Love's just a mountain 'til it overflows

 

It was practically October before Jen had her son. It was frightening. Making her go through all that labor just to have a C-section at the end, but Stan was there every step of the way. It was so different these days. A real family and friends kind of thing. 

People she hadn't seen in forever dropped by. They'd missed her not being at work in the building. Jen couldn't help but smile, but of course, she was in no hurry to get back to that life. She'd become quite settled in her new home life with Stan and Amy. This was where she wanted to be. And she felt differently about those the closest to her.

Em came early on with Amy. Jen was happy that Amy had Em and Yuki. "If..if anything should happen," she'd started the conversation more than once in the past few months, but of course, Em kept shushing her about it. She kept reminding her that she had Stan and Em and Yuki would be the aunties they would always be to Amy and the newborn. 

So when Andrew finally arrived, Jen was certain she'd go into a stroke. Oh, the stories she'd heard throughout her pregnancy. She just knew she wouldn't make it, but here she was with the baby to cuddle and of course, Em wanted her to breastfeed.

"Oh, it's good for the both of you. At least, give it a try for three weeks," Em said she owed the baby that much.

"Three weeks!" Jen yelped back as if that would be torture, but the ordeal got better after the first two weeks. In fact, she loved it. And of course, she didn't want to admit it. But somehow, she felt she was here for him and hoping to give him the antibodies he might need to get through an unpredictable autumn.

This also meant eating for the baby, again. 

"You want him to have good teeth and no tummy troubles, don't you?" Em said a few weeks later. Jen gritted back with an, "Of course, I do."

But this meant flourless peanut butter cookies. Oh, she dreamed of croissants and hazelnut chocolate spread. How long was this going to go on?

Of course, every time Andrew was near she couldn't wait for feeding time. Yes, she would be the mother she never was to Amy. And it brought tears to her eyes from time to time. Slowly, she accepted her Amy was growing up and Eli was good for her. Yes, she hoped he'd always be a part of the family, too.