May 24, 2017 (18 weeks)
"Welcome my beautiful human beings my name is Annie and I will be you instructor through these next couple of months." The room smells thickly of incense as it burned on the white wood table. Annie wears a black sports bra and gaucho pants that remind me of my six-year-old self.
"Why don't we go around the room and introduce one another so we can all get a little more comfortable with our peers! Let's start with you two, tell us your name and how far along you are!" Annie speaks in a more quiet voice but with her head set, the speakers make it sound more clear. Her red hair is draped down over her boobs in knots, I think she's in the process of creating dreads.
"Okay well I am Debbie and this is Dan and currently I am 20 weeks along and this is our 5th child!" Debbie looked like the definition of a soccer mom. Her blonde A-line haircut telling me more about her than her Ed Hardey hot pink bedazzled skull shirt.
I also wonder why the hell they are taking this class. This wasn't Debbie and Dan's first rodeo so why the hell were they still here? Some of the couples here looked like first timers like Harry and myself, so why did Debbie and Dan want to hang around a bunch of noobs?
"Debbie you are so strong, I feel so privileged to have you and Dan in my class!" Annie responds almost a little too enthusiastic for me. I didn't like when people were too happy, I know it's a weird thing to say but people who were too happy made me question what they were hiding behind the mask.
Sitting next to us was a couple who introduced themselves as Stephanie and Max two teenage parents who looked as though their parents were forcing them to be here. Stephanie chomped on her bubble gum while Max zoned on playing Flappy Bird, having a mini freak out whenever he bumped into a pipe. God was I thankful I was out of high school looking at the two of them.
It comes time for me to introduce Harry and I since it seemed like so far the wife or girlfriend did the introductions. Annie gives me an encouraging smile as I clear my throat and place a hand on Harry's lap.
"Hi I'm Madeline and this is Harry, this is our first baby so take it easy on us Debbie! And I am 4 months along." I get a few laughs from the class when I mention Debbie and feel a little more comfortable now around all these pregnant strangers.
"Do you know what you are having yet?" Annie asks me fiddling with her red dreadlocks. She sits Indian style in front of Harry and I letting me see the detail of her freckles that sprinkled over the bridge of her nose.
"We are having a girl," I answer Annie as she gives and over-exaggerated smile that I want to laugh at. I refrain from doing so and look over at Harry who is also fighting back laughs. I had a tendency to laugh at inappropriate times which was highly inconvenient considering it always got me in trouble. There's something about laughing when you aren't supposed to that makes things even more funny!
Harry and I were the human embodiment of Spongebob and Patrick bursting at the seams in Mrs. Puffs boating school. Harry finally has to put his head in his hands when I try to recreate Annie's smile she gave to the both of us when I told her we were having a girl.
"You are going to get us kicked out Mads!" Harry whispers choking on his laughter when I lean over to him and whisper Spongebob's famous saying.
"You know what's funnier than 24? 25!" I chuckle putting my face in my hands and feel my shoulders move up and down from my silent laughing.
"Madeline..." Harry is about to protest but stops and cackles quietly into his arms. Just the mere sight of Harry giggling was enough to break me so I keep my gaze away from him.
"Can I ask what is so funny? It's clear I have missed the joke," Annie arches a brow and taps her foot on the hardwood floors darting her eyes to Harry and I. I snicker in my lap clearing my throat as I look at Annie and contain myself long enough to respond.
"I'm sorry Annie, Harry and I were just being assholes. We won't disrupt the class again." I crack a smile but ultimately get through my response without laughing. I felt like I was in high school again telling the teacher I was sorry for interrupting the class. Annie scowls at me and gives me a warning look to convey she was keeping a close eye on me and Harry both.
Once the introductions came to an end Annie went into the course overview. She broke it down into chapters ranging from labor and delivery to post-natal care and everything in between. There was so much information to take in that I felt the need to take notes but lacked the proper supplies to do so. We dive straight into labor and delivery while Annie then pulls out some olive oil and pours it into a dish.
"That would look good on my insta theme." I hear Stephanie whisper to her incoherent boyfriend who is wrapped up in Madden mobile than anything else.
