One Heart

Nathalie’s POV

“You do realise there is no way you are going to keep that hidden right?” Brian remarked. He pointed at my ballooning stomach as I adjusted the frill of material that ran across one shoulder to underneath my arm. For months I hadn’t been showing and then randomly one week I just basically exploded. “And we aren’t bailing out of tonight either, so don’t get any ideas.”

“I wasn’t planning to bail,” I sighed, turning away from the mirror to face him. “It is the first time since Christmas that we have all got together, so why would I not meet up with everyone?”

“You tell me,” Brian replied offhandedly. “You’ve been the one to make excuses not to go out for the past couple of months. I’m surprised you even agreed to tonight.”

“Don’t be like that. You wouldn’t want to be alone on Valentine’s Day now would you?” I said, moving to my dressing table and sorting through my jewellery to try and find something to wear. “It’s not my fault I don’t see the fun in going to nightclubs when I am seven months pregnant.”

“Seven and a half,” Brian corrected, grinning as I rolled my eyes.

“Aren’t I meant to be the one who is counting?”

He walked over and kissed me on the cheek; not before he had first kissed my balloon of a stomach. “I keep track so you don’t have to.”

“Just you wait until he comes and you need to change nappies for the first time,” I chuckled, returning to sorting through my earrings and trying to find the pairs. “You missed out on all the fun last time.”

“But I am here this time, and that is all that counts.” He peered over my shoulder at what I was doing. “You know, there is a much simpler way to do that.”

I turned to him. “And what might that be?”

He reached into the suit jacket he had draped across the back of my dressing table chair and pulled out a small box, opening it to reveal a diamond set of drop earrings and a matching pendant necklace. “Happy Valentine’s Day Nathalie.”

“Oh Brian, they are beautiful!” I gasped as he helped put on the necklace while I did the earrings. He must have remembered my love of butterflies when choosing them as they were crafted into the diamond jewellery. “You spoil me too much.”

He smiled. “There is no such thing of you being spoiled; I’m just giving the love of my life the diamond treatment she deserves.”

--

“I hope you are not wearing that big thing in the restaurant Nat,” Chloe commented as Brian and I walked over, exchanging hugs with both her and Zacky. “This is still a formal occasion.”

At those words I couldn’t help but glance at Zacky who looked extremely irritated to be wearing a tie with his outfit. I hadn’t pestered Brian about it when he decided to go without, instead opting for the whole ‘open collar’ look. Not that I minded of course; he always seemed to look funny to me whenever he tried to smarten himself up too much. Kind of was the opposite of the whole rock star image he was meant to play off.

“Well you certainly look the part Chloe,” I replied. “You look beautiful. And I see you are showing off your mummy bump with pride.”

“Mummy bump?” Brian and Zacky echoed, looking at each other with bemused expressions.

“It’s what Chloe and I used to call pregnant women’s stomachs when we were younger,” I explained. “It’s not that weird.”

“No it isn’t,” Chloe agreed. “Anyway Nat, isn’t that Brian’s jacket? You know it looks huge on you.”

“Well… I like it,” I replied defensively. “Keeps me warm.”

“It isn’t that cold. You are such a wuss.”

“Cheers Clo,” I growled, grabbing onto Brian and hauling him inside. “Come on, I want to sit down.”

--

“God Nat, are you not hot in that thing?” Val asked. I had yet to take off Brian’s suit jacket.

“No, I’m fine,” I replied, even though that was just one big fat lie. I was practically dying with it on; I had to keep making excuses to go to the bathroom so I could take it off for a while to cool down.

“Well make sure to take it off at some point, I want a nice shot of us all later,” she replied, following this comment up with a quick photo snap of Brian and I when he was halfway through eating something and I was just about to say something and instead ended up looking like I was pulling a face at the camera. “Don’t you think it would be nice Matt?”

“Hmm?” Matt turned to Val, a piece of chicken hanging out of his mouth. “What was that babe?”

She rolled her eyes, pushing the rest of the chicken actually into his mouth. “Never mind, you just enjoy the meal.”

“Okay.” He shrugged, turning back to devour what I think was his second main. The waiter at first thought he was mistaken when Matt ordered two different main courses but we soon set that straight. Matt could probably eat the whole menu with ease if he wanted to. Sometimes I wondered how high their grocery bill was.

“I’m just going to the toilet, I’ll be back in a minute,” I said, getting up from the table and pushing the chair back under.

Leana looked at me oddly. “Isn’t this like the sixth time in what?” She turned to Sarah for confirmation. “Half an hour or so?”

“Something like that,” she agreed, nodding. “Is everything alright Nat?”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” I replied reassuringly. “Just need to freshen up, that’s all.”

As soon as I was out of sight from the table I shed Brian’s jacket from my shoulders and continued to the bathroom, staring at myself in the mirror as I splashed water against my face in a bid to cool down. I lingered outside in the corridor leading up to the toilets with the jacket in my arm, trying to stretch these precious minutes before I had to don the jacket again at the table.

