Countdown! part 1
This is a continuation of "Matthew - A Child's Mind" and "Whole New World"
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Week 12
Bo lay in bed watching a football game. It had been a difficult week with Nora as far as the morning sickness and dizzy spells and she spent most of the week in bed. When she wasn’t in bed, she was throwing up. He was worried that she wasn’t eating, but the obstetrician assured him that her appetite would pick with the start of the second trimester. So he spent every day of the last week, which was also the last week of the first trimester, watching her, like he was waiting for her to burst.
For her part, Nora was crabby and uncomfortable. She was sick of being sick and she was still pretty scared to be having a baby at her age. When she was pregnant with Matthew, she remembered how she felt at those doctors visits, with all the “new” mommies in the waiting room, she felt like an old, out of place, hag. A happy hag, but a hag, nonetheless.
This time she felt even worse because her age seemed to always work its way into her first few visits. She had to go more often than “younger” mommies and she was constantly reminded of the precautions that would be taken, extra blood screenings, amnio tests, ultra sounds…but then she would look at Bo, as he sat so intently listening to every word the doctor was saying, as if he was going to be quizzed on it after the visit. He truly was excited and in a way, it calmed her and gave her the boost of confidence she needed.
Matthew, on the other hand was not taking the pregnancy well at all. He was mortified that he would be graduating eighth grade when his new brother or sister was born. When other kids mom’s were looking forward to becoming so active with high school activities, football games and the like, his mother was going to be pushing a baby stroller. He started talking to the guidance counselor at the middle school to try to help him work through some of his anxieties. The counselor suggested he start to write a journal. Although he thought it was a sissy assignment, and he never let anyone other than Stacy know he was doing it, he had to admit to himself, it was helping. So much so, that Nora decided to start her own journal to deal with her own fears and anxieties
Nora sat in bed next to Bo and wrote her daily page in her journal. Bo tried numerous times to peek over at what she was so intently writing.
Nora: (pulling the journal to her chest) Would you stop!
Bo: You writing bout me in there?
Nora: No…I am writing personal and confidential stuff…
Bo: Like what (he played footsie with her as he spoke)
Nora: Like nothing (exasperated)…like how many times I had to leave my office and throw up…like how many times I had to run to the bathroom, like the fact that my breasts ache and I think I am getting stretch marks already (Bo crinkled up his nose) happy, nosy?
Bo: What’s that Matt says? T-M-I
Nora: You wanted to know….
Bo: (trying to cuddle up to her) I was thinking…(he nuzzles her neck and starts to kiss her) I was feeling kinda…
Nora: No.
Bo: Come on Red…(he starts to slide his hand up her tee shirt) it’s been so long….
Nora: Bo (looking at him, she places her journal on her legs and takes off her glasses) you know sex makes me sick right now…why would you want to make me feel that way?
Bo: I just thought that since it was almost your second trimester…(he kisses her stomach where he has slid up her shirt)
Nora: You think like some kind of magic trimester clock alarm goes off to signify the coming of the second trimester and then poof all is ok?
Bo: (looking up at her) well…the doctor said…
Nora: Bo…this is my body we are talking about…not some kind of…of…Nascar going into the second lap at Indy…(realizing she was hurting his feelings) sweetheart…I would love more than anybody to not be sick anymore…to be able to eat dairy food…heck, to be able to eat any food would be great (she laughs as she caresses his face) and making love to you will be top priority when I feel better…it will be soon…this morning I was only sick for two hours…
Bo: mmm…down by two…
Nora: Well…its something…
Bo: (flipping on his back and slamming his head back into his pillow) I just miss you so much…I mean, touching you and all…
Nora: (leaning over him and gently kissing his lips) I know…and you have been so good (lingering for another kiss) hey….(she starts to kiss him a little more passionately) this feels kinda nice…
Bo: (running his fingers through her hair and speaking quietly) Don’t start something you can’t finish…
Nora: Maybe (kiss) we can (kiss) try…if you want (she runs her fingers across his bare chest)
Bo: (rolling slightly towards her and gently pushing her back down on the bed) If you’re up to it (he kisses her and again begins to run his hand up her tee shirt) tell me if it’s too much…
He again leans towards her stomach and begins to trail kisses up her abdomen, pushing the thin shirt up as he goes. Nora lies back trying to enjoy her husband’s attention, trying to block out he churning feeling in her stomach. As he kisses his way towards her breast, she sits straight up in bed.
Nora: Bo (covering her mouth) sorry….
She bolts from the bed and flies into the bathroom, half closing the door behind her. Bo sits up in bed for a second then gets out and walks to the door. He leans against the doorframe.
Bo: You want me to go get you a ginger ale, Red?
Nora: (looking up at him from the familiar kneeling position in front of the bowl) if you could…
Bo: I can…
Bo walks out of their room to head to the kitchen. He encounters Matt in the hall.
Bo: Whatcha doing up so late…
Matt: How can I sleep with barfing Betty in there…is she ever going to stop puking?
Bo: Hey…that “she” is your mother…show some respect…
Matt rolls his eyes and Bo catches it.
Bo: I mean it…she didn’t ask to get pregnant…its not like we were trying to have a baby…
Nora: Than why is she…having it…
Bo: You know…maybe you oughta try to think about some one other than poor Matt…
Matt: Yeah…well…maybe if you guys weren’t always acting like a couple of love-starved teenagers…
Bo: You better watch that mouth…you’re thirteen…not thirty…
Matt: I feel like I’m thirty…you know…our lives were so perfect…and now…
Bo: As far as I am concerned, they are still perfect…even more so now…
Matt: (staring at Bo) how can you say that? How can you say things are perfect? You guys are having a baby…do you have any idea how much crap I have to take…do you?
Then it hit Bo…the same way he was teased because of Sam he was now being teased because of Bo…
Bo: Hey…listen…are you having a tough time in school?
Matt: No…not yet…but once my pregnant mother starts coming around…I can just hear it now…
Bo: I’d tell you to direct them to me…but I am not going to make it worse like that for you…. Matt…we’ll just take it one day at a time…that’s all we can do…
Matt: Yeah…
He heads into the bathroom and closes the door.
Bo shakes his head and heads to the kitchen to get Nora the ginger ale. By the time he gets back up to the bedroom she is asleep.
Bo: Here’s your….(sees she’s asleep) ah Red…(he climbs into bed and gently kisses her cheek) you are so beautiful…try to rest…the second trimester is right around the corner…(he shuts off the television and settles into sleep)
Nora reached her arm out to feel the cold empty bed next to her. She looked around the room and then down at her extremely swollen belly. It moved and wriggled under the covers.
Nora: Bo? (starting to become afraid, her voice cracks) Bo!
The movement from under the blanket is becoming increasingly more violent. Nora moved her hand to her stomach and it felt as if a small animal was under the blanket, desperately trying to get out.
Nora: Stop (talking to her stomach) please stop…please, baby stop….
Suddenly the bedroom door flew open. She tried to see past the mist entering the room. She could she nothing. But she could feel a coldness enter the room. She looked at the figure now standing near the edge of the bed.
Nora: No!…NO!!!!! GET OUT!!!!
Figure: (reaching to touch her still moving stomach) Hey Stinger…how’s our baby?
Nora: NO!!!!!!
To be Continued
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