A Mighty Need

At the end of Audrey’s 30th week of pregnancy, which fell during the second week of April, her parents and her sister flew in to London for her baby shower. Jeremy had stayed home with the kids because he couldn’t get off of work and they didn’t want to pull the kids out of school. Audrey’s brother Eddie and sister-in-law Steph had been planning on making the trip as well, but the only time they could really afford off for the year was in October for the wedding, which just seemed more important than the baby shower. They did, however, send their gift to Columbus for Lou and Mary to bring with them. Due to lack of space in the house now, because of Austin having moved down to the guest bedroom and Austin’s old room having become the baby’s room, Austin opted to stay at his girlfriend’s house. Crystal claimed, that since it was just her, she wouldn’t mind crashing on the couch and letting their parents take Austin’s room, but then Noel’s parents had also offered for Audrey’s parents to stay at their house in Mitcham.

Lou and Mary, having gotten along rather well with Diane and Ray the last time they were in England, accepted the offer to stay in Mitcham; with Mary and Diane excitedly going on and on about the baby together as they would share the coveted title of grandmother. Their first full day, they all went out to dinner in the city, wherein Mary and Diane talked about what they wanted the baby to call them when she was old enough to talk, so that the baby could differentiate between the two. Diane decided she would prefer to be called “Nana” whereas Mary was content with just “Grandma” or “Gram”. Lou and Ray didn’t seem to give a shit.

Audrey’s parents and Crystal had arrived on a Thursday, dinner had been on Friday and the baby shower wasn’t until Sunday, so Saturday was another free day that all the ladies wanted to use as an excuse to take Audrey out for some pampering. She was seven months pregnant at this point and felt like a beached whale already and she still had two more months to go. Her feet were swollen, she was pissing practically every hour on the hour, and she couldn’t shave her own legs anymore. The latter duty fell to Noel who was very helpful with that task. She would sit on the toilet (with the lid closed, of course) and he would kneel in front of her, lathering her legs up with shaving cream and take his time so he didn’t nick her skin. When he was done, he always added lotion for her and kissed both her knee caps.

His wrist had healed just fine after about a week and neither heard anything through the grapevine in regard to Steve from any of the mutual friends that Audrey still shared with him. Whatever had transpired for him after the altercation in the parking garage was seemingly swept under the carpet. Maybe he had been too embarrassed or too drunk to spread news of what happened. In the aftermath, Noel had actually wondered if Steve might come after him or the both of them, legally, for being “assaulted” and try and get money out of them. But nothing came out of it. Steve’s wounded pride was probably enough to put that moment in time to rest. Audrey and Noel never spoke of it to anyone either. When asked what he’d done to his wrist to sprain it, they lied and said he fell out of bed during the middle of the night and landed wrong on his hand.

Of course, Noel’s closest friends saw the need to make light of it and tease him and Audrey, saying the wrist sprain was probably due to something they did during some rough sex, to which they responded, “I wish.”

While Audrey was off getting a manicure, pedicure and facial with her mother, Crystal and Diane, Noel went bowling with his father, brother, Austin and Lou. Since teams would be uneven if they split into two groups, they only rented one lane, which took playing two games a bit longer. There were several other bowlers who recognized both Noel and Mike, discreetly snapping pictures with their camera phones, which Lou commented on while waiting his turn. He nudged Ray and said something about it and the elder Fielding nodded and shrugged, saying it came with the territory for his sons and was used to it happening whenever he was with them; Noel especially.

They all went to a pub for drinks later before meeting up with the ladies at another restaurant for dinner. This time, though, Austin’s girlfriend Lindsay joined them so his parents could meet her. When the meal was over, they all sat around, going over last minute details for the baby shower, which was being held in The Salle de Fête at Kettner’s in Soho. It was on the second floor of the establishment and the name of the room literally translated into ‘party room.’ Diane had gone there with Audrey on a Saturday back in February when she booked the space. She had also called Mary up, figuring Audrey’s mother would want to help plan her daughter’s baby shower as well, and Diane was right in that. Mary wanted to cover half the cost and even reimbursed Diane for half the down payment she had made to Kettner’s.

Audrey really had to do nothing the next day other than show up. Audrey and Noel’s mothers were going to the venue earlier to set up with some decorations Diane had bought. At home, Audrey got dressed in a simple dark pink dress that was better suited to summer, but she had no other pink dresses. Since her feet were swollen, she wore sandals, and her jewelry was simple and pink as well. She was working with the girly theme at hand. Noel had gone to Kettner’s with Audrey and Crystal before most of the guests showed up and gave everything an impressed once over. As tradition dictated, though, he left and met up with his father and future father-in-law at The Three Greyhounds pub around the corner, which was almost literally next door to Maison Bertaux. The three men grabbed lunch there and enjoyed a pint or two.

