Swallowing Light

When Hanna woke up it was like the nerves tore through her, she could feel morning sickness beginning to set in; this seemed to be the only time it bothered her. Rolling over she saw Jimmy asleep next to her, she snuggled up against him her head on his chest. The rhythmic thump of his heart was relaxing and she could fall asleep to the sound of it but she knew they had to tell their parents today before someone else told them. Slowly pushing herself off the bed she padded into the bathroom to brush her teeth then hop into the shower, the hot water was exactly what she needed to settle her morning sickness. When she stepped out of the shower she could hear Jimmy on the phone – probably talking to his parents. Knowing what was going to happen today was sitting heavy on her chest, not sure how her mother would react scared her; the woman had a temper and that was exactly where Hanna obtained her own.

When he hung up on the phone he looked at her, “its set up, I’m a little nervous – you don’t think she’ll kill me do you?”

“Guess we’ll have to wait and see,” Hanna said laughing at the reaction to her words – probably not what he wanted to hear when he thought he was about to be murdered, “What time should we start heading over there?”

“I told them in about three hours – gives us time to eat and stuff, then maybe we can look at baby stuff online?” he said with a weak smile turning the corners of his mouth. It made her heart swell knowing he was actually trying to do his best for her and the baby.

“I’d like that a lot, come on – jump in the shower – you have clothes in that bottom drawer, you left them here when you drove home naked that one time; never drink that much again,” she snorted shaking her head a little as she walked down stairs. The house was plenty big enough for her and the baby – it was a three bedroom, one she kept as like an office/computer room the other was a guest bedroom. It wasn’t used often but it would probably become the nursery.

Hanna opened the fridge and pulled out the eggs and bacon then moved to the counter so she could cut up some veggies to put in the omelet. The upside to him being the father was she knew what kind of person he was, and if he was going to ditch on her last second. It was kind of nice knowing that if he managed to do something utterly stupid she wouldn’t be the only one to kick his ass – but knowing him, he wouldn’t; he was going to end up putting the baby before everything and that was a thought she could smile about.

She felt his arms wrap around her, “Your shampoo is amazing by the way, I smell like coconut now,” she could tell he smiling by the tone in his voice; playful.

“I am sorry about this though,” he murmured lightly, “You’re still so young,”

“Don’t worry so much about it; it’s happening – there isn’t any amount of apologizing that can undo it, and to be honest I’m not even that upset.” Hanna admitted as she began to whisk the eggs together with some milk. “We’re going to be great parents, we’re best friends and our kid will grow up knowing we did the right thing for him or her,”

“This is why you’re the one giving me a spawn and not some other woman – you get me,” he sighed happily and kissed her cheek making her laugh as he went to make her some iced tea. To her this felt almost couple-like, it was extremely domestic and she didn’t quite know how she felt about it.

“I know you’re right – we’re going to be great parents,” he said as he set her drink at the table then filled himself a cup with water.

Hanna nodded, “Exactly, now eat up – we’ve got a long day ahead of us,” she said as she pulled her laptop out and logged onto babies’ r us so they could look at things they might need. By the time they were supposed to be gone she didn’t know if looking at all the baby stuff was a good idea – now she wasn’t sure how they were going to fit all the stuff in her house. Were kids supposed to have that many toys? They hadn’t even gotten to the feeding section yet when she realized she had so many options – making her own baby food versus buying it at the store – breast feeding versus formula feeding.

How were they going to get anything done with so much information to cover?!

“Come on, Hanna, we’re running late – that baby website is a time sucker,” he said as he grabbed the keys to her car, “Can I drive?” he asked.
“Sure, but remember – precious cargo,” she said motioning to her stomach.

“Only the best for my baby mama,” he grinned at her wickedly knowing she hated the term, “I’ll be in the car!” he said avoiding her playful punches as she gathered her things together. In a short eight and a half months or so getting out of the house would be nearly impossible without forgetting something. Walking out to the car she opened the door and hopped into the passenger seat, when she buckled in and looked at Jimmy.

