I had never felt so out of balanced, like my life was about to hit a wall, and I would scramble to find a way out of the mess. Then again, the wise people would tell me what I was going through and feeling at the moment was a thing called marriage.
Chapter 17
Drake
It was half past five in the late afternoon when my parents announced we were dining out in an hour somewhere in town. They both loved to walk around and see the menus before deciding where to dine. I supposed those two fancied seafood. They always did on their first night there.
“Lil? Are you awake?” I whispered softly upon entering the room. The dark surroundings were only illuminated by the last rays of the sunset, giving me a glimpse of her small frame still fast asleep atop the bed with her clothes on from earlier. It seemed she had simply taken her shoes off without bothering to pull the sheets over her body before taking a nap.
Had I known she was that exhausted, I would have left her alone. I was sure the tense strain and the whole pregnancy was weighing heavily on her. I so wished I could be a part of it, share the joy of the impending parenthood we had been unfortunately robbed of months ago.
Stepping closer, I carefully sat at the foot of the bed, watching her breathe and sleep like an angel. She looked unbelievably delicate as she placed a hand over her small bump. My hand instantly clenched from trying to fight the urge to touch the growing baby. Maybe tonight she will let me, I thought with a heavy heart before finally realizing I best wake her before I thought of something that might widen the rift between us, like wanting to kiss her or touch her. It had been so long since the last time … So long, in fact, I could barely remember what it was to be touched by her.
“Lily…” I said her name a tad louder this time around. When she still didn’t wake, much to my eager hand’s joy, I gently reached out to touch her leg, shaking her slowly. “My parents would like to head out to eat.”
She groaned almost immediately, mumbling something I couldn’t decipher.
“Sorry, what were you saying?”
With her eyes closed, she raised an arm to cover them before saying, “Could you tell your parents I’ll meet them at the restaurant? You can go with them. It’ll take me a few minutes to get out of bed.”
“Go back to sleep. We can dine whenever you’re ready.” Regretfully, I got to my feet before slipping out of the room as quietly as possible.
I remembered a prior conversation between Mom and Lily about how drained she had been getting lately, stating she could sleep all day if possible. Little bits of information such as that I had to hear her say to other people. Granted, my mother wasn’t just any other people, but still, I had no idea what she was going through apart from the pieces she told me or the ones I overheard her tell someone. It was sad, and the more I pondered it, the more intense the sadness weighed on me.
Thinking of happy thoughts, I strolled towards the living room where both of my parents were enjoying cocktails, both dressed and set to leave whenever.
“Lily’s exhausted from the trip. How about you two go along without us? Maybe she and I can go somewhere tonight if she does wake.”
My mom instantly appeared concerned. “Poor thing. As much as we’re overjoyed that she’s expecting, it’s obvious the baby is straining her body.”
Father made an acknowledging nod, thinking the same. “She does look paler than usual. Maybe this vacation is what we all needed, after all.”
“She does, doesn’t she?” my mother reiterated, rather grimly. “Hannah had the same problem, if you recall, when she was pregnant with Lily. I suppose it runs in the family.”
I had no idea that some women were more prone to being sick or exhausted while pregnant. It was naïve of me to think that most pregnancies should technically be the same, though they varied.
“I’ll take care of her, guys. Stop fretting and go have dinner, yeah?” I had never dared to shoo my parents away, but that evening, I was doing exactly that.
My mother caught me off guard by placing a kiss on my cheek before embracing me with her whole heart. “I’m proud of you, sweetie. I just want you to know that.” She seemed a bit teary-eyed, leaving me perplexed at her sudden sentiment. “I can see there’s something going on between you two. You both don’t look at each other like you lovebirds used to, and that worries me. Whatever it is, Drake, you must put your pride aside, because your wife is pregnant. I know it’s hard, and she might get on your last nerve most of the time like I did with your father when pregnant with you, but try to exercise patience as much as possible. It’s not easy to carry a life within your body, you know?”