Now I was so big, I was just miserable.
It was hard to sleep, hard to walk, and every time I looked at my naked reflection, I couldn’t believe Hades actually wanted to have sex with me. My stomach had stretch marks, my petite frame was distorted by the life growing inside me. The time I had spent with Andrew had been magical, but now that I was at the end, I was ready for it to be over.
I finished up my final project at the office and prepared to leave. I’d be on maternity leave for a couple months, so Antonio would have to take care of everything. I made sure all my work was done before I walked out.
Antonio ran into me in the hallway. “You look a little uncomfortable…”
I rubbed my stomach and arched my back to decrease the pain in my spine. “A bit.”
He smiled. “Go home and get some rest. I got everything handled here. And make sure you bring Andrew by whenever you’re ready.”
I headed home and waddled up the steps until I got inside. Summer was approaching, and the heat only added to my discomfort. I set my bag on the coatrack and heard my mom in the kitchen. “Please tell me you’re making a grilled cheese sandwich.” I walked inside and saw her cooking on the stove.
“No. I haven’t made you one of those since you were eleven.”
I leaned against the counter and rubbed my stomach.
“But I’ll make you one now since it’s a special occasion.”
“Thanks, Mom. Or I should say…Grandma.”
“I’m so excited to hear that in this house.” She pulled out all the ingredients to make me a sandwich, a floral apron tied around her waist. “So…will Hades be returning soon?”
“I was going to call him in a little bit. I can tell Andrew will be here any day.”
“Good. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him.” She waggled her eyebrows.
I ignored her double meaning.
“You think he’ll stay here?”
“Mom, come on.”
“What?” she asked innocently. “I’m just curious…”
Ever since she’d spotted Hades and me in the morning, she’d been hoping for a reconciliation. She loved Hades and would never give up on him. I explained to her why it would never work, but she didn’t understand. “Well, don’t be.”
“This man is the father of my grandchild. Of course I care.”
“Wherever he stays doesn’t change his role in Andrew’s life, so I wouldn’t worry about it so much.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I saw that, Mom.”
She shrugged and kept cooking. “I didn’t hide it, dear.”
I was sitting in bed when I called Hades.
Hades picked up on the first ring. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m doing okay. But I’m getting really uncomfortable…”
His deep voice was slightly raspy, like he’d spent all day working. “I can imagine.”
“I really think he could be here any day…so maybe you should come to Rome.” I wasn’t afraid to give birth even though it was incredibly painful, but I was afraid to do it without him. I wanted Hades with me every step of the way. Not to mention, I just wanted him here. Sleeping with him had made me forget all the fights we had. Now I just missed him.
“You have a week to go.”
“I know, but I could use the help.”
Hades was quiet. He didn’t give me what I wanted or explain his trepidation.
I tried not to take offense to it, but that was difficult. “Unless you don’t want to…”
“It’s not that. I just have a lot of shit with work right now.”
“Oh…” Sometimes I forgot that he worked with Maddox every day. I lived in a different city, so I didn’t have to think about it on a daily basis. Sometimes it was easy to forget Maddox existed at all.
“But I’ll make it work. I’ll stay at the hotel down the street.”
I didn’t want him down the street. It was probably a bad idea for him to stay with me. I didn’t want him in a different room on a different street. I wanted him right beside me, especially through times like this. “I assumed you would stay with me…”
A long, awkward silence extended over the line. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Sofia.”
His words cut me like a knife. “Why?”
“You know why.”
The lull in our conversation stretched because there was nothing else to say. I wanted to get my way, but arguing over the phone wasn’t the way to accomplish that. So I just let it be. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
His deep voice was reassuring. “Yeah…I’ll be there.”