As sleep becomes my only priority, I push my back into his body and bring his hands toward my chest placing it on my boob like I do every night.
“Drew,” I mumble. “Do you hang out in strip joints?”
Another kiss graces my neck. “Shush, go to sleep. And no… I have everything I want right in this bed.”
***
My eyes spring open wide with fear and my heart’s beating like crazy. The room is pitch black, no sign of the moon’s glow or a single twinkle of a star. My hands begin to search the bed patting the crumpled sheets until I reach Drew’s arm.
Thank God.
The dream replays in my head.
I’m giving birth to the babies, it’s painless, and I’m dressed normally. No hospital gown or needles stuck in my arm. My hair and makeup are perfect like I just stepped out of a salon. I’m desperate to see the babies, requesting the nurse to push them close to me, and when she does, there are two pineapples.
I begin to panic, demanding answers. I begin screaming for Drew, but he’s nowhere to be found. Instead, walking into the room is my ex—Jess.
Then I wake up.
My heart rate begins to settle, realizing it’s just a stupid dream. But unfortunately, my bladder has other plans. Turning on the side lamp, praying I don’t wake Drew, I make my way to the bathroom to relieve myself. I can’t even remember the last time I slept through the night. Mia warned me that my numerous toilet trips will prepare me for the lack of sleep once the babies arrive.
Back in bed, I’m about to turn the lamp off when I feel this slight bump in my stomach.
Huh, what the hell is that?
I give it a few moments before it happens again. Nothing. I place the palm of my hand where the bump occurs and glide it over my skin until the tiny bump presses against my palm.
I gasp, loudly.
Drew sits up, on auto-pilot, squinting from the light. “Zo, what’s wrong?”
“I think one of the babies kicked.”
“What? Let me feel.” Drew opens his eyes wide, immediately giving me his hand which I place on the exact spot where I felt it.
We wait minutes on end with no movement.
“I’m sorry, babe,” I tell him. “Maybe tomorrow?”
The sparkle in his eyes begins to fade, his posture falling from the disappointment of missing out.
Drew removes his hand, pulling the duvet cover back over him as I turn off the light. Laying there in the darkness, I roll over to my side and face Drew’s chest. Sleeping on my stomach is no longer an option—something I miss terribly. Sleeping on my back lasted only a short time, so my most comfortable position is my side. My eyelids begin to droop, heavy and overridden with exhaustion when suddenly, that bump wakes me up.
Instantly, I grab Drew’s hand and place it back on my stomach.
Bump.
“I feel it,” Drew exclaims, full of excitement. “The baby kicked!”
We both begin to laugh, wondering how in the middle of the night, our babies can bring us so much joy with the tiniest of kicks. This, for me, is the realization that I’m carrying babies inside me. Sure, the growing bump reminds me every day, but with that first kick my heart wants to explode with happiness.
And just like that, it all begins to sink in.
In a few short months, I’ll be a momma to two babies.
The pineapple dream was a sign, and only good can come from pineapples.
I’m dead sure of it.