A Material Gift (D'Arth Series Book 2)

by Camille Oster

  After drinking the espresso, he changed into running clothes and headed out of the door before the rains started, feeling his lungs expand with the fresh air. He felt good. The streets were empty but for a few cars, jammed full of stressed family members, heading off to their extended families for the day.

  He still couldn’t believe that he was having a child. It was almost here and he was still having trouble reconciling himself to the idea. He had no qualms about the agreement he’d made with Sam, knowing without a doubt that she’d make a great mother. He just had no idea what would be required of him. He didn’t really know any babies. He’d had a few acquaintances who had disappeared into suburbia and family life, but he’d always written them off as lost. And now he was going to become one—well not completely, but to a smaller degree.

  He was planning on visiting or having them visit twice a year. A good relationship with Sam was absolutely crucial, and he knew he’d made the right decision when he’d stopped their relationship from going down another path. This was the right thing to do and there was comfort in knowing that—even if his attraction to her hadn’t abated.

  Chapter 26

  Sam waited as the familiar ringtone blared out of her computer.

  “Hello, darling. How are you doing?” her mother said and Sam felt a lump constrict in her throat.

  “I’m good.”

  “You’re huge, sweetie. Just a few more days now.”

  “Yep,” Sam said, still trying not to cry. “How is everyone?”

  “Good. It’s quite late here and we’ve drunk a bit of wine. I’ve been wondering if I should book a flight and come over.”

  “I’ll be fine, Mum. Besides, I’ll be home in a few weeks.”

  “I really don’t like the idea that you’re going to be alone.”

  “I’m not going to be alone, Mum. Sebastian will be with me.” Sam realised how odd that must have sounded to her mum, but she and Sebastian had grown quite close over the last few months. Her mother looked unconvinced.

  “I can put everything here on hold. It’s no big deal.”

  “No, I’m fine.” Sam knew that her mother’s long-standing commitment to volunteering over the Christmas period at the nursing home where Sam’s grandmother lived meant a lot to her. Until recently, Sam had not fully informed her mother about her possible intention of keeping the baby, so her declaration a few days ago had come as a bit of a surprise.

  “If you change your mind, I’ll be on the next plane.”

  “It will all be fine. I can Skype you from the hospital so you will virtually be there anyway.”

  “I’m so proud of you, darling.”

  “I know.”

  Her mother blew her a kiss. “Speak to your brother. Marco!” she yelled and got out of the seat, to shortly be replaced by Marco.

  “Hi Sis.”

  “Hey.”

  “You’re huge.”

  “Thanks,” she said, pulling a face like she did when they were children. Their relationship did sometimes revert back to a more immature state when they would constantly compete and fight.

  “I can’t believe you’re going to be a mum. It is so surreal.”

  “I know,” she said. “I can’t believe it myself.”

  “What are you going to name her?”

  “We haven’t settled on a name yet.” They hadn’t even talked about it. With all the uncertainty around their situation and having just settled on the really big details, like who would take care of the baby, they hadn’t gotten to the minor ones yet. Sam felt guilty. “How’s work?”

  “Good. I love it, actually.”

  “Awesome.”

  “Thinking about going to London shortly. It would boost my career if I spent some time there.”

  “It could be cool. I think you’d enjoy it, and there’s all of Europe to see.”

  “You’re coming back and I’m headed off. I still can’t believe you’re having a baby.”

  “Yeah, well, I want this baby to come. Being pregnant sucks.”

  “I’m glad I’m a guy.” Sam smiled tightly, thinking of Sebastian and the role he was to play in this quasi family.

  “I hope you have all had a good day.”

  “Yeah, it’s been alright.”

  “Are you doing any surfing?”

  “I’m going down south for a few days with the boys. We’ll get some surfing in them.”

  “I can’t believe you wear a suit to work.”

  “I guess we’re both pretending to be grown-ups.”

  “Yeah,” she said, feeling a little sad. Her relationship with her brother was becoming more distant as their lives veered in different directions. “Take care of mum, okay? I’ve gotta go.”

  “Have a good one, and a good birth thingy, I guess.”

  “Birth thingy?”

  “You know,” he said, looking a bit embarrassed.

  She wanted to tease him about the gory details, which would make him queasy, but knew there were other people listening. Instead, she gave him a pointed look, hoping it conveyed her jibe. “See you,” she said, feeling a little lonely for a moment. He nodded and then hung up.

  She knew her relationship with her brother bordered on the immature, but that was their last point of commonality now—the part of their relationship that they both knew as neither of them really knew the other as adults. They’d gone different ways after high school, to different universities and had accumulated completely different groups of friends. They had very little in common now, other than their mother and their past. She wondered if that would ever change.

  *

  To distract herself from heavy thoughts about home, she decided to put on some music and had a look through Sebastian’s CD collection, which fed an overly complicated CD player. Sam grumbled when she saw it. Why did men have to over-complicate relatively simple things? Sifting through the CD cases, she saw nothing she was familiar with, so she picked one at random and put it on. It was a bit Jazzy, but it was okay. She suspected that growing up, Sebastian hadn’t gone through her brother’s rather unfortunate Death Metal period, which he was now quite embarrassed about.