At the baby shower, Audrey spent a good amount of the time stuffing her face with the hors d'oeuvres available as her guests showed up. Aside from her mother, sister and Diane, Paloma was the first person to arrive with a big box in hand, wrapped in pink gift wrap and topped with a big pink bow. The colorful songstress was to be one of Audrey’s bridesmaids in October and had seemed very excited at the offer. She agreed to it without a second thought, assuring she would make sure whatever was going on with her career would in no way interfere with her maidenly duties. Julia and Austin’s girlfriend Lindsay showed up next, at the same time. They were shortly thereafter followed by Tom’s girlfriend Kim and Serge’s wife Amy (who arrived together), several female members of Noel’s side of the family (including aunts and cousins and a grandmother), Dolly, Dave’s girlfriend, Rev’s girl, and both Juliette and Heather had flown in. Dolly and Juliette were two more of Audrey’s bridesmaids.

As it turned out, Noel had more people he wanted as his groomsmen than Audrey had originally wanted for her bridesmaids. Noel had cut his numbers down considerably so that the amount of girls would be even with the guys. In fact, there was one extra guy when Noel decided he couldn’t exclude Richard (Ayoade), so Audrey had told him to pick a bridesmaid, and he chose Dolly. Since her sister-in-law and two longtime friends couldn’t be there in person, Audrey had framed pictures set at three empty chairs. It was helpful, too, for those on Noel’s side who were curious as to whom all the bridesmaids would be.

Everyone mingled, snacked and drank non-alcoholic punch before typical shower games were played. A short while later, Noel arrived with the dads in time for some cake and for Audrey and Noel to open the gifts they were given, despite them expressing that gifts weren’t necessary at all. The gift from Paloma was the biggest one. It was a Cosatto Giggle Pram which also converted into a pushchair and came in a pixelated design that both Audrey and Noel just absolutely loved and wondered how in the hell Paloma had carried it upstairs. Sheer force of will and some help from one of Kettner’s wait staff was the answer. The rest of the gifts were mostly clothes and little things the expecting couple might not have thought of.

When they were done opening gifts together, Austin had shown up to help load them all up into Ray and Diane’s car which they had left in the car park, two blocks away in Chinatown, and then take it all back to the house in Highgate. While their fathers and Austin were coming and going, Noel stood up and looked upon the faces of all the ladies present.

“Um, ‘scuse me, ladies, hi,” he began to say, sheepishly. “I just wanted to say a big thanks to all of you for coming to the shower and giving us all these lovely things for the baby. Even though it wasn’t necessary, it’s still much appreciated and it just goes to show us how much you all love us. We’d especially like to thank our mums, Diane and Mary, for doing all the brunt work and putting this together, and to Kettner’s for being so accommodating.” He glanced over at one of the venue’s workers before briefly scanning the faces of all the female guests; his hand absentmindedly fiddling with a white ribbon him and Audrey had pulled from a gift earlier. “Mostly, I just want to say thank you to Audrey.”

Audrey glanced up at him and smiled, brushing her hands purposely against his before bringing both her hands to rest on top of her stomach as if it were a table.

“I used to wonder if I’d ever become a father and then there came a point that I actually became worried that maybe my time had passed me and I never would. But then I met Audrey and it was like I got a glimpse into my future and I just knew she was going to be the one who gave me the greatest gift I could’ve ever asked for.” He was looking down at her now. “We’ve created a life and I get to be a dad because of you. You came into my world and changed it for the better and I love you for that.”

She was already emotional as it was, so Audrey was easily brought to tears, albeit happy ones, as Noel spoke. Lifting her hands from her stomach she turned in toward him and hugged him tightly, inhaling the scent of his cologne and skin as she did so.

Wiping her tears from her eyes, she smiled as she pulled back slightly to kiss him. Audrey then looked briefly at their guests and shrugged. “Technically, you gave me our child,” she pointed out. “I couldn’t get pregnant without you. It takes two to tango, honey.” She narrowed her eyes knowingly at him and grinned. “Love you, too,” she mouthed.

The ladies hung around for a bit longer, chatting. Most left after Noel’s little speech of sorts, but only after approaching the couple to say goodbye. Noel called for two separate cabs; one for him and Audrey and the other for their mothers and Crystal. They were all going to meet back at their home in Highgate where their fathers and Austin would be and order in delivery for dinner. Lindsay, Austin’s girlfriend, had her own car and had already left; but whether or not she would be joining everyone else was unknown to the couple. When the cabs arrived, however, and they all said they’d see each other back at the house, it was also unknown that Noel had other plans that would detour him and Audrey.

As they sat in their own cab, Noel asked the driver to take them to Carnaby Street.

“What’s at Carnaby Street other than shops?” Audrey asked.

Noel shrugged. “I thought we could just go get some fresh air and window shop. You know, kill some time before we have to rejoin our families again; some you and me time.”

Audrey smiled. “That sounds lovely.” She squeezed his hand. “Give me your jacket, though. It’s not that warm out for me and I only have this dress on.”

