Taken // h.s

Rattles, Cribs, and Onesies

As the weeks drew on, I found myself craving strange foods. And my stomach was getting bigger too, forming a round bulge. My clothes were getting a little smaller. Even my t-shirts seemed smug around the middle. So, to save money, and just because I wanted to, I had been wearing Harry’s clothes, sweatpants and all. They were comforting and loose, which made me feel warm and bubbly.

A couple of days ago, we went back to Dr. O’Malley and she gave us huge news: the gender of the babies. One was a girl and the other was a boy. I couldn’t help but be majorly excited by the whole thing. They were both going to be perfect and I knew it. She gave us an ultrasound picture and Harry and I hung it up on the refrigerator so we could see our children every single day until they finally came into the world.

Knox had refused to show his face any and he never contacted me anymore. I suspected Louis, Liam, and Zayn had something to do with the whole thing. But as long as he left me alone, I was fine with anything.

Currently, I sat on the couch eating olives, which normally I hated, but not now. I craved them nonstop. It was really strange. I was leaned against Harry’s body, my feet propped up on the other end of the couch, while we watched, One for the Money. One of my favorite actresses was in it, Katherine Heigl. I thought she was absolutely gorgeous and extremely talented. And, of course, I was a huge fan of the Stephanie Plum series. I had read all of Janet Evanovich’s genius.

Harry shifted beside me. “Let’s go shopping,” he intoned.

I looked at him curiously, licking my salty lips. Leaning forward, I sat the jar of olives on the coffee table. “For what?”

“For the babies of course,” he smiled widely, looking at me like I should’ve already known.

I looked down at the clothes I was wearing. A black Pink Floyd t-shirt and a pair of gray sweats hung loosely on my body. I was in no shape or form dressed for a day of shopping. “Uh, Harry. Nobody wants to see me like this.”

I gestured towards my ensemble, making sure to point out the stain on the collar of the shirt. Harry only rolled his eyes.

“Come on. You look fine. I’m sure there are going to be other women there who are dressed like that.”

I was gently pulled from the couch. I found Harry treating me like I was fragile china now. It was kind of comforting. He snatched his keys from the kitchen counter and we went out the door. I slowly trudged behind, tripping on the sweatpants bottoms. They were too long for me.

The whole way to the store, Harry sung along to the radio. I could tell he was in a good mood. The tone of his voice gave it away. He really was a wonderful singer. Isn’t She Lovely came on and I closed my eyes and listened to him sing. I felt his hand touch my stomach, like he was singing to the babies and me.

Once we pulled into the parking lot, I slowly got out of the car, clutching my stomach. Harry helped me inside and he immediately went to the beds. The place was very cheerful and bright, filled with toys and children’s music. There were cartoon animals painted on the walls too. And, Harry was right, there were women dressed in raggedy clothes like me.

“This one. Let’s get this one,” Harry pointed to a crib. It was made for two babies, conjoined on the side, but there were railings to keep them apart.

I nodded, agreeing. “It’s perfect.”

We decided to come back for it once we were finished with clothes and other things. I grabbed us a cart, rolling it towards the many racks. We went to the clothes next. I picked up a pink onesie that said, sorry boys my daddy says I can’t date until I’m 30!

“We’re definitely getting that,” Harry demanded throwing it until the cart along with a blue onesie that said, mommy’s little man. I thought they were both cute.

I decided to be smart with him, grinning mischievously. “What if she gets kidnapped by a boy who knows everything about her and claims that he loves her more than any other girl on the universe?”

Harry looked at me through the corner of his eye with a raised eyebrow. “Ha ha. Very funny.” It was.

Then, we each picked out a couple of outfits for the each of them and some pajamas. Harry grabbed one bouncy seat and a couple of toys. Some made noise and some didn’t. I could already tell we were going to be up all night with these two.

As we continued to shop, I felt a tug in my stomach. “Ow,” I said, clutching my lower belly. Then there was another tug. I groaned.

“What’s wrong?” Harry rushed to my side, putting his hand over mine.

I tried to think of something and then it hit me. My eyes widened and my heart fluttered. “I-I think one of them is kicking,” I said breathlessly, surprised.

Harry placed his hand where mine previously was and one of the babies kicked again. Harry laughed in amazement. Never before had I felt something so wonderful. Now I was able to come to terms with there being actual human beings inside me. It was an incredible feeling that I couldn’t explain.

“I can’t believe it,” Harry kissed my cheek, “we made them with love.”

I giggled and sighed. After our tender moment, we went back for the crib. As we passed by the clothes again, one shirt in particular caught my eye. My heart sunk. I Love My Grandpa, it said.

And that reminded me. No matter if Dad didn’t care about me, I needed to tell him that he was going to be a grandfather. I hoped that he would accept them as his grandchildren because Mom was dead and I didn’t know a thing about Harry’s parents. Were they dead too?

He lifted the crib, that would have to be assembled later, in the cart. That’s when I decided to ask him. “Harry, who are your parents?”

He looked at me with a neutral expression, then his lips curved into a grin. “My father is dead,” he looked down. I started to say something, but he interrupted me. “But Mum knows all about you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “She does? How?”

Harry pulled me to the side so we could talk in private. “I’ve told her about you. She knows about the babies too. She wants to meet you, but I haven’t had time to plan anything.”

He acted so casual about the whole thing. I, on the other hand, was hurt. How could he not let me see his mother? “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?” I yelled.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I figured you didn’t want to meet my family.” He rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes looked sad, so I backed off a little, grabbing his hand.

If it had been six months ago, I would’ve never wanted to meet his family in a million years. Now, things were different. I loved Harry.

“Harry, of course I want to meet your family. It would mean the world to me.”

He smiled and a sparkling gleam showed in his eyes. “I’ll see what I can do.” A light kiss was placed on my forehead.

Sighing, I decided to continue the conversation involving our parents. “I think I need to tell my dad I’m pregnant,” I confessed.

Harry grabbed my other hand and his expression never changed. “I thought you would say that.”

I grinned. Harry knew more about myself than I did. And I loved that about him. He tugged me forward and we made it to the cash register.

“We’ll email him when we get home.”

Smiling, I hugged him tightly and I knew that everything was going to be all right with us.