Modern Arrangements: Complete Trilogy (Modern Arrangements #1-3)

by Sadie Grubor

  "So, I would like to go through a brief birth video so you can get an idea of what to expect." Emily took back control of the class. "However, please keep in mind that all experiences are different and personal." She turned to a small TV and DVD player.

  She pushed a button on the remote in her hand and we were greeted to a sweaty woman rhythmically panting and puffing. As her groans became screams, my eyes widened and I shuttered.

  "Holy..."

  "Shit." I finished Aidan's sentence.

  The woman on the screen groaned and grunted, pulling her knees toward her chest with bone white knuckles. I swallowed hard.

  Then came the graphic part. The camera zeroed in on a large, round mound pushing through the woman's stretched vagina. I swear my vagina puckered then clenched in refusal of natural childbirth.

  Suddenly, a large baby head emerged, covered in blood and goo. I shivered again and Aidan pulled me closer.

  "Turn it off. I can't watch anymore." James hid his head in his hands.

  Elora's face flushed with embarrassment, as the rest of the room laughed.

  The next scene was the doctor rotating the baby by its poor little head until the shoulders popped out, one at a time, and then the baby was placed upon the woman's chest. Nurses wiped the baby down while the doctor continued to work between her legs.

  I was still sitting wide-eyed with shock when Emily turned off the DVD and dismissed everyone till next week’s class.

  "Oh, hell no. I'm not going through this again." James groaned.

  "Are you okay?" Aidan whispered into my ear.

  I shook my head. I twisted around and locked eyes with him.

  "Don't you dare think that you are videotaping anything, mister!" I shouted.

  Aidan looked shocked.

  "I-I won't." He stammered.

  "I can't do that!" Elora panicked, grabbing onto James.

  "Baby, I'm sorry! I can't do it for you and I sure as hell don't want to!" James shook his head, helping Elora stand up.

  "I want drugs, James. Lots of drugs!"

  "Me too." James said and hugged her tightly.

  "You'll do fine." The red headed woman had stepped over to Elora and patted her on the arm. "Trust me, it looks bad and you get nervous, but you will be amazed at the strength you find in yourself." Smiling, she walked toward the foyer.

  "Baby, you have the strength to pull that off." James pointed toward the darkened TV, "and I will never again say a word about the number of shoes you have. Ever! In fact, I will personally take you to buy however many chimmaroos or whatever the fuck they're called."

  "Jimmy Choo's." Elora grinned.

  "Whatever." James pulled her into his arms.

  "Lilli, I...I don't even know what to say or—"

  I placed my hand on his chest to stop him.

  "There is nothing to say." I shrugged. "It's going to happen, no matter what you say or do." Then a thought crossed my mind and I started to laugh, though it wasn't exactly a funny thought.

  "What?" Aidan asked as he helped me from the floor.

  "I'm going to…have…to…do that…twice." I howled.

  Aidan raised his eyebrow. "That's funny?"

  "No…not really." I snorted.

  Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself.

  "I just…can't…help…but laugh". If I didn't laugh, I would panic and tears would burst through instead.

  A smile formed, then grew larger across Aidan's face until he too was laughing.

  "I don't know what you find so funny." James came over shaking his head. "This shit is just medieval. You would think they would've figured out how to make it less—"

  "Natural?" Emily questioned, a smirk turning up one side of her mouth.

  "Hey, I'm not knocking the whole natural thing, but hell...that was brutal. Next time, give a guy a warning. My balls will never descend again."

  James's rant only made my laughing increase and Aidan basically had to hold me up.

  Once everyone left, most with fear or panic across their faces, Aidan and I ate then went to bed.

  "So, I just wanted to tell you that I am really sorry about tonight." I apologized as I slipped into bed next to Aidan.

  He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against him.

  "I know you are, and I forgive you, but don't leave me out again." As he said it, he nuzzled my neck. "When is your next doctor appointment?"

  "In two weeks." I said. "It's the ultra sound."

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Two weeks later, Aidan was helping me out of the car and into the new doctor's office. I'd taken an OB/GYN referral from Doctor Munthers. When I initially met Doctor Baker, I immediately liked her and reveled in the fact that I chose my doctor, not the Iverson family.