Leaning forward, Noel pulled his bomber jacket off that he’d been wearing and threw it around Audrey’s shoulders. As they continued on toward their next destination, Noel wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she leaned into him; watching the world go by outside the windows.



Noel wasn’t sure how it happened, but somehow a month seemed to slip by in the blink of an eye. It was a Sunday afternoon, the start of Audrey’s 35th week of pregnancy and her eighth month. He was sitting in their living room, watching her get her hair and makeup done by a stylist she’d hired for that evening was the British Academy Television Awards. What Girls Do was nominated for the International BAFTA TV Award and was attending to accept the award in the event that the show one. Juliette and Heather were going to be there as well. They had been in town since the week before to promote the second season of the show which was soon to debut on ITV for British audiences and they would be taping an appearance on The Graham Norton Show in a few days. Audrey was also booked for the episode, and it would be her last public appearance that had anything to do with her professional life until well after the baby was born. She was as big as a house now and wanted only to kick back with her feet up for the last month. Noel was pressing for her to relax and do next to nothing as well.

He had expressed his concerns about her slowing down, which Audrey initially took offense to, assuming he thought she was endangering the baby and she argued a bit; insisting she was taking it easy and that most women work until the day they pop, and that was with women who worked nine to five jobs. After sulking for a bit, while Noel retreated as not to anger or fluster her any further, Audrey had approached him like a dog with its tail between its legs and started crying and apologizing for biting his head off. Her emotions were like a roller coaster lately. She was more tired and her back hurt, she felt fat and ugly and she couldn’t see her feet anymore, but mostly she wanted him to know that nothing she said in anger she actually meant. She just felt like she had no control over her body anymore and didn’t want him to be mad at her. She cried all while he hugged her an assured her that he wasn’t mad at all and understood she was going through a lot; physically, hormonally, emotionally and mentally. He just wanted her to know he was only looking out for her because he loved her and wanted her to be comfortable, happy and safe.

Of course, that made her cry even more because, as she said to him, he made her feel all those things; loved, comfortable, happy and safe. They hugged and kissed it out and conceded to watching bad television and eating ice cream in bed.

Noel was also going to be on the same episode The Graham Norton Show, with Mike in tow, to promote the third series of his Luxury Comedy which was set to premiere the same night, on E4, that their appearance on The Graham Norton Show was set to air; in six days’ time from this current evening. What Girls Do’s second season would premiere the following night.

Upcoming events for them aside, Noel found himself only stuck in the present, seated on the couch with Audrey’s cat curled up on his lap while he bit at his thumbnail. The stylist was pinning up a curl on Audrey’s head while Audrey sat in a chair from the dining room, wrapped in her bathrobe and rubbing her stomach. Her eyes were closed and she was humming to herself as music from the nearby stereo wafted through the downstairs.

“You look beautiful,” Noel muttered, breaking Audrey out of her trance.

She turned her head only slightly, as not to fuck up what the stylist was trying to achieve, and gave him a side glance and a smirk. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”

“It’s not really flattery as much as it’s just truth.”

The stylist turned and smiled at him. “That was well romantic. I wish I could get my boyfriend to throw lovely compliments like that once in a while. He’s pretty much a right ol’ tosser but he’s a good guy; just a bit thick and rough around edges sometimes.”

Neither Noel nor Audrey were about to actually respond to that. Those two sentences from the stylist’s lips didn’t paint her boyfriend in a good light and they didn’t feel it was their place to add their two cents since they didn’t know the boyfriend or anything about whatever relationship she had with him.

“Do you think you’ll win the award you’re nominated for?” The stylist asked, changing the subject. Possibly she sensed Noel and Audrey’s unease about her boyfriend’s character or maybe she was simply being curious. Maybe both.

Audrey shrugged. “Don’t know, don’t really care, to be honest. The fact that I’ve won any awards at all is enough to keep me on cloud nine for life,” she replied with a slight chuckle in her voice. “This is the show’s first nomination outside the US, so I guess it’s kind of a big deal in a way. It sounds cliché, but just being nominated is a big win to me. All those other shows from outside UK, and only mine and a few others are actually being recognized. It’s pretty awesome.”

“You’ll win. I feel it in my bones,” the stylist assured, pinning up yet another curl.

“If you say so.” Audrey cast another side glance at Noel, who was smirking back at her.



Well, the stylist jinxed Audrey.

She showed up to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, bedecked in a strapless, red gown that was from a designer’s maternity line. She couldn’t remember who the designer was. She was so beyond caring that she had literally gone into a boutique in the heart of London, and pointed at the first dress that looked lovely and that she would easily fit in to. She might not have cared who’s dress she was wearing, but she cared that she felt like a million bucks because she sure as hell needed it after how fat and gross she’d felt as of late. It was walking the red carpet with Noel on her arm, however, that made her feel like five million bucks.

Honestly, even though What Girls Do didn’t win the award that night, Audrey walked away from the awards show still feeling like a winner. She had Noel and their unborn daughter, and those were the best awards she could ever have.



