Chapter 39
“Alright, now that the partners have helped the moms onto the floor, they can sit behind them to support them. Moms… let your partner carry some of the extra weight.”
“Ben.”
“Yes?”
“What are you doing?”
“Supporting you?”
“She meant… oh my God, Ben, she didn’t mean my boobs!”
“She said I had to carry some of the extra weight,” he said in a low voice, his hands still firmly holding her boobs up. They had grown a lot in the past few months. Like a whole lot.
They were amazing.
“Look around you and tell me if you see anybody else palming a pair of breasts.”
Blinking, he took a look around the small, comfortable room. Every couple was in a similar position. Mom resting against the dad, or the other mom depending on the case.
Some had their hands on her hips. Others were massaging her shoulders.
None had their fingers sprawled over a pair of juicy mounds of fleshy heaven.
“Oh.” He slowly lowered his hands, letting them curl around her impressive baby bump. She was now almost in her eighth month. “You know, she should be a lot more specific,” he mumbled. “And I was helping you carry the extra weight.”
Shonda, their instructor, was walking around the room, making sure everyone was in the correct position. “Alright. Remember our breathing techniques? I want you all to take a deep breath and picture yourself about to welcome your precious little baby into the world. In… and out… in… and out. Opening like a beautiful flower in the sun, every petal slowly… yes, Ben?”
“What kind of flower am I supposed to be?” he asked, lowering the hand he had lifted. “I always saw myself as some kind of orchid, but-”
Madison let out a long sigh. “She’s talking about my vagina, Ben.”
“Your… Oh. OK. That’s… yeah, that’s a job for me, then,” he added with a nod. He closed his eyes, picturing the last time he had gone down on Madison. “A rose. Definitely a rose. Picture your rose opening its petals very slowly, Pumpkin.” He grinned at Shonda who smiled back, a little tightly it seemed.
He had a feeling she didn’t like him very much for some reason.
“Please tell me you didn’t just announce to the whole class that my vagina looks like a rose,” Madison murmured in a tone that promised retaliation as soon as they got home.
“Technically, it’s your vulva that looks like one with the smaller lips that…” His voice died at the threatening glare she threw him. “Will you mar-”
“Don’t even think about it,” she hissed furiously.
He kept his mouth shut, knowing she was seconds away from making sure Munchkin would be an only child.
“It’s important to keep in mind that a birth is like a marathon. It’s not a sprint. You know there is a finish line, but you can’t see it at the beginning,” Shonda continued. “Keep your strength, use your breathing to control the pain, so the pain doesn’t control you, and- Yes, Ben?”
“What if she has a cold?”
Shonda looked at him, her eyes narrowing in confusion, while Madison hid her face behind her hands, shaking her head. “What?”
“You say she has to use her breathing to control the pain, but what if mom has a cold? Her nose is all stuffy and she can’t breathe properly?”
Not to mention, Madison sometimes had allergies.
“For the sake of this exercise, we pretend all is well and mom is as healthy as can be. Should anything arise, the doctor and the nurses are there to assist you.”
He nodded, then leaned in to whisper reassuringly in Madison’s ear, “Don’t worry. I’ll pack the eucalyptus spray just in case.”
She was still hiding her eyes, but her hands lowered at his words as a reluctant smile stretched across her lips. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I am thorough,” he corrected.
“You’re trying to buy some time, that’s what you are.”
Well… damn. Busted.
He sat down heavily on a chair next to Chris.
“Hey, we started without you,” Ian welcomed him while raising his glass.
Ben eyed the amber liquid inside it, knowing it was probably a Scotch.
Fine by him.
Grabbing the glass, he gulped it down then slammed it on the table.
“What the fuck?!” Ian exclaimed. “That was a Scottish Whiskey, pure malt, twenty years of age!”
“Man, you have no idea what I just went through,” Ben said in a voice rendered hoarse by the liquid fire that had just gone down his throat.
Chris sat back in his chair, leaning to the side to take a good look at him. He was sporting a smug grin, one that Ben really wanted to wipe off his face.
“The video, huh?”
“Fuck you.”
Ben closed his eyes in a desperate attempt to keep his brain from sending him the mental pictures he was trying really hard to get rid of. “I saw things no man has ever seen before.”
“I have a son, in case you forgot,” Chris noted wryly.
“But did you see it on a big screen?” Ben asked. “Because it was a big screen. We were close to it and… I saw… guys, I saw everything.” He looked around him, making sure no one was within earshot. “I think I saw… her thingy more clearly than I have ever seen Madison’s. That’s not normal.”
“You won’t think about it when it happens. What it will do is help you not panic over the slightest thing,” Chris explained. “The blood and the other gross stuff? It’s normal. It’s also for the mom so she doesn’t worry about all that.”
Ben had to force to swallow his saliva down. “There was… I think… I think something… tore. I’m not sure but… I think so because there was…” With a trembling hand, he rubbed his forehead, trying to remember the breathing technique Shonda had taught them.
“Are you using the Lamaze thing?” Ian snorted.
“It’s that or a Xanax and I can’t have one because I had your drink!”
“Where’s Madison? Tell me you didn’t leave her alone and traumatized?”
“She is heading to your place. She said Evie had packed another bag of baby clothes. And she isn’t traumatized in the slightest. She thought it was beautiful.” He let out a huge sigh, his eyes traveling to the ceiling. “Guys, I think the pregnancy is getting to her head. No one, and I do mean no one, sane can watch what I saw and think it’s beautiful.”
