Page 55 of Mia Amata

“Definitely, I love kids.” He kissed me. “People will see us together and think, ‘Look at that happy couple expecting their first baby together’.” He kissed me again.

“Jacob,” I said.

“Yes?” he said.

“I will be your girlfriend.”

“Good,” he replied.

It was still early, so we turned on the TV. We were watching a show when a commercial came on for the local hospital, showing their delivery area with a very pregnant woman checking in. I looked at Jacob, “That will be me in a few months, you won’t want me then.”

“Now what are you talking about?” he asked.

“I’ll be fat, not beautiful at all.”

He laughed, “I disagree. I think you will be extremely beautiful.”

“Really?” Raising an eyebrow, not believing a word he said.

He looked at me, running his hand over my stomach, which was showing just a minimal pregnancy bump. “You have a life growing in you. Your body is amazing in that it provides all that a baby needs for the first few months of its life. What could be more beautiful than that?”

Either this man was turning out to be too good to be true, or I was an even bigger fool than ever before.

Chapter 20

Just as Lucky and I had fallen into a comfortable routine together, Jacob and I soon fell into one too. He came over several nights a week after work for supper, either I cooked or he would bring some takeout. We would go for walks or watch movies, and then he would leave. On the weekends, sometimes, Lucky and I would go to his house for supper, and he would cook for me. He was in a small one-bedroom house he was renting for the time being. Most of the time he would come to my house.

Every Saturday night, we would get together with Josh and Randy either at their house or mine, Jacob’s was really too small for us to do much there. We would watch movies, play games, sometimes just have a bonfire out back, and spend the evening laughing and joking.

One Saturday night, everyone was at my house. We were playing a game at the table, laughing and having fun. I got up to get everyone some more tea to drink. I pulled the tea out of the refrigerator, taking it over to the counter when I felt something. I froze and just stood there. Jacob noticed, immediately coming to my side, “Mia Amata? Are you OK?” he asked. Randy and Josh both jumped up too, looking at me worriedly.

“I’m fine,” I looked at him. “I think I just felt the baby move.” I stood there, still not moving, soon feeling it again. I smiled at Jacob. “It is the baby, she is moving. I can feel it.”

He smiled at me, “What does it feel like?” I thought about it for a moment, how should I describe it?

“It feels like… butterflies in your stomach.” At this point, I was in my second trimester, 19 weeks along, Jacob and I had been seeing each other for 12 weeks now. Josh had put his arm around Randy, they were smiling at us. Jacob had his hand protectively over my stomach, my hand was over his.

“You two are just so damn adorable,” Randy said.

Jacob looked at her, laughing. “Me? Adorable? Why thank you!” We all laughed. He helped me finish getting tea for everyone. When the game was over, we all went out on the deck to get some fresh air, letting the dogs romp around for a little while.

We were sitting there when Josh said, “So when are you two moving in together?”

Randy elbowed him, “Josh!”

“What?” he asked her. “They are together almost all the time when they aren’t working. It’s obvious that is the next step.”

Randy looked at us, “You do have a point. It is obvious to anyone that sees them together how crazy they are about each other.”

“Um, guys?” I said. “We are right here you know.”

We all laughed. Jacob cleared his throat. “We aren’t in any hurry,” he said. “I’d move in tomorrow if Mia asked me to, but we have plenty of time.” Smiling, I looked at him, appreciative that he wasn’t rushing me.

“I haven’t even met the rest of your family yet,” I said. “They are going to hate me, aren’t they?” The three of them laughed. Randy was the one who answered. “No, Mattie. They are going to be crazy about you.”

Josh nodded. “They have commented on how happy Jacob has been lately. It will be nice when they finally do meet you, so they can stop hounding Randy and me about what is going on with him.”

Randy laughed, “Yes, it will be a huge relief. Really, Mattie, you will love them. They are great.”

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