The Baby Shower

by Tasha Blue et al.

  They arrived at the doctors and in no time, they were looking at a sonogram which showed them the tiny figure hiding within her belly. The moment the baby showed on the screen, they both fell in love with it. It became more real to them, as they looked upon it with their own eyes, as they listened to its soft watery heartbeat, and Kevin reached over to Marina, without thinking about it, and took her hand in his, holding it warmly, as they shared the moment together.

  She glanced at him and saw his face aglow in the dark room, illuminated as it was by the light of the monitor. He looked like a child staring in wonder at something he couldn’t quite believe, and it filled her heart with happiness to see him like that.

  Her checkup showed that she was in excellent health and the doctor said she couldn’t be more pleased. She asked them to return together the next month and hinted that she’d be able to determine the gender of the baby then, should they want to know. They delighted in the idea, and both of them agreed that they would want to find out what sex the baby was prior to its birth.

  As they were walking out, Kevin offered his arm again, as was his habit for any woman walking with him, and she took it with a smile.

  “You know, I was wondering if maybe you would like to go to lunch. I realize it’s rather short notice, but if you’re free, I’d like to take you out for a meal and then perhaps we could do some shopping for the baby together. I’ve discovered that I want to go purchase things for the baby, but I don’t know what to get or what you might want, and it would be extremely helpful for me to have you there to show me what we ought to get for the baby.” He looked at her hopefully.

  She nodded. She’d been wondering how they would be handling the acquisition all of the baby furniture and products, and her questions were answered all at once. It was a relief.

  “Sure! That sounds perfect. I’m free all afternoon. Thank you!”

  He basked in the radiance of her simple happiness and pleasant ways, and he discovered very quickly that it relaxed him, and all of his tension seemed to dissipate. They ate at a little bistro not far from the baby store where they would begin shopping and he felt comfortable enough with her that he assuaged his curiosity about her personal life a little more.

  “If you wouldn’t mind, Marina, perhaps you could enlighten me a bit further about why you wanted to have a child on your own. I understand that you were left at the altar, but, would you mind telling me more about him? About what happened?” He didn’t want to bring up sore subjects, but she seemed at ease about it when they had talked initially, and it was something he had made a mental note of, to question her further about it, just for his own knowledge.

  She looked down at her hands in her lap for a moment and then looked back up into his dark eyes. She knew she could trust him and she saw no reason not to share her thoughts and feelings with this man. He was the father of her child after all, she reasoned.

  “Kevin, I was so in love. I met that man when I was young and he romanced me, he made me promises, and he came after me like he couldn’t live without me. He made himself a permanent fixture in my life; everywhere I went it seemed he was there waiting to talk to me, to watch everything I did, to be near me, to touch me. It was like I was the air he needed to breathe, and he just wouldn’t live without me.

  “I told him no and no again until he wore me down and made me laugh, made me love him, and I loved him with everything in me.

  “He was my first love. He was my only love. He said he wanted me for the rest of my life, and he begged me on his knees to marry him, and I said yes, and my grandma cried when I told her, and we danced together in her kitchen. We planned our wedding and a few months later, we headed to the church and when I walked down that aisle, I didn’t see him standing there.

  “His brother came in to the chapel and walked partway up the aisle toward me, shook his head, and he said, ‘He ain’t comin’, Marina, he ain’t comin’. He’s gone. You aren’t going to see him again,' and I cried and cried. I thought I was going to die for a while.

  “My grandma took me home and she worked on me for months after that, and I finally found myself again; I found my strength, and my own light. I found out who I was without him, which is something I never knew because I fell in love so young. You know, when you’re young, you don’t know who you are, even when you think you do… you don’t, and by the time you go through something like that, you’re changed again anyway.

  “So I left Lamar in my past, and I focused on myself and my future. I graduated from high school, and I headed to college, and now I’m almost finished with school and I’m ready to start my own family; my own child and me.”

  She smiled at him. “You’re just the right person to come along in my life, at just the right time; you’re married already, you’re a good man, and you don’t want another woman. You don’t want an affair, you just want a child and you can’t have one.

  “And me … I want a child on my own and I couldn’t afford to have one on my own right now; there’s no way. But you and I together? We actually make a really good pair. We’re just right to fit each other’s needs, and that’s a blessing.”

  Kevin listened to her story and saw remnants of the pain she had been through, and it bothered him. He knew without a doubt that a woman as wonderful, as open and loving as this one was, should never have to feel pain that way, and it dug at him somewhere deeply that she had known that kind of suffering.

  “Have you ever heard from Lamar? Do you know why he left or where he went?” he asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable about it.

  She nodded. “He sent me a letter a few years later. He said he was devastated by what he had done, that he could never make his wrong right again. He wrote that he loved me still, but he was overtaken by fear of failing me, of never being good enough for me because he loved me so much. He hoped I had a good life. He said it was all he ever wanted for me.”