  "So, Lilli, how are you feeling?" Dr. Baker asked.

  "Good. I'm not getting sick anymore." I smiled.

  "That's good to hear." She nodded. "Well, I think you know the drill. Lie back for me."

  I lay back, Aidan at my side. Doctor Baker performed the internal exam as well as manipulation of my abdomen. Then she pulled out the fetal heart monitor and the whooshing of heartbeats filled the room. Aidan's grip on my hand tightened.

  "Give me your hand, Mr. Iverson." Furrowing my brow, I watched her take Aidan's hand and place it on my stomach. The pressure of their hands on my abdomen wasn't uncomfortable.

  "Do you feel that?"

  "Yes." Aidan whispered, amazement all over his face.

  "That is the rump of one of your babies." She smiled warmly.

  "That's..." He couldn't finish, his hand tightening on mine even more.

  After she removed her hands, Dr. Baker helped me sit up.

  "Let's get you over to the ultrasound technician, shall we?"

  Aidan helped me down from the table and we followed the doctor through a few sets of doors.

  I laid back on the padded table. The technician draped a sheet from my hips down and lifted my gown up over my stomach. The gel she squeezed onto my abdomen was warm.

  "Alright..." the technician said, "let me get some measurements and then I will give you both a look at your babies."

  After some clicks, taps and bleeps, she turned her attention to us.

  "So, would you like to have a look?"

  "Yes." I nodded.

  "Before we begin, do you want to know the sexes?"

  "I-I'm not sure." I hesitated.

  "Okay. Let’s just begin with taking a look." She smiled and turned the monitor for us to view.

  "Here is baby number one. There is the spine, the head, eye socket..." She continued to point things out. I stared in awe at the screen, shocked that there were two lives inside of me. Then she moved on to the second baby and we viewed the same parts of our child.

  "Well, you have yourself fraternal twins." She smiled.

  "Fraternal?" Aidan questioned.

  "That means that they share separate sacks."

  Aidan still looked confused.

  "They aren't identical. Whereas identical twins share the same looks, fraternal may look similar but could look completely different.

  "I want to know the sex of the babies." He whispered.

  "Are...are you sure?"

  He nodded.

  "Oh-kay." I gave a nod.

  We both turned to the technician.

  "Breath, Lilli." Aidan whispered.

  "You ready?" She looked at us. We both nodded. "You have a boy and a girl. Congratulations."

  Aidan kissed the top of my head.

  Chapter Three

  Time Flies and Your Waist Disappears

  Lilli

  The events of the past few months were a blur: going to visit Donald, who was now starting physical therapy to rebuild his muscles, visiting the children’s homes, planning fundraising events for the foundation, reading over proposals that Viola received for new shelter’s and homes that needed financial support. Then there were doctor’s appointments, watching my waist disappear, preparing for Elora’s bab
y shower and getting used to my new limitations.

  My workout had changed dramatically. I was no longer running on the treadmill, now I was taking brisk walks. Luckily, I could still do yoga, though I had to learn some variations of poses for pregnant women. The only solid thing I had was the pool. In the pool I was weightless and could still swim my laps.

  As summer approached I was concerned about extensive heat, but also excited that I could finally use the outdoor pool. The whole maternity bathing suit was a bit unattractive, but there was nothing I could do about that. Phoebe had insisted that I could still wear a bikini, I decided that Phoebe was out of her mind.

  Aidan’s hours at work shortened for a period of time, but then increased again when June arrived. There was a large deal with a real-estate company taking up most of his day.

  Though his schedule was crazy, he still made time for the appointments and classes we had signed up for. He also made sure we went on a date at least once a week. I had argued that we didn’t need to go out, but he insisted it was for him.

  Our most recent date had been to see a movie. I felt like a complete asshole because I fell asleep in the theater. Aidan let me sleep while holding me against his side. He insisted that, as long as he was with me, he could care less. I still felt like a jerk.

