Another Reason to Love

chapter 22

Lauren's back ached as she laid in the king-size bed she shared with Camila. Even with an abundance of pillows, propped in just the right places, she was uncomfortable. She'd be this way for the past month. Thankfully, the baby was due in two weeks. She didn't think she could make it any longer.

The bed had become a familiar place for Lauren over the past couple of weeks. At her latest doctor's appointment, the doctor had suggested she take a break from work and try not to move around much. He seemed to be worried that their baby girl might make an early appearance if Lauren kept moving around like normal.

It had been quite depressing for Lauren, so she was thrilled when Camila told her that she thought it would be okay to attend the baby shower that Dinah, Normani, and Ally had planned for this afternoon. They had moved the location from Ally's house to Camila and Lauren's living room so that she wouldn't have to move so much.

Lauren smiled when she heard little footsteps climbing the stairs. She watched as Brooklyn stopped outside of their room and peeked inside, not wanting to barge in if her mama was sleeping. Lauren was convinced she had been instructed to act this way by Camila. If she knew anything about her little girl, it was that she didn't often think things through before she did them. She was led by what made her happy, and Lauren wished there was a way she could go back to being led the same way.

Brooklyn broke out into a grin when she saw her mama smiling at her, waving her hand and motioning for her to come join her on the bed. The little girl ran to the bed and climbed into it when Lauren lifted up the blankets for her to get inside. Lauren cuddled Brooklyn as best she could, given her belly. She took her fingertips and tickled Brooklyn's stomach until the little girl giggled joyfully.

"Stop it, Mama!" she shouted. Lauren tickled a little bit more for good measure and then pulled Brooklyn close again.

"I miss playing with you, Brooksie. You're growing up so fast and I'm sad because I'm stuck in this bed," Lauren said with a sigh as she stroked her daughter's hair.

Brooklyn looked confused. "But I come and visit you in here every day. I would come more but Mama said I need to let you rest."

Lauren looked deep into her little girl's eyes. They were blue, like the clear blue oceans that you would find in a tropical location. No cloudiness to be seen. Lauren thought that maybe the comfort she had been looking for these past few weeks was hidden in there somewhere. "I know, baby girl. You're being so kind for letting me rest."

"Mama, is the baby going to get here soon?" Brooklyn asked. "I really want to see what she looks like."

"I know! I want to see what she looks like too. We won't know what day that she's coming. It will probably start out just like a normal day. But then at the end of it, we'll have a new little baby. It's that cool?" Lauren asked.

Brooklyn's eyes were wide and she looked back at Lauren in awe. "You mean the baby is going to be a surprise?" she responded.

"Sure she is," Lauren said, rubbing circles on the little girl's back.

Camila walked into the room and right over to the bed, where she slipped off her shoes and climbed in to join them. "What are you two doing?" she asked. She snuggled up to the little girl and reached her arm around to the other side to stroke her wife's face.

Lauren smiled lovingly at Camila. "We were just talking about how when the baby gets here, it will be like a surprise. We don't know when she's coming."

"That's right," Camila agreed. "But she's going to come soon, I can feel it," she said, a huge smile spreading across her face.

"You can feel it? I'd like for you to give me updates on what's going on in my body, please," Lauren teased.