Although Kiara was feeling exhausted, she still enjoyed the time spent with Jeremy at the mall, shopping away. They had a list of things which Sharon and Aletha had advised them were necessities for a new-born, and Kiara was picking all white for the clothes.
"You want her to always wear white? Only white?" Jeremy asked with a frown.
"Her? Who told you that it's a girl?" Kiara frowned back and they both burst out laughing.
"You know what Jeremy; we made an error. We were supposed to have the gender reveal first, and then we would know what to buy."
"True that. But we're new parents, we can be forgiven for making this small mistake," he laughed. "We aren't buying a lot anyway. Today we just need the basics from that list which our mothers gave us. And some staff for you."
"I don't need much," Kiara shrugged her shoulders.
"Yes you do," Jeremy pinched her cheek.
"No Jeremy! I've told you countless times to stop pinching my cheeks. I am a grown woman. You do that to babies, not to expectant mothers!"
"I'll try to remember that," he laughed.
"Jeremy look at that little dress. That one with white lace. Isn't it the cutest little dress ever?"
"White…white…white. We've bought enough white items already. And besides, it's a little dress, Kiara! A dress! What if we get a boy?"
"It was you who planted this idea in me. You always refer to our child as a girl."
They went into one maternity shop and bought a lot of items that Kiara would use at the hospital.
"What a lovely couple," a young lady commented to her friend when she saw the two walking hand in hand.
It was after a long while of walking up and down the mall, from one shop to the other; that Kiara stated that she was hungry and about to faint.
"About to faint? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Jeremy was surprised.
"I don't know. I can't decide what to eat, that's why it took me this long to talk about having something to eat."
Swiftly, Jeremy led her to the nearest eating place and made her sit at the table. They placed their orders and waited.
"Oh, my tummy, my tummy!" Kiara winced.
Alarmed, Jeremy jumped off his chair and held his girlfriend.
"Are you OK? Do you think we must call an ambulance? Is the baby coming?" he asked a million questions in the fraction of a second.
Kiara burst out laughing before saying, "I got you! I just wanted to see how you were going to react."
Jeremy sighed and took his seat.
"It's not funny, Kiara. I panicked so bad' I thought the child was already coming out." He wiped his brow using the back of his hand.
"You're sweating?" Kiara laughed again. "You get scared too easily!"
"No Kiara. The arrival of the baby is not a small matter. Please don't joke about it."
"I will joke about it!" Kiara teased.
Their food was soon served, and they ate while chatting happily.
"Nesisa said having a newborn in the house is not easy," she updated Jeremy.
"I can't imagine how it will be like. But we do have both our mothers nearby. If the worst comes to the worst, we know they always got our backs."
Kiara tossed the fork in her hand and said, "I really don't want your mum to be bothered by us anymore. She has done enough."
"She has done more than enough," Jeremy agreed.
"Which means we will need to learn how to take care of our baby, and not bother her."
"I'm sure she wouldn't take it as a bother," Jeremy said.
"I know. It's just that, she really deserves to be pampered too. We must plan to take her to a spa so that she knows we appreciate her. I know a spa which is offering services at discounted prices. I'm booking a spot for mum tomorrow."
"Thank you. That's very sweet of you."
The two took a very long time munching on their food, and when they were done, they stood up and walked hand in hand towards their car.
Jeremy opened the door for Kiara but when she tried to get in, she winced and said, "my back!"
"No I'm not buying that anymore," Jeremy ignored her and walked off.
"I'm serious this time," she said in a whisper.
Thinking that she was still fooling around, Jeremy walked around the car and took the driver's seat.
"You cannot trick me again," he laughed. "Get in the car Kiara, why are you still standing there?"
"Honestly Jeremy, I can hardly lift my leg. I am in…in pain; ouch!"
"You're a great actress," Jeremy began to fasten his seat belt.
"Jeremy, please…" her voice was shaky.
"Kiara? Is this still one of your jokes?"
"Jeremy, my back!"
At that moment, the tone of her voice and the way in which she stood clearly showed that she was past the teasing stage. She meant what she was saying.
