For the longest time, my bump has been on the small side. Today, however, I woke up and suddenly, I had popped. Even my belly button was now an outy! I had never been as excited as I was when I got out of bed, rushed to find Isaac and show case Nugget's new home. To my irritation, Isaac just laughed at my excitement. He was of the opinion that I had gone totally insane. He kissed my forehead and then slipped out to go to work.
Pouting at the lack of enthusiasm, I decided to hang out with my fourth most favourite man in the world. Well, potentially my fifth most favourite man in the world.
Sam was quick to come over, turning up ten minutes after I ended the call. He beamed when I opened the door, made some comment about how it was weird coming into the house via the front door, and promptly put the kettle on so I could make that cup of tea that I had promised him.
"It must be pretty quiet around here," Sam commented just as soon as we sat on the sofa. He looked awkward and shifted in his place as his eyes darted around the room. "Have you heard from Martha yet? Should we be worried? I mean, I haven't had any calls from Spanish cops yet so I take it my house there is still standing."
I laugh. "Sam, the girls have only been there for a few hours," I tell him. The car had stopped by early yesterday afternoon to pick Martha and her friends up and they waved us off without really looking back. "They went out for some dinner last night but they're hanging around the pool today. Flo and Kizzy didn't come across as major partying types and Martha's toned her behaviour down since working full time so I think you can relax. They're not going to destroy your house."
"Glad to hear it," Sam nods. His body relaxed after a while and he pulled his feet up onto the sofa, mimicking my position. He couldn't go so far as to balance his mug on his stomach like I was doing but at least he wasn't as tense as before. "What's new with you?"
Shrugging, I wasn't really sure how to answer. It had been a while since Sam and I had sat down together for a long chat and while I knew there was quite a bit to catch up on, I didn't know where to start. I suppose that's why all my words came rushing out like verbal diarrhoea.
I filled him in on my birthing plan, not that he honestly wanted to know about that. Since Lauren had given me the number of her birthing coach, I'd met with the woman, Harmony, a handful of times and we had pretty much planned out Nugget's birth to the smallest of details. I was going to give birth on a maternity ward in a private hospital. Sam frowned at this piece of information. I told him that Mum had pulled rank and that a state hospital just wouldn't do. Sam told me that he could absolutely picture that and laughed, saying that he was slightly surprised that Mum hadn't built a custom unit for me.
"Don't think that wasn't mooted," I joked. Taking another sip from my mug, I gently place it back on the make shift table that my stomach had become. "Isaac wants to be in the room. I'm not so sure though. I mean, will he still want to have sex with me once he's seen me push a baby out of my vagina? I think not. But I don't have alternatives. Sophie offered, as did Emma and Martha, although that would be a disaster waiting to happen. I guess I'll have to have Isaac. He's the only one that will keep it together while I'm falling apart."
Like a true friend, Sam didn't mind listening as I debated having a water birth, hearing about my terror at potentially experiencing some embarrassing moments during labour, and he was quick in telling that I was crazy because I didn't want any pain relief.
When the topic of breastfeeding came up, Sam's cheeks turned a shy shade of pink. It was the only time that he'd looked uncomfortable throughout our talk which is why I kept that part brief. Knowing that I had reached Sam's limit, I decided to bring this conversation to an end and enquire about his recent news.
"Who was that Rachel woman that you brought to Martha's party?" I ask, trying to catch Sam's eye. He averted his gaze and brushed his thumb around the rim of his tea mug. "How come you never mentioned her before? What happened to Ioana Ionescu? God, I love saying her name. It rolls off the tongue perfectly."
Sam shrugged his shoulder. "Ioana and I, we just didn't fit anymore," he answered. Moving in his chair, he slid down and nestled in, placing his legs up on the coffee table. He sighed wearily. "I think she thought it was more serious than it was, always asking when she was going to meet my family and stuff. After what happened with Jasmine, I'm not quite there yet when it comes to introducing potential love interests to my grandmother and Evelyn. Finn and Ewan sometimes ask about Jas and they kind of understand that we broke up but Ewan thinks that even if we're not in love anymore, Jas can still hang out with them, take them for burgers after school and buy them some epic presents for their birthdays."
Seeing Sam's dejected face, my heart tugs for him. Despite his and Jasmine's reunion at my baby shower going sour, I knew that he still held some deep feeling for her. She had been his first real love and although she wasn't The One, he still walked away from the relationship owing Jasmine hugely. She'll be the woman The Real One will thank in years to come for turning Sam from a boy into a man.
"Now, I'm no expert when it comes to boys, but I think Ewan only misses the free burgers and the free presents," I try to console Sam. When he laughs, I think it may have worked. "When a relationship feels right, you'll introduce her to your family. Until then, there's no rush to get into anything serious, is there? By the way, I didn't like Rachel. She was too up herself."
"She wasn't your biggest fan, either," Sam winks at me. He was trying to make light of the situation but I knew there was truth in his words. To be honest, I didn't really care what Sam's date thought of me because I was the more permanent fixture in his life, not her. Sam's green eyes lingered on me for a moment, scrutinising me, almost as if he were trying to decide whether or not he wanted to tell me something. He frowned before he spoke. "There's this other woman, anyway."
