Big Brother Love

I don't care how old and forgetful I grow, there are some memories I never want to lose.  One of these is the time I told Nat that I was pregnant with another baby (who turned out to be sweet Joseph.)

He had been saying for a long time how he would love to have another baby in the family, and stuck unswervingly to that.  There were even times when he prayed for another baby for the family. 

We'd decided that we'd better wait until the baby was common knowledge before telling Nat, because he was sure to be so excited that he would spill the beans.  However sometimes it's just right to do something at a different time than when you planned - you can just tell.

One night over the Christmas break, I wasn't having a great time.  I was feeling sick a lot and the pressure to move house was weighing heavily on me.  I crept away from Christmas celebrations and hid in the toilet to have a little cry and to bring up my dinner, if that was what the dinner really wanted.

Not surprisingly, I was followed a few minutes later by Nat.  He too left the celebrations and came to join me in hiding.

"Why are you doing that?" he asked, referring to the way I was sitting beside the toilet, ready to lose my dinner.  I just knew that I wanted to tell Nat right then.

"Because Nat," I said, "sometimes when a lady has a baby in her tummy, she feels a bit sick."

There.  I'd said it.  The chances of him understanding the real meaning of it were slightly shy of 50%, I thought.

But his eyes grew wide and delighted understanding crept over his face.

"Is there one?" he whispered.

"Yes!" I whispered back, grinning.

"Wow.  That's good," he smiled.