  After we left the theater, I was starving, as usual. Aidan stopped at a pizza shop and got a large cheese pizza to go. The smell of the pizza in the small confines of the car was too much and I started eating in the car with Aidan laughing at me. Finally arriving home for the evening, I was tired again. After taking a long, hot shower, I slipped on a long night-shirt and climbed into bed. I felt Aidan slip into bed before I heard him.

  "You still awake?"

  "No." I groaned. He laughed.

  "I wanted to give you something." His fingers traced the side of my face.

  "Aidan, I don’t need anything—"

  "I want you to have this. Please?"

  I rolled over and saw him smiling down at me. I sighed. "Ok."

  His smile widened.

  "Sit up."

  As I sat up, he shifted my hair over one shoulder and placed a silver chain around my neck. "This was my Grandma Isobel’s, given to her by my grandfather." I pulled my hair away from my shoulder, allowing Aidan to fasten it. "I want you to always wear this for me."

  "It’s very pretty. What does this mean?" I was looking at the small circle pendent that hung from the chain. There were three words written in calligraphy ‘Mo Anam Cara’.

  "It’s a Celtic saying." Aidan shrugged it off. Then his arms were around me, pulling me down to lay with him. "You’ll wear it?"

  "Of course…well, wait…it’s not like dog tags or something, is it?" I giggled.

  He chuckled and kissed the side of my head. "No, it means 'My Soul Mate'."

  "Oh." I breathed out.

  We both became quiet, allowing the silence to lull us to sleep.

  It'd been a week since that night and it was now early Saturday morning. My phone, vibrating and bleeping on the side table, woke me. I groaned, reaching for it.

  "Who the hell is calling this early?" Aidan growled from the other side of the bed. As much as he liked to cuddle up with me, my discomfort often made me toss and turn a lot, resulting in him sleeping further away from me.

  "Probably Phoebe."

  Yawning, I stretched and reached for my phone, knowing this call would have everything to do with Elora's baby shower.

  "Phoebe, you do realize you're waking up a pregnant woman up way too early, don’t you?"

  "Lilli, I’m sorry, but I just wanted to make sure you are ready for the decorators and caterers arriving in a few hours." Phoebe talked so fast, I wondered how much caffeine she'd already consumed. Or perhaps she'd graduated to crack.

  "Phoebe, they aren’t coming until nine and it’s only six. I could be sleeping for at least two more hours." I growled.

  "Okay, okay…sorry…I’ll see you at eight thirty." She hung up before I could argue.

  I tossed my phone back on the stand and curled back up to my pillow. It didn’t take long for Aidan to wrap an arm over my waist, his hand resting on my bulging midsection.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  I was in the bathroom when Phoebe came barging into the bedroom. Eight thirty on the dot. "Lilli?"

  Aidan groaned and then mumbled something I couldn't hear, but he was definitely not happy.

  "Oh." Phoebe exclaimed. "Sorry, Aidan."

  Laughing as Phoebe burst into the bathroom, she glared at me.

  "Shut up." She laughed. "I didn’t know he was still in bed."

  I couldn't help but laugh more.

  "Yeah, yeah, it’s hilarious." Aidan growled as he pushed open the bathroom door.

  "I really am sorry." Phoebe dramatically batted her eye lashes. "Forgive me?"

  "What time are the guys supposed to show up?" His question sounded strained as he stretched his arms over his head.

  During Elora’s shower, the men would be gathering in the recreational room to watch boxing. That was the plan anyway, they would most likely end up in the bar playing pool and darts while drinking.

  "Probably around eleven." Phoebe shrugged. "But Oscar is already here."

  "Alright." Aidan yawned. "Out of the bathroom, I need a shower."

  "I didn’t realize you were the shy type, Mr. Iverson." Phoebe winked, smacking him on the ass as she walked out of the bathroom.

  Aidan’s face went from shock to amusement. I couldn’t help but laugh at him.

  Once my hair and make-up were finished, I slipped into a silk maternity dress. The dress was white and faded into blue and black with large dark and light blue flowers. It was a V-neck with short sleeves and it came to just above the knee. It was comfortable and pretty. After slipping on my black ballet flats, I went to join in on the preparations.

