Confined Four Years

Close to Perfection Parenting

~~~~~Julia~~~~~

            One night, a week after the ‘happy’ baby shower, while struggling to deal with heartburn, Julia waddled into the kitchen to get a glass of milk, hoping it would help. With a sigh, she placed her hand on the top of her stomach and thought about what she could do to help her children in the future. She moved to sit on the barstool at the bar. To tire herself out so she could go back to sleep, she grabbed her cellphone and pulled up information on heartburn related to pregnancy. For a while, she scrolled through the information, chuckling when she saw the wives-tale about heartburn and full heads of hair.

“Hm…” she mumbled as she continued to read through related stories. “It would be great if we compiled all this information into one website. Like a powerhouse of information for both veteran and new parents.”

            Since she got pregnant, most of the resources Julia found for parents spread out over several websites, often leading her to slow page load in times and all over the internet, which could get annoying for a mom looking for resources. She looked at yet another website and found people making recommendations for products to ease heartburn in pregnant women and startled at the extensive selection of natural heartburn relief. There were pillows to help prop up mommy so she could sleep, and successful aromatherapies most veteran parents would use to ease the nausea. The more she thought about how spread out the information was, the more she wanted to change it.

“You’re up late. Or, is it early?” His voice startled her, causing her to spin around to look at him as he checked his watch. “Heartburn again? Looking for some internet relief, maybe?”

“Yeah, but the information is spread out and a lot of the stuff women request to help does not exist. I…” Julia said while looking back down at her phone. “It would be great if all the weird products we needed could all be in one place.”

“What are you talking about?” He continued, leaning against the doorframe as he looked at her. “Do you want to test some products?”

“If possible. That way, I can make recommendations. I… think I will start a business based on the idea of helping people become better parents.” She said, lifting her head to meet his eyes. “And maybe, after the children are born, I can include resources, like toys, for them, as well.”

“Hm… there seems to be a need for that kind of business.” Marcus pulled out his phone while she spoke and started looking through the information. “What would you call something like that?”

            She fell silent when she realized her dream and stared at Marcus with widened eyes. When she thought about this, her heart swelled and she knew she found her calling. With a technical degree from college and business smarts from her childhood, she could manage an entire company based on something she knew she would love. Being a parent. From the day she found out she was pregnant; she loved her babies when she thought there would only be one. With her dream in place now, it made her feel all the more love for the children she carried. This feeling welled within her until a smile split her lips.

            With that decision came another. Marcus was right, a company like that would need a catchy name to hook people. The biggest aspect would be: helping both new and veteran parents become better than they thought without sounding preachy or rude. It should also be a business that is as inclusive as possible since there are so many kinds of parents. There are a lot of things to think about, but thinking about the base of the business, she tilted her head to the side. For now, it is only a dream, but with her technical knowledge, she knew she could make it a reality. To top it off, she would not need a corporate office to get started, just a few start-up costs.

“How about… ‘Close to Perfection Parenting’ for the name?” She wondered aloud, her attention turning back to Marcus. “It can be an online store and blog site based around supplies and information to help new and veteran parents find all the stuff they need in one place.”

“I’ll fund it. Use the experience you got from college to build the website and gather information and supplies and I will invest in it.” He stated, crossing his arms. “Don’t tell anyone in our family about it, though. If they find out, they will try to take over it. For the legal address for the business, list it as the address for the vacation home I own at the beach our parents do not know of.”

“But…” she started, but he shook his head no.

“Trust me, I am saving your hide. What do you think they would do if they knew you started up a business when you’re supposed to play the part of mommy?” Marcus countered, his dark eyes flickering with slight awe. “They could even use it to blackmail you more. I have to say, though… I’m impressed you came up with this in one night.”

            That was not true, she thought, shaking her head. Julia often thought something along those lines when going through the different stages of her pregnancy. Luckily, it would not be hard to include information from the first trimester since she kept a pregnancy journal. With the milk from the night not helping abate her heartburn, she walked into the study and took a seat at her laptop with Marcus in tow. After opening the computer, she immediately pulled up several websites she used before and compiled the information before building the website from the ground up. It may take a few days to get it off the ground, but she felt she reached the finish line.

