Beauty where there's pain

Chapter 14

The days leading up to the baby shower were absolutely hectic. Jade wanted to make sure that every detail was perfect and the pressure stressed her out. "Opal, that centerpiece looks horrific. The flowers are supposed to go in the center!" Jade told her little sister. The 13 year old rolled her eyes and took everything apart before starting over. Max, despite being extremely crafty, was surprisingly not good at making the centerpieces so Jade put her in charge of organizing the silverware and plates.

Marcus was pretty much left out of decorating for the baby shower and was really only called to do errands for everyone who was decorating. He had just gotten back to Jade with the pink and gold fake flowers she asked him to get. As soon as he gave them to her, his mom asked him to pick up light pink balloons.

The day of the baby shower was much better and way easier. Everything was set up hours in advance and Jade was able to go to her makeup and hair appointment on time. She wore a white jumpsuit with the belly sash that her mom and Ellen made for her.

Marcus wore a white dress shirt and pink tuxedo pants. His mom gave him the "daddy to be" badge that was made for him to wear.

Almost everybody in both Jade and Marcus's families came to the baby shower, along with Jade and Marcus's friends.

Jade got complements on how great her outfit was while Marcus's friends joked about his pull-out game. While opening presents, Marcus had to pretend that he knew what each device was for. He had no idea that there were things that warmed baby wipes until that day.

Max and Opal were in charge of organizing the baby shower games. The first game was guessing how round Jade's baby bump was, and the twins yia-yia guessed the answer effortlessly. The next game was baby bag bingo, and the game right after that was called "guess who, mommy or daddy?" Where people had to guess who, between Jade and Marcus, did what during the pregnancy. Marcus didn't really understand what was so damn exciting about the games until he found out people were getting prizes for winning, and they were not just any ordinary prizes, they were CASH prizes. If he was able to play the games he definitely would.

Towards the end of the baby shower, every person in the room who had a child all provided Jade and Marcus advice. "No matter how- much this child annoys you, and trust me she will, be patient with her and show her love." Jade's aunt told them. "Make sure that if you get into fights, you don't fight in front of your little girl. She is going to pick up on what she is exposed to." Marcus's nana told them. The rest of the advice given to them just told them to pace themselves and work with each other and not against each other.

After the baby shower, when Marcus and Max got home, Marcus immediately took the baby car seat that his aunt got him to use out of the box it came in. He and Jade both received matching pink car seats for their daughter. Marcus tried assembling it but because he doesn't properly follow instructions, the car seat ended up looking a hot mess so he had to Star all over again. When it was finally done correctly, he installed it in his and Max's shared car they got for their 16th birthday. He didn't have a license yet and he couldn't get one until his concussion was 100% healed, which would most likely be confirmed at his next CT scan, and he had to complete 3 mandatory drivers classes because of his accident.

Jade absolutely adored the many outfits that she got for the baby. Her favorite new baby outfit was a Burberry jacket and skirt set. The baby also got a golden bracelet that would have her initials carved into after she was born. Jade was able to get all of the outfits she wanted her daughter to wear at the hospital packed into her hospital bed.