Best Thing In Town

Like Audrey had promised, she'd made sure Mike didn't yell at Estelle much. In fact, he didn't really yell at all. Audrey had explained to him where Estelle was coming from and, honestly, he was just more relieved that his little girl was alright. A bond between the two females had been formed that night.

As for the months that followed, two more birthdays came and went. Joey Armstrong turned eleven in March and Estelle turned nine, as she'd said, in April. Both children were thrown wonderful parties and got great presents that lit up their faces with smiles and giddy laughter.

By this time, Audrey was seven months pregnant and she felt as big as a boat. She couldn't really see her feet anymore and the early spring heat wasn't helping much either. Add the stress of planning a wedding and you've got the recipe for one ornery pregnant woman ready to castrate the first male to look at her wrong.

* * *

It was the first Saturday after Estelle's birthday and Audrey was sitting alone on the back patio as both girls were playing on the in the life-size dollhouse toward the very back of the backyard. The sun was beating down on Audrey's head but, fortunately, the patio table's umbrella blocked out the thick of it.

The sound of the back door sliding open caught her attention as she adjusted her glasses which had been slipping down the bridge of her nose from sweat. It was Mike, holding two glasses of iced tea. He looked down at her writing in a notebook and snuck a peak before sitting down beside her.

"What's that?" he inquired.

"The wedding plans," she replied curtly. "Not that you'd care."

Mike knitted his brow as he pressed the rim of his glass to his lips. "What's that supposed to mean? Why wouldn't I care?" He took a swig, while waiting for her answer.

"Well, I've only been planning this without you and it's a pain in the ass to do alone as it is..."

"I didn't think you wanted me to bother you."

Audrey gave him an exasperated look. "Why would you bother me? It's not just my wedding. I mean, this is my first wedding and I want it to be special and I want the man I'm supposed to be marrying in a month to be there every step of the way. I mean, is that too much to ask?" she rambled and semi-ranted.

Mike gulped. "No."

"Good," she remarked with a nod. She turned her notebook around so that he could look. Taped to the pages were three pictures of different styles of bridesmaids dresses, all red. "Which do you like better?"

"This isn't a trick question, is it? If I pick one you're not gonna give me a dirty look and get on my case for why I chose what I chose, right?" He caught Audrey's expectant look and shrugged. "Okay, okay." Mike looked over all three dresses carefully and finally pointed to the one he thought was nicest. "Alright, that one."

Audrey glanced at the one he picked and looked up at him with a smile. "Good, that's the one I like best, too."

He gave a sigh of relief. "So, we're having the wedding on the 15th? And where? The thingy...with the, um..."

"Golden Gate Park."

"Right. Sorry. Well...I knew it was outdoors," Mike answered sheepishly.

Audrey narrowed her hazel eyes at Mike and he thought he was about to get castrated for sure but when she gave him a smirk and reached her hand out and grabbed a hold of the collar to his black tank top, she pulled him forward and grinned as she kissed him. He moved to cup her face with his hands as he returned the kiss before parting and looking down at her ballooned stomach. He leaned down as he lifted her shirt and pressed his lips against the smooth skin of her stomach, smiling as he did so.

"Hey buddy," he whispered.

Running a hand through Mike's hair, Audrey leaned back and smiled. Suddenly she made a noise as the baby moved around inside her and Mike moved back with a laugh.

"D'you see that? Oh shit! D'you see that?!" he asked excitedly.

"I felt it."

"No. No, I mean did you see what he did?" Audrey shook her head. "His foot. Oh my God. I saw his foot. The shape of his foot. Instead of just kicking, he pushed his foot out. I saw it!"

"Really?"

"Yeah...let me try something." Mike dragged his finger along the expanse of her stomach, tapping it lightly and speaking to it. Audrey furrowed her brow until eventually she felt the baby move again and this weird sensation as she felt it stretching. Mike laughed as he grabbed onto the spot of her stomach that was pushed out. Just as quick as he did it, the baby jerked back. Mike sat back, slapped his legs and leaned back forward in amazement while looking up at Audrey. "Holy shit. I just grabbed his foot."

Audrey looked at her stomach and at Mike in the same amazement he wore on his face. "Wow...that felt really weird, too."

She caught the look Mike gave her. It was a mix between admiration and smoldering love that gave her a chill that ran up her spine. He turned around and looked at the girls playing. "Hey girls! Why don't you come inside for a while and watch that movie Estelle got for her birthday?"

Estelle immediately began to whine. "Why?"

"Uh...sun stroke. The sun's beating down a lot today. You don't wanna get sunburn and, um...Audrey and me are kinda tired and wanna lie down...plus, you know you can't stay out in the backyard alone."

Both girls muttered and grumbled and huffed as they began to step away from the playhouse and made their way toward the house. Audrey raised an eyebrow at Mike, completely clueless as to why he was making the girls go inside. She watched as he closed her notebook full of wedding plans and handed it off to his daughter.

"Set this on the kitchen table, okay?" he asked. Estelle frowned at took it begrudgingly as she and Kat walked into the house.

Audrey tilted her head as Mike stood up and pulled her to her feet. "What are you doing?" He didn't respond. He simply smirked, bent at the knees and put an arm under her knees and across her back. With and 'umph,' Mike lifted her up in his arms. "Mike? What are you--"

"Well, my bride's gonna be pregnant when I marry her. I might as well get my practice in while I can..."