Today, I was going to have a pregnancy photoshoot. It was an impromptu decision, made out of boredom and a little social media influence. It was another day off for me and I was all alone in the apartment. My mother had gone back to Nigeria two days ago, leaving me with a drop of homesickness. She left to prepare for her next return when the baby was born so she could perform 'Omugwo'.

I had started out the day hugging the sofa, watching reality shows whilst munching on a bag of chips. Then I switched to watching reels and browsing my Instagram feed. I would've preferred to hang out with Nicholas but he took another business trip to Chicago and wouldn't be back for another two or more days.

I happened to stumble upon a mutual maternity photoshoot and suddenly, I remembered Tom. He was a photographer and he had expressed being open to a pregnancy photoshoot last we spoke. I contacted him and much to my surprise, he had happened to be free for the entire morning. He expressed having a date planned for his afternoon with his new girlfriend so I had to come in right that moment.

Since it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, I didn't have ready any elaborate and fancy maternity photoshoot-worthy outfit. I grabbed an off-the-shoulder, long-sleeved burgundy bodycon gown that stopped right on my knees and threw it on. It accentuated every curve on my body and gave my bump a well-rounded snug look. For the first time, I tried on a makeup look, quite heavier than my usual day-to-day look, without Whitney's help. I followed the guidance of a beginner-friendly YouTube tutorial and I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

"This is insane," I muttered to myself as I lifted my phone up to my face. I was already tired, just from putting on makeup alone and I hadn't even figured out what to do to my hair.

Whitney requested that we did a facetime so she could see the whole look. Her face appeared on the screen, followed by the top of her lab coat and scrubs. I propped my phone up against a pillow on my bed and stepped back so she could get a portrait view.

She raised one brow as she took in the gown. "Don't you have something more flattering?"

I pursed my lips at her and cocked my head to the side. "Like what? You basically know everything I own"

She chuckled. "Uhm... How about that shiny brown dress we got that time?"

This time, I raised a brow at her. "Really? You want me to wear an evening gown? Plus, I've gotten bigger now, my belly would lift the gown too high and you know it has a slit at the side"

"Okay, okay. Well, this gown is still cute, so it's fine" she said

My shoulders fell and so did my face. "I don't think I want to do this, anymore" I picked up the phone and held it up to my face.

Whitney clicked her tongue. "Relax. You know simplicity is beautiful, right? Don't tell me you're going to waste a full face of makeup – by the way, it looks fire"

My spirits lifted a bit and a small smile tugged on my lips. "I know, right?" I admired the neat curve of my filled-in brows and the bold red lipstick that made my lips look fuller. "I'm still in shock I did this by myself"

She did a nose shrug at me and chuckled. "Okay, so what are you going to do to your hair? I'm thinking high ponytail, like the Barbie kind"

I huffed and sank into my bed. "Just thinking about the process has me weak. I wish you were here. When do you get off work, again?"

She laughed. "It's not going to be anytime soon. I thought you were bored before, now you're tired"

"Exactly," I nodded with a pout.

"Come on, you can do it. You want to look back on the pictures and be happy that you looked snatched" she snapped her fingers for emphasis.

I released a sigh and pushed myself up to my feet. "Okay,"

"Okay, I have to go now. But you could pair that dress with my black knee-high boots and coat just in case, it's an outdoor shooting" she rushed out. "Bye..."

"Bye," she ended the call and dropped the phone back on the bed. I sighed as I looked about the room for a few seconds, calculating how much needed to be done and how much time I had left. I'm going to need at least two glasses of tropical fruit drink.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I stepped out of the studio into the cold December winter breeze. I pulled the collar of my coat up and shoved my hands into the pocket as I crossed the street. It was a wonderful coincidence that the studio happened to be down a few blocks from my apartment, on the opposite side of the street.

The photo shoot went seamless. It was an indoor shoot because – regardless of Whitney's insightful suggestion – I couldn't stand to be outside in the biting cold. Tom put out an artificial carpet grass and a spring forest backdrop as a set and later changed it to plain white colour. I had like 20 shots taken at the end of the day and ended up narrowing it down to nine of them.

I had just shrugged off my coat, in the centre of my living room when someone knocked at my front door. I paused in action for five seconds, waiting to see if whoever it was would knock again. The knocks resounded louder than the first time. I wasn't expecting anyone.

I walked back to the door and pressed my ear against the door. "Who is it?" It would be nice to have a peephole, at times like this.

"It's Evelyn... and Lucia" the door muffled the voices a bit but I recognized them.

I unlocked and pulled the door open. The two sisters stood side by side, dressed in black leather jackets and tight-fitted jeans tucked in matching knee-high boots. Evelyn had her hair tied up in a bun with a red scarf over her neck while Lucia had a black beanie over her head.

"Oh hi," I stepped back to give them room to come in.

"Oh my, you look gorgeous. Were you heading somewhere?" Evelyn gushed, taking in my appearance.

I looked down at my outfit and back at her. "No, I actually just got back. I had a pregnancy photoshoot"

Evelyn's face lit up. "Aww, that's so cool. Can we see pictures?"

"Uh, I haven't gotten the results yet" I replied

"Oh right. I'd love to see them when you do" she said

"This is nice," Lucia remarked from the centre of the living room. She was looking around the place, taking in every detail.