"Are you being serious?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. Quickly he unfastened his belt and ran around the car to assist his lady.
"My back!" was all she said.
Jeremy ran back and quickly helped his girlfriend into the car, and he began to panic.
"Should I drive to the hospital?"
"No Jeremy, just take me home. I need to rest, I think I walked too much today while shopping," she said.
Jeremy drove at a high speed, and when they got home he updated his mother. Breathing heavily, the young man left no detail as he asked his mother whether it was necessary to go to the hospital or not.
"Let me take a look at her, my dear. I also think she is just tired." Sharon went to check on Kiara and according to her own assessment as an elderly woman, she concluded that Kiara was just exhausted.
She advised the younger lady to take a shower while she prepared some mushroom soup for her. Kiara was seated in bed when Sharon brought the soup. Sharon made sure that the younger woman was comfortable before she left the room.
Alone in her room, Kiara lay down and before long, she was fast asleep.
When Jeremy came in, he found her sleeping diagonally on the bed, taking up all the space, snoring away. Not wanting to wake her up, he simply made himself comfortable on the floor. Right there on the floor, he put some old sofa cushions, covered them with a thick blanket and he too was soon fast asleep.
Kiara woke up to a soft knock on her door. It was a national holiday, and since Sharon had previously mentioned that there was going to be a church service on the same day, Kiara thought it was obviously Jeremy who was knocking.
"Stop knocking and just come in!" she called out jokingly.
"Good morning. May I come in?" Sharon peeped in.
"Oh very sorry mum. Good morning. I thought it was Jeremy knocking. Please do come in, mum," she responded.
Sharon giggled and walked in, holding a tray in her hands.
"You will love this herbal tea, it's therapeutic. Here, I hope you will enjoy it. It's safe to take even during pregnancy."
"Thank you mum," Kiara sat up and received the tray. "Are you not going to church today, mum?" she asked.
"I'm back already. It was a very short service running from 7 to 9AM."
"What! You're back from church already? What time is it?" Kiara snatched her phone from the sideboard and looked at the screen. "Oh my! It's almost 11AM! I cannot believe I slept this much!!"
Sharon chuckled as she saw how shocked Kiara was. "I told Jeremy to let you sleep. You need the rest my dear."
Kiara smiled to herself, wondering what she had ever done to deserve Sharon in her life.
"I needed to ask you something, Kiara," the woman said.
Kiara was already sipping on her tea, so she put the cup down and listened attentively.
"Is Jeremy taking good care of you?"she asked.
"Yes mum, he is. Why would you ask?"
"He told me that when you told him initially that your back was hurting, he ignored you…"
"Oh that! It was all my fault, mum. I always joke around saying I am in pain, so when I was truly in pain, he thought it was one of my old jokes," she explained.
"Is that so?" the lady said after a while. "You and Jeremy are both young. He might fail to stand up to his duties to both you and the child. If you feel that he is not doing anything you expect, you can talk to me. Jeremy is my son and I can always help you."
"Thank you very much mum," she smiled.
Sharon went on to talk a lot of sweet things, assuring Kiara that if she ever needed anything, she, Sharon, was more than willing to assist.
*.*.*.
Dear Kimmy
Is it normal to feel closer to another woman more than one's own biological mother? Why does it feel like Mrs Rain loves me much more than my own mother does? Oh, she is very sweet and loving to me, and I love her very very much. She will go out of her way to make me happy.
Today we spent about two hours talking, just the two of us. And today I did something that I am proud of. I made a booking at the Sweet Scent Spar. I am paying for her to go there and be treated very well. I booked their best package. My dear Mrs Rain will need a massage, and she will have to be well taken care of. She must be spoiled. I may not have much money but for her, I can surely sacrifice.
Dear Kimmy, I love Mrs Rain with my whole heart. She has shown me nothing but pure love since day one.
I'm beginning to think that if I get a girl, I might name her Sharon. Her name shall be Sharon. I will tell Jeremy about this. Sharon Anesu Rain; what a beautiful name…