When We Were

“Did Maisie settle with the babysitter?”

Emilia, who’d been anxiously staring down at her phone, whipped her head up at the sound of Lionel’s voice, a smile brightening her face as she watched him walk towards her and take the seat her bag had been holding vacant beside her. It had been a little while, after Emilia’s early morning phone call to tell Lionel about the positive pregnancy tests, a few weeks had passed, and with her having reached twelve weeks pregnant, they were due to have a scan that afternoon, something they’d both been looking forwards too.

It had been hard to keep things under wraps. Emilia had started to suffer from bouts of morning sickness pretty soon after the positive result, and it meant that the two of them had had to tell a few little lies, despite not to let the news slip out before they were ready to share it. Hiding it hadn’t been easy, with it being so early in her pregnancy, Emilia hadn’t wanted to chance getting on a flight home for Christmas and it had meant changing their plans, and she knew that it had left a few of their relatives suspicious, even if no one had come out and asked. She knew that there would be very few raised eyebrows when they finally admitted that there was another baby on the way.

“She was still asleep when I left” Emilia replied “But I told Alyssa to call if she needed us. I told her we would be back before Oliver’s mama dropped Luca off” she added.

Lionel nodded. “I’m not too late, am I?” he asked.

Emilia shook her head, smiling shyly as she gently tucked her hair off of her face. “You were cutting it a little fine” she mused “I think I am the next one in. You might have made it just in time” she added.

Lionel just offered her a small smile in response, his fingers gently twining through hers.

Emilia squeezed his hand softly, allowing a comfortable silence to draw out between them, before someone called out her name, causing her to lift her head, meeting the gaze of another woman who smiled at her fondly. Slowly standing up, she moved to pick up her bag, but was stopped when Lionel hooked it over his shoulder, making a gesture for her to go ahead. Quirking a small smile, she walked ahead of him before she reached the other woman, greeting her with a shake of her hand. “Mrs Moretti” the midwife mused “Can I call you Emilia?” she asked.

Emilia nodded. “Of course” she mused.

“Good. I’m Lisa” the midwife replied “Do you want to take a seat up on that bed and we’ll get started?” she added.

Emilia shuffled deeper into the room, climbing up onto the bed before Lionel appeared beside her, his hand gently slipping into hers again as he offered her a familiar reassuring smile.

~#~
“Luca?” Emilia prodded as she poked her head around the little boy’s bedroom door, smiling when she found him sat at the desk in the corner, staring intently down at the piece of paper which sat on top of it.

They had been a little late in getting back, despite the scan going well and everything being as it ought to have been, she and Lionel had taken their time in getting back home, and she was itching to see Luca and Maisie, wanting to show the two of them the ultrasound picture that was tucked in her pocket. She knew it wouldn’t mean anything to Maisie, only being two years old, the chances were that she wouldn’t comprehend what it was that her parents were trying to tell her, but she knew that Luca would and she was hopeful that he would be just as excited about another brother or sister as he had been when she had fallen pregnant with Maisie.

Luca turned around, showing off the smudge of blue paint which had been spread across his forehead. “You’re home” he said.

Emilia stepped into the room, wiping the paint off of his head. “We are” she confirmed “I’m sorry we were late” she added.

“It’s OK” Luca mused “I started another painting while you were gone” he added, smiling proudly down at his work.

Emilia smiled, looking over the painting on the desk. “What’s this one?” she asked.

“One of Leo’s matches” Luca replied “This is him” he added, pointing to the figure he had painted in a red and blue striped shirt.

Emilia kissed the top of his head. “We’ll have to show it to him when it’s dry” she mused “But right now, could you come downstairs with me? I’ve got something I want to show you” she said.

Luca frowned, seemingly contemplating saying no and insisting that he wanted to finish his painting, but he eventually complied, shuffling out of his seat. Emilia moved back, allowing him to make his way out of the room ahead of her before she followed him down the stairs, smiling at Lionel who was sat with Maisie as she walked into the living room.

Lionel, who’d been listening to the little girl as she talked, caught Emilia’s smile and returned it before he lifted Maisie up, settling her down on the couch next to where Luca had sat down.

Emilia fiddled with her hands for a moment, trying to come up with something to say, before she took in a breath. “We need to tell you something” she said softly “We wanted the two of you to be the first people to know” she added before she stuffed her hand in her pocket, slipping out the ultrasound photograph. Turning it over in her hands, she smiled down at it before she stepped towards the sofa, gently holding it out in front of Luca.

Luca took it out of her fingers, staring at it for a few long seconds before he lifted his head, his eyes mirroring his mother’s. “Mama?” he said softly.

Emilia smiled at him, nodding her head slightly. “In a few months, you’re going to have another little sister or a little brother. Me and Leo are going to have another baby” she revealed softly.

Luca blinked a couple of times, his gaze flitting between his mother’s warm smile and the picture he clutched in his hands. “Really?” he breathed, the starts of a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Emilia nodded before she gently slipped the picture out of his hand “If you look just here, you can see him or her” she said, gesturing to the little blob.

Luca’s face lit up, eradicating any sense of doubt that had lingered in Emilia’s mind. “Can it be a boy this time?” he asked excitedly.

“We don’t know that yet” Lionel contributed, grinning happily “But it’s exciting anyway, isn’t it?” he prodded.

Luca nodded his head enthusiastically.

“Papa?” Maisie said.

Lionel crouched down in front of the sofa, smiling gently at the little girl before he turned, pointing at Emilia’s stomach. “Mama’s got a baby in here” he said gently “In a little while, you’re going to be a big sister. There will be a baby, Maisie” he explained.

Maisie seemed to just stare at him for a moment before she turned and looked at Luca, watching him as he fussed over Emilia’s stomach. Lionel could practically see the wheels in her head turning, he could see her wondering why her big brother was so excited, and it made him smile a little. A lot of what Maisie learned, she picked up from watching Luca. It was obvious that she adored having her Luca’s focus, and it was equally clear that Luca loved being a big brother.

Furrowing her forehead a little, she watched Emilia and Luca before she turned back to Lionel, something which made him gently pick her up, pressing a soft kiss against the top of her head. “You’re going to be a wonderful big sister, you know” he mumbled to her quietly “You’ve had a great big brother to learn from” he added, looking towards Luca who was eagerly talking to Emilia, gushing about the prospect of having a younger brother.