Thursday night, Audrey was sitting on the big red couch between Mike and Juliette when they first came out onto the stage after Graham had announced them all. Noel sat at the end closest to their host; then it was Mike, Audrey, Juliette and Heather. However, Graham would have none of that seating arrangement, and told Noel and Audrey they should be sat next to each other because he thought they were adorable together. Mike switched with his brother, moving to sit closest to Graham, but Noel joked Mike could just sit on his lap like a ventriloquist’s dummy.

“This is a bit like a family affair, isn’t it?” Graham questioned, a bit rhetorically. “Noel and Mike; you’re brothers. Noel and Audrey; you’re engaged and expecting your baby at any minute, just about. And, I understand, Juliette…you’re in the wedding party?”

Juliette nodded. “I am; and very honored to be so, too.” She smiled and briefly placed a hand on Audrey’s shoulder. “We’ve become such great friends over the last couple of years and I consider her like a sister and Noel like a brother.”

“Heather, darling, I feel like I’ve left you out, I’m sorry,” Graham pouted.

What Girls Do’s main actress smiled and shrugged. “I’ll be at the wedding, and I think everyone involved in our show feels like a family. Without Audrey’s books and her help in bringing the show to fruition, there wouldn’t be any family. She’s like our mother in a weird way.”

“Noel’s worked you into Luxury Comedy, hasn’t he?” Graham asked of Audrey. “So, you’re a part of that telly family now, too, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I had two parts in the show,” Audrey nodded. “I play Onyx, the Ultimate Goth Girl in one episode, where I am painted completely black and look a bit like Wednesday Addams if she fell into a pool of tar, and in another episode I’m an old lady feeding some pigeons. It was a lot of fun to be involved, definitely.”

“I hire all my family and friends, it makes things easier and more fun that way,” Noel added.

Graham asked Noel and Mike more specifics on their show, and then the girls on theirs, with more personal questions directed at Noel and Audrey about the baby and their impending wedding. Toward the end of the taping, while they listened to audience members attempting to tell stories in the red chair, Noel jumped at the opportunity to pull the lever and send one of the audience members tumbling backwards. Juliette did it to the second guest but then saying she felt bad and asked if that audience member could come out onstage so she could give them a hug. The third and final person in the chair actually told a hilarious story, even though they stumbled over themselves. Audrey wouldn’t allow anyone to pull the lever and teasingly threatened to cut off Graham’s hand when it hovered near the lever.

After the taping, a few pictures were taken on the couch with Graham and then they were all off on their merry way. The audience began to disperse and Graham chatted amiably with his guests a bit longer. Once they were leaving The London Centre, Noel and all five guests of Graham went out for a late dinner together at The Savoy Grill. They didn’t hang around too long after their food was finished, all a bit tired.

Noel and Audrey caught a cab home to Highgate and found they were home alone. Instead of calling, Austin had left a note on the hall table letting them know he was staying the night at Lindsay’s. Audrey snickered, crumpling the note up after she’d read it and looked at Noel. She told him she felt as if Austin was their son, letting them know where he was going to be. He was twenty-six years old now and didn’t need to do so at all, but it was sweet of him to think he had to when he was only ever a phone call away if need be.

Helping her slip out of her clothes, Noel followed suit and stripped down to his underpants. After a long day and a full meal weighing down on their stomachs, they were both asleep by the time their heads touched their pillows.



Two days later Audrey was sitting on the patio of The Old Crown with a cup of tea while Noel sat across from her with the same. It was incredibly close to their home and easy to get to when they wanted someplace to grab a bite to eat or a drink. Granted, the only thing Audrey was drinking was nonalcoholic.

It was Noel’s birthday. He was forty-three years old now and he was receiving a slew of phone calls and text messages from his friends. One friend, who shall go unnamed, even sent Noel a picture of their bare ass with Happy Birthday written on each cheek. This year there were no major plans for his day, and not because none were made; because he didn’t want to do anything major. Part of it was in regard to not wanting anything too exhausting for Audrey. He was more than happy with a quiet evening out to dinner with some family and his closest friends. The other part of it he was a bit shy to admit to; that he was actually loathing getting older.

Maybe it was the fact that he was a month away from becoming a father, but something in him had changed and he wasn’t the party animal he once was. He was feeling his age now and it was frightening in a way. Perhaps the realization of his mortality was hitting him like a truck. Having a child meant he couldn’t act like a young adult even if he still often felt like one. It was time to put away childish things and all that. All birthdays before this one were always fun and exciting, but now it was feeling a bit grim. It all went back to the whole mortality issue; that someday he would be an old man and his days on this planet were growing shorter as he watched his child and possible future children grow up. He wondered how many years he would have with them. He would be sixty-three when his and Audrey’s daughter would be turning twenty and would be probably closer to seventy, if not already in his seventies by the time he might become a grandfather. Would he live long enough to see his grandchildren born and grow up? Would he live long enough to see great-grandchildren? He doubted the latter. Audrey stood a better chance, being eight years younger than him. But, then again, that didn’t mean anything. Maybe she contracted cancer or something in their later years and died before him. That was a thought he didn’t want in his mind. Not only because it was ridiculous to assume anything about the future, but also because the idea of him outliving her was too depressing.

