LIV

"Let's check out this maternity store," Liana practically squealed as she led the group of us into a store downtown. We were in this old-fashioned town area of the city Rob's family lived in, and all the stores had red brick on the outside and mostly wooden floors on their interior. As more of a homebody, I couldn't remember the last time we'd done this much shopping. Rob's mom and my mom were very excited to buy things for their grandkids, and for me. In all the excitement, they seemed to forget that I was walking on pregnant feet.

We walked through the store, and our mothers looked through cardigans, jeans, and dresses among other items. When they were distracted enough, I found a comfy bench in the shoe section and took a seat. "Ah, thank God," I sighed, relieved to take a load off for the first time in a few hours. Rob was right behind me, his eyes wide as he watched me. "Are you okay?"

I looked at him, then down at my feet as I kicked off my shoes. The veins in my feet were more easily visible than usual, and they looked better than I expected. "They're not swollen," I told Rob, "but kinda sore." My eyes met his. "Our mothers are very excited about the twins." Rob laughed, a little nervous, and I gave him a small smile. I finally took a look around us. Being so preoccupied with school and the pregnancy, it was easy to forget some of the things I needed, like new shoes.

"Could you pass me those sandals?" I gestured toward the rack next to him with a nod of my head. Rob turned, got up, and pointed at a pair, "these ones?" I nodded, and he grabbed the beige Birkenstocks from the rack. He sat down on the floor in front of me, "these look comfy-" "You don't have to do that," I protested as I tried to pull him off the floor from where I was seated. He just waved my hands away. "I don't mind. And you said your feet are sore."

Reflexively, I rolled my eyes, but my heart melted just a little more. Just when I thought I was getting the hang of him, Rob surprised me with something else. "Five minutes," I relented. He smirked, the both of us knowing it would be longer than that. Who'd be keeping track of the time, anyway? I watched as he picked up one of the sandals, placing it gently onto my left foot. Rob looked up at me as he waited for my critique. "So far, so good," I told him. "They're not too tight?" He wondered about the fit as he looked back down at my foot.

"No, they're fine."

"Well," he started as he quickly placed the right sandal on my right foot, "let's get you up so we can see how they move." I could barely resist before I was pulled up from the bench. Rob gave me a look as I stood there, unmoving. "Do you really want to buy shoes that might suck?" He questioned. I pouted, "I guess not." With that, I took some steps around the shoe section. With each step, my feet sunk just enough into the sturdy material, and my legs felt strong and sturdy. The sandals were extremely comfortable, didn't pinch, and left plenty of space for my toes to sit naturally.

I made my way back to the bench, and Rob was back on the ground within seconds. He took off each shoe with a small smile, "what's the verdict?" It was pretty obvious he knew I liked them. "They're nice." I looked over at where the shoes had come from, hoping to see some different colours. Relief washed over me when I saw a pair in black, and another in white. "Let's take the black and white ones, too," I said to Rob, and he nodded. "Sure."

My eyes roamed to the rest of the shoes, and I thought about other occasions I'd need new footwear for. I couldn't wear the sandals all the time. 'What about when I was going to workout? Or when I had plans with my friends? How about the holidays?' My thoughts started to get away from me, and I didn't notice Rob had started massaging my feet until I felt his thumb press into one of my big toes.

"Rob!" I exclaimed. "What if someone sees you?"

He looked around, "well, if they did, I don't know why they'd see a problem with a man massaging his pregnant girlfriend's feet. This is a maternity store." Rob gave me a look before he tried to go back to the massage. I shook my head, trying to move my foot away from his grip. "It's unsanitary. How would you feel if you saw someone touching someone's feet in public?" He opened his mouth to protest, but I interrupted him. "I would feel uncomfortable. Man, I'm uncomfortable right now."

Rob shrugged, finally releasing my foot. "Okay, I will wait until we get back to the house." I breathed a sigh of relief for the first time in minutes. "Here," I offered him some hand sanitizer, to which he laughed. "You have a storage closet in that bag, too?"