“Don’t call me baby mama anymore,” she said playfully with narrowed eyes.

Jimmy grinned at her and she knew then this would be a game to him – she groaned in protest when he looked at her as he started to drive, “But you are my baby’s mama,” he said to her smiled a little.

“Yes it’s true, but it just sounds so weird,” she said to him as she rubbed her face – once again she’d been too lazy to put makeup on.

“Do you think they’ll be mad?” he asked her as he drove – his eyes never once leaving the road ahead.

“My mom might be a bit irate but I think she’ll be alright for the long haul,” she said lightly, “But I could be wrong – I’m sure everything will go over fine, I mean it’s not like I’m fifteen or anything,”

“Shit… but you could have been,” he said looking at her with wide eyes, “what if this had happened then?!”

“But it didn’t, I made sure of it,” she said to him shrugging, “Besides, if we worry about you having knocked me up six years ago then we’re not going to be able to worry about the present,”

He nodded, “True, but still!” he said and she could tell he was starting to panic.

“Jim, just calm down and drive – precious cargo, remember?” she said touching his arm and he nodded as he drove. Hanna had a feeling that everything was setting in, that he was going to be a father and her mother. Maybe he had changed his mind, and if he had then she surely wouldn’t blame him for any decisions he made even if it hurt her in the long run.

“We’re almost there,” he said to her and she’d never heard him this nervous before – did her mother scare him this much?
When they arrived at her parent’s house she saw his parent just now walking over – they probably knew the pair would be late; they were notorious for it. Hanna saw his mother look to her finger and she realized; they thought they were announcing and engagement. She felt the blood drain from her face; does this mean they’d be upset with the news of the baby?

They walked into the house and Jimmy put his hand to the small of her back leading her to the kitchen where they heard her parents talking. “Hey,” she said smiling at them, her mom hugged her then let her move to her father who kissed her head lightly.

“So what did you need us to drag everyone over here for?” her father smiled as he looked between the two.

“Dad… they live right next door,” she laughed a little and smiled, “Alright , alright – I suppose we should just tell them then,”

Her eyes flickered around the room to see their reactions – her mother looked like she was about to have a stroke, her father looked amused and his parents looked too excited to contain themselves. “I’m pregnant,” Hanna said to them and her mother gasped – probably not expecting that kind of news.

“And I’m the father, just to clarify,” Jimmy said with a small smile but his grip on Hanna’s hand told her he was anything but calm. His parents got up and hugged the both of them tightly congratulating them on the little one even if they hadn’t expected it. Hanna’s father smiled a little and hugged his daughter it was a little tighter than she had expected.

“I had a feeling that’s what it was,” her dad spoke as he let her go, “So when should we expect the little one,”

“Well I haven’t had an actual appointment yet but sometime in early April if it doesn’t come sooner,” she said and looked at her mom with concern – she still hadn’t said anything.

“That’s great honey, are you sure you’re up to it? Babies aren’t easy, you were especially difficult,” her mother finally spoke with such calmness in her voice she almost didn’t recognize her at the moment – even her father looked slightly weirded out when she spoke.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine mom, besides you managed right?” she said to her with a small smile and she noted a flicker in her eyes – it was something she’d never seen before. Hanna would have to talk to her father about it later; something just wasn’t right with her. The rest of the visit seemed to go well; her mother even seemed to become less tense about the situation; joining in on the conversation and giving small advice on how to manage morning sickness.

Jimmy and Hanna left the house in good spirits – they were there for a good two hours before they were finally released from the grasps of soon to be grandparents. “That went better than you expected, yeah?” she said as she looked at him.

Jimmy flashed a smile and nodded, “Yeah, it did,” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck, “Are you hungry?”

“Nope, let’s go relax and look at baby stuff online,” she said to him and he nodded with a grin. He liked looking at the stuff just as much as she did and it brought her happiness to know that he liked it. She couldn’t say she knew many guys who got excited over baby stuff as much as any other girl she knew – but it was kind of hilarious.