Our honeymoon was over and we had to return to reality. Emilio’s parents had bought him a house in their hometown when he graduated, and his is job was keeping him there. Luckily, my internship secured me a staff position at a local hospital, so I moved in with him. I had spent summers here, so I knew the town fairly well. And my grandparents were close by.



I started my new job and was putting in a lot of hours at the hospital, but Emilio didn’t mind because we both worked days and could be together at night.



One day I got a phone call from Sophia, practically begging me if she could come visit. I’d only been married a couple of weeks and was in that phase where all you think about is your husband, so I was reluctant to have a house guest, even if it was my own sister. When I ran the idea past Emilio he told me he had a business trip coming up next week, and he thought it was great idea for me to have some company while he was gone. So I agreed to let Sophia visit for a few days, but wondered what her motive was.

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Emilio had left that morning for his trip. I was tidying up the living room, when I saw the cab pull up and my sister get out. Despite my earlier hesitations, it was great to see her. I ran out to meet her in the yard.



“So tell me what is so important that you had to come all this way,” I demanded, as I hugged her. “And why are you so fat?” I mocked.



“I hoped to tell you over lunch, or at least inside, but oh heck, I can’t wait! Kat, I’m pregnant!!”

“What?! Oh my gosh! Sofie, you’re going to be a mommy! I can’t believe it!"



"You’d better come in and sit down. I’ll fix you some tea, or anything you like!” I said, thinking I needed to make my expecting sister as comfortable as possible.

“How far along are you?” I asked, once we were inside.

“Well, the doctor says I’m about 4 months.”



“That far? But, you must have had your suspicions sooner. Like, around the time of my wedding.”

“I did, but you know how these things are. One can never be too cautious. I mean, pregnancy is so complicated. Plus, it was your big day Kat, and I couldn’t take that away from my baby sister.”

She was probably right about that. “So who else have you told?” I asked.



A look of shame crossed Sophia’s face. “You’re the last. I wanted you to be the first to know, I swear I did! But you were on your honeymoon, and I thought it would be better to wait and do it face to face. I hate that you live so far away now,” she said, scrunching up her face to make a point.



“I guess you’re right, I could never forgive you for dropping a bomb like that over the phone!”

“I can’t believe I’m going to be a mom! And you’ll be an auntie!” With that, we broke out into planning a baby shower and spent the rest of the day giggling over celebrity baby names.

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The lazy days of summer passed, and more good news was to come by mid fall. Kelli and Damion were finally getting married. They’d wanted to keep it simple and invited their closest friends and relatives to a small beach wedding.



I was thrilled to find out the Kelli and Damion were getting an apartment near the campus of Le Tour. They had liked the town so much they chose to stay for a couple of years, which meant that my best friend was only a short drive away from my house.

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By the New Year, I’d gotten promoted at work, which meant I was only working 3 days a week. It was nice to finally have some free time, but I was lonely when Emilio was at work. He’d gotten a promotion several months back at his investment firm, and was handling new accounts.

Sometimes, Kelli would come over to hang out, but I spent most of my time alone. Come spring, I’d learned to garden and was quite good at it.



I also met Heidi, a stray cat in our neighborhood. She used to mew and paw at the back door when I’d come home from work, so I started putting out food for her. I even bought her a mouse toy and before I knew it, Heidi had adopted me.



She always made me laugh, and it was nice to have the company when Emilio was at work.



Sophia had her little boy, Patrick, just in time for Valentine’s Day. She sent me an update every month and always included adorable pictures of her little family.





She’d cut off her long hair and said she felt more ‘mom-ish.’ Pete was a doting father, and had been thrilled to welcome a son to pass on his legacy. All of Sophia’s baby talk left me with a bad case of ‘baby-itis.’

In July, we’d been married for a year and Emilio booked a cruise for our anniversary. It was great to spend the whole week with my husband without work distractions, and the ocean was so relaxing.



Our first year as a married couple had been wonderful, but things were about to change, big time. You see, about a month after our trip I starting feeling nauseous on a daily basis, especially in the mornings…