I gasped. "What? Who?" I couldn't hide my excitement at this news, mainly because the seriousness in Sam's voice told me that whoever this woman was, she was important to him. That's why I decided not to pry further. I made that mistake with Mick on Thursday when I asked about his love life and the response I got there wasn't positive. Learning from my previous blunder, I clamped my mouth shut and decided to change the conversation. "Did you get your invite to The Courtenay Foundation Ball? Sophie threw mine at me after Martha's birthday."
Of course, Sam had received his. He would, seeing as he was on the Foundation's Board. Sam had a say in how things were run but when it came to the Ball, it was mainly his grandmother's show. His sister and Sophie had a big say in it, too. The guys, however, were in the dark about it all. Last year, they were showcasing all of Connie's vintage clothing in order to patronise some up and coming designers. This year, my mother was kindly donating her back catalogue of designs for the fundraiser.
"Sophie keeps turning up at the gallery, stealing my staff for her own purposes," Sam grumbled, clearly unamused that my sister was making her presence at Courtenay Galleries known. "I can see Martha's office from my desk now and most days, when I look in on her, there she is helping Sophie. I never see my assistant anymore. She does not assist me."
"In that case, you have two options," I suggest, holding up two fingers on my hand. Pointing at my index finger, I tell him that he could tell Sophie where to go. When I point at my middle finger, I say, "Or you can get a new assistant."
Sam stares at me incredulously. "A new assistant? Jesus, Char, I can't do that. I didn't bloody want an assistant in the first place but now that I have Martha, I don't want another one. It's too much work having to break in another one. No, I'll just wait for the whole Courtenay Ball to pass and then I get Martha back."
I laugh. "It was only a few weeks ago that you didn't rate Martha," I remind Sam of the time where I had to put him right on some things concerning his right-hand woman. "Now look at you. What changed?"
"What? Nothing," he splutters. Narrowing my eyes on him, I become even more suspicious of his relationship with Martha. I may be pregnant and I can't currently see my feet, but I can see the way Sam is with Martha and let me tell you, it has DISASTER written all over it. I think Isaac has an inkling about it, too, not that he's ever outrightly mentioned it. I believe part of him knows that if there is something going on between his daughter and my best friend, it needs to run its course, no matter how painful that'll be for him as a father. Just so long as Sam doesn't hurt Martha, we'll be ok. From the way Sam is blushing right now, I think if anyone is going to get hurt here, it's probably him. "Let's talk more about you, huh? You've got a birth plan, your hospital bag is packed, what's left to do?"
Apart from having the baby? I joke. In all seriousness, there wasn't really much left to do. Isaac was on the ball when it came to looking after me and making sure that everything was ready for the homecoming. Our nursery had been decorated and all the furniture was in place, the wardrobe was filled with clothes that would fit Nugget all the way from being a newborn up to eighteen months old, and we had enough nappies and wipes to last us a lifetime. Or a few weeks, actually, because babies go through a lot of diapers in the first few weeks and months.
The only thing left to do was pick a name for the baby. Sam rolled his eyes when we got back on this topic. It was his least favourite thing ever, although, for me, I was starting to enjoy it. I told him of the name that I liked a few weeks ago, Selig, and needless to say, Sam reacted just as everyone else had. He hated it and begged me not to name Nugget that. In fact, he said, Nugget was a better option. If we didn't settle on Samuella, he beamed.
"Actually, I think we've chosen the name," I tell him. Isaac and I had drawn up a shortlist of names, even though he wasn't technically allowed an opinion on the matter, and we whittled it down to one boy's name and one girl's name that we both adored. Although we hadn't told anyone else about our choices, I wanted to fill Sam in because while he didn't know it yet, my best friend was about to have a bigger role in Nugget's life. "For a girl, we went with Eloise and for a boy, Shea. There was one thing I wanted to ask you, though. Would you be my baby's Godmother?"
Sam stared at me. "Godmother?" I nod. Sam blinks but nods nonetheless, playing along with my madness. "It would be an absolute honour to be Eloise or Shea's godmother. Thank you for asking."
"No problem," I say while smiling like an idiot. "Just one other thing that I'm hoping you'll agree to, though. Could you make me another cup of tea? Oh, and bring the biscuits up with you. I've got a really sweet tooth today. Thanks, bestie."
And here is you Sunday update! Hope you liked it. There'll be another on Wednesday!
Just FYI, I'll be doing a double update next weekend- one on Saturday and another on Sunday.
I missed doing a Charlotte-Sam chapter so I wrote this one! I love their friendship and hope that they never lose it, even if things go wrong with Samartha. Who else would be Nugget's Godmother?!
Ok, so who likes the names Eloise and Shea?
I know what you're all thinking-
She said the initials were SEF! If they've picked Shea for a boy that means Nugget is a boy! Eat your heart out, Sherlock!
All I shall say on this matter is this- I find it weird when parents pick definite names for their children before they meet them. I mean, what if the name doesn't suit? Some people look like a Jane and not a Clementine. Both names are subject to change when the baby is born.
But that's not me saying that the baby will be a girl. I'm also not saying that it's a boy. (It's a baby goat, but shh, don't tell anyone that I told you!)
All I'll say is that in one of this week's updates (today's included, next Sunday's excluded), there will be a hidden clue. Let's see who spots it. *smiles like the madwoman she is*
See you on Wednesday, my peeps!
Sarah xx