Christmas was a quiet and relaxing one, this year. The night before, Bella had received a text from her mum. The youngest sister, Aubrey, had taken a fall, and had been put in a comatose state by the doctors. It was not yet certain how severe the brain injury was, but gods… It made Bella’s heart ache to imagine a child getting hurt so terribly. Since she heard the news, her hands moved to her belly so often with a silent prayer sent up to the powers; she hoped that nothing so severe will ever happen to baby Dwyer. It had been difficult not to book the first plane ticket to London, but it wasn’t so simple anymore. Aside from Bella's growing belly, there was Ithemba, and of course Bella had no idea if Belie had received the notification about Aubrey. So Bella would have to some how find her, in the middle of nowhere, before she could leave South Africa. Rosa had convinced her that it was okay. She'd promised to keep Bella and Nathan updated and made them promise to enjoy their Christmas. Bella and Nathan had spread layers of blankets on the floor near the fireplace. Every once in a while, especially on days like this, they liked to imagine they were someplace cold. An excuse to enjoy the hearth. Nathan walked into the living room, holding two steaming cups of hot cocoa. Bella laughed lightly. “Keeping up with the Christmas spirit?” She patted the bundle of blankets she was sitting on. Nathan smiled. “Yes, I am.” He sat down carefully, handing Bella a cup of cocoa. “How’s your sister?” he asked. “Same.” Bella blew lightly on the steaming hot cocoa. A few moments of silence passed by before Bella nodded towards the tree. “My mum texted to remind us that we have gifts to open.” She smiled, genuinely admiring her mother for thinking of her other children even in a time like this. There were a few boxes under the tree. Mostly from overseas and two from Inyoni and Charlize. It was nice that the two women still kept in touch with Nathan and Bella. Setting her empty cup aside, Bella accepted one of the boxes that Nathan handed to her. “From your mum,” he said. Bella opened the package quickly. After removing layers and layers of tissue paper, Bella revealed a beautiful baby quilt, a set of cloth diapers, and lots of clothes. With everything was a note saying: just a little starter for baby Dwyer. There's lots more to come once he or she makes a debut! Love, the Rosewell van Loons. Bella’s smile couldn’t be any wider. “Look, Nathan!” She beamed as she lifted one of the tiny outfits. “Wow… so hard to believe we’ll have a tiny little human who’ll fit into this.” Nahan was just as awed as Bella, looking through the clothes, chuckling at the adorable designs and sayings on the onesies. "Oh wow, I remember this! I was Eli's." She chuckled.
Nathan smiled widely. They'd expected members of the family to send over clothes, new and handed down, but not such a large package. “Did your mother make this?” Nathan's fingers delicately traced the elephants on the quilt. Bella nodded. “I think so. It’s so perfect, isn’t it? We always have those elephants messing up our gates around Ithemba.” She grinned. The contents of the package held Bella and Nathan’s attention for quite a while and then they finally packed it all back into the box. The other two packages from family contained Christmas cards and more baby things. Bella couldn’t stop laughing. “Well… I guess we have a pretty good idea of what our baby’s first Christmas will already be like. A whole stack of gifts for him or her, and a card for us.” Soon Nathan joined in on her laughter while they pushed the packaged back underneath the tree. Curling up on the blanket together, Bella rested her head on Nathan’s chest. “We’ll have a little one next Christmas…” It was still so surreal. “Unbelievable, huh?” Nathan’s fingers lightly stroked her hair. “I bet it will be the best Christmas ever.”
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Isabella Kaylee DwyerWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
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