“Nat?” I turned at the voice to see Chloe standing there, shock taking over her expression as her eyes drifted to my stomach. “You’re pregnant?”

“Chloe I…”

“You whore, why didn’t you tell me!” She cried while drawing me into a hug- or at least as far as our arms could reach across our stomachs.

“You… you aren’t mad?” I asked tentatively. “I mean it is our second and it is yours and Zacky’s first…”

“How could you think that?” She scolded, looking genuinely angry that I thought she would be mad. How ironic. “You should have told me! Is that why you’ve been wearing Brian’s jacket all night long then?”

“Well it worked up until now,” I replied sheepishly, holding it in my arms. “I guess I can give it back to him now you know.”

Before I knew it Chloe had managed to hook my arm in hers and drag me back to the table, making us look like we were the ambassadors of pregnancy or something. “Look what Nat has been hiding from us!”

Put it lightly, why don’t you Chloe?!?

“I hope you aren’t planning on disappearing again Nat,” Jimmy commented slyly after he looked up. “I’m not lending you my car; I’m still in trouble for last time.”

“Yes you are, Chloe muttered darkly, glaring at him before picking her voice back up. “I think it is a time to celebrate, don’t you think?” She grabbed the attention of the nearest waiter. “Two bottles of your finest champagne!” The rest of the table looked at her oddly, to which she quickly added, “And two of your finest glasses of orange juice!”

Once he had disappeared she dragged me over to her seat and forced me into it, then making Zacky move from his into mine next to Brian so she could then sit next to me. Her excitement was almost scaring me. “So how far along are you?”

I turned casually at Brian. “Care to tell her since you are keeping track?”

He grinned. “Seven and a half months.”

“You’ve got a month on me, no fair,” Chloe said with a pout. “What happened to giving birth on the same day?”

“It could still happen,” I said with a shrug. “Sammy-”

“Dylan,” Brian interjected.

I glared at him. “He might be late.”

Chloe looked between the two of us. “I’m guessing you haven’t decided on a name yet?”

I caught Zacky nudge Brian at that point from the corner of my eye. “Oh no, we have decided on one thing.” I raised my voice purposely so Zacky would hear. “His middle name is going to be Zachary.”

“How sweet,” Zacky remarked, grinning as Brian looked away guiltily. “After me? You shouldn’t have!”

“No, we shouldn’t have,” I muttered. “Someone should just know when to stop betting…”

“Betting?” Chloe echoed, confused. “What has betting got to do with anything?”

“Why don’t you ask your darling husband and his best friend?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Zacky rushed. “I’ll tell you later, okay babe?”

“Alright,” Chloe said with a shrug, allowing Zacky to kiss her on the cheek. I took this chance to get up from the table.

“I think I’m going to head back.”

Everyone stopped in their conversations and turned to me, with Brian being the first to ask, “Why? Is something wrong?”

“I’m just a bit tired, that’s all,” I replied with a smile. It wasn’t a lie either; having to get up like every ten minutes takes it out of you. Or at least it takes it out of a seven- and a half- month pregnant woman who has a slowly failing internal system for a body. “You stay, enjoy yourself. Cass is probably getting lonely anyway.”

“Cass will be fine for another hour or so,” Brian said, taking me by the hand as I moved to walk past his chair. “Stay? Please?”

I sighed, allowing myself to fall back onto his lap. “If I fall asleep on you, you can’t say that I didn’t give a warning first.”

He rubbed his thumb across my knuckles. “You can fall asleep on me anytime.”

“I might have to take you up-” I stopped suddenly as I felt a searing pain rip across my stomach. It had felt at first just like someone was prodding my stomach which I ignored for the most part until it just exploded like it did now, my fingers instinctively curling into a fist to try and absorb the pain but unfortunately Brian’s hand was in the way.

“Fuck Nat!” Brian swore loudly, pushing against my hand to try and free his own. “Shit that hurts!”

My fist was locked in place for the next minute until the pain finally subsided; my fingers slowly easing so that Brian could snatch his fingers away and glare at me. “What the fuck was that for?”

I rubbed at my eyes, surprised at the tears that had fallen from where I had squeezed them shut. “Sorry, didn’t mean it.”

“You better fucking not have,” he replied, rubbing his fingers furtively. “They feel like you’ve broke them.”

“Well blame Sam, or Dylan, or whatever the fuck you want to call him,” I spat, only to sigh as I realised I was only getting cranky from the recent pain. “Sorry.” Did this kid already want me to hate it?“Again.”

“What do you mean, blame him?” Brian asked slowly, obviously not understanding. To him, I shouldn’t feel anything from this kid until I am exactly nine months pregnant, and not a moment before. Maybe I should tell him that I actually had Rae six weeks earlier than the nine months so he would rethink that idea. “Nothing is wrong, is it?”

“No, everything is fine,” I said reassuringly. “I just think he has got a bit bored in here.”

“A bit bored?”

I smiled. “I think he wants to come out and play outside with the grown-ups.”