Corporate Babies - Leah

Chapter 3

We made it our favorite little coffee shop, Rosebud Café. The cute little Rose bushes that sit either side of the entrance and surround the terrace give it its name sake. The terrace is our favorite area because of the wooden tables, chairs, and table umbrellas, which makes it so quant and peaceful. The inside is adorable, too, with its pastal colors with roses on all the decor.

I figured out really quickly that the smell of coffee is making me nauseous, after sitting inside when we first got here and almost puking a couple of times, Olivia and i decide to cut the torture short and move outside so after arranging with the waiter, and luckily a table became available just then, we are now enjoying the fresh air.

We are sitting at a round table that has two seats that are facing the duck pond. I didn't mention that earlier, did I? as i said, peaceful. There is a single rose that still hasn't bloomed yet in a vase, and next to it is the menu. Obviously, it is how the cafe got its name.

The single rose bud is so beautiful in its simplicity that it makes me take a deep breath and relax a little. We are sitting down at the table and are looking at the little menu.

I look up at Olivia, see shes already looking back at me and roll my eyes and ask her "Why are you looking at the menu, you don't have to change your poison of choice" she looks at me confused then understand drawns then she pouts at me clearly moking me "Awww poor baby" I pull my tongue out at her just as the waiter walks to our table.

"Welcome to the Rosebud café, what can i get you two lovely ladies today?" I lower my head to hide my blush, but Olivia gives the poor guy her award winning killer smile."I would love a cappuccino, please?" He winks at her as he writes down her order down onto his notepad.

"What would you say about the toffee cocoa milkshake?" I read the name off the menu then look up at him with a smile, he places the pen to his mouth and looks like he's thinking, this guy is fun "That's an excellent choice for expectant moms"

I almost break my neck with a double take, and he must have seen the shock in my eyes because he laughs. i mean, i mean, i can't be showing yet, right? I just confirmed it today, is there a look or even a glow women give off after finding out that they're pregnant.

Im about to ask him all of these questions when he points to the brochure that was given to me by the receptionist at the doctors rooms. Oh my, don't i feel stupid, I can feel a blush coming on, and so i giggle "Geez that wasn't funny. I thought i was somehow showing already." To cover up my embarrassment and at this point, Olivia is laughing until she has tears running down her face.

I kick her under the table to get her to stop, and then I turn back to our waiter, but obviously, seeing how embarrassed I am, winks at me, then leaves us to go put our order through.

The brochures are the do and don'ts for pregnant women, it states that coffee is a no-no, which made my teary for a few minutes, im not going to lie, so there i was right in the docs rooms, tearing up like a baby but strangely enough nobody battered an eye, they must see it all the time i guess.

"So, obviously, the two A's are off the table, so the option that is left option C which means that you’re keeping it?" Olivia anounces bringing me back the present, she must mean that the A's I'm assuming is abortion and adoption so I nod, she gives me a huge relieved smile "I'm so relieved and excited, I mean I couldn't say anything until you made up your mind but I was hoping for this outcome!" I give her a small smile. That was my first decision regarding little peanut, and it felt like the right one.

I am so thankful when my milkshake is placed before me, and I take a moment to take a sip it before I reply to her. Before the words can leave my mouth, the taste of the milkshake registers. "Oh my gosh, this is amazing! Want a sip?"

Before she can decline i offer her my straw hoping to distract her from her train of thoughts, she stunned for a minute before she looks at me like I offered to kill a kitten "not on your life, this right here is my life's nectar, it's not good for your health to come between me and my first cup of the day"

She gives the cup in her hand a what I would call a come to mommy look, then takes a long sip of her cappuccino. Usually, I would be right there with her looking and saying the same thing, but now it upsets my tummy and causes nausea. Apparently, baby doesn't like it, sigh.

"I am glad that step one is done so now I can concentrate on accepting the fact that I'm pregnant and making plans for the future but did that doctor's visit feel a bit rushed to you? " Olivia nods and lookslike shes in deep thought."She's always on call, so she's always so rushed. "

Olivia is about to say something else but pauses as the waiter comes back with a pen and his writing pad. "What would you ladies like to eat?" We've been here so much that Olivia doesn't even look at the menu, "Please can we have the french toast with bacon and syrup?" She orders for me, but my fingers are under the table crossed, hoping the baby likes it. He gives her a wink "Sure no problem. "

We watch him walk away, i have to admit i love to watch him walk away if you know what i mean, Olivia smirks when she notices where my gaze was "I have to ask, just know you dont have to tell me if you dont want to but what about the dad? Are you going to try to find him, or are you going to leave it up to fate?"

It's a valid question, one I've thought of myself many times over the past week "I'm going to make the effort to find him. If I don't actually succeed then I can officially say that I’ve tried, " I say and she nod like she agrees with me, I also realize that I just made up my mind in that second and made another decisionfor my baby and i, hey im on a roll.

"So we accomplished step one, what’s step two?" I ask, she turns her head to the side like a dog, brings a finger and a thumb to her chin and thinks, this is her thinking face which i find adorable but i wont tell her that "Nothing much we can do, you need to take your vitamins, eat healthy and take regular walks around the apartment, because knowing you, you'll never make it around the block"

I try be insulted but unfortunately i cant be because it's true "You're early into your pregnancy so It's way too early to tell anyone, fix up a nursery, buy baby things, buy pregnancy outfits and so on" she counts everything off on her fingers and they come to her "So all you need to do is come to terms with the idea and try reach out to the baby daddy"

I sit there and nod, i perk up once again when I see our waiter with our brunch, gish but im hungry, we stay quiet as he places the food down in front of us, "thank you" we say but are too focus on our food to look at him, surprisingly even Olivia didn't flirt with him, he walks away, disappointed i imagine.

After a moment of silence while we eat our yummy breakfast, the baby liking it at least, "What are you hoping for? the gender I mean” she asks after taking swollowing the mouth full of food. The question gives me pause, and I take a sip of my almost empty drink, giving myself time to think about the answer.

"At this point, I want healthy baby, maybe after the scans and everything I will hope for a boy or girl, and you?" she ponders this for a few bites then replies "I think I want it to be a little girl, skirts and bows, but wait, also a little man, that can wear teeny tiny suits, that would be so cute" she sighs and I laugh at her but then fall into a comfortable silence and leave her to thoughts of baby clothing while I enjoy my food.

**********

It was a long month full of searching, emailing, and phoning around for any idea of who my mystery sperm donor may be but to no avail. I don't know if I am disappointed or relieved that i didn't find anything. I mean, it's a little humiliating coming to your one night stand with this kind of surprise.

But i am Honor bond to tell the baby daddy, making me feel like I was hiding something from someone I don't even know, which was a strange feeling I must admit but at least I could officially say that I had tried.

I even contacted the event planning agency that planned the party of that fateful night, I wanted to see if i could get a copy of the guest list. They informed me that due to privacy laws, that wouldn't be possible. I faced the same results at each attempt. Eventually, i gave up. I changed my lifestyle too, like i changed my meal plans, had my vitamins every day, and even went on daily walks, i know im surprised, too.

A few more weeks went by, and It was finally time for my first sonar appointment . Well, we were in for a huge surprise. We had planned the appointment in the afternoon because both Olivia and i like to work in the morning, it was too early to find out the gender but the doctor can do a sonar and listen to the heart beat.

Here I am, lying on the bench in the exam room. Yes, we finally made it into those exam rooms, while Dr. Layton does the internal scan. This isn’t as fun as I thought it would be, but then a 'ba-doom' comes over the speaker, and we're both are dumb struck and instantly in love, that was the best sound in the whole world.

Dr. Layton has a serious look on her face, and my heart instantly drops. "Dr. Layton Is there a problem?" I try to keep the shakiness out of my voice, she looks up from the screen to look at me "Congratulations mommy both babyies heartbeats are very strong. "

My first reaction was to be relieved that the heartbeat was strong, but then the penny dropped, and i became so shocked that the appointment became a blur after that. After the same questions and answers and recommendations, we leave in a daze.

We landed up at the same coffee shop, Rosebud Café, sat at the same table and ordered the same drinks. We slowly came out of the trans as we were drinking our drinks “Well, all I can say is, Oh s**t!” Olivia suddenly breaks the silence.

I burst out with a hiccup giggle because that basically sums up the situation nicely, we look at each other and then just burst into hysterical laughter - the people next to us give us funny looks. “Well, look at it this way, we won’t have to fight over who holds the baby” I say, trying to find the silver lining.

We look at each other, then burst out laughing again, a little more normal this time, and I know with her there, we’ll be fine. Well, we have to be because this isn’t a time where we can emotionally lose it, “So what do you want the babies to be? Now that we know that they are at least on track growth wise” I think for a bit and then I smile “I think I want one of each, a little boy and a little girl, hey then you don’t have to choose between a bow and a suit or a cute frilly dress for them”

An excited look comes over her facial features and she claps her hands, “Now you're talking my language” we just sit there staring at each other and then finally we both just have huge smiles on our faces.

I eventually had to break the news to my clients about my condition and they were all surprisingly accepting, well some of the older, male clients had a bit of a put out look, that was until I explained that I will organize a replacement and then I’ll be back before they could blink, they seemed to be reassured.

I had an interested potential new client from a big firm contact me to organize a meeting to discuss terms and that would be my last official business obligation before my maternity leave, I need to make sure that I had everything set up and ready, luckily it was for next month so I had plenty of time to prepare.