"As you progress in your pregnancy you are going to want to prepare your perineum for the great stretch of labor. Have your partner take some olive oil and massage the area daily to prevent any tearing come delivery," Annie takes two fingers on both hands to demonstrate the motion Harry was supposed to perform on me. My eyes widen and I squeeze my legs together feeling instantly self-conscience.
"What the hell is a perineum?" Stephanie whispers to her boyfriend who looks up from his phone to smirk.
"She basically wants to me rub down your taint," he tells her to evoke a bite of the lip and a mini giggle. Jesus these kids were horny as hell! When I was in high school I was more worried about what I was wearing and how I would pass that chemistry when I hadn't even studied for it. These horny fucks over here where giddy at the suggestion of an oil massage down under.
I choke back laughs from overhearing the conversation and see Harry try to hide his dimpled grin that was fighting him to show. I didn't want to draw any more attention to us since Annie had already called us out of laughing the first time.
"Are you down for some taint massages?" Harry leans and whispers into my ear, tickling me from the way he spoke. I rub my ear and give him a disgusted looking smile and shake my head vigorously.
"No way homeboy that's a hard pass," I whisper back seeing that grin etch into his lips while he looked down into his lap causing his curly mop to curtain his face temporarily.
Annie goes no to discuss why these massages are beneficial for delivery and how if we were to do this daily that it would reduce the risk of tearing. Debbie shares a personal story on tearing that I would honestly rather not hear. I try to block out all the details she spouts off because the more horror stories I hear the more anxious I became.
I knew the delivery was going to be a little scary but from the different stories I heard from Debbie, I began to doubt my ability to cope with everything that came with labor and delivery. I swallow hard and imagine what the pains will feel like and how I don't cope well with pain. I think about crying when I get my eyebrows waxed! Needless to say, my pain tolerance was at about a three and it needed at the minimum to be at least a five or six.
+
The Miami canvas of a sky is painted over with a navy coloring with little twinkling lights when we walk out of the birthing center. My hand attaches to Harry's instantly as I swing our arms and lean my head on his shoulder. A spring breeze brushes against the exposed parts of skin and dances against my skin creating goosebumps with each twirl. The sweet scent of Harry's cologne grazes under my nose and lingers causing my mind to reel back to the time when I ran around his apartment with only his shirt to clothe me.
The memory races in my mind and brings me to where I hug his arm and grasp onto the next moments I had with him. The speed of the cars plays as our soundtrack as we make it to our cars in the parking lot.
"I wish we didn't have to go home," I tell Harry as we stand only inches from each other. His hand softly sweeps over my cheek while I look into his luminous jade eyes that trace over my face. His fingers tangle into my thick black hair that cascades down my back like a waterfall his fingertips graze my scalp and provoke more goosebumps as a result.
"Come with me," Harry's eyes trace over me and I feel a strong urge to do what he says. My heartbeat is knocking against my chest and everything in me tells me to go.
"I have work in the morning," I say but know this is a weak reason not to go with him. I wanted to be with him and for some unknown reason I was being clingy. I wanted to be around him right now.
"When has that ever stopped you before?" I reveal a smile when Harry rubs the pad of his thumb over my lips and drops his hand to my waist. I blink and find myself running next to Harry, racing him to his car.
We roll down the windows of Harry's wildly expensive and let the music play to our heartbeats. Adrenaline rushed through my veins as the wind blew our hair into tangled messes. My heart thumbed to the beat of the music that was pouring for the speakers. I duet with Harry on a few songs and am surprised when I hear a strong voice. He has raspy and soul with each note as he playfully sings along to Super Bass by Nicki Minaj.
"Boy you got my heart beat runnin' away, beating' like a drum and its comin' your way! Can't you hear that!" I sang out shaking my head as the wind tosses my hair all around my face and hides away my smile. In this very moment I didn't realize how happy I could be. With Harry's right next me and the music filling up my soul all I could do was ride out the night and embrace every moment I had throughout the time I had.
N. HARRY'S MUSIC IS OUT IN LESS THEN AN HOUR FAM! I AM NOT OKAY!