Take Me Back

18 - Jenna

I've always enjoyed a nice shopping spree, but it's different when you're in the Babies-R-Us and shopping for a kid who you don't even know yet.

"Petal, come look at this crib. It's got the neutral looking wood, and the slats are pretty close together so they can't escape". Niall wanted to get all of the basics in the room as soon as we could, so here we were, designing our nursery. We wanted to go for a very plain look with all the furniture, but have the decorations be very colorful.

"Yeah, sure, put it in the cart", I said, not even looking over to the thing he was talking about. I felt his glare on my back as I stared down at my phone. My husband took it out of my hands, interrupting my game.

"This is our baby, you know? I thought you would be more...involved in this"

"Well, it doesn't feel like our baby right now. We don't know the gender, the name, or even what it looks like. Right now it's still just a pain in the ass that makes me vomit all the time" I sighed, spilling the truth out to him.

"Sorry. But, your doctor's appointment is in a few days, so we get to see it for the first time. Aren't you excited?" I nodded, smiling at him and putting my head on his chest. "I know it's hard right now, but I know once you see our angel in your belly, I can guarantee that you'll be happier".

We changed aisles and went to the basics section, where we bought some bottles, pacifiers and diapers to put in a stockpile. I'm pretty sure moms run out of those quickly, so it'll be good to have a lot.

"Ugh, nappies. I'm not looking forward to having to change those all day". Niall seemed disgusted, and we both laughed at his quick change in attitude.

"You're gonna have to get over it. If I have to push a watermelon out of me, you best believe I'm not gonna have the energy to wake up in the middle of the night for a few weeks". I cringed, knowing that was unavoidable. I remembered all the reasons I didn't want to have kids, but then looked over to my love and remembered all the reasons I did.

"It's okay, I'll teach it to poop on a schedule". I rolled my eyes at his comment and pushed the shopping cart through the store.

At the hardware store, our biggest debate was what color to paint the nursery. I wanted to paint it a light grey, but Niall wanted the walls to be the same navy color as the accents in our home.

"The room will be way too dark if you make it that color. Plus, it'll clash with the other colors. It doesn't everywhere else in the flat because all our other furniture is white, grey and black. But a kid's room needs color and excitement. Case closed, I win", I said, banging my hand on the counter to mock a gavel.

"Jenna, you are lucky I love you more than words. If it was any different, I'd throw the bucket of paint over your head". I punched his arm, and the clerk at the desk came over to help us.

"Hi, can we get two cans of a color like this light grey here?" I showed him my phone that had a picture pulled up that happened to be a nursery as well.

"Yeah, I'll mix that up for you". He looked down at my stomach that I was holding. "Are you expecting?" I gave him a look, sending him into a state of panic.

"Not that you look fat or anything, but you showed me the photo of the nursery and you're holding-"

"Relax, I was just playing. Yes, my husband and I are expecting. Thank you". He wiped a fake bead of sweat off of his forehead, and I chuckled. The world needed more men like Niall and this guy, funny and sweet.

"You look really good for a pregnant woman". Niall stepped in front of me and shot the guy, who's name tag said Clark, an extremely dirty look. I saw the panic again, and he hid his face in embarrassment. "Oh my god, everything is coming out wrong today. I'm not hitting on you or anything, I'm actually gay, so...I'm gonna stop now and mix your paint". Niall calmed down, and all three of us laughed. 

"Babe, get over here, my fat ass can't stand up by myself", I groaned out. A pair of blue eyes gave me a pitiful stare, and the arm of their owner extended to help me up.

"Petal, you aren't fat, you're only a month pregnant. Even at full term you'll still be beautiful to me". He kissed my forehead, and I smiled. "You're just exhausted. You woke up early, and morning sickness during your first trimester is always the worst". I gave him a very confused look, and he blushed. 

"What, I didn't know what to do the other day, so I read the critically acclaimed novel What to Expect When You're Expecting. Did you know that when you get ready to give birth, your cervix expands-"

"I absolutely do not want to know how messed up my hoo-ha is gonna be after this"

"Ew, neither do I"

I gasped as a cold glob of paint hit me in the back. I whipped around to see the goofball with a paintbrush in his hand, looking guilty as could be.

"Oh, you're on..." I whispered, lunging towards him. 

"Hey! Don't waste paint by ruining my designer clothes", he said, pointing to his faded football tee he still had from high school.

"That thing is ancient! Wow, you kept that?"

"It has my name on it. I like things that have my name on them". I rolled my eyes, taking the other paintbrush and dipping it in the bucket. 

"I know you do. You could never find any souvenirs with your name, so this shirt is like hitting the jackpot". We both smiled, and I put the paintbrush on the wall, getting the lower parts while Niall got the higher ones I couldn't reach.  "God, why do I have to be so damn short?"

"Fun-sized. I love that about you. You're just a fun-sized, short little girl"

"Exactly! Little girl! Do you know how many people have thought I was your kid? I bet I would get no reactions if I called you dad in public"

"Daddy kink, weird. Never met somebody with that before, much less married them".  I glared at him, then took my brush and slowly slid it down his face, leaving it covered in paint.

"Alright, that was simply uncalled for. I no longer trust you with paint. How about you assemble the crib and changing table, huh?" I scoffed, but sat down to attempt what I thought was the easier task. I was quickly proven wrong when I saw the instructions were all written in German.

"How the hell am I supposed to read this?"

"Just use the pictures, love. There are only like, five pieces. I think you can manage to not screw that up". He thought wrong. I was sure I had done it right, but when I stepped away from the crib, it automatically caved in and fell to the ground. Thank god there wasn't a baby in there. After hours of trying, we got both pieces of furniture assembled and both layers of paint done. There was still a lot of work to be done, but we were on the road to parenthood, cruising down the freeway.

a/n: sorry for not updating sooner, i hate fillers like these but i have to do them or else the story would be way too short. see you in the next one, please comment and vote! love you!