43 Halloween Baby Shower
The nurse smiles at me as I nervously enter the room. It's been a week since my son was born, and I can finally meet him and hold his little hands while he's still on the ventilator. He looks too little and too fragile. I pat his hand and feel his warmth. Suddenly, the universe shrinks into this room, into this little machine. The wires connected to him. His feet.
I need to stay strong. I know my son will make it out of this. Yet my heart clenches. This situation isn't what I wanted for him. I hear a knock and turn around. Smith waves at me behind the window with flowers in his hands.
"How is he doing?" He asks me when I get out of the room. Few people dressed in costumes pass us as we walk.
"Better, I guess. Is it Halloween today?"
"Yes. Here." He hands me the flowers, and I smile. "Again, sorry for not coming here before."
"I forgive you."
"Do we finally get to meet him?"
"Unfortunately, no. How's work going?"
"Not bad." He moves something in front of me. It's a bag.
"What is this?" I ask. He waits for me to open it. There's an eyeliner inside the bag. A smile curves across my mouth, and I stare at him. "Really?" He smiles too, and I laugh. "It's a boy, you, idiot."
"I know. I had already bought the eyeliner before you gave birth. Also, buying a condom as a fun gift to your newborn baby seems inappropriate."
I hug him briefly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Now, come on. We should be at Isla's for the night if it's Halloween."
"The party?"
"Yes. The Halloween party."
"Are we doing that?"
"Honestly? I rather stay here with Christian."
"I hope you're kidding," Zoey says, approaching us.
"Hey!" I greet her, and she crosses her arms.
"We're going," Zoey says. "You can't do anything by standing here outside the room. Oliver, say something to her."
"I don't want to go either," Smith says.
"Are you serious?"
"Fine. I'll go!" I say, and she uncrosses her arms.
"Great! See you at night," she says.
I wave her goodbye. "See you, grumpy."
I hear a knock on the door of my room at the house when the clock shows 8.
"You dressed up?" Smith asks when I open the door.
"It's Halloween!" I give my fake mustache a touch and approach him. "Do I look like him?"
"Definitely! Let's go."
We arrive at the party and wait for Isla to open the door. Entering the house, I notice how quiet it is.
"Surprise!" says everyone, and the lights turn on.
"What?" I look at Isla. She is dressed as Cardi B. I hug her, and she squeezes me tightly. "What surprise?"
"We wanted to throw you a baby shower, but you gave birth early. Now we threw you a Halloween baby shower!"
I look at Smith. "You knew about this?"
"Of course I did," he says.
"Then why aren't you dressed up?"
"I am." He puts his mask on. "I'm Michael Myers."
"You look so good," Zoey says to me. She's dressed as Ariana Grande.
"You two look like you're going to have a collab!" I say to Isla and Zoey.
"Yes. We worked hard on our costumes. Unlike some people!" Isla says, glaring at Smith.
"It's better not to ruin your night, ladies," says a man with a cap that hides his face. His sweater is zipped up to his chin.
"Joe Goldberg!" I say.
"I thought I was invisible with this cap," he says in a deep voice.
"Who's Joe Goldberg?" Smith asks.
"You should watch more series," I say.
The man moves his cap a little back, and his face shows. It's Jon.
"Jon?!" I say, looking at Isla, and she shrugs. Something she's been doing a lot lately. "It's-so good to see you."
"Thank you," he says, giving me a brief hug.
There are other friends from work and college. Miguel is here!
"Miguel?!" I smile at him as he approaches me.
He gives me a quick kiss. "Your baby girl is finally here!"
"Baby boy!"
"What? No!"
"Yes! Notice the blue decorations?"
"It's 2022! Who thinks blue is for boys only?"
"That's so true! I missed you!"
"Me too. Everyone does!"
"Ha-ha. I find that hard to believe."
Emily approaches us, dressed as Amy Winehouse. "Hey, Mia!"
"Oh, my God! Emily!"
"And Peter," Miguel says when a man in a suit reaches us.
"Oh, my God! You guys!" I hug them, and my eyes get teary. "I missed you all so much!"
"We missed you too!" Peter says.
"God! It's been so long! We need to meet more!"
"Definitely!" Emily says. "Congrats on the baby!"
"Thank you!"
"Oh, Mr. Smith!" Miguel says, and Oliver freezes when he notices them. "Mr. Smith!" He calls Smith again, and Oliver starts to walk toward us.
"Hey, guys!" Smith says. "Didn't expect to see you here."
"Yeah, same, boss. Long time no see." Miguel says.
"I'm not your boss anymore. Call me Oliver."
"Sorry, Oliver. You doin' okay?"
He nods. "Yes. Never been better."
"Well, that makes one of you," Peter says, and Miguel nudges him on the rib.
"What did you say?" Smith asks.
"I-I'm sorry. I was talking about James Williams."
"What about him?" I ask, feeling too curious to let it slide.
"Besides the fact that he's in jail? The company's struggling with a CEO in jail. And the new CEO is just a disaster."
I can't figure out how Smith's feeling. He looks at us blankly.
"Who are you supposed to be?" Isla asks Peter, not noticing the mood of the conversation.
"I'm Tony Stark," he answers.
"You do look like him! That's brilliant!"
"Thank you."