  It was a lovely day and Sam felt really calm, waiting for Sebastian to come home. She’d agreed to boycott Christmas, but she was just about to cook Christmas lunch and there was nothing else on the agenda. Sitting down on the couch, she sipped some festive looking pomegranate juice and waited.

  Sebastian arrived, looking sweaty and a little flushed, immediately retreating to his room to shower—emerging a few minutes later, wet and dressed. He looked a little too formal in his dark shirt and grey pants, but he didn’t seem to have much of an in-between wardrobe; it was either super casual, as in ‘I’ll sleep in it’, or formalish; although she suspected this was his version of casual. She tried to imagine him in a black Death Metal shirt and long hair, but she couldn’t—the image wouldn’t form, but it made her giggle anyway.

  “Something funny?”

  “Just thinking about something my brother used to wear,” she said.

  “How is your family?”

  “Good, they’ve had their Christmas day. The whole family got together.” Sam grew sad for a moment, realising yet again that she had missed Christmas with her family for a second year. “I suppose we had better cook. I’m getting hungry, which admittedly isn’t saying much these days.”

  “I don’t really know how to cook.”

  “Seriously, would you survive outside a city?”

  “Why would I want to?”

  Sam shook her head. “It’s not that hard, but since you are a complete novice, you will have to start on the salad, and today, you can learn how to make a vinaigrette.”

  “How have you learnt to cook?”

  “My mother taught me.”

  Sam did most of the preparation work and directed Sebastian to make the salad dressing and to cut up some bread. In the end, Sebastian had to do most of the cooking as she directed him from the couch. She’d worn her energy ou
t and had to sit down, yet again.

  They ate at the dining table, which they never really used. The food did make it seem a little more like Christmas, although it was surreal spending it with him. “I’m sorry you couldn’t spend Christmas with your family,” she said, knowing that he was just as disaffected as she was.

  “Don’t be sorry. My family is not really Christmas-orientated—particularly as my parents spent years not talking to each other. It does tend to make holidays awkward. To be completely honest, it’s been more of an obligation than anything else.”

  “Obligation?” Sam stated.

  “Even when I was younger, it was the wait before we were released onto the ski fields.”

  “Is that what you did, skiing?”

  “Almost every winter. Invariably groups from my school would be there, and we’d hang out, compete, do stupid things young people do. Do you ski?”

  “Not well. So you were a bit of a ski bunny?”

  Sebastian smiled. “It was kind of the done thing. Everyone amongst my broader circle of acquaintances went skiing over the Christmas holidays.”

  “Do you still go?”

  “I haven’t been for years.”

  “You should go.”

  “It seems like a pointless activity these days.”

  “I think you need more pointless activities.”

  “Maybe you are right.”

  Sam wondered if Sebastian would teach this child to ski; she couldn’t really imagine it, or what this girl would look like around six years old with Sebastian teaching her how to ski. A sense of excitement stole into her for a moment—her daughter. Sam felt herself tear up again, then dismissed the emotional swing brought on by her hormones. She wasn’t a complete crier, but she would cry at the drop of a hat at the moment. Truly though, she hoped the child and Sebastian had a relationship, thinking they both needed it, because to her, Sebastian’s life seemed a bit empty. He worked too much.

  “Now to gifts,” he said and got up, retrieving something from his room. A box. “I know it’s not a surprise, but here you are.” He presented a box to her and she put it aside.

  “In that case, I will get yours.”

  “You got me a gift?”

  “I did,” she said and walked to her room, picking up the wrapped present. When she returned, she gave it to him and he clearly had no idea what it was. She opened her box and there was a silver charm bracelet inside, sitting on a bed of black velvet. It was heavier than she expected, gleaming with little charms hanging off it. Looking closely at the charms, she saw a little scooter, a kiwi bird, a croissant, a baby’s letter box, an airplane and a llama. He had chosen the charms specifically, including things he knew about her. She was really touched. For being a throwaway comment on her behalf, it had turned out to be a very thoughtful gift. Except the llama; she couldn’t figure that out. “Why the llama?”

  “You said you wanted to go to South America. I suppose it represents your hopes.”

  “That is very sweet. Thank you.” She reached forward to kiss him, like she always did when someone gave her a gift, and he responded equally, intending it to be a peck, but as their lips touched, soft and warm. The kiss slowed down and Sam almost felt it was like a drug entering her system, lulling her and making everything else but the kiss seem remote and surreal. She pulled back sharply, knowing she could easily get stuck in that kiss, and that it would likely evolve into something else; something that took on a life of its own. She felt its call, urging her back. Pressing her lips together, she tried to dissipate the sensation that lingered, tickled, and screamed for more.

  “Your turn,” she said, a little more breathy than she hoped.

  Sebastian turned his attention to the present and Sam watched his face as he unwrapped it. How could he be so beautiful? She watched his lips, which had just kissed her and she had trouble reconciling how she responded to him.

  He turned the soft yellow book over, looking confused. Opening the book, he fingered through the pages of the baby book which included a structured way of recording all sorts of information about a baby’s progress, with room for photos and descriptions.

