Grace's POV
I couldn't help but giggle at the extreme effort my mom had gone through with decorating the house. Snowmen, penguins, little Santas and trees, elves and almost every other kind of Christmas decorations were thoughtfully placed in strategic places around the house.
I entered the lounge and a wave of heat hit me from the glowing fireplace. Above the fireplace were our stockings. They were the ones we'd had since I was a kid, slightly grimy but very nostalgic. Chester's newer one was there too, from the last Christmas and right on the end of the row, was Sophie's stocking, brand new with a picture of Olaf on it. I smiled at the sweet gesture.
"Sophie!" I called out. "Come check out your stocking."
She came bounding in, holding my mom's fingers in her tiny little hand. I bent down to her level.
"Look who it is." I pointed up at her stocking and she gave a little gasp.
"It's Olaf!" She giggled and jumped with excitement, grabbing my hand with her free hand.
"You told me how much you like him and I wanted your stocking to be special for you." My mom grinned with satisfaction at the great reaction she got. She looked at me, with one of her heart melting smiles. She really loved her granddaughter.
"Gracie, I missed you so much." My mom reached out for a hug, but I shook my head and her face dropped with slight disappointment. I couldn't risk my bump getting in the way. I didn't want her to know yet. Christmas was in two days and I would tell her then. Instead, I kissed her cheek.
"I missed you too, Mom." I grinned. "Would you mind if Ches and I went out for an hour or two?" I paused, looking down at Sophie who was marvelling at all the snow globes on the mantlepiece. "Present shopping." I mouthed and she nodded understandingly.
"I'll watch Sophie." Sophie's head swivelled at the mention of her name. "We'll do some baking."
"Yay!" Sophie shrieked. I went over and kissed her forehead and whispered in her ear.
"Remember, don't talk about the baby. It's our little secret." Sophie nodded rapidly.
I waved and walked to the front door, where Chester and Tim were chatting about music. I rolled my eyes comically.
"Come on nerds. Ches and I have errands to run." I grabbed my coat and put it on. Chester did the same with his and we made our way to the car.
"Have fun." Tim called out sarcastically, with a small smile on his face.
Chester's POV
The two of us arrived at the mall to collect the toy that we had reserved for Sophie. We had called in advance to ask for the shop to keep one of their realistic baby dolls aside for us. Grace and I thought it might be a nice idea for Sophie to get to look after her own baby when Grace had hers.
I walked Grace to the shop and she went to the counter to speak to a sales assistant, whilst I walked around the aisles. I stopped and something caught my eye. The baby aisle. I strolled down and felt completely and utterly excited by the things that we would soon be buying. I picked up one little baby grow. It was tiny and plain white with a little teddy bear on the front. I couldn't imagine any human being small enough to fit in it.
Suddenly I heard Grace scream. "Holy shit!" She yelled from the counter. Panic surged through my body and I ran over to see her clutching her stomach.
"Grace, what is it? What's wrong?" I spoke quickly, spitting the words out as fast as I could.
She looked up at me, her face filled with wonder and surprise. "The baby kicked."
"You had me worried for a sec." I breathed a sigh of relief and placed one hand on her stomach, which housed my unborn child. I felt something move slight. "Oh my god, I felt it!"
"It's the weirdest feeling, but I love it." She beamed. Just then, the sales assistant came in, with the box containing the doll.
"Is everything okay? I heard someone scream." He frowned slightly.
"We're good thanks." I grinned and Grace looked at me, holding in her laughter.
It was magical to see her so happy and enthusiastic. She was glowing with beauty and I loved her more than I had ever loved her. She was perfect.