  The chaos could be heard before I got down there. Viola, Phoebe and Elora decided on a tea party shower. There were tons of flowers, round tables with tea sets, small finger sandwiches and, of course, a dessert table with small cakes and cookies.

  Phoebe and Viola were pointing and shouting out orders to everyone as they rushed to finish up the room. The gift table was a large, antique crib which had been James’ when he was young. Aunt Anne was giving it to Elora and Viola thought it made a perfect place to put gifts. It was decorated with large silk bows.

  Guests arrived on time and filed in quickly. It was still hard to believe people have baby showers of this magnitude. I’ve been to a few showers and it was typically a group of about twenty to thirty people. Not the Iverson's. The Iverson’s showers and parties were at least a hundred people. It was insane.

  Elora sat with her mother and Anne at the center table while Viola, Phoebe, Maggie and I sat off to their right. Maggie had her head in my lap, pressing her ear up to my stomach and seemed intent on staying like that.

  "Maggie, will you leave Lilli alone for five minutes?" Viola giggled while tossing back another mimosa. I could only imagine what would be happening if she continued to drink. The gleam in Phoebe's eye assured me Viola would be receiving refill after refill.

  Maggie sat up. "I’ll give you five minutes!" She playfully scowled. Then she stood and walked to the buffet tables.

  "She can’t wait to babysit for you." Viola smiled over the flute glass.

  "I’m sure she will change her mind when she has to handle two screaming babies instead of just one. She may want to offer her services to James and Elora." Laughing, I took a drink of water.

  "She’s already offered to babysit for them, too. She’ll have me fighting her for these two." Viola rubbed my stomach and winked.

  Elora began going through the obscene amount of presents. I don’t exactly know what a newborn would do with a silver diamond encrusted spoon, but she got one of them. Then there was an obscene amount of designer baby clothes that I was sure would be pooped and puked all over. I shook my head.

  "What’s going on in that head of yours?"
Phoebe eyed my reactions.

  I leaned over the table, as much as possible, whispering so only she and Viola could hear me, "that outfit had to cost, like, a hundred dollars and it’s probably going to be covered in puke and poop within thirty minutes of wear. I don’t quite understand that concept." I smirked and sat back.

  "Oh, dear, just you wait." Viola nodded toward the gifts. "You haven’t seen anything yet."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Watch…" She pointed toward the large box Elora was currently opening. She pulled out a baby stroller, with the help of others. I turned to Viola and raised my eyebrow in confusion. "That cost a thousand dollars."

  I choked on my own spit. "W-what?!"

  "Shh!" Viola giggled. "I told you. You haven’t seen anything yet. It’s all about status; who buys the best gift and spends the most money."

  "Jesus!" I groaned.

  Viola snorted.

  "What?" I asked. "What’s so funny?"

  "Oh, Lilli…" She inhaled deeply. "If you think this is bad, just wait till your baby shower." She started laughing when my eyes widened. "That’s right, Lilli, my dear. Not only are you having two babies, which already raise the stakes, but you are also giving birth to Aidan Iverson’s babies. You will get gifts in the mail for weeks before and after the births."

  "I didn’t even think about that. Ugh!" I groaned.

  "Look at it this way, you won’t have to buy anything for the babies for the first year." Phoebe added, hoping to make me feel better.

  "Make that the first five." Viola mumbled, a hint of amusement lingering.

  I groaned again.

  "Hey there, beautiful." The feel of Aidan’s lips against my ear and arm around my shoulder, caused me to jump.

  "Damn it." I panted. "Are you trying to put me into early labor?" I snapped.

  He laughed.

  "Sorry. I just wanted to see you."

  "You're supposed to be with the guys." Phoebe eyed him scornfully.

  "You got to feel up my ass this morning." He shot back. "I get to see my Lilli for a minute and feel her up."

  "Don’t you dare." I laughed, though my mind was still caught on the ‘my Lilli’ part of his statement.

  "Okay, a kiss?" He leaned toward me. I quickly pressed my lips to his.

  I was pulling back when his hand quickly found the back of my head, pulling my mouth back to him. He deepened the kiss then pulled back with a large smile.