Through Thick And Thin

“You better get out before I kick you out,” she said with a smile. He leaned in and gave her a long kiss. “Call me. Let me know how it goes.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Chad said before he walked out. “You better get that Panini while it’s still warm,” he called out from the hallway.

“Will do,” she called back as she walked to the closet. She caught a glimpse of her reflection and sighed. She seemed to be growing larger by the second and she had still not gotten around to shopping for some maternity clothes. She turned to her side and put a hand on her lower abdomen. Lately, she had been struggling more and more to get into her clothes and if ever there was a time to get some new clothes, it was now. She looked at her side of the closet and pulled out a light blue t-shirt dress and a pair of tights before she walked over to the nightstand to grab her phone.

You up for an afternoon of shopping? The clothes in my closet are getting a little tight.

She took a minute before she sent the text to her sister and then walked to the kitchen. She had just sat down and picked up one Panini when she heard her phone vibrating against the counter. She looked at the screen and smiled.

I thought this day would never come. I’ll slip out after lunch and meet you at the mall.

*****

At the end of that day, Amelia was more proud of herself than she had ever been. Given the stress she was having with her clothes as her baby bump grew, she had a great idea or so she thought. She had made a few sketches of sexy comfortable maternity wear and pitched the idea to Leo. At first, she hadn’t thought that he would be warm to the idea but as soon a she mentioned it, Leo saw a whole new line of maternity wear.

“This is not just about a comfortable maternity wear. It is also a great opportunity. I wouldn’t say it is an untapped pool but it is definitely not as crowded,” Leo had said excitedly.

“What do you mean?” Amelia asked.

“Simple. There are pregnant women out there every single day who have the same crisis you have talked about,” Leo started as he looked at her sketches. “When women are expectant they don’t want their life to stop. They still want to look good at the office, they want to look glamorous going for dinner and parties and sometimes they do get married in that state.”

“Maternity bridal wear,” Amelia said with a smile and Leo nodded.

“Maternity bridal wear,” he echoed. “Bella Blu and Isabella Oliver don’t have to be the only names in the business, right?”

Amelia smiled and nodded.

“Guess not,” she said. “You know this is just an idea I came up with this morning when I couldn’t find something to wear, right?” Leo nodded and leaned back in his chair.

“And I thank God you had that wardrobe crisis.” Leo began drumming his fingers on his desk, a smile on his face. “You might have just opened up a whole new portal for us.”

“I’m glad you like the idea sir,” Amelia said as she stood up.

“Before you leave, may I ask for a favor?” Leo asked as he looked at her.

“Sure. Whatever you need.”

“I’d like you to get these sketches down to the tailors and have them make some samples. Then maybe later this week we can have an alpha test with the target group and see how the clothes are received by the public.” Lee was looking right into her eyes.

“That fast?” she asked.

“Well, we do have to take advantage of the creative genius in you before you give birth,” Leo said with a smile.

“Did you ever consider that I was the genius?” she asked as she opened the door.

“Well, of course but I kind of think that the whole maternity wear came about because you are carrying a little boy wonder in there,” Leo said. Amelia shook her head and rolled her eyes.

“Why does everyone think I am carrying a boy?”

“Has someone else asked insinuated that you are having a boy?” he asked and she nodded.

“Chad, this morning actually.”

“Why don’t you get a scan?” he asked. “That’s what we will be doing with our surrogate.”

“I want to be surprised.” She pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear before she closed the door and looked at her boss. “Did you day surrogate?”

Leo smiled and nodded.

“Oh my God! When…I mean…I don’t want to impose or anything but…” her words trailed off. She looked at him as she began walking towards his desk. “This is amazing!” she finally said in a shrill excited voice.

“I know. We are beside ourselves,” Leo said as he fumbled with his phone.

“So, how far along is the surrogate?” she asked as she sat back down. “And when is this whole thing going to happen? When do you get to know if you are having a little boy or girl?” Her questions were unending. “I’m sorry. I’m just excited.”

“I get it. You should see Emilio. He has been nesting ever since we got the surrogate,” he laughed. “And that is terrible because we still have some seven months to go.”

“So she is just a couple of months along,” she said and he nodded. “The morning sickness must be a bummer.”

“Actually she is not getting a lot of morning sickness, just every other day but she has got us on a weird diet,” he explained. “My place is a never-ending sausage fest.”

Amelia frowned.

“IS that some kind of gay joke? Because if it is, I don’t get it.”

“No, I literally mean that we have sausage for dinner every single day,” Leo said making her raising an eyebrow over the other.

“How is that even possible?” she asked.

“Oh, you would be surprised. Sausage balls, sausage casserole, smoked sausage with dirty rice, sausage stuffed mushroom, sausage stews, sausage skewers, chicken fried sausage…” he sighed. “I could go on forever.”

“Clearly,” Amelia said nodding “Is that why you never miss a fancy lunch?”

“Oh yeah. I need something different…mostly Chinese cuisines and something from McDonald’s,” he said. “The fast food gets me extra time in the gym everyday but it is the only thing that ensures my sound mind.”