She’s Gone

The day after our trip at the Spa, I wake up in the early hours of the morning. Or more precisely, my overactive bladder wakes me up way before I would have liked.

And as soon as I exit the bedroom, I know something’s wrong.

The air is still, the living room is silent.

Pari is gone.

Spa Day

I’m very close to getting that baby I’ve been carrying out into the world; my back is hurting more and more and the giving birth is scaring me more and more.

So what do we do when our back hurts and we are stressed?

Yoga, meditation, and massages.

And where do we get those?

At the Windenburg Spa.

Changing into a towel that barely fits around my monstrous belly.

Hugo insists that he’s also very stressed and also has very good reasons to get a hand massage.

Really, we both know he’s using his beloved wife as an excuse.

Azalea’s Shower

For the baby shower, Hugo does most of the organizing, along with Pari. They hang all the (numerous) decorations, get most of the food and ingredients, retrieve the gifts that arrived by post…

My role is now to cut up the Galette we bought and to bake the one cake. I do so, and we put the finishing touches, a few hours before the guests get there.

Hugo feeling the baby kicking one last time before our guests monopolize my belly for hours.

Eden, the Romain-less Rascals, Pari, Mom, Mam, Grandma all RSVP’d.

Romain’s family lives too far away; today is still not the day I’ll meet them.

Miranda was away for a DJ’ing gig overseas, but she did send a mountain of gifts.

My relationship with Marie remained unchanged despite the falling-out with Romain and we’re both grateful for that.

My adorable mom being shy about feeling her grandkid move.

She shed a few tears.

Aaaaaand…

SELFIE!

Time to open the gifts!

And receive some advice about raising kids from Mam.

Hugo and Pari did a great job with the decoration. She deserves all the hugs.

Oh, he didn’t dare. He wasn’t invited and he knows it.

‘How can we make the message clearer, Romain?”

‘I’m handling this, Hugo’.

Marie grabs her fiancé by the mohawk  jacket, and with a last sorry wave to us, drags him out the door.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall in their home that evening.

The days are long and once the party is over, Hugo and I still have some daylight left to chill and relax on the balcony.

It’s more peaceful now.

Not Welcome

Romain managed to come at a time when Hugo was home alone.

Somehow Romain found it in himself to provoke my husband. And right in front of our wedding pictures, too.

It goes as you might expect.

Somehow Hugo managed to win the fight again.

This is what happens when a scrawny computer nerd (who does yoga) and a scrawny musician (who doesn’t) fight.

Humor and Hijinks

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Grandma wants to spend some time with Hugo and me, so we plan an evening together at the Humor and Hijinks Festival in the Art District. We’re meant to pick her up at home in Brindleton Bay, and while we’re at it, Hugo and I spend some time at the lounge that sits on the wharf.

There’s a private space there, and all I can hear is the sea, the sounds of the seagulls, and Hugo’s sweet whispers in my ear.

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And Hugo’s squeals every time the baby moves.

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Grandma is uber excited at the thought of becoming a great-grandma. She swears she’ll protect my kid with everything she has, and I know she will.

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The Humor and Hijinks Festival is not quite as mesmerizing as the Spice Festival for me, but it is still visually stunning.

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Okay, I love all festivals.

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Grandma drinks one of the juices, but my pregnant belly says that I maybe shouldn’t, so I play with sparklers instead to amuse both Jokers and Tricksters.

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Fireworks.

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This will remain in my memory as one of my favorite days with Grandma.

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It’s all so beautiful.

Pregnancy Photoshoot

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This time, I’m the one who asks Charlotte for a photoshoot, and she obliges. They’re a bit less dramatic than the previous black and white, edgy shoot.

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Water is fertility, right?

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Hugo feels a bit left out; but in the end he’s still dealing with water, in a way, soooooo…