“You look so far away.”

Noel snapped out of his reverie and looked across the table at Audrey. She was leaning back in her chair, rubbing her stomach, as she did quite often these days, and smirking at him with curious eyes. The way the breeze caused her fake ginger tresses to flutter casually made her appear ethereal to him. The “glow” of pregnancy helped, too.

Noel shook his head and shrugged lamely. “Just thinking about things.”

“What kind of things?”

“Getting old.”

“You’re not old. Forties isn’t old anymore. Fifties and sixties aren’t, either,” Audrey insisted. “The way medical science is going, the average life span of a human being will go from seventy-five or eighty to ninety or one hundred. You watch. We’ve got another good fifty or sixty years ahead of us.” She brought her tea cup to her lips and grinned. “You’re going to be so tired of me.”

“Never.”

“Well, I guess only time will tell.”

“Nope,” he continued, shaking his head again. “It’s you and me till we die.”

“At the same time?”

“I hope so.” He frowned a bit. “I sure as hell don’t want you going first.”

“I don’t want you to go first either.”

“So, at the same time, then? If one of us gets sick and is about to kick the bucket, we’ll both take a cyanide tablet together, like those kamikaze pilots.”

“Imagine how traumatized our family and friends would be.”

“A double funeral,” he remarked. “But we’d get our deaths out of the way all at once so our kids don’t have to arrange a second funeral some time later and have to go through the same loss again.”

“Like ripping off a Band-Aid, huh?”

Noel smirked and lifted his tea cup to his mouth and swallowed back a sip. “Yeah, like that.”

“Why are we talking about dying?” Audrey narrowed her eyes and chuckled under her breath. “This is the day we celebrate your life, not plan our suicide arrangements for when we’re old and decrepit.”

Noel gave a wave of his hand. “Getting older and fatherhood right around the corner has just got me thinking about my mortality is all. Don’t you have thoughts like that?”

“Not really.” She stuck her foot out underneath the table to briefly brush it against his shin. “I’ve spent most of my life being so sarcastic and a little pessimistic that now I finally have things that give me the best outlook on life. I have a great career, I live in a city I absolutely adore, I finally get to be a mom and I get to have all of that with the man I love. I don’t see anything there that makes me feel negative. I don’t know how it can get better, but it can only get better. I won’t even entertain the idea of anything getting sucky.”

“Who’s this love of your life? Do I know him?” Noel teased.

“Yeah, remember Jonathan Rhys Meyers?” she smiled devilishly at him. “Yeah, well, we recently hooked up and he’s my soulmate now. We’re gonna run away together.”

Noel tutted at her and shook his head. “Don’t even joke about that.”

“But it’s still so funny. You were so jealous.”

The two of them were staring at each other, both with their lips and with their eyes. Leaning forward in his chair, Noel reached his hand across the table to link his fingers with hers. He brought the back of her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

“I can’t help myself sometimes, I guess. You’re my forever girl.” With his thumb and index finger, he played with her engagement ring a bit.

Audrey brought her free hand to her ring a well, grazing his fingers slightly. The ring that was inscribed with the message forever my girl on the inside.

“Fieldmouse,” she whispered.

“Foo Foo,” he replied.



That evening, Noel and Audrey arrived to dinner at a little hole in the wall restaurant in Soho; showing up a little late because Audrey needed help getting her Topshop maternity smock dress on. She had managed to get it over her head but then got her arms stuck and Noel had to help pull it down. Then, the cabbie arrived a bit late on them. Julian and Julia were present, as was Dave and his girlfriend. Serge and Amy, Tom and Kim, Dolly and her husband, and Richard and his wife Lydia were also in attendance. The boys from The Howling were on the road again, so they couldn’t be there, and to keep things low key, Noel decided he’d rather have a Sunday brunch with family to celebrate his birthday, which would take place the following day at his parents’ in Mitcham.

Everyone greeted the birthday boy with kisses and hugs and passed birthday cards and gifts down his way once he was seated. While they all ordered their beverages, Noel opened some of the cards, laughing at each. Not one was touchy-feely; they were all humorous cards which is what he preferred. Despite all of them having enough of their own money and didn't want for anything, really at all, they still felt the need to give him gift cards or money in each other's birthday cards. He joked and said he would put it all toward his daughter’s education fund in case his and Audrey’s careers went belly up.

During their meal Dolly stood up to take a picture with Noel and Audrey, then stole a slice of tomato from the burger Noel was eating. Everyone ate, drank and chatted amiably; telling stories that had their guts ready to burst at the seams. Frequently, Audrey had to excuse herself to use the bathroom because her bladder wasn’t what it used to be; claiming the baby was squeezing and shaking it around like a toy rattle. In between the meal and dessert, Noel opened the remainder of his gifts, which included a few bottles of liquor that he said would be put to good use. He didn’t mean anytime soon, though. He was still adamant about remaining sober along with Audrey during her pregnancy. A few beers or glasses of wine here and there he was okay with but, after New Year’s, he really felt no desire to drink hard liquor.