"You can laugh, but you never have anything so you're welcome," I retorted. Rob laughed, his eyes twinkling up at me. Suddenly, I felt a little warm, the heat made me adjust my seat slightly as he kneaded knots out of my soles. His eyes fell, for a moment, before they met mine again. "I can imagine how embarrassed you were this morning. I should've been more understanding," Rob said, only for me, as anyone passing by would have to sit right next to us to make out the words. His fingers, now on my legs, drew mindless circles and other shapes on them. "I'll do better." With a sigh, I reached out to caress his hair, then his beard, and finally his lips. "Okay," was all I said.

The next hour flew by as we found a few more pairs of shoes, and our moms managed to put me into a couple of outfits. Some were too big, and hung off my body like a king-sized sheet on a queen bed. Others were too small, hugging me in all the wrong places. It took a while to figure out my size, and my mom decided to start grabbing some of the curvier jeans for me in hopes that they'd fit my widening hips. "I can just wear my oversized t-shirts," I told my mom as Rob's mother was looking for nice tops.

She kissed her teeth and shook her head, "you're going to wear men's shirts to your parties and baby shower?"

"Maman," my eyes rolled, "obviously not. But I don't need this much stuff."

My mom ignored me as she looked through the things I had left to try on, then handed me a blush sundress with yellow flowers on it. "Try this on." I groaned, and she glared back at me. "You know, Olivia, you're not even paying for these clothes. They're gifts. You're blessed to have money, and to have people that have money in your life who want to buy you things. You know?"

I nodded, "yeah, but maman, I'm tired."

Amused, and finally showing an ounce of empathy for me, my mom chuckled, "just a little more, then we're going back to your in-laws' house."

"They're not my in-laws," I quickly corrected her. She laughed, a deep belly laugh this time, like I didn't know any better than I had when I went to that freakin' party.

******

My eyes followed the ball as it flew through the air, landing at the back of the netted area below us. Ronan grinned, chest out and proud, as he turned around to face the rest of us. "It's all about technique," he boasted before he went to take a swig of his beer. Some rolled their eyes, some laughed, and I just wondered how they'd all gotten so good at golf. No wonder they'd suggested the driving range as a 'family bonding activity' before dinner, minus the parents. All of Rob's siblings were really good, and I felt like I'd embarrass myself if I went up there and tried something.

"You're next up, Liv."

I stared up at Rob, grimaced, and shook my head, "uh, I'm not really that great... I haven't golfed-"

"Oh, come on," Lillian grabbed my arm and yanked me up to my feet. She reached for a putter, grabbed it nice and slow, then handed it to me with a smirk on her face. "This is a putter," she told me with large eyes, "it's great for beginners."

I stared at Lillian, and felt my mouth pull into a frown that I had to force back into neutral. The chatter had reduced to whispers, and I felt like I was stuck in an interrogation room with a bright light beaming into my forehead. Lillian's face was frozen, like her body, as she stood there and attempted to shove a golf club in my face. My eyes went to the other clubs, and I reached behind her to grab a hybrid instead. Lillian's mouth twitched, but I just returned her smile.

"Think I'll try this one instead," I whispered, then went to attempt some swings.

My shoulders felt heavy as I steadied my stance. It took some thought to remember the prompts that stuck with me from childhood. I bent my knees, made sure my feet were in the right spot, then stacked my hands. I swung a bit in the air to get used to the gravitational change in my body, and how that would affect my swings.

It must've taken longer than the rest of the group expected for me to prepare, because Celia shouted out, "you hover the club over that red dot, and it's 4 balls per turn!"

I looked over at her, and said a quick, "thanks," before I got my first two balls.

'Okay, steady, shoulders, swing!'

The first ball flew through the air, and I could hear whistles and a gasp behind me as we watched it land towards the back of the green. My heart thumped, and I felt proud of the first one. It had been a while since I last felt the metal of a club in my hands, and I just hoped my old skills would kick in.

"Damn Liv," Rob stood up now and stood behind the safety line as he gawked at me. His eyes twinkled a little, "you never told me you could swing like that."

