This Wasn't Suppose to Happen

Picking up the new iPhone, I stood in line for what seemed like eternity. Damn Apple store. I was touchy and on edge and pitied anyone who had the nerve to talk to me today. The cheery girl behind the counter wasn’t doing anything to improve my mood and I silently prayed that she would notice the dark circles under my eyes and just shut the hell up because if she wished me a Merry Christmas, I might just punch her in the face.

As those thoughts were running through my head, I couldn’t help but giggle. I thought pregnant women were all glowly and so excited, I was the complete opposite and could actually see me being arrested for assault before the baby popped out. God, hormones really messed you up. A tap on my shoulder brought me back to reality and I noticed that I was next and the girl was giving me a big, toothy grin. Oh God, for her own safety, I really hoped that she forgets how to talk.

“Hi, welcome to Apple, did you find everything you were looking for today?” she asked as she checked in the IPhone 5.

“Yup”, I muttered as I nodded and reached for my wallet.

“Did you need anything else? We have awesome cases and you can get colored headphones or if you are interested…”

“I’m good, thanks”, I said interrupting her and handed her my credit card. She looked taken aback but recovered nicely and was quick to process the order and place it in a bag. “I’ll just put the receipt in the bag if that’s okay”, she said in a low voice and I nodded.

Turning around, I headed out of the store, feeling slightly bad for how I treated the cashier. I glanced back and was debating if I should apologize when I saw her give that toothy grin again and I turned back around. There was no way I was going back into that store.

5 hours later, I stood back in my living room and surveyed the tree. I was impressed, it looked better than ever and I was now officially ready for Christmas. Presents were wrapped and the place was decorated, just in time too, tomorrow was Christmas Eve and I had the staff holiday party to attend.

Nate had agreed to go with me and we even found a dress that fit, well, it fit when I bought it the week before. God only knew how it looked now, I was gaining weight daily and of course, it was all still going right to my stomach. It looked like I had a beach ball under my shirt, I still wasn’t convinced that there was just one baby in there and had spent many sleepless nights looking at the ultrasound pictures trying to see if I could see a second baby.

I lay down on the floor and shifted so my head was as far under the tree as I could get. As I lay there, staring up at the lights I felt a warm fuzzy feeling come over me. Christmas was never a good time for me, having no family for a family oriented holiday was more than difficult. It never seemed to get any easier, but this year, this year felt a little different. I was more content and I knew it was the baby; there was something about this little human that was growing inside of me that just filled my heart with happiness. Well, whenever Sid wasn’t around that was. It seemed like whenever I was near him, anger just overtook me.

A ping from the phone stopped my thoughts and I slid out from under the tree, surprised to see a text message from Sid waiting for me. He had a flight to Nova Scotia after the game tonight and for some reason he wanted to stop by on his way to the airport. Great, just what I needed. But it would give me the opportunity to give him his Christmas present.

The gift was beautifully wrapped and I was excited to see the look on his face when he opened it, I was impressed with it myself. I knew I didn’t have to give him anything, but I felt like I had to and what do you get someone who has everything? I couldn’t believe that I actually found something that would be so perfect, something he could cherish and keep forever. Mentally patting myself on the back, I picked up the gift and placed it on the table next to the door.

A short while later, a knock on the door interrupted ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ and I slowly got off the couch and made my way to the door. Sid was dressed in his suit with a long jacket covering it, hair still wet from his shower. He gave me a smile as he entered the apartment and took in the Christmas decorations.
“Nice tree”, he said as he took off his jacket and threw it onto the chair.

“Thanks”, I said as I picked up his gift and handed it to him before I took a seat on the sofa.

“Janelle, you didn’t”, he started to say but I held up a hand. “I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to”, I told him and he nodded as he began to open the gift. Once it was unwrapped, he just stared at it, not saying a word. For a moment, I was worried that I did something to upset him.

“If you don’t like it, I can get you something else”, I said quickly as I tried to think about how to right the wrong.

“Like it? I love it, thank you”, he said as he gave me a huge grin. He held up the photo frame that held the baby’s first ultrasound picture, with the words “My Daddy Loves Me” etched into the glass. I let out the breath that I didn’t realize I was holding and smiled back, thank God he liked it.

Laughing, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a square box. “Looks like we were thinking along the same lines”, he said as he handed the box to me.

I slowly unwrapped the gift and opened the jewellery box. On a delicate silver chain was a charm that said ‘#1 Mom’. “I know its cheesy, but just a little something”, he said and I couldn’t help the tears that flowed from my eyes.

“It’s not cheesy, I love it. Thank you”, I told him as he came over to help me put it on. “I’m glad”, he said as he made his way over to his jacket. “I’m sorry I can’t stay but I have a plane to catch”, he told me as he put on his jacket. “Thank you for the gift, it’s perfect”, he added as he looked at the picture again.

“You too, have a safe flight”, I said as he opened the door. Giving me a smile wave, he walked out and closed the door behind him. It was one of the most civilized face to face conversations we had for a while and maybe this was a sign that we could actually be civil to each other and work together for the baby’s sake.