Irubbed my swollenbelly, increasingly eager to meet the little being inside me. The kicking had intensified recently, and I’d come to realize that I was going to be raising quite the active child. Smiling, I envisioned the tiny face that I would soon see; meet eye to eye. My smile remained plastered on my face as I readied for the day.
Was this what they meant when they said motherhood put so many things into perspective? I imagined it had to be.
I looked out my bedroom window, admiring the beauty of Barry Park under the winter sun and spotted Darling seated on a bench. Bundled up in a thin sweater, she shivered but seemed determined to stay outside.
She’d been so pensive lately, and I knew Kenneth’s condition was partially to blame. For one so young, she took on so much responsibility, and I feared it would make her ill as well.
“Let’s go down and cheer that girl up,” I said to the infant inside me. “Perhaps if I put her hand to my belly so she can feel how hard you can kick, it’ll get her mind off her troubles.”
Careful to control the pregnant waddle that my body had, of its own accord, adopted recently, I headed to the bedroom door. After taking only three steps down the hall, that pregnant waddle took over, and there was little I could do to control it.
I nonetheless rubbed my belly and smiled at my less than elegant gait.
“Where are you off to?”Abbie said as she came out of her room and walked alongside me.
“Down to talk to my starlet.”I huffed, my breathing already becoming short. “Can you believe this waddle of mine? I’m barely showing, but it is now completely impossible for me to simply put one elegant foot in front of the other. I feel so huge.”
She laughed. “From what I learned when my cousin was pregnant, women can lose that elegant gait quite early, in fact, it was that waddle that gave my cousin away. With the tiny bump she had, no one knew she was expecting until they saw her get up and walk away.”
I glanced side long at her. “Please don’t go on about the hormones, my center of balance and my growing uterus. Hugh has already told me all about that. Still, I feel like a hippo in kitten heels.”
She laughed and offered me her arm as we reached the stairs. With slow and careful steps, we made our way down to the main floor where my crew was already setting up for the morning’s shots.
“I’ll come see you guys in a bit,” I said in passing. Leaving Abbie, I turned to the door, grabbed a woolen shawl off the nearby hook and headed out to the gardens where I quickly found Darling.
“We’re going to be shooting a group scene later this afternoon,” I said, wrapping the shawl tightly around my shoulders.
She looked up, her eyes dark and disturbed. “Hello, Keely. It’s quite chilly this morning. You really shouldn’t be out in your condition.”
“Thank you for your concern, but I intend to raise a resilient child. A little cold weather won’t do any harm.”
I sat beside her, sensing her distress and her desire to hide it. Although always reserved, almost a little shy, she was, of late, quieter and more reserved than usual.
“Is Kenneth doing better?”I ventured.
She nodded, her fingers working to keep her sweater tight against her skin.
“Are you still concerned with his condition?”
She shook her head.
“He’s out of the woods?”
“You could say that,” she said, not looking at me but at her feet.
“Darling, I know you’re preoccupied with Kenneth’s health, and I know you’re disturbed by what you’ve learned about his time in California, but I need you to come back to this production.”
“I know,” she said with a heavy sigh. “I know, and I’m so sorry. I’ve told myself repeatedly to get my head back in the game, but...my conversations with Kenneth keep coming back to haunt me. I feel so naïve to not have known any of it, and yet, I’m quite aware that I can’t know everything. But this is Lord Barry’s business. Somehow it all feels like it hits too close to home. I can feel the sliminess of their dealings on my skin.”
I felt for her, but I also had a business to consider.
“I need to speed up production,” I said. “I’ve already lost so much time, what with the flooding at Moon Manor and...” I rubbed my belly. “I have a feeling this baby is going to come sooner than expected, and I really want to finish this movie before that.”
She pressed a tired smile. “I understand. I’ll find a way to shake this feeling off.” She looked at me. “I promise. I won’t let you down, Keely.”
“Good. I’m happy to hear it. This morning I’m shooting a few short scenes, but this afternoon will be very busy and I’ll need everyone to be on their toes.”
“I’ll be ready.”