I just shrugged, "it's been a little while."

"It was probably just beginner's luck," Lillian muttered from her seat. I ignored her, instead nudging the next ball over. I bent to put it onto the tee, but Rob moved in before I could get there. "It's the least I can do," he whispered, then jumped back out of harm's way. I gave my boyfriend a small smile, even though my heart swelled, then hit the teed up ball.

Another flyer.

The next two went even further, and Ronan laughed when he saw that I was now ahead of everyone. I slowly turned around to see Rob, Celia, and Ronan beaming, while Lillian nursed her beer with a deep sulk on her face. It was weird to see her so upset over something small, and I couldn't understand what her issue was. Especially since it was just her that had the problem.

Rob put his arm around my waist as I went to drink some of my water at the table. Celia got up, determined to beat my score. "I'm coming for you, Liv," she pointed at me with a laugh before she spun around to make her best attempt. "I dunno, we'll see," I gave her a smile and a shrug, then sidled up next to Rob.

Once everyone had turned to watch their sister take a few shots, Rob leaned into my side. He gently stroked his nose along my ear, then neck, before he planted a kiss on my collarbone. I opened my mouth to protest, but he shut me up with a soft peck on the lips. "You never told me you could golf like that," he whispered, and I could hear the smile in his voice. I gave him another kiss, and poked him with my elbow.

"You never asked."

We went for about another hour after that. It was close at the end, but I managed to win by a hundred points ahead of Lillian, of all people. She congratulated me through clenched teeth, and Celia glared at her unsportsmanlike attitude. "It's just a game, Lil," she told her twin, but it didn't keep Lillian from ignoring me for the rest of the night.

******

I fretted over my checklist as we packed the car to leave in the morning. Laptop, book bag, suitcase, duffel bag, snacks, water. My parents were already on their way, a few hours ahead of us, as they had meetings and brunches to attend. That left me and Rob to say bye to his family.

"What are you still doing here?" Rob interrogated Celia, who was the only other person at home beside their parents. She scoffed, and informed him that while it was none of his business, "I have the day off."

"How's the semester going?" I heard his mom ask from where I was at the trunk.

"It gets easier every year," Rob told them, and he went on about grading, co-workers, and some of his favourite students. I, on the other hand, loaded the trunk, and rearranged the bags that he'd mindlessly tossed in earlier. It was tough to manoeuvre the weight, what with my own propped up in the front of my body. I picked up, well, tried to pick up the duffel bag without hitting myself with it. But, when I swung it around in the awkward way I'd decided on, I lost my grip and it fell to the floor.

"Olivia?! Are you okay?!" Liana called out, before Rob came jogging over.

He sighed, and could pretty easily guess what had happened when he saw me looking down at the duffel that I'd dropped. "Liv, why are you loading up the car?" His eyes worried over my body, and he ran his hands over my arms, hips, and belly, as though he knew exactly what to look for.

"I'm fine, I was just fixing-"

"What happened?" His mom asked when his parents came soon after, as well as Celia. I waved them off with a polite smile. "I just dropped a bag, but I'm fine."

They insisted that I stand by, idly chatting with them, while Rob and Celia finished packing everything up. It was hard to listen to their conversation while checking items off of my list from afar. Luckily, everything was accounted for, and I was able to relax knowing we wouldn't be forgetting any of our stuff.

"Thank you for having us," I told Liana as she pulled me into the tightest hug my body could take. "I know this situation is a lot, but-"

"Oh, stop that. You're wonderful, and I hope you come back soon," she beamed. Liana looked over my shoulder at her son, then whispered, "this is one of the first times he's come back without it being a holiday in years. You're good for him."

I stared at her, opened my mouth to ask why, but her husband came over before I could. He gave me a gentler hug, and thanked me for coming and putting up with their family. "I know Lillian can be... Anyway, I hope we didn't scare you off."

I shook my head, "no, I had a great time."

Celia asked that I keep in touch, about the baby and Rob. "Maybe I'll come up and visit," she suggested. I smiled, and gave her one more hug.

*********
A/N

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-Ruth