章 7: Pregnant?

John came back home to the image of both women cuddled up together on the couch. They were both tucked under a white fuzzy blanket, and the pillows had been knocked off the couch onto the floor. Seeing how peacefully they both were sleeping, John smiled and quietly walked back into the kitchen with the food.

In order to keep everything warm, John preheated the oven to about 225 degrees Fahrenheit. He then re-plated all of the food into oven safe dishes and placed them inside.

Peeking over to the living room, John checked if they were both still sleeping. Seeing that they were, he smiled and continued preparing the food. He wanted Claire and Emma to wake up to a warm meal.

After ensuring the food was warming properly, he headed over to the sunroom. The sunroom wasn't very large. It was surrounded by neatly paned windows and filled with plants.

John loves to garden, it's his primary hobby when comes home after work. In the sunroom, he has a wide variety of herbs and small vegetables growing along the windowsills. In his garden in the back yard, he has several raised flower beds that carry a wide variety of larger vegetation. This year he is growing; potatoes, onions, garlic, pumpkins, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, kale, cucumber, zucchini, and spinach.

Growing food at home filled John with joy. Soon, he got carried away and started humming a jolly tune as he cared for his plants. Luckily his humming didn't disturb the girls sleeping on the couch, but the smell of the food in the oven did.

The smell of fried chicken permeated through the entire first floor. The savory scent of creamy mashed potatoes also blended with the chicken smell, giving the house a warm feeling.

Claire was the first one to stir from her slumber. The smell of the food made her feel ravenous, and she had realized that she hadn't eaten yet today. Sleepily opening her eyes, Claire sat up with a large stretch. She then noticed the fuzzy blanket across her body as well as Emma sleeping right next to her.

However, as she turned to look at Emma she noticed that Emma was also starting to wake up. The only difference was that Emma's face looked incredibly pale. Emma woke up unsteadily and beads of sweat started forming on her brow.

"Woah, Emma, are you ok?" Claire reached out to Emma with concern. "John did say you weren't feeling well earlier. What's going on?"

"No, I'm fine, just a little nauseous." Emma replied keeping her eyes closed and pinching her wrist with her thumb. "Actually, do you think you could open the window in here? The smell of the food is a little too strong."

"Yeah give me a sec." Claire quickly got up and opened the window in the living room. She then ran to the kitchen to see if she could turn on some sort of ventilation in there as well. As she walked into the kitchen, John noticed her movements.

"Good morning, sunshine!" He said to Claire happily. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Yes, I did, but I think Emma might need some help. She said she was feeling nauseous, and her complexion looks terrible." Claire responded urgently.

"Oh no!" John sputtered.

"Yeah, she said the food smell was getting to her, so I was looking for a way to ventilate it out a little faster."

A horrified look appeared on John's face as a small sense of guilt began to rise inside him. "It's because of the food? Dammit, let me turn off the oven then." John ran into the kitchen and shut off the oven. He then turned on the range hood and opened the window over the sink before opening the oven and taking out the food.

However, as he took the food out of the oven, the savory smell in the house intensified. Nerves began to take over and the baking pans clattered as John placed them on the counter. The sound of Emma groaning could be heard in the background.

Concerned, Claire ran back into the living room, as she approached the couch, she picked up a small waste basket and carried it over to Emma. "Here, I brought this in case anything comes up. Is there anything that I can do to help you?"

Groaning, Emma shook her head and continued to lay back on the couch. "I think I'll be fine if I just lay here and don't move."

"Ok. I'll be here if you need anything."

"Thanks." Emma murmured.

While Claire went to attend to Emma, John was still panicking in the kitchen. He was pacing back and forth searching around clumsily for something.

"Where is it?" He said while clanging around through a drawer. "I know I saw it recently. Ah there it is!" John exclaimed as he pulled out a baby pink handheld electric fan. "This should help!"

John then ran into the living room with the fan on full speed and pointed it towards Emma's face. "Babe, I looked online, and it said that fans help with morning sickness!" He said enthusiastically.

Surprised, Claire looked at John with her mouth gaping open. "It helps with what?"

"Uh-"Realizing his mistake, John looked at Claire like a deer in headlights. His eyes were as wide as saucers. "Um, well." He sputtered, his face flushing with embarrassment.

"John, just tell her. It's not like we can hide it now" Emma said softly. "Also, please turn down the fan. It's helping but this is too much."

"Ah, I'm sorry babe." John replied, quickly adjusting the settings on the cute handheld fan. He then looked at Claire and said, "Well the cats out of the bag. Emma is pregnant. We just found out a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, her morning sickness has only been getting progressively worse."

Shocked, Claire gasped. "Oh, my goodness! Congratulations! This is so exciting!" Claire said while clapping her hands lightly and smiling widely at the news.

"We should definitely let Emma rest right now, but I do know some recipes that might be able to help with morning sickness. Maybe I can show them to you tomorrow, John?"

"That would be amazing." John said, sighing with relief. "It would be great if we could find something that actually works for her."