  “Do you believe him?” Kevin looked at her intently.

  “I do. He may have left me there alone, and he may have hurt me worse than anyone else ever has, but he never was a liar,” she said quietly.

  Kevin stared at her and blinked. “Doesn’t promising you that he is going to marry you and then not showing up make him a liar? He made a commitment and didn’t see it through… he said he would marry you and he walked away from it. In my eyes, that makes him a liar.” Kevin felt very strongly about keeping his word, and she could see that he was looking at it logically, where she was looking at it through the eyes of love betrayed.

  She stared back at him. She had never considered the simple truth of it the way he had just stated it. Hearing those words said to her that way made all the veils of emotion that clouded her vision of it fall away. They were like thick fog blocking the sun, and they suddenly evaporated. Lamar had lied to her. Lied and left. She was astounded by the truth of it.

  Kevin saw the changing emotions on her face and realized what he had done. It was an effect he had on many people when he spoke to them. He had a way of seeing things as they truly were, without filters. It suddenly made him feel as though he had stripped away some part of her naiveté; her innocent perspective of the whole thing, and it was disappointing to him.

  “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s only my own opinion on something I know nothing about. Please don’t pay any attention to it,” he asked earnestly, but he knew that it was too late.

  “No, Kevin, you have a solid point. You spoke truth, real truth, and truth can be seen when it’s spoken; it’s known, and I just didn’t realize it before. I’m glad you said it. Don’t feel bad about it. I’m in a different place in my life. He can’t hurt me anymore. He hasn’t hurt me for a long time. I let him go. You see, Kevin, we can’t hold on to the things that cut away at us, or we wind up killing ourselves and those closest to us. The trick is to let the painful things go, and keep only the lesson.”

  She smiled at him, and her smile was still warm, but her eyes seemed a li
ttle different; perhaps a little older and wiser for the view he had shared with her, and he felt sorry for it.

  After they ate, they went shopping and together they wound up purchasing all of the furniture for the baby’s room, the car seat, the stroller, neutral colored clothing and diapers, mobiles, decorations, blankets, and no small amount of products for the baby.

  They had a wonderful time, looking at everything and finding just the right things for their child. They talked about what their baby might be like and what they wanted for it in its life, finding that they were very similarly minded. It was nearly evening when he took her home. He walked her up to her door and she held his arm as they went.

  “Now the challenge will be to get all of that furniture and everything put together. That’s going to be fun!” she joked, rolling her eyes and laughing.

  He stopped at the top stair with her and turned to look at her. The late afternoon sun was shining golden on her and it lit her up like a dream. He enjoyed the moment, gazing at her, and then he said, “Would you mind if I came over and helped you put it all together? I don’t want to intrude, but if you could use the assistance, I would be very glad to give it a try.” He was hopeful that she would say yes. He was thoroughly enjoying every aspect of the pregnancy, and he felt involved, which was important to him.

  She nodded slowly and smiled. “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind. That would be nice. Thank you, Kevin. I appreciate it. It’s supposed to be delivered by next week, so maybe you could come by in two weeks and help me then. My schedule will be freed up a little more. Would that work?”

  He smiled, delighted with her answer. “Yes, that would be fine. I’ll be in touch and we can arrange the date and time. Thank you, it means a great deal to me to be included in as much of this experience as I can be.”

  Marina hugged him, and he waited to see if she would let go first, but she didn’t, and what she had said was true; she didn’t let go until he did. It was nice to be hugged as though he mattered, and when he stepped away from her and smiled at her once more before leaving, he could see in her eyes that he did matter, and it made a world of difference to him.

  She watched him drive away from her front window and then went to make some tea, reflecting on the day she had shared with him. She smiled at the thought of his kindness and generosity; it was clear her baby would never need for anything, and she was really glad to discover that she and Kevin would probably be friends, which would make raising their child together a partnership. She hadn’t really counted on that, and now here it was, and she could already tell that it would be a very good thing. Friends and partners in parenting. It was perfect.

  Three weeks later, their schedules finally matched up, and Kevin knocked at Marina’s door to help her put the baby furniture together and get the nursery set up. He was certain it wouldn’t be any trouble at all, but he was surprised to discover that it wasn’t as simple as it seemed from the directions.

  She watched him work away at the crib for a while, which was the piece he had decided to tackle first, and after half an hour, she got down on the floor to help him.

  “You don’t mind if I try to lend you a hand, do you?” she asked with a big smile.

  “Are you kidding? I need all the help I can get. Why didn’t I have this delivered already put together?” he wondered as he unbuttoned his sleeves and rolled them up to his elbows.

