Uncomplicated 2.15: Swallowing a small laugh

      We have a burglar!

     Our worthless neighborhood cop can't kick the burglar's butt, and she gets away. The alarm system did more good than the officer did. She didn't steal anything.
     "We'll catch her next time!"
     Yeah, right. I've heard that before.

      We spend several, somber days trying to be a family without Dad. The empty place at the dining table stands out. It may as well be glowing.

      "The hospital is hosting a wake," Mandi tells me quietly early the next morning.
      "They called me. I don't want to go. I honestly think he wouldn't have died so soon if he'd retired instead of continuing to work as hard as he did," I respond, and she gives me a look like she can't believe I said what I said in front of Bonnie.
      "You know that's not true. It's good he was so active, and I think that's another reason you're so shocked still," she says.
       Bonnie sniffs, and both of us look over to see her crying. She lets Mandi hold her while she cries. I hate seeing her cry, but I'm glad she seeks comfort from Mandi like she would from a mother.
       The woman carrying my baby is just my fiancee, and my daughter isn't biologically mine. We're a ragtag family, aren't we? I ask myself cynically. To hide my sour expression, I decide to do the dishes.
      Mandi talks me into letting Bonnie stay home from school today. It doesn't take much to convince me. The girl looks exhausted. We give her something for a headache, and she goes upstairs to take a nap.

       I go up to check on her, and we talk for a while. She asks me to tell her a story, so I tell her about a princess who suddenly found herself in charge while her parents had to go on a diplomatic mission. After telling her what 'diplomatic' means, I continue the story by saying how, at first, the princess had lots of trouble trying to make decisions and lead the people, but eventually, she found the strength within herself to carry on. And when her parents came back, they were surprised at how much she'd grown while they were away, and they were proud of her.
       Bonnie relaxes and falls fast asleep just as the sun peeps over the horizon.
       What is it with me and fairy tales lately? I think, swallowing a small laugh. I suppose that storytelling worked every bit as much for me as it did Bonnie.

     Next week, we have the doctor's appointment to, among other things, find out whether or not this baby is a boy or girl. The little squirt won't cooperate, and we don't get to find out the sex.
     Instead of driving home right afterwards, Mandi and I decide to take a walk in the park.
     "So, you want to keep secrets from Mommy and Daddy, do ya, kiddo?" I playfully ask as I rub Mandi's belly.

      "She kicked!" I exclaim, taking Mandi's habit of calling the baby a 'she.'
      Mandi giggles. "Yeah, she does that."
      I know Mandi's laughing at me, but I don't care. My baby kicked my hand!

      "What's that?" I playfully ask the baby. "You think Mommy's funny to laugh at Daddy like that?"

     "She's laughing at both of us," I tell Mandi.
     Mandi keeps giggling. "I don't blame her one bit."
     A sense of calm happiness washes over me, and I know everything will be okay. The doctors said both Mandi and baby are doing fine, and it really helped to see the baby on a 3D-like screen. Mandi's young and strong, and I finally realize the ridiculousness of my worries.

      When I stand up straight, Mandi surprises me with a kiss. I immediately respond to her joy. The second trimester is so much better than the other two, from what I remember of Addie at least, and Mandi acts much happier now than she did in the first three months. I'd also like to give credit to the fact that she's been forced to take leave; she's not exhausting herself.
       She'll have our baby, and everything will be fine. We'll get married, and my family will be more stable. Dad won't be here to see it, but I know he'd be happy for me. That's what both my parents always told me: get married, have babies. Now, I want that more than anything, even if I'm doing it out of order. As far as I'm concerned, Mandi and I are married, just lacking a piece of paper.

      "So, you've started thinking of her as a 'she' too, huh?" she asks teasingly.
      I shrug. "That's better than calling her 'it.''
      "You don't want a boy?" she asks, surprised. "I thought since you already had a girl that you'd want a boy. That, and well, you're a boy."
   

     "I told you. It doesn't matter to me. We can have a boy later; we can have a girl later. Who knows?" I tell her happily.
     She smiles.

      Her pregnancy moves forward. Every time we try to find out the gender of the baby, 'she' hides. Mandi and I decide to laugh about it.
      "This okay on your back?" I ask.
      "Yes. I'm fine. Stop worrying." She smiles up at me to show she wasn't snapping.
      "Just wondering. You know, if you want to get into a different position, I won't mind."
      She catches my suggestive tone. "Oh, you wouldn't?"
      "Not a bit," I reply, and she giggles.

     "Are you giggling at me, future Mrs. Brewer?" I tease.
     "Yes," she states plainly with a twinkle in her eyes that I adore.
     "I might have to do something about that." This is so cheesy, but I love every second of it.

     I pull up for a second, and she asks seriously, "How can you find this swollen whale that I am sexy?"
     You really have no idea, do you? "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me anyway," I decide to use as my answer. In actuality, it's more than her just being gorgeous, which she is. I love her, and knowing that she carries my baby does something to me on a primal level.

     Instead of talking, I decide to show her.

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Damion and Danna have a girl named Janine. I have so many different spellings of that name in this 'hood that I may have to take over naming the babies.
Monika and her very young guy Jeremiah get married.