(18+) Smooth Xscape (Complete)

Ch. 24: The quilt

"Come on, Missy! Almost there! Just a little bit more..."

"Great God, Joe. You sound like you're giving me a pep talk while I'm giving birth."

Joe froze for a second, and his face became slightly frightful.

"I-I will... Uhm... I'm not gonna be...during... Right?"

"I have no idea what you mean, but yes. You most certainly are."

"But... But isn't there going to be like... Screaming? And blood and... Stuff?"

On the inside, I was rolling down the hill, laughing hysterically. But I managed surprisingly well to keep a blank face on the outside.

"Oh, I promise you, there is," I nodded.
"And not only that."

I let the possibilities linger in the air between us, and I watched Joe's frightful face gradually get even more terrified, as he envisioned all kinds of scenarios of births gone wrong.

"N-not o-only...that? What e-else is...?"

I placed my hand on my chin, and pretended to think really hard, and Joe's eyes were roaming me up and down in desperation.

Be nice to him, Gail! Just look at the poor boy. Scared as a bug in the beak of a crow. Yeah... But it's too much fun...!

"There will be...popping..."
I pouted thoughtfully, while I kept grazing my fingers over my chin and jaw.
"Oh, and breaking... And... Hmm..."

"B-breaking...?"

"And maybe things...ripping?"

"R-ripping?!"

"Yes. And maybe even cutting. But that's only if it gets really...bad..."

It looked like Joe was about to faint, and he was so goddamn cute I just wanted to cuddle him like a giant teddy bear. But cuddling with him when I was in my close-to-bursting-pregnant-belly state, wasn't very smart. It would only freak him out even more.

"Relax, Joe. You're not the one who has to squeeze a little human out of you. It's me. But you were the one putting it in there in the first place, remember?"

He blushed like mad and tore his eyes away from me, to stare at the ground.

"So I think it's a fair price to pay, that you hold my hand and show some support the hours it's gonna take, before you can hold your son or daughter i your arms. Because you sure enjoyed the first part. This..."

I pointed at my large baby belly, and Joe was so red that he could've traded with Rudolph and his shining nose, whenever!

"...is the last part, and the beginning of a new era. "

Joe gulped visibly and nodded in silence.

"So what was it you were going to show me?" I asked, wanting to lighten his way too strained mood.

"Oh. It's up there."

I frowned in disappointment.

"The tree? But Joe... That's..."

"No, no! Next to it, Missy."

He gave me a wide grin, before he ran ahead and waited for me with anticipation and joy written all over him. And when I came close, he took my hand and bowed down to kiss it, in true Don Juan style. I shuddered at the thought.

Please, God... I know I'm not good at this praying thing, but please don't let Don Juan through right now!

But the thought vanished as soon as my eyes fell upon the surprise Joe had created. On a red squared quilt that I hadn't seen before, he had made a nice lunch for two. A large plate of sliced fruit was placed in the middle, and then we had one plate each with a sandwich a'la Joe... Burnt to the point where they're barely edible, but without burning down the house.