“You’d rather she freaks out? She’s the one who will have to go through it, you know.”
“Well… Yeah, I guess it’s better that way,” he conceded. “Still… Her poor rose.”
“Her what now?”
“Never mind.” Somehow, he doubted she’d be pleased if he shared that part with his friends.
Chris’s hand landed heavily on his shoulder. “It’s gonna be alright, man. And this comes from the guy who literally saw the love of his life lose consciousness and be wheeled out of the room for an emergency C-section. Statistically speaking, Everleigh took one for the team.”
“Evie has always been a team player,” he acknowledged with a nod. “Remind me to get her some chocolate as a thank you.”
“Don’t. She is trying to lose the last stubborn pounds. It’s… Let’s just say food and diet are a minefield at the moment.”
Ben frowned. “For real? She looks her normal self to me.”
“Tell me about it. I think she’s perfect, but she keeps ranting about her favorite jeans.”
“Since I have nothing to add, I’m going to swiftly change the topic,” Ian chimed in. “All set in the nursery? Still don’t need help?”
Ben grinned. “Everything is ready. I know we still have at least six weeks, but it’s good to know we have everything necessary. I mean, almost everything necessary.”
“A crib in the shape of a baseball glove is not necessary, Ben.”
“Of course you’d side with her, you don’t like baseball. Anyway… I guess it’s guys’ night only?”
Ian nodded. “Vi and Harper have a thing at the hospital. And you already know Madison and Everleigh are busy.”
“Next round is on me, then,” Ben said.
“You owe me their best Whiskey,” Ian called out as he was heading to the bar.
He waved in acknowledgment, making his way through the room. The bar wasn’t too busy since it was rather early in the evening, but there was still a small line waiting for the one bartender to take their order.
“I think we met before,” a low, raspy voice echoed on his right and he turned his head, coming face to face with a brunette. “Ruthie. We met one night, like… yeah at least a year ago? Maybe two. You were with a friend? He was… Stacy, my BFF, was supposed to head home with him?”
Ben tilted his head, observing her more carefully. Long, thick dark hair, brown almond eyes. Rather tall, with an impressive cleavage. The small tattoo he could see on the side of her boob was what finally triggered his memory.
“Oh, yes, Ruthie! That was… Ages ago.”
Ages ago was rather spot on. He now remembered the night quite clearly. He and Chris had been hitting a trendy bar and had met Stacy and Ruthie. Both extremely attractive, and extremely DTF. Unfortunately, Chris had been interrupted by a phone call mid-heavy make out session with Stacy. Despite Ben’s reassurances that it was probably his little sister, the young woman hadn’t been convinced, thinking he was married or at least had a girlfriend. She had stormed back into the club, grabbed Ruthie, screeching about assholes cheating on their wives, and Ben had had to go back home with blue balls, while Chris was heading to Everleigh’s place.
So many things had changed ever since that night.
“I’m sorry about Stacy. She had just found out her boyfriend had cheated on her, and she was a little paranoid.” The pout Ruthie gave him made her red lipstick pop, which he was pretty sure was her purpose. “I had to stick with her. Best friend rules, you know?”
He huffed out a laugh. “Oh, yeah. I definitely know about them.”
“Anyway… I saw you and remembered you. We never got the chance to exchange phone numbers.”
“Oh. Hum…” Ben chuckled, trying to remember the last time a woman had been bold enough to ask for his number. Since whenever he would go out now, he was usually attached to a pregnant woman, it had been a while.
With a nod, he fished out his phone from his pocket. Unlocking the screen, he quickly turned it around so Ruthie could see it.
“It’s my girlfriend,” he said with a smile, thinking a picture was probably worth a thousand words.
Ruthie looked at the screen, blinking. “Your girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
“It’s… it’s a dog.”
“What?” he asked, turning the screen back to him. He cursed when Rocco’s face welcomed him instead of the picture he had taken of Madison months ago. She had just woken up, her hair all messy around her face and her eyes sleepy.
She didn’t like the picture because she wasn’t wearing any make-up and apparently, her skin wasn’t perfect.
He loved it because it had been their very first morning living together.
And her skin was perfect.
“Sorry, she doesn’t like the picture and changes it all the time,” he grumbled, quickly scrolling down his gallery. “Here.”
He picked a photograph that showed the two of them. He was sitting on a chair in Chris’ kitchen, Madison on his lap, his hand resting protectively on her - obviously - pregnant stomach. The two of them were laughing together, and the picture had been taken by a very sneaky Harper. It was one of his favorite pictures of them, because it was simple and it just showed them the way they were: in love and happy, with a Munchkin on the way.
“Oh,” Ruthie said. “Congratulations?”
“Thank you. And thank you for your interest, but… I’m taken. Very.”
“I can see that.” She offered him a small smile. “I just didn’t have the vibe that you were the kind to…”
“Yeah, I definitely wasn’t, you didn’t get that wrong.”
“What changed?”
He grinned, remembering all the times he had spent in O’Malley’s, with Madison sitting at the exact same table he was sharing with only Chris and Ian tonight. She had been in his circle for years. Quiet, smart, introverted Madison.
“Nothing. I just didn’t know her back then.”