  “I’m afraid that the only thing that will be delivered all put together will be the baby,” she teased, and he laughed with her.

  They sat together and constructed the crib, the bassinet, the changing table, the mobile, the stroller, the dresser and the bookshelves and wall shelves. They hung the decorations and she made the bed in the crib. While he was working on the drawers for the dresser, she was bent over the crib, tucking the sheet in when she gasped and grabbed her stomach. Kevin was on his feet immediately, standing beside her. He placed a hand on her back as she turned to look at him, her blue-gray eyes wide and her mouth open slightly in shock.

  “What is it?” he asked in a panic. “Are you alright? What happened?”

  Before she could answer, Marina gasped again and clutched both hands to her stomach, then looked back up at Kevin and raised one hand to her mouth as tears filled her eyes and she began to laugh and cry simultaneously.

  He stood confused for a moment, but she grasped his hands and placed them on her belly. At first, he was surprised, but then he realized what must be happening and his eyes widened, just as he felt a bump against his hand.

  He laughed and grinned at her, and without thinking, pulled her into a strong hug. He held her tightly and they both laughed through their happy tears. He released her after a long moment and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking at her in utter amazement.

  “Our baby! Our baby moved! Is that the first time?” he asked, his thoughts flying like lightening.

  She nodded. “Yes! That’s the first time I’ve felt our little one! I’m so glad you were here to share the moment with me! What a special experience! It’s so incredible!” They both placed their hands on her belly and he looked at her in absolute joy as they waited for their baby to nudge them again. They didn’t wait long. They got a few more bumps and they cried out in delight each time, thrilling at the miracle of life they had created together.

  When it was evident that the baby was resting, Kevin lifted his hands to Marina’s face and drew her near to him, resting his forehead against hers, smiling with her and calming their happy laughter. They held each other close for a moment and then he let her go and gently wiped tears of joy from her cheeks. She raised her fingertips to his face and did the same.

  Their touches were soft and tender, and the air between them was warm. Their breath was stilled together for a long moment as they looked into each other’s eyes, their fingers on each other’s faces, and a powerful intimacy washed over them. They were silent, sharing their gaze, sharing the seed of a thought… the seed of curiosity… the seed of what if… and then they lowered their hands and smiled at each other widely, happy to have shared such a beautiful moment together.

  “That was life altering,” he said, shaking his head happily. “I’ve never experienced anything like it. Thank you for sharing it with me.”

  “I’m just so glad that you were here when it happened!” She turned back to making the crib up as he lowered himself to the floor to finished putting the drawers together. When they were done, he pushed the last drawer into the dresser and dusted his hands against his jeans.

  “Well, it looks like the baby is all set in here. I guess you could probably get the rest; there’s really not that much to do,” he said, looking around at the nursery.

  “Kevin,” she smiled, “There’s nothing left to do except bring the baby home. You’ve been incredible. Thank you so much for that.” She smiled at him happily.

  He nodded and looked away for a moment and then grinned back at her. “Well, I’m a dad now, so that’s just part of the job. Hopefully, I will be putting toys together for Christmas and goodness knows what else. Tree houses and the like.”

  She just grinned at him. He looked at her for a long moment and then dusted his hands against his pants once more and said, “Well, I should probably be going.” He smiled at her and she walked him to the front door.

  “Let me know if you need anything else, alright? I’m anxious to help,” he told her.

  “I know. I’ll get in touch with you if anything comes up.” She leaned over to hug him once more. He held her more closely than he had before. They had shared a beautiful, wonderful, magical moment together and it had somehow bonded them a bit more than they had been already.

  He let her go reluctantly and bid her goodnight before heading out the door. When it closed, she watched him go as she had before, and could not get the wide grin off of her face.

  Kevin went with Marina to her fifth month appointment and they got to see the baby on the monitor again. The doctor told them they were having a daughter, and they hu
gged each other tightly in their exhilaration. They were both so thrilled with the news that it was all they talked about on the way back to her home where he dropped her off.

  A few days later, when he could not get his daughter off of his mind, he texted Marina and asked her how she was doing. She answered that she and their daughter were fine. He asked her to send him a photo of the belly, and she promptly complied, sending him a text image of her growing round belly, and that prompted a phone call from him to her.

  “Marina, what are we going to name our daughter?” he asked, his voice flooded with complete happiness.

  “I don’t know. I was thinking maybe we could name her after my grandmother, Madeline. Is there a name you’d like to use?” she asked him.

  He was sitting in his chair, looking out of his office window. “My grandmother’s name was Elizabeth. What if we used that as a middle name? Madeline Elizabeth? Do you like that?” he asked.

  “Do you know what, I do!” she answered with a smile, “That has a pretty ring to it. That’s a name that will get her nicknames, though. How do you feel about nicknames?”