Tarot Cards. What Fun. :-)
Star: Vigor, New Life, Happiness, Imagination
Double Happiness
I can feel her kicking inside me.
Don't ask me how I know it's a girl this time. There are some things a mother just knows.
Paul puts his hand on my swelling belly, feels her little foot move under his hand, and his eyes go wide.
My Paul.
He is so different from Johnny, in so many ways.
Johnny was so knowing, and so confident... Paul is confident too, but not in the same way. Johnny was cocky. Paul is... certain. Paul I can trust.
I lean against his shoulder - he's such a big man, I feel tiny in his arms - he smells of sweat and soap and the sawdust we spread on the floor of the lower bar.
He's so good to me.
I remember the talk I had with Polly almost two years ago... I'd been living with her family since before Jack was born (he'll be five this spring... I can hardly believe it), and I needed to talk to her about her brother, and about me.
She'd come home for Hogswatch, like always (I keep expecting her to bring Maladict with her one of these days... But only time will tell on that front, I'm sure of it), and she and I were in the kitchen, dealing with the dinner dishes.
"Polly," I said, "I need to ask you something."
She sat down at the kitchen table, and looked at me expectantly with the same brown eyes as her brother.
"Do you think... Would you mind..." it was coming out all wrong. "Polly, I'm in love with your brother. And I think he loves me." Think... Knew. By the way he kissed me, uncertain at first, but always gentle, even when he got more confident. By the way he holds my hand in the market saying "I don't want you to get lost". By the way he smiles at me and rests his head against my knee...
When I looked up, I was surprised to see Polly grinning at me.
"I know," she said. "I've known since before I went back to the army." She called me her 'shield sister', jokingly because we'd been in the army together, and asked if I was going to be her real sister any time soon.
I'd looked quickly into my tea, at that.
"That's what I wanted to ask you about..."
Of course it was alright. Polly had a word with her dad, who (according to Polly, and I'm not about to gain-say her on this) had been hoping this would happen, and that was that. Paul and I have been married for a year and a half now.
Jack carried the wedding rings up to the front of the temple in his best clothes. He looked so proud of himself. He called Paul 'Daddy' when he gave him the ring. I think that's when the dam broke and I started sniffling.
But everyone loves a weepy bride on her wedding day, even if it's 'officially' her second marriage, and when Paul pulled out his big handkerchief to wipe my eyes, I just melted (and so did everyone else).
Polly caught the bouquet.
Well... eventually.
Technically it landed in Mal's lap and he, typically, had cocked an eyebrow at me, and then tossed it at Polly, saying "You have it, sarge, I don't think I qualify."
Which is about as blatant a proposal as you can get between two people who aren't technically dating each other (yet).
I slip my arms around my husband and sigh contentedly. A son already, and a daughter soon to come. I didn't think it was possible to be this happy.
Double Happiness
I can feel her kicking inside me.
Don't ask me how I know it's a girl this time. There are some things a mother just knows.
Paul puts his hand on my swelling belly, feels her little foot move under his hand, and his eyes go wide.
My Paul.
He is so different from Johnny, in so many ways.
Johnny was so knowing, and so confident... Paul is confident too, but not in the same way. Johnny was cocky. Paul is... certain. Paul I can trust.
I lean against his shoulder - he's such a big man, I feel tiny in his arms - he smells of sweat and soap and the sawdust we spread on the floor of the lower bar.
He's so good to me.
I remember the talk I had with Polly almost two years ago... I'd been living with her family since before Jack was born (he'll be five this spring... I can hardly believe it), and I needed to talk to her about her brother, and about me.
She'd come home for Hogswatch, like always (I keep expecting her to bring Maladict with her one of these days... But only time will tell on that front, I'm sure of it), and she and I were in the kitchen, dealing with the dinner dishes.
"Polly," I said, "I need to ask you something."
She sat down at the kitchen table, and looked at me expectantly with the same brown eyes as her brother.
"Do you think... Would you mind..." it was coming out all wrong. "Polly, I'm in love with your brother. And I think he loves me." Think... Knew. By the way he kissed me, uncertain at first, but always gentle, even when he got more confident. By the way he holds my hand in the market saying "I don't want you to get lost". By the way he smiles at me and rests his head against my knee...
When I looked up, I was surprised to see Polly grinning at me.
"I know," she said. "I've known since before I went back to the army." She called me her 'shield sister', jokingly because we'd been in the army together, and asked if I was going to be her real sister any time soon.
I'd looked quickly into my tea, at that.
"That's what I wanted to ask you about..."
Of course it was alright. Polly had a word with her dad, who (according to Polly, and I'm not about to gain-say her on this) had been hoping this would happen, and that was that. Paul and I have been married for a year and a half now.
Jack carried the wedding rings up to the front of the temple in his best clothes. He looked so proud of himself. He called Paul 'Daddy' when he gave him the ring. I think that's when the dam broke and I started sniffling.
But everyone loves a weepy bride on her wedding day, even if it's 'officially' her second marriage, and when Paul pulled out his big handkerchief to wipe my eyes, I just melted (and so did everyone else).
Polly caught the bouquet.
Well... eventually.
Technically it landed in Mal's lap and he, typically, had cocked an eyebrow at me, and then tossed it at Polly, saying "You have it, sarge, I don't think I qualify."
Which is about as blatant a proposal as you can get between two people who aren't technically dating each other (yet).
I slip my arms around my husband and sigh contentedly. A son already, and a daughter soon to come. I didn't think it was possible to be this happy.