“Have you got a name picked out for the baby yet?” Julia inquired, sipping her glass of wine while Julian picked at what was left of his meal beside her.

Both Noel and Audrey shook their heads.

“We haven’t thought much on it,” Audrey replied. “We’ve thrown around some names we both like, but nothing has stuck. And I already told him,” she gestured to Noel, “he has final say, since I had final say on the boy’s name.”

“What names have you thrown around?” Lydia wondered. She was leaning into Richard, who was sitting with his arm around the back of her chair and nursing his own glass of wine.

“Ariadne, Sadie, Cadence, Ruby…” Noel rattled off.

“Ruby wouldn’t, by any chance, be a reference to ‘Ruby Tuesday’ by the Stones, would it?” Dave snickered.

Noel shrugged guiltily. “Maybe.”

“Slightly less than a month to go,” Dolly spoke. “Is everything all set? Do you two need anything else or any help?”

“No, I think we’re good to go. Just gotta wait on her royal highness to grace us with her presence.” Noel subconsciously mimicked Richard, in that he placed his arm around the back of Audrey’s chair, playing with the ends of her hair that fell down behind her back. With his free hand he placed it on Audrey’s stomach and gave a brief rub. “Just a waiting game now.”

“She doesn’t move around as much anymore,” Audrey said. “I think she’s pretty much run out of room. But when she stretches, it’s the craziest thing ever. We’ve seen the outline of her foot a few times recently.”

Noel nodded to confirm this. “I touched it and I think she sensed it, like she got tickled, ‘cause she yanked that foot back like it was her job.” His complete awe and love for his unborn daughter was so obvious. He was smiling from ear to ear as if he could barely contain his excitement.

“I, for one, am done with pregnancy. Nine months is too long. I’m at eight now and that’s pushing it,” Audrey grimaced. “I mean, I love it; the experience, feeling her moving and whatnot. The aches and pains, the nausea in the beginning, feeling tired, swollen feet, heartburn, all that fun stuff…nope. I could do without it. I just want our baby here in my arms so we can just get started with it all.”

“Trust me, don’t rush it. Enjoy the peace and quiet while you still can,” Serge insisted.

“Imagine doing it all, times two,” Julian put forward. “Twins are like double the stress and mess.”

Julia shrugged. “Yeah, but also double the hugs and kisses and—”

“Double the soiled nappies and crying fits because they're teething at the same time,” Julian continued. “And then they get older and they start fighting each other like little Mexican wrestlers.”

Noel narrowed his eyes and laughed. “Are you trying to make parenthood sound like the worse job imaginable or is that just you being pessimistic?”

Julia patted her husband’s hand and smiled. “It’s just him.”

“The good bits definitely outweigh the annoying bits,” Julian conceded, catching Julia’s eye. “The boys were fighting with each other before we got here tonight. Parental aggravation is just fresh on my mind.”

“Ooh, remember sleeping in?” Dave’s girlfriend asked, giving him a nudge to his arm.

“Do I ever,” Dave laughed.

“We keep odd schedules,” Noel commented. “We’re prepared to have our sleep schedule fucked up.”

“What about the wedding? I know you must be tired of these questions, but are there any new developments as far as plans go?” Richard asked. “Anything us in the wedding party should know?”

Audrey shrugged and looked to Noel.

“Uh, nothing other than what you already know. We’re using a DJ sound system, but Serge, Tom and the boys are going to play the song during our first dance.”

“Oh, what song?” Dolly asked.

“‘Baby, I’m Yours’ by the Arctic Monkeys,” Serge replied. “Not even one of ours,” he added, pretending to be insulted.

“Well, if you wanna be like that, we can get a hold of Alex Turner and see if his band will play their song for us instead,” Noel jested.

They sat around after the food was cleared from the table, enjoying their beverages that remained, chatted some more and took a few pictures together; in pairs, small groups or with everyone as a whole which were taken by their waitress.

“This feels weird, not continuing on elsewhere or getting drunk off our asses for your birthday,” Dave joked, slapping Noel playfully on the back as they were all heading out of the restaurant and onto the street.

“I told him he could go partying, but he feels like he has play nice for my sake or something,” Audrey snickered.

“It’s not that,” Noel assured. “I just don't want to go off without you.”

“We don’t have to be attached at the hip during every milestone or party. You can do things without me.” Audrey looked up at him and snaked her hand behind to give his ass a loving squeeze.

“Nah. I’m good. I’m putting away some of my childish things.”

Audrey rolled her eyes and grinned. “We’re having brunch at Ray and Diane’s tomorrow,” she said to Dave and his girlfriend. “I think Diane is just making some sandwiches and with a salad or something. There’ll be cake.”

