Falling Fast and Breathing Hard

January was there and gone in a flash. Now, it's February and I'm a month away from giving birth to Kalea. Also, my baby shower is today. It's gonna be over at Marc and Vero's. I don't know how things are gonna go, but I know one thing; there are going to be tears. Luckily, I haven't gained any more weight. The following morning, I immediately got into the shower before eating breakfast. It was ten thirty when I got out and got dressed. I sighed; the shower wasn't until 1. What the fuck do I do till then? A knock on my door gave me at least one answer. I opened the door to a face I hadn't seen in over a year. It was Rhonda's mom.

"I know that this is crazy, but I had to come see you."

"It is, but it's great. Please, come in."

"Hug first?"

I nodded with tears in my eyes.

We hugged for the longest time.

"So, how have you been?" she asked once we sat on the couch.

"Fantastic, actually. Couldn't be better. Did my mom give you my address?" I asked knowingly.

"Of course she did."

I laughed.

"How've you been?"

"Pretty good. Even after you left, things gradually got back to normal or as close as you can get to normal after your only daughter passes away." she said, slowly looking to the ground as she went.

I could see small tears in her eyes. I nodded as she came back up.

"Mind my tears. I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize. I'm still saddened by Rhonda's death."

She nodded and wiped her tears away.

"Well, what has happened since you moved? I heard someone stole your heart."

I blushed and couldn't stop smiling.

"His name is Kris. He was the first friend I made here. He sat across from me when I grabbed a bite to eat at the Primanti's downtown. I was silent for a while, but we got to talking. When we left, we forgot to get each other's numbers but ended up bumping into one another when I was shopping for furniture at Target and sooner, rather than later, we became a couple. There has been a little drama since then, but it's been great overall."

"What happened?"

"Did Rhonda ever tell you about the guy that slept with me and told me he loved me before leaving me in the morning when I was 18?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Well, he came back months ago when I was only three months pregnant demanding to see me. He shoved me into Kris and I's house, up against the wall, knowing I was pregnant and asking certain things about my relationship with Kris. I forced himself out and he came back here after he saw me and my friend Mary leaving work... if I didn't have her that day, I don't know what would've happened to me."

"Oh my God. I can't believe that. That's horrible."

"Yep. Well, he's in prison now, so all is good."

"Good."

"Hey, do you care if I do my hair real quick?"

"No, not at all. I'll be here."

"Thanks."

And off I was. After I finished my hair and brushed my teeth, Kris called.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, mon amour."

"Good morning, Monsieur Letang." I tried to say with a straight face.

He laughed at the other end which caused me to erupt in laughter.

"So, how you feeling this morning?"

"Really good. Uh, guess who showed up at our door?"

"Who?"

"Rhonda's mother."

"Wow. Did she get your number from your mom?"

"Of course."

"Is she here as we speak?"

"Yeah. I excused myself so I could do my hair."

"Oh. How is she?"

"Pretty good. She's beyond happy to see me. It's been an emotional reunion so far. She asked how I was doing and that she heard that someone stole my heart." I said, smiling toward the end.

"I like her. Is she anything like your mom?"

"Yeah. They actually in junior high when they were in choir together, so they're pretty damn close, still, till this day."

"That's awesome. Wish I could meet her."

"Maybe she'll be there when Kalea's born. I can ask her."

"I'd like that. Let me know what she says. I'll let you go. Have fun at your baby shower!"

"I will. Bye. Love ya."

"Bye. Love ya."

I hung up and shut the phone, keeping it in my hand.

"Hey. I'm back."

"You just talking to somebody?"

"My beloved. He's out on a road trip in D.C.."

"When did ya start watching hockey?"

"Shortly after I met him. It's amazing. I love it."

"That's wonderful."

"He asked if you were anything like my mom, so I told him about your and my mom's friendship. He wants to meet you, so I told him I'd ask if you'd be there when Kalea's born."

"I'll be there for sure. You just gotta call me when you start having contractions."

"Awesome. He'll be so happy. I need to tell you her full name: Kalea April Letang."

"Aww... I love it! What brought upon the name?"

"Kalea means bright in Hawaiian and I met Kris in April. Part of it was that I wanted them to share the same initials and have the relationship my father and I had." I said, getting teary for the millionth time in my life.

She hugged me.

"I miss your father too. He was a great man and I'm sure Kris will be just as great as a father as he is a man."

"How do you know that? No offense. You've never even met him before."

"I don't have to, but I just know. Mothers know these things."

After a half hour of talking, the topic of my baby shower came up.

"When's your baby shower?"

"At 1. It's at my friend Vero's and her boyfriend's, Marc, who is a teammate of Kris,' house. She's a crazy woman; she has a type 'A' personality. I love her to death though. I hope you get to meet my other friend, Mary. She was sick yesterday."

