Chapter 45

~Time skip~

I was now 37 weeks pregnant! Very close to 38 weeks, and so, so close to my due date but yet it seemed so far away. During the pregnancy, I had decided to keep the sex a surprise. I thought I wanted to know what I’d be having, but turns out, I didn’t, and I was quite liking the idea of keeping it a surprise. My mother and Ines both wanted to know the gender so badly, but they respected my wishes. Janelle, too, was curious to know, but she supported my decision.

Calvin was more surprised I was able to resist the urge to find out. Since the night we went out just the two of us, we kept doing that more and more often. It was safe to say we became close, and romantically, there had been moments where we kissed and touched, but it was never openly discussed. We’d just smile at the end and be sweet towards the others. I knew things would become confusing at some point, but for now, I was just enjoying what it was. As for the little one inside of me, Calvin grew to be more of a caring partner for the baby and tried keeping his distance, but also at the same time, I could tell he wished he didn’t have to do that.

In the meantime, I had passed my internship. Mrs. Dima was satisfied with my work. She was quite critical, but in the end, it all paid off. I had quit my job at the day center due to my new job and, of course, because I was pregnant, and my schedule was too hectic. They all threw me a getaway party, and the kids all made me one big poster that they all decorated. It wasn’t the best-looking thing, but it sure was colorful and held a lot of memories for me. My parents began with their office in this city, and I got to take care of them from the very start. It was a rocky start, especially when it came to earning the respect of the workers. I was mostly given this role because of my parents, and some just thought I was a spoiled brat because of that. I managed to earn their respect now, and things were beginning to run smoothly. My paycheck was still the same but enough to make ends meet. When it came to purchasing baby things, I barely got to buy anything; everyone got me so many gifts especially, at the baby shower. Only thing I had to buy was a few decorations for the nursery at my place. Yup, my place—I found this perfect apartment not far from my parents and work. It was also close to Calvin but sadly far from my friends. My parents got a small house with three bedrooms. One for them, one for me, and the small room they converted to a nursery for when I’d go over there to sleep.

Leaving Madison’s house was quite sad. I was finally feeling at home there when I had to move. Madison would miss me, but luckily, she now had Ines to keep her company.

I was at my new apartment with Calvin. We planned on decorating the nursery here, finally. I was lowkey putting it off, but it was about time I started decorating it. Calvin was surprisingly a huge help. The media was quite obsessed with the ‘dad’ version of Calvin. We’d been spotted around quite often.

I walked into the nursery and looked over at Calvin. He was sitting on the ground, pieces of the crib scattered around and the instruction book in his hands. By the look on his face, this wasn’t an easy one to do.

“So the good news is, that the paint is dry, so you can put up the wall decorations.” Calvin looked up at me, his eyes lingering around my body which made me blush a little. Then again, he was probably just looking. At this point, I looked like a whale. Or as Andre would say: a very cute whale.

“And the bad news?” I asked, knowing he must have some bad news to say.

“Uh, the baby may or may not end up sleeping on the mattress on the floor,” he joked, looking around at all the parts of the crib. Luckily, for now, the baby would sleep in the bassinet.

“Calvin!” I warned.

“I’m kidding. I’ll figure this out.” He laughed and went back to his instruction book.

“I love how the color turned out,” I admitted, looking at the pale green we picked out. Yup, we. He came along and helped me decide. We paid to have the room painted because I wanted one wall to be decorated with jungle animals. Just so it wouldn’t be too bland.

“Mm-hmm, a very nice combination with the gray” He looked around the room, then back at me.

“Indeed,” I agreed.

Calvin continued to work on the crib. It was the last piece of furniture that needed assembling. I placed the little decals, stickers, and photo frames on the wall. For now, I wasn’t sure what the name would be, but once I did, I planned on making a wood print of it and placing it on the wall. I checked all the drawers. They were all so full of clothes. The changing stations were quite loaded, especially thanks to Calvin’s parents, Chris and Amira. They were so excited to meet their grandchild. I saw how they treated Jay, and I could tell they wanted a grandchild too. Jay's grandparents, Chloe and Levi, were both angels as well. The funniest thing I ever saw was when my parents, Chloe, Levi, and Calvin’s parents hosted brunch for just the six of them. It was basically just a bunch of old people at one table discussing life.

Janelle was very close to giving birth to her little girl, and sadly, Cameron still hadn’t woken up, but the doctors did say he was slowly starting to show positive signs, but it could take a while. I knew it upset her, so we usually tried to cheer her up as much as possible. All Janelle could talk about these days were playdates for the cousins.

Once Calvin and I completed the room, we ordered some pizza and lounged on the couch.

“I wanna do something fun,” Calvin complained, staring at the TV.

“Such as?” I asked, looking over at him and carefully turning over onto my side. He shrugged.

“Uh, let’s see,” I began to think. “I have plain chocolate cupcakes. Want to decorate those?” I asked. It was the brand Calvin loved, and during the pregnancy, I grew to love that cupcake too. It was just plain though.

“Do you have buttercream?” he then asked as he got up. He took my hand and helped me get up as well. I shook my head to his question. “That’s fine. I’ll make some,” He shrugged. Yup, Calvin Cartwright would make the buttercream. It was a family recipe, and it is just the best buttercream I had ever tasted.

He led the way to the kitchen and picked me up, placing me on the counter. He tapped my thighs, then walked to the fridge to gather the needed ingredients. I watched as he made the buttercream. Occasionally, he’d look at me with a smile on his face.

“Taste.” He handed me a small spoon with some buttercream on it. I took the spoon and looked at him as I licked the spoon. “It’s good?” he then asked. “Yes.” I smiled at him.

“Let me taste.” Calvin rested his hands on my hips and pulled me over to kiss me slowly and passionately.

“Mm-hmm, the best,” he said when he pulled away and placed a kiss on my forehead.

“Let’s get to decorating then.” I got down and brought out some sprinkles and the cupcakes. Once we finished decorating the cupcakes, the pizza came, and we enjoyed our dinner and dessert. A little later, his parents called and chatted, asking about how I was feeling and how the baby was doing. I had to go in for a checkup today after all.

At some point, the time came for Calvin to leave. He got up, and I walked him to the front door. He pulled me in for a hug and kissed the top of my head, his one hand on my stomach, rubbing it. It was moments like these that made me question what we actually were. Sure, we were faking it, but right now, there was no audience.

“Date night Friday after work?” he asked, raising a brow at me. “I want to take you out, and we have to talk about a few things,” he said as he held my hands.

“Sounds perfect. Friday, then.” I smiled as he pecked my cheek. I closed the door when he left and began to overthink what he wanted to talk about…