  “It is yours,” she said. “I will diligently fill it out for you. A record, if you will.”

  “This is clever,” he said, turning the pages over, including one for every kind of milestone. Sam watched as a frown contorted his brow.

  All of a sudden, she wondered if her gift was insensitive—these were things he was going to miss out on and this might be rubbing it in his face. “If you want me to,” she rushed in, suddenly feeling a sense of panic. Sebastian kept turning the pages and Sam wondered if she had been completely idiotic. When she’d seen it, she’d thought it would make a good collection of information and photos; she hadn’t even thought that it would be a collection of all the things he would miss.

  “It’s a lovely idea,” he said and smiled, but there was a certain tightness to it and Sam felt horrible. She had intended it to be a good thing, but all these things were going to happen on the other side of the world from where he would be. She didn’t even know if he wanted to know any of these things.

  “I intended for it to be a record of this baby’s progress,” she started, trying to find an explanation of her intent. “Also something she would appreciate in the future.”

  “It’s a great idea. I didn’t know they had these things. It’s very clever.”

  Chapter 27

  Sam couldn’t contain her excitement as the day had finally arrived—her due date. She didn’t think she could take another day of this—complete exhaustion, everything hurting and her feeling imprisoned in her own body. And she desperately wanted to meet her baby, who had been kicking all morning as she lay in bed; starting around five in the morning.

  Moving slowly to the lounge, she made herself a bowl of cereal, then sat down on the couch. She would need energy today—from what she’d read, it could be an ordeal, but it would be worth it to get back sovereignty over her body.

  The hospital bag was packed. She had baby clothes and a car capsule ready to go. Everything was ready.

  “How are you feeling?” Sebastian asked when he walked into the lounge, still wearing his pyjamas. She wished he wouldn’t do that, because she couldn’t concentrate when the thin material showed every plane and muscle of his body. He wasn’t undressed by anyone’s standard, but the soft material showed off the contours of his shoulders and chest, and the firm backside. Swallowing, Sam looked away, out over the view to distract herself from the sight he presented.

  “I’m alright,” she said, awkwardly turning away from him. “I can’t say that anything’s different. The baby is sleeping right now.”

  “It’s amazing that you can tell.”

  “Well, she isn’t kicking me in the ribs, so that’s an indication.”

  “So what do we do?”

  Sam shrugged, finally turning back to him to see him leaning back on the kitchen isle. “Wait, I guess.”

  *

  It was a long day waiting. Nothing happened. They watched a movie, the news, read the paper, but nothing happened. Sam napped on the couch for a while, lying on her side, feeling Sebastian place a blanket on her.

  “Should we go see Dr Halmonde? See that everything is alright?” she asked when she woke.

  “Okay,” Sebastian said. “We’d better take all the things we need just in case.”

  Sam moved slowly to the door and spotted a black limousine outside. “What the hell?”

  “It’s roomy.”

  “I’m not that big.” Admittedly, she was too large for his ridiculous sports cars, but a limousine was a bit excessive.

  “I don’t know. I thought it best to have a bit of room, in case something happened. There is enough space if you should need to... I don’t know, lie down.”

  Sam shook her head and got into the back of the long car. It was roomy and she didn’t have to squeeze into a seat, but she still felt ridiculous.

  It pulled away from
the house and the driver hidden behind a partition took them along the streets to Dr Halmonde’s office.

  “Today’s the day, isn’t it?” Dr Halmonde said cheerily when they got into his office, having been led straight through. “Let’s have a bit of a feel.” He indicated for Sam to get on the examination table and pulled up her shirt up revealing her distended belly. “Any pain?”

  Sam shook her head and the doctor pressed all the way around.

  “The baby’s not engaged,” he said. “Likely it won’t be today.”

  “What?” Sam said with dismay as Dr Halmode placed a device on her belly so the baby’s heartbeat sounded throughout the room.

  “With first pregnancies, it’s not unusual that the baby becomes overdue. Baby will come when it’s ready. If it runs too long, we will have to induce, but we don’t recommend doing that until day ten.”

  “Ten days!” Sam said with disbelief. She might have to carry on like this for another ten days. She felt like crying. She was exhausted; she couldn’t carry on for another ten days. Looking over at Sebastian, he looked disappointed as well.

  “Is there anything we can do?”

  “Well, some swear by raspberry leaf tea,” Dr Halmonde said with sympathy. “There’s no evidence, but some are convinced. Although, if you were a normal couple, I would recommend lots of sex—that does seem to urge things to move in the right direction.”

  Sam pursed her lips together, then tried to smile awkwardly. His statement sent forbidden images hurtling back into her mind. Clearing her throat, she sat up and decided that it was best to ignore the last statement. “So we just have to wait?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Dr Halmonde said and put his glasses away. “Babies have their own schedules. But other than being a bit reluctant, everything seems fine with the baby. Being overdue won’t hurt it.”

  Sam thanked the doctor, feeling disappointed that she would be going home again, to just wait—potentially for days. She groaned with dismay as she struggled off the table. Sebastian came and held her arm, to ensure she didn’t fall.

  “I guess we go home then,” he said.