“Yeah, the two of you are more than welcome to come. You know my mum and dad consider you one of their sons,” Noel directed toward Dave. “Bring Violet.”

“Did I hear the word ‘cake’?” Julian leaned forward. He and Julia were the only other couple still lingering around. The others had already said their goodbyes and gone off. “Are you going somewhere for cake? Was dessert at dinner not enough?”

“No, we were talking about brunch at my parents’ house tomorrow for my birthday. There’ll be cake there. We’re extending invites. You and Julia should come, too, and bring the boys.”

“The Unholy Terrors?”

“Oh, they’re not that bad. I’ve met them plenty of times, now,” Audrey spoke. “They’re very well-behaved.”

“Yeah, they’re fine when it’s not just us,” Julian sighed, looking at his wife. He wasn’t truly frustrated. He was simply doing it for a bit of show.

“Alright then; brunch is at eleven,” Noel informed. “Be there or be square.” He then looked at Julian. “Too late for you, Barratt.”

“Har-di-har-har.”

As the three couples parted went in three separate directions, Noel and Audrey more or less stayed put. Noel called for a cab to pick them up and in the meantime, they stood there out on the sidewalk, talking to each other. Dinner had taken place earlier than normal so the sun was only just now starting to set, casting hues of pink and gold into the sky. The days were getting longer and it was nice to feel the sunlight still warm on their faces at eight in the evening. The way the light shone on Noel’s hair somehow brought out his natural tones through his darkly dyed tresses. He looked almost golden. As for Audrey, her hair looked like it was on fire. She was facing the sunlight and had to squint to look at Noel, so she instead chose to move closer to him and bury her face into his chest.

Wrapping his arms around his back while he also held his gift bags in hand, Noel leaned his head down upon hers. “Best birthday yet.”

“And just think,” Audrey remarked. “The night isn’t even over with.”

At home, Austin was there with Lindsay, watching a movie. Austin gave Noel his gift then, and both men hugged before Austin said him and Lindsay were heading out to meet up with their friends. Audrey found it amusing to see her little brother flourishing with his own personal life, complete with a girlfriend and friends that had nothing to do with Audrey or Noel’s circle. When the younger couple was gone, Noel left all his gifts on the dining room table, setting the cards up on display. Audrey let her fingers dance along Noel’s arm and then gestured with her head for them to leave the room when he looked at her.

Taking him by the hand, she led him upstairs where she had him help her back out of her dress, which she just ended up throwing to the floor afterward. Noel sat down on the edge of the bed, taking off his boots while Audrey began to rifle through her top drawer in the dresser.

“What are you looking for?”

“Your birthday gift.”

“I told you I didn’t need a gift because the baby is my gift this year.”

Audrey threw him a look over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, this is a special gift. Something you haven’t had in a while.”

This perked Noel’s curiosity. He raised an eyebrow as he tossed his boots across the room. “Oh?”

Audrey clutched something to her chest that Noel couldn’t see and she kept her back to him as she darted into their bathroom. “Put some music on, will you?” she called through the closed door.

“Alright.” Noel stood up and turned on his iPod in its docking station; not really caring what song came on first. As he moved to sit back down on the bed, he pulled his shirt off and tossed it to the floor near Audrey’s dress. He bobbed his head to the beat of the music playing and ran a hand through his hair, ruffling his dark mane. “Did you fall in?”

“Shut up,” was the response he received.

“That’s no way to talk to the birthday boy,” Noel bantered.

Leaning backward, he lay down upon the bed and stared up at the ceiling; focusing mindlessly on one of the recessed lights. When the bathroom door clicked open, Noel turned his head and propped himself up on his elbows. He found himself staring at Audrey, who was now standing in the bathroom doorway, wearing nothing but a black lace negligée that was made specifically for maternity. Her breasts, which were fuller from pregnancy, were covered but the material opened up at the front and hung at the side for the sake of the stomach. She stepped out, giving a slight twirl, revealing that her panties were a thong. Having been almost a full month since their last intimate encounter together, Noel was readily standing at attention as all the blood in his body seemed to rush south in a massive hurry.

“Fuck me,” he mumbled, sitting up.

“I plan on it.” She gave a shimmy of her hips and smiled at him. “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,” Audrey began to sing, breathlessly like Marilyn Monroe to Kennedy. “Happy birthday, Mr. Fielding,” she continued, moving closer toward him, and playing with her hair. “Happy birthday…to…you.” Audrey placed her hands on either side of his face as she found herself standing between his legs.

Placing a kiss in his lips, she then shoved him backward and began to kneel down slowly, using his knees as balance as it wasn’t so easy to kneel these days. She made for the zipper on his pants without hesitation and slapped his hip so he would arch upward so she could slide his skinny jeans down off him. Once she had them pooled at his ankles, she gripped his knees once more and slowly ran her hands up his thighs until her thumbs hooked into his pants. She pulled them down as well, essentially freeing him from any restraints.