"Thank you," I said with a small smile.

I hadn't seen them since that last lunch, where I'd called out their mother. I wasn't sure how to act around them, even though, they seemed to be cool with me.

I bit my lower lip and rubbed my palm against the material of my gown. "Uhm, about last time ... at the restaurant –"

Evelyn held up a hand. "Oh no, don't apologize. It's totally fine"

Lucia trudged up to where we stood, a few away from my front door. "Yeah, our mom honestly deserved it. Vee caught me up on everything, it's good you stood up for yourself."

"Yeah," Evelyn added

I clamped my mouth shut and nodded. Okay. I clasped my hands together as I looked between the sisters. "Uhm, I wasn't expecting you guys so I'm a bit unprepared, but I have some drinks in the fridge"

Evelyn waved a hand in front of her. "Oh no, thank you. We're actually here to steal you away"

"We're going baby shopping," Lucia added with a yay effect.

"Aw, you guys don't have to do that" I shook my head, switching to a delicate tone.

"Oh no, we want to. I'm for sure going to splurge on my nephew" Lucia insisted. "So, please go and grab your coat and purse and let's go"

Evelyn walked over to my sofa and picked up the coat I had earlier divested. "I've got your coat. We'll wait while you grab whatever you need" she said with a sugary smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"No, I don't like this" Evelyn said to the shop attendant who held out different baby onesies.

I was seated at the corner with Lucia, watching them. We had been to three baby stores and counting, I was completely drained. Evelyn promised that this would be our last store but I couldn't hold her up to her words. She had said the same thing about the last store. They were so excited at the start and were picking out items enough for two babies. Lucia's energy wore out at the third store and I, at the second store but Evelyn was still powering on.

"You know when I heard Nick had gotten you pregnant. I didn't believe it" Lucia spoke up in a low voice, beside me.

I turned away from Evelyn and the store attendant and focused on her. "Why?"

"Well, some years back, a model he dated tried to impose a pregnancy on Nick. He was over the moon about this pregnancy, but when he found out it wasn't his, it shattered him. He became cynical afterwards and vowed to never make that mistake, again" she narrated.

Oh my God. I tried to mask my surprise but couldn't. That was horrible. I could never understand the logic behind people who did things like that. That was extremely manipulative behaviour. Why hadn't he told me about it? I mean, we only recently started seeing each other as a couple. It probably was a sensitive subject for me.

"That's horrible," I voiced out. "If it's any consolation. Nick tracked me down and not the other way around"

She chuckled. "Oh don't worry, I can tell you're a good person"

My lips pulled in a cheeky smile. "Why, thank you"

We both laughed.

"What are you two laughing about? Get over and help me choose" Evelyn said, gesturing towards two different onesies being held up by the staff.

I took in the onesies. They were both white but one was cotton with the inscriptions 'My cool aunt' and the other was made of wool, with a hoodie and animal ears. They were both cute, I couldn't really pick. "I don't know. Pick anyone"

She pursed her lips as if to say 'Really?'

"Why not just buy both of them?" Lucia droned out and groaned as she slid down the viewing sofa.

"You know what. That's a good idea" Evelyn beamed as she clapped her hands together.

Lucia and I shook our heads and exchanged glances then burst out laughing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Tesoro," Nicholas's raspy voice came in through the phone's speaker.

I slapped my hands over my burning cheeks and leaned against the headboard of my bed. I couldn't get over this giddy feeling that overcame me whenever he called me that. He was so quick to start calling me words of endearment, meanwhile, I was still trying to get used to the fact that we were together now.

I pushed off the headboard and leaned over my phone on the bed, before me. "Hi," I said in a meek little voice that got me cringed the moment it came out. I cleared my throat and assumed a clearer tone. "Did I wake you up?"

He drew in a deep breath. "Not really, I just dozed off"

"Aw, okay" I bit my bottom lip. I couldn't remember why I was calling anymore, I guess I just wanted to hear his voice. Ugh, I've become one of those girls I make fun of on TV.

"How are you and the baby?" he said

I smiled. "We're doing well. Not much has changed"

"That's good," he paused for a while, then added. "I miss you"

My smile widened. Me too. "Mm, I had a photoshoot earlier today. I just sent a few copies to you"

"Oh really," I could picture one of his full brows shooting up as he spoke. There was a short moment of silence from his side and I could only imagine, that he was going through the pictures. "Wow, how the hell did I land you?" he muttered

Oh, God. My cheeks were beginning to hurt from the extent to which I blushed. My phone chimed and I unlocked it to see a message notification from him. He sent a screenshot of his phone's wallpaper. It was one of the pictures where I had a hand over my bump and had my head thrown back with laughter.

"Oh wow, I didn't know you were this sappy, Mr Wilson" I teased, despite the flutters in my stomach.

He chuckled. "Only for you,"

My toes curled inward and my face scrunched up like I'd tasted raw lime. "Ew, bye" his laughter filled my room before I hung up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Omugwo – a.k.a. postnatal care. It is practised by the Nigerian Igbo culture, where the mother, mother-in-law or close relative would come to care for the new mother and baby.

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