Chain Reaction 2.96: Happily Ever After

Alex

      I get home from Drake's farce of a wedding and find Emily in the bathroom.

      "Uh, Emily? Why do we have confetti floating down upon our heads?"

      Giving me a deadpan look, she replies, "Because that's what happens when the pregnancy begins if a sim doesn't do the pregnancy test." She smiles.

     Then, I look at her more closely. She's not smiling; she's beaming. The deadpan look a minute ago was to be ironically funny. "What?"

     "I'm pregnant, Alex!" she cries out and throws her arms around me.

     My hands and face go into her hair as I sigh with relief. Thank the Maker. "Oh, Emily. I'm so glad," I breathe. It's only now that I realize I'd never been witness to what happens to show a woman is pregnant. Drake just poofed into being when the Maker went in and created him in CAS. Selena was already pregnant for a while before she came over and told me. I get to truly experience it this time.

     And I do:

     It's everything I fantasized it would be--until the pregnancy starts getting hard on Emily. We start using one of the downstairs bedrooms because Emily has difficulty climbing the stairs. She stays in bed a lot, trying to joke that she's like a baby herself, doing nothing but sleep, eat, and use the restroom. I try to smile and allow her to make light of everything, but she worries me. How could I have done this to her?

     However, towards the end of the pregnancy, she perks up. In fact, she perks up so much that she starts doing what could only be nesting. Masami keeps the house immaculately clean, but that's not good enough for Emily. She continually rearranges the kitchen, constantly telling me I need to go and do this and that to one of the child rooms upstairs. I do my best to appease her.

     "I'm enormous," she complains.

     "Emily, you have a growing person inside you." I love her so much! "This isn't just you." It's no use. No matter what I say, Emily complains about her size. I'd never tell her this, but lately, she really reminds me of Brielle.

     What feels like too soon, it's happening. Oh, plum, it's happening! Emily's having a baby. Emily's having my baby. I'm going to be a dad again! With Emily! She's in that machine! What if something goes wrong? I can't live without her!

     We have a son.

      I have a son! Another wonderful son with the world's most wonderful woman as his mother. I love the name Emily chose. Alaric. Alaric Goth. From an old Gothic king. It's perfect.

     I look down at my son and strangely remember the first time I held Ethan, the first time holding a baby period, and I feel...old. I know it's odd, but I wonder if Emily having a difficult time with her pregnancy is in some way my fault. In any case, I don't know if I could survive for a second time the stress that caused the two of us, and that's not even taking into account what it did to her inside.

     I'm going to be a really old man when he graduates high school. Of course, I knew this already, but it's hitting me pretty hard right now.

     I lean in and smell his baby smell, something I like to do, and I decide that I still am happy to have things the way they are. Emily will recover; Alaric will be brilliant; and I'll finally have my happily ever after.

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