"Oh, are you going yourself or someone picking you up?"

Not a second later, my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Athena."

She was sounding better.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"A lot better."

"Good. You sound a lot better. You still going to my shower?"

"Yeah, of course. I was gonna pick you up."

"About that... remember me telling you about Rhonda?"

"Yeah. What about her?"

"Her mother came by a little bit ago..."

"Want me to come with or...?"

"Whatever you wanna do."

"How about I pick you two up?"

"Sounds good. See you?"

"20 till 1."

"Cool. See ya."

"See ya."

"She's feeling better and gonna pick us up at 20 till 1."

She nodded.

Until then, we had spent time talking and watching tv. Mary couldn't have been more on time.

"Mary!" I said hugging her.

"Someone's in a good mood." she said returning the hug.

"Really good mood. Hey, I want you to meet Rhonda's mother, Susan. Susan, this is Mary."

"Nice to meet you." she said.

"Nice to meet you too."

A few minutes later, we were off to my baby shower. When we got there, pink balloons were outside the door. Is she crazy? Yeah, she's crazy.

"Wow." I said, getting out of Mary's car.

"It's cute! I love it."

"She's crazy."

"Which means, I'm gonna love her."

I held in my laughter. Of course she would.

"Well, let's go in then."

-knock knock-

I heard someone sprinting to the door. Vero.

"Athena!" she said cheerfully, hugging me.

"Hey. Someone's in a good mood."

"Well, it's your baby shower. So, you excited?" she asked.

"Extremely. I can't believe it's finally here." I said, smiling like crazy.

"It's going to be one of the greatest moments of your life! Trust me. It will be."

I laughed and nodded.

"Anyway, remember me telling you about Rhonda?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, this is her mother, Susan. She popped up in front of my door this morning."

"It's nice to meet you." she said, shaking her hand.

"It's nice to meet you too." Susan said with a smile.

We stepped inside to see a heavily decorated room and the kitchen which emanated aromas of mac 'n cheese and crab imperial. I love her.

"You are amazing. This is gonna be perfect."

"You bet your ass it is."

We all laughed.

I walked into the living room to find fellow wives and girlfriends, women who I've gotten to know since the beginning of the season.

"Athena!" I heard from all of them as every single one of my friends hugged me.

"So, who's your guest?" Johnny's(Brent Johnson) wife asked.

"Rhonda's mother, Susan. She just popped in front of my door this morning."

She was greeted and instantly accepted. Before we knew it, the shower started. There were gifts all around the living room. I wasn't expecting this much; I really wasn't.

"This is too much." I said, shaking my head.

"Athena, I don't think you realize how much this baby's gonna change your and Kris' life. She's gonna be a huge responsibility." Chris Kunitz's wife said.

I nodded.

"Yeah, you're right."

We ate before we started games and the opening of gifts. It started with little things aka everything from diapers to clothes; The second to last gift was a beautiful, beautiful high chair, courtesy of mother of three, Duper's wife. That last gift I got was from Susan. I couldn't wait to open it. It was a baby book for Kalea. The tears that ran down my face were endless.

"Susan... I don't know what to say." I said, getting choking up.

She smiled.

"This is from me, your mother and... Rhonda."

I hugged her.

"You are amazing, you know that? You really are."

"Thank your Mom. It was her idea."

"This means a lot. I love you."

"I love you, too, sweetie."

It wasn't too long until the shower was over and Mary took Susan and I back to my house. It was five o'clock and I was ready for a nap after I ate, but I couldn't. Susan drove the whole way from Baltimore. I can't possibly do that.

"Are you too tired to do anything?" Mary asked.

"Yeah and I got work tomorrow."

"You're not off yet?"

"I should be by the end of next week."

"That's good."

"Yeah. I just wanna just relax as much as I can before the baby gets here."

"Ok. I'll see ya tomorrow, hun."

"See ya. I had a lot of fun today."

"So did I."

"Have a good night."

"You too."

She got back into the car and drove away.

"Do you wanna nap? ' Cause I can just chill out here."

"I do, but I wanna eat first and I think it's rude to do that while you're."

"Athena, you're pregnant. I understand and I've known for most of your life. Go nap."

"Thank you." I said hugging.

"Don't mention it."

After I ate some leftovers from last night, I headed to bed for a well-deserved nap after such a fun day. I couldn't wait to talk to Kris later.

"How was the shower?"

"Perfect. Great food and amazing gifts. I got a beautiful high chair from Duper's wife. You're gonna love it and Rhonda's mom, my mom... and Rhonda got me a baby book." I said getting teary.

"Aww... that's great. I love that she also said Rhonda got it for you. It's wonderful."

I smiled.

"It is, isn't it?"

"It is. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Minutes later, I hung up and spent time in the living room with Susan before I headed to bed for the night.

Notes

Chapter title courtesy of What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong.