***
The kids no longer had to go to before and after school care when they were staying with us. Bryce had arranged for Danny to drive them to school and pick them up whenever I couldn’t. At first this bothered me a little, because Danny never signed up to chauffer my children to and from school. But he never complained, and both he and the kids seemed to get along really well, high fives being a regular thing between them all now.
Nate, the typical nine-year-old boy that he was, had requested they be driven to school in the limousine—my response having been, ‘in your dreams, bucko’. Yes, having a limousine at our disposal was convenient and...well...let’s be honest, really cool. However, I didn’t want that particular privilege adding any more unwanted attention to my children’s lives. Rumours of my relationship with the illustrious Mr. Bryce Clark were circulating our small community thanks to the bitchiness that were the ‘Mummy Mafia’ at school. And because of this, Nate and Charli had been the target of some negative and truly horrid taunting from kids in the playground. I hated to admit it, but apparently the troll-gene—that some parents seem to possess—was passed down a generation to their children.
When Nate had requested being chauffer driven, I’d noticed Bryce give him a wink shortly after I had said ‘no’, which made me think that he and my son were in cahoots about the whole thing behind my back. Being undermined where my children were concerned was definitely a big no-no in my books. But, as Nate and Bryce had been getting along really well, I was willing to let some things slide. It was just such a relief seeing my son interact in a positive way with Bryce, as I could have sworn Nate would have hated the idea of another man being in my life—being a massive Mummy’s boy and all. Surprisingly, Nate had acted quite the opposite and had really taken a liking to him. Maybe it was because he could see just how much Bryce loved me, but at the same time, I was not forgetting about that thing Bryce had plenty of—money. I’d really like to think it had nothing to do with the money, but in saying that, kids would be kids and I honestly couldn’t rule it out.
Charli-Bear, had adapted to our entire situation a lot slower than Nate. But again, she was accepting it really well and had even asked me if one day she would refer to Bryce as her second Dad. My answer to that was, ‘one day, if you would like to, but for now just call him Bryce.’ Second dads, step children, new babies, long lost half-brothers—it was all just happening a bit too fast.
***
I had woken up early this particular morning and had made my way out of bed before Bryce—which never happened. It must’ve had something to do with my body preparing for when I would be required to be awake for feeding, and the times I would then be recouping those lost hours of sleep. It was either that, or I was just simply excited that in a few hours I would be seeing Nate and Charli again.
I decided that as I was awake before Bryce—and that it was, in fact, a rarity—I would make him breakfast for once. The problem with that idea was that I prayed to God I’d be able to keep the contents of my stomach exactly where they should be—in my stomach. Having a heightened sense of smell was definitely not one of my favourite perks of pregnancy. Touch...yes. Smell...no.
I swear I had developed superhuman smelling abilities, and unfortunately, most of the scents I picked up on sent my tummy into a state of nausea. A client had come into the foyer the other day, and straight away I could smell onions. I must have resembled a Customs Sniffer-dog, sticking my nose in the air as he walked in and practically giving the poor man an interrogation as to where the onion smell was coming from. Mr. Onions had quickly revealed that he’d eaten a salad roll containing them for lunch, and I’m guessing he’d hoped that his confession was enough for me to drop the questioning. It was. But, as soon as he entered Bryce’s office, I’d had no choice but to run to the bathroom, only to be greeted with my half-digested morning tea. Oh, hello banana and hot white chocolate, nice to see you again. Urgh!
My plans for breakfast were to cook Bryce some bacon and eggs with a fruit salad as a side. Cooking this particular meal could prove to be a risky move as eggs were definitely a vomit-express trigger, but I knew he loved his eggs for breakfast, so I was willing to take that gamble.
I decided I would have a little work out on the gym set before breakfast. I hadn’t exercised in such a long time, and quite frankly I felt very blah, tight, and sore. Working out during pregnancy was perfectly safe, and I knew from my past experience that moderate exercise early on in your pregnancy could be extremely beneficial, not only for weight control but also for mobility and the prevention aches and pain.