“Hello, there,” she snickered, mock saluting back at his erection.

Noel was propping himself up again on his elbows to look down his chest at her. He watched as she moved closer and stuck her tongue out to lick up the underside of HIS shaft while she gripped it firmly in one hand. She ran her tongue up and down his length before taking the head in her mouth and, slowly but surely, all of him. As he watched her head bobbing up and down, his own tipped backward and he screwed his eyes shut. Noel still braced himself up, but now only with one arm as he moved his free hand to grip her hair tightly around his fingers and help guide her.

He listened to her humming as she sucked him off and it vibrated against his skin, causing him to bite his bottom lip and lose control over his breathing. When he felt his bollocks tightening, his breathing became sharp gasps and labored moans. The moment of release came and it came intensely, no pun intended, and Noel collapsed back onto the mattress. He felt like he had just run a marathon. His heartbeat could barely catch up and calm down.

Aside from their month apart when they’d have that big fight two years before, the last month had been the longest they’d gone without sex. Noel didn’t blame Audrey in the least. He knew she’d been feeling off; just tired and not in the mood and he respected that. He was expecting it, to be honest and assumed their dry spell would’ve happened sooner than it did. He didn’t realize until now just how badly he had missed physical contact with her. His hand in the shower only did so much.

“You should be given an award for best blow job giver,” he muttered when he found his voice. He ran a hand over his face and lifted his head to look down at her.

She was smirking back at him. “Would it look like a golden cock?”

“What else would it look like?” Noel snickered. With one finger, he curled it at her; beckoning for her to come to him.

Using his knees once again as a brace, Audrey pulled herself back up and climbed up onto the bed, but she didn’t climb up over him as he had been expecting. She sat up by the pillows and slid her thong off, throwing it at Noel. He took it in his hands and tossed it over his shoulder when he turned around and pulled himself up to his knees on the mattress.

“What are you going to do, birthday boy? What’s on the agenda?”

Noel all but growled at her like a lion a moment’s notice away from pouncing on its prey. “This.”

He gripped her thighs, which had gotten a bit thicker from the pregnancy weight, and lifted her up slightly so that he could position himself at her entrance. He wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed deep inside her in one stroke and then just holding them together like that for a moment. Languidly, he pulled out halfway before pushing back in. He began to build up his pace as Audrey clasped her hands down over his. She moved her hips up when he moved down, he swiveled slightly the way he knew she liked to make her mew like a cat and they began to rock together like two buoys on the surface of the ocean during a storm.

“Faster,” she begged, “Oh, god, don’t stop what you’re doing right there, Jesus fucking Christ.”

Noel couldn’t help but smirk. Responses like that from her were definite ego boosters for him but he also liked to know he was successful in making her feel like she had died and gone to heaven.

“I’m…I’m gonna…unngghh…”

Noel kept at it, feeling himself nearing his own peak again, but trying not to focus on it. She was crying out over and over, and when he felt her go rigid and shudder, he knew she had climaxed. The fact that she screamed out like a motherfucker helped, too. Noel continued to ride through her orgasm until he finally was able to find his own release. His back arched and every part of him tingled like he was on fire and covered in ice at the same time.

He couldn’t collapse down onto her stomach like he would’ve pre-baby, so he just slid out of her afterward and lay down beside her. He was looking at her profile and smiling at how she had her eyes tensely shut.

“I have got to find a way to get my libido back more frequently. I missed this,” she breathed after a few more moments. Audrey turned her head and looked back at Noel. “God damn, I love it when you swivel.”

They both chuckled. Noel bent his arm at the elbow and propped his head up in his hand. “I know.”

“You should get an award, too.”

“Would it look like a golden twat?”

“Okay, two awards. A golden twat for Best Cunniligus Giver,” she stated.

“I haven’t done that yet.”

“I like how you said ‘yet.’ Good boy.” She reached a hand out and ruffled his hair. “The other award would also be a golden cock and it would say Best Motherfucker, which is funny because now it’s literally true.”

Noel laughed a hearty laugh; where his mouth moves like a puppet. “How should me acceptance speech go?”

“Something raunchy and funny. Lots of sexy puns.”

“I think I can manage that.”

“You know what I could manage right now?”

“Hmm?”

“Ice cream.”

“Want me to go grab a pint of Häaagen-Dazs from the freezer?”

“Mmm, yes please.”

“Will we be eating it from a spoon or off each other?”

“Both.”

Noel rolled over and pushed himself off the bed, walking naked toward the bedroom door.

“Wait,” she called out. “Noel.”

“Yeah?” He turned around and looked back at her.

Audrey sat up and looked him up and down like he was a side of beef, biting her bottom lip and giving him a look of approval. “You are one, fine piece of Grade A quality ass,” she grinned.

Noel blushed a bit.

“Happy Birthday, my love,” she added.

Smiling back at her, Noel paused for a moment longer before heading out of their bedroom to get their ice cream.