***

            Pain engulfed Julia, emanating from her lower back all the way through the rest of her body. She reached for her cellphone on the table next to her and made two phone calls. One to the emergency line to let them know she needed transportation to the hospital, the other she did not expect to connect. Julia counted the time between her contractions and paled as they got closer together. As the phone ran in her hands, she did her best to control her breathing when the phone clicked, meaning the call connected. She almost dropped the phone when she heard his short greeting before silence met her ears.

“Marcus…” she inhaled through her nose before exhaling softly. “It’s time.”

“Understood.” He replied with no hesitation. “I’m on my way.”

“I… called the service… ambulance is coming…” Julia gritted her teeth against the pain as she spoke, her voice sounding muffled.

            The service was a business which catered to pregnant mothers who led busy lives. As a business owner, she was definitely busy, but her husband was not home often either. That was the primary concern when she got closer to her due date. If she went into labor while he was at work, and waited for the regular ambulance, it would be fifteen to twenty minutes and who knew what could happen before they would finally get there. She and Marcus both agreed this was the best course of action to take, especially with the dangers twin’s face. They did not want to take any risks with either her safety or the babies.

            She made her way over to the door when she heard a knock. As soon as she reached thirty weeks, she would occasionally have false contractions. Over time, she grew used to them, but the ones she experienced now were almost unbearable. As another wave of pain washed over her, she leaned against the doorframe at the front door, unable to move to open it. She thought she was fortunate in not to have her water break yet, but was sure it would happen at any moment. A knock sounded on the door again, drawing her from the pain, and she opened it.

“Mrs. Thomas, we have a stretcher here for you.” The man said, pulling the stretcher through the door and helping her onto it. “We also contacted your husband to let him know we made it.”

            Though she bobbed her head in agreement, her brain could barely keep up with the conversation because of the pain. Nothing online could have prepared her for it to be so all-consuming like this, she thought, trying to keep her breathing even through the pain. All she could think about was getting the children out of her as soon as possible. She knew the moment she held them, she would regret nothing, but until then, all she could focus on was the pain. The city outside the ambulance passed her in a blur as she tried to stay calm. Soon, she could hold her babies, she thought, reminding herself of the future kids’ smiles. It would be worth it.

***

            Two perfectly healthy babies slept happily on her chest with the same dark-colored hair as their father. All ten fingers and toes were in place; their tiny lungs worked wonderfully, and it was love. Of course, Marcus’s and Julia’s parents all came out to meet their grandchildren, but when they asked to hold them, Julia asked them to leave. She did not like the people who forced her to become a mother, but she knew she would have to let them at some point. She glanced over at Marcus, whose eyes were on the children, with an expression of disbelief. It was as though he did not believe they were finally here. She pulled out her phone to add a new post to her website about the struggles of a twin pregnancy labor.

“They’re so… little.” He mumbled as he stood to walk closer to the bed. “And they look just like you.”

“They have your hair. The doctor said their eye color could change as they age, which is fine, but I think they have pretty eyes, too.” She replied, kissing the tops of both of their heads. “Sorry, I asked your parents to leave, as well. I could not handle the stress of those four being here today.”

“If you did not send them away, I planned to. What right do they have to come here demanding to see the twins?” Marcus’s face contorted into an angry frown. “After all the s**t… sorry, crap, they pulled. It is just not right.”

“Thank you…” Julia whispered as Madison stirred from her sleep, a tiny wail leaving her. “Ah, Maddy, don’t be angry. I have some food for you right here.”

            Julia relaxed against the bed to feed Madison, watching as Mason continued to sleep; his little, round face made her heart clench as she looked down at him. They were so adorable. She never wanted to let go, she thought as she shifted on the bed, her arms supporting their weight. The sense of responsibility and love filling her chest made her tighten her grip on her twins. For the first time in her life, she realized again just how much children could inspire adults to become better people. It was because of her pregnancy with the twins she found her dream, after all.

            Close to Perfection Parenting, something which started as a dream with no proper shape, took form and was gaining traction with expectant and veteran parents, just as she hoped it would. Reviews trickled in from those parents who found the site easy to use when busy with children, or expectant parents who were dealing with the different stages of pregnancy. Julia was careful about revealing who she was, since she never knew if one of her followers was in contact with her parents, but she even included information about carrying twins. Thanks to Marcus’s connections, she gained partnerships with developers and creators to create new products women would find useful.

“Something good happen?” Marcus asked as he lifted a sleeping Madison from her arms.

“Yeah, my business doubled in sales since I posted about the twins.” She countered turning the phone towards him. “Pretty soon, I’ll be making more money than you.”