Everyone parts to get drinks and dance. Isla stays by my side, taking long sips of her drink. "I know what you're trying to do," I say.
"What?" she asks.
"Don't act dumb. You want me to tell Jon that Christian is his son!"
"No, I don't!"
"You invited him here and to the hospital."
"He wanted to see you at the hospital and also now! I did nothing!"
"Please don't give him false hope!"
"I won't!"
"It's not his son."
"You don't know that."
"Isla!"
"What? I'm right! You don't know that!"
"Christian is..."
"What?"
"He's too white."
"Are you serious right now?"
"Yes. There's no way vanilla this white came out of chocolate that dark. Don't comment on that."
"Christian didn't come out of Jon," she says with a smirk. "You gave birth."
"Shut up."
"Are you alright, ladies?" Zoey asks, having a glass of champagne in her hands. Smith joins us, offering me a drink. I take it from him.
"If Isla stops this nonsense, we are," I say, not parting my eyes from Isla.
"What nonsense?" Zoey asks.
"Mia doesn't want to admit that Christian could be Jon's son," Isla says and gets hit by me instantly. "Ouch!"
"He could hear us!" I look around to make sure he's not close.
"You can't just say he's not Jon's son 'cause he doesn't look black," Isla says.
"She's right," Zoey says. "Babies have different shades of skin, and it changes over time. Considering Christian's just born, his skin will change."
"I was already pregnant when I slept with him!"
"From who? The guy at your party?" Isla says. "You don't remember sleeping with anyone at your party! You only remember some random dance and a little peck from James, and the rest is probably a dream."
I toss the drink back and get surprised when I get no alcohol taste. "What is this?" I ask Smith.
"I don't know. Why?" He responds.
I roll my eyes and leave to get some alcohol.
"Mia," Jon says, approaching me.
"Jon."
"You look... good."
"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself."
"How are you feeling?"
"I feel... not bad. You?"
"Same. Isla said you named him Christian."
"Yes! I did."
"It's great. How is he?"
"I got to hold his little hands today."
"That's good. It's progress."
"Yes. A slow one."
"I wanted to give you this." He gets something out of the bag he has in his hand. It's a little shirt, and as he unfolds it, the design shows itself. Spider-Man.
"Ain't a Halloween baby shower without a costume for the baby, right?"
"It's so sweet!" I take it from him. He gets little red shoes out of the same bag. "Oh, my God! These are so cute!"
"Spider-Man has the best recovering powers among heroes," Jon says. "So Christian will be okay after wearing these."
"Wolverine has the best healing factor. But that's so sweet, Jon!" I hug him tightly, feeling all too overwhelmed by everything. It lasts a little long, but he doesn't protest. "Thank you," I whisper, and he nods while holding me. His hold feels too good. My worrying mind rests in the comfort of his presence.
"I can't believe Jon Snow's hugging me," he says, and I pull away from him.
"What?"
"You're Kit Harington, right?"
"No!"
"Who's Mia dressed as?" Jon asks Isla, who is watching us with a big grin.
"Kit Harington, duh!" she replies.
"Oh, my God!" I get furious. "You're joking! Please tell me you're joking!"
"Then who are you?" Isla asks.
"You know nothing, Jon Snow," Zoey says, and Smith lifts his drink to it. Then, all of a sudden, the entire room lifts their drink and waits for me.
"Oh, whatever." I grab a drink and toast, then toss it back at once.
We start to unwrap other people's gifts. Isla's got a fancy bottle and milk warmer. Zoey's got me a breast-pumping device, which is very considerate. Guys from Whoosh got a portable bed, and other people have sweet gifts. And last but not least, a baby carrier that Smith has bought. I thank everyone, and after hours, they leave one by one.
When only Isla, Zoey, and Smith are left, we decide to see little Christian.
Christian's little fist is holding one of the wires connected to his body, and I think that is the cutest scene I can ever witness.
"What is that?" Zoey asks me. I open my hand, and the Spider-Man shirt hangs from my fingers. "Who got it?" She asks.
"Jon," I say, closing my fist.
"Oh, my God!" Isla says.
"Shut up!" I say. "If I hear a word, I'll fight all of you."
"Alright! Jesus!" Isla shakes her head. "Stop shouting, King of the North."
"I'm Keanu Reeves!"
"Keanu Reeves?" Isla says. "Girl, your wig is curly!"
Smith laughs. "This is the best day of my life." I punch him on the shoulder, and he still laughs. My phone buzzes in my pocket. It's a text from Ian.
'Dad won't tell me about it. What happened that day?' It reads.
"What day?" I ask myself, remembering our conversation that I had forgotten about completely. Thanksgiving 2010. I cover my mouth with my hand, not believing I've told about that day to Ian in my drunken state. How could I do that? I'm not going to answer his text. He's going to drop it.
Suddenly, my phone starts ringing, and I freeze, looking at the name popping on my phone. 'Lil Headache'. Aka Ian.
When I get home, I immediately crash on my bed. My head hits something, and I get up to turn the lights on. There's a bag on my bed. Who put it here? Is it a gift?
There's a note on it.
'For lonely nights. ;)'
I open the bag, and a big pink dildo appears in my sight.
"Damn!" I blurt out. "Who got me this?" I look for a name on the bag or the note, but there's nothing. Whoever got me this didn't know I'm always lonely at night.