3. Chapter 3 #2
We already exchanged pleasantries earlier when I stole the freshly baked matcha cake LJ baked because he mentioned his wife was going through a sweet tooth phase of her pregnancy, so he was baking every other day.
I wasn’t having a baby, but I wasn’t going to complain either.
Thank you, Macy! I said both in my head and to her directly when I helped her take her coat off.
She was getting bigger every time I saw her, which was usually here once a week or when she had a free lunch break.
Gran and I had been making a joke that the baby was ready to pop any day, even though she still had over a month left.
The first few minutes of dinner were always the same: everyone remained quiet whilst tucking into all of the food laid out before us, then usually Gran was the first to speak, asking LJ and Macy how their week was and if there was anything new to share.
My favourite was always waiting for Macy to speak, as ever since she got assigned to a new lawyer a year or so ago, the best part of these dinners was hearing about her outrageous yet strikingly handsome boss.
Her words, not mine.
I’d never even seen the man, and after the stories she’d told me every week since her first day, I wasn’t sure I wanted to. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t entertaining to hear about the Surly Bastard of a bear, who’s taken refuge at Kaine he just stood there until I noticed him after looking up from the book I was reading and clutching my poor baby for dear life.
He started talking, didn’t even try to apologise.
I mean, fucking hell, he nearly made me give birth right then and there. ” Macy says, shaking her head.
Gran and I copied her, shaking our heads in disapproval.
“He was going on about a case, things I can’t tell you for legal reasons, but when he finished, I just nodded and said I’d get it done like I usually did when we interacted.” Macy continues.
I know she must be stressed thinking about the extra workload the stupid Surly Bastard must have dumped on her. He clearly had no shame in dumping extra stress on a heavily pregnant woman.
What is wrong with this man?
“I’m telling you, honey, after this case, I think it’s time to go on early maternity leave. I hate seeing the stress this butt-head is piling on you.” LJ suggests gently that we all knew he wanted to say ‘asshole’, but he didn’t like swearing in front of Gran.
“You know, stress isn’t good for the baby,” he adds when Macy reaches down to squeeze his thigh.
“I do love how you care for me, darling, but you and I both know I can handle myself just fine. And I’ll take off work when I’m good and ready.” Macy murmurs with a tight smile, but I could hear the bite in the last half of her sentence.
This had been an ongoing disagreement between her and my brother.
He saw her as a delicate flower after getting pregnant, but if anything, Macy had turned into an even bigger firecracker, literally.
She was ready to burst at any moment, yet she’s also someone whose bad side you don’t want to be on!
Especially if you witnessed her anger and lived to tell the tale, much like I did.
You see, back when I was in University, she came down for a surprise visit. One I wasn’t prepared for, as we weren’t very close back then, nor did I want my family to know about what was going on while living away from home.
But sadly, that all came out when we caught my boyfriend at the time cheating on me in public…
that and having to reveal the other cracks in our relationship; let’s just say from that day, I don’t think he thought about cheating on someone ever again, not after graduating university with one less testicle.
Trust me when I say, it was safer not to ask.
So, if Macy was using that tone to showcase her anger with a smile on her face, like she was right now, you knew you were in trouble. No one at the table said anything, but we all knew my brother was in big trouble once he got home.
Macy would likely let him stir in the car, but the moment they were behind closed doors, she’d rip him a new one for bringing up this particular subject in front of Gran when she specifically told him not to.
“Now, back to my story.” Macy spat, glaring at her husband. My brother sprang out of his seat and started clearing away the table.
“Would you like some dessert, honey? Let me get it for you!” he panicked, sprinting to the kitchen, but as everyone else in the room knew, it was ready too late to butter her up.
“So yeah, He gave me a mountain’s worth of extra work, but after he stopped talking, he went quiet again.” Macy paused as if she were trying to relive that moment.
“And then it happened; his facial expression changed, but it wasn’t flattering at all.
I mean, I’m not sure what a man of his status has to stress about, but he looked sorta like he was constipated.
If I looked close enough, I swear I could hear the little cogs rusting in his head, waiting for his brain to start to set alight. ”
“Well, that’s what happens when you think with your penis!
Using your brain isn’t as easy.” Gran blurts, making Macy burst into laughter so hard she had to clutch the table with one hand and put the other over her tummy.
I could hear LJ whimper uncomfortably from the kitchen with a slice of cake for each of us in hand, and I had to settle with a simple slap to the forehead.
We then had to wait for Macy to contain her laughter so she could keep going.
“I bloody love you, Granny Mags,” Macy cackles, lightly pushing Gran’s shoulder with her fist.
“Love you too, darling. So why did he look so distressed? What happened next? Gran prods, far too eager to get back to the story.
“Oh, right! Sorry, you’ll never guess what he said next!” Macy asks, adding a few seconds of tension as LJ returned to his seat next to her and she sat up, aligning her shoulders and rolling her neck in a full circle, the usual indication that we were about to get a famous Surly Bastard impression.
“You’re pregnant,” she mocks. “I said to him, holy shit, that’s why I’m so fucking fat,” she adds in her normal tone, when she had to put her hand over her mouth to contain the laugh trying to burst out.