach. It was mostly the later." She sighed while picking up a piece of cantaloupe before taking a bite out of it. "We loved eating fruit while enjoying the waves and watching the sunset together. It was just an all around good time. It was a peaceful time." She smiled while eating some more before leaning on me. "It was a time where we were always together." Her voice became softer the more she spoke until we were just sitting in silence. Natalie had been sad about her grandparents not being able to make it here sooner due to the weather and the current season. We were currently in the middle of Fall and the weather wasn't looking so great for us nor her grandparents. They had to keep pushing back their boarding time because it was either pouring down or foggy. But, I was sure that they'd arrive soon.
"Is that why you eat fruit when you're anxious?" I inquired as she nodded while popping a grape into her mouth. Sighing, I leaned my head on hers as we sat in silence. "Have you thought of a name?" I added as she looked up at me while eating some of her sweets.
"It would be best if you didn't leave the naming to me at the moment. I've been watching too many movies and everything seems like a great name." She smiled as I quietly laughed at her before the doorbell rung. As I was helping her up, Natalie's mom answered the door while we watched from afar.
"New York is a busy place, passerotto (Sparrow/little Sparrow). The driver was so sweet to us even though we had no clue that he was going to pick us up at the airport!" The familiar voice stated with a laugh as Natalie kept trying to see around her mom. "I'm glad to be here. Now, guide me to my granddaughter." The small woman stated as her daughter stepped aside to let them in before she saw Natalie. "La mia bellissima nipotina (My beautiful Granddaughter)!" She happily exclaimed as Natalie handed me her plate before rushing off to hug her grandparents.
"How'd you get here? I thought there was a lot of bad weather in Italy? Who's going to be watching the shop?" She asked while still embracing her grandfather.
"We've been watching the weather for the past few weeks until it eventually cleared up." Her grandfather stated while pulling back to look at her. "We left it to one of our management. Everything's all taken care of." He added while ruffling Natalie's hair before she hugged them again.
"I'm glad you both made it safely!" She breathed while being loved on by her grandparents.
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Heyo! Just stopping in to update....and possibly finish this book, depending on when it's published.
I don't think I've ever said this this year but Happy New Year! I hope your year is starting off great and if not, you have plenty of time to make this year a great one but remember, bad times are just bad times. They're not here to stay so push on!
Andrea ♥︎
P.S. Some translations might be wrong. I'm going back through and changing them as best as I can.
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