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She sat in the middle of the empty room looking through the boxes that sat before her. She was already exhausted from the day's move but she knew that she had to get as much done as possible. She lifted each book carefully and placed them on the hardwood floor.
"Where does this one go?" asked the man standing in the doorway.
"What does it say on the side?" Claudia asked, not even looking up.
"Kitchen." Shane read with a mischievous grin. Claudia finally looked up smiling. "My guess would then be...the kitchen?" he said and walked down the hall. Claudia laughed to herself. Shane knew that this move was hard on Claudia for many reasons and wanted to make it as easy as possible. He was taking extra care to make sure she was happy with every detail, down to the placement of the last box.
Claudia continued the unpacking of her box as she slowly rubbed her lower back. She wasn't feeling her best today. The baby was kicking up a storm. They had themselves a future football star on their hands!
"I don't like the fact that you're moving halfway across the world at
this late date in your pregnancy." The doctor said as he began writing in
Claudia's chart.
'It can't be helped." Claudia said as Shane helped her down from the table.
"I'll make sure she doesn't do any of the moving and we will see a doctor as soon as we get into town. My parents already have one in mind." Shane said trying to reassure the doctor.
"We've had problems earlier in the pregnancy, I can't stress how important it is that she takes it easy." The doctor repeated.
"I'll be fine, sir." Claudia began buttoning her jacket. Trying to convince the doctor was the easy part. It was much harder trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing for her baby. She and Shane had had a scare in their fourth month when they almost lost the baby. It was the worst two weeks of their lives. Shane left during the middle of Westlife's US tour to be with Claudia. Luckily, she had improved and the baby continued growing. But now she was only 7 and a half months along and moving to Ireland probably wasn't the best of ideas. She could adjust to leaving her family but couldn't quite prepare herself for leaving the States and moving to Ireland. The Filans were her second family and she truly loved Ireland but the timing just wasn't right. But timing had never been right with Claudia and Shane.
Claudia pulled their wedding album from the box and quickly scanned the
pictures. They both looked so young! Shane looked so incredibly handsome
and Claudia was glowing with happiness. The best part was seeing the love in
his eyes as he smiled at her. She laughed at the silly pictures of Shane and
the guys and the snapshots of her best friends Anna and Kori. It had been a
wonderful day for all of them. Anna and Bryan had just celebrated their one
year anniversary and Kori and Kian had finally resolved that they were meant
for each other. It was a day of a reunion and rejoicing for Shane and Claudia
and for the people they loved the most.
But even the memory of that day could not hide the fears she was having as she looked at the empty space that would welcome their child. She had just a month and a half to prepare the nursery and the rest of the new house. It was such a short time to make sure that the first time they brought baby Filan home to this room it would be perfect. She put the album down on the floor next to her and continued pulling out more books. These volumes encompassed all of their memories, mutual and individual. There were a few more photo collections and a scrapbook Claudia created while Shane was on tour of the places Westlife had been. She came across a few journals from her childhood and college. She scanned through them quickly, wishing she had the time to pore over them. But Claudia's heart sank as she leafed through the bottom journal to the final page. She read the last sentence and then closed it. She closed her eyes and tried to fight the tears that were already streaming down her cheeks.
"I thought we might need a break." Shane said entering the room as Claudia jumped. He was holding a glass of wine for him and a glass of milk for Claudia. He sat down next to her and handed her the milk. Claudia put the book down in her lap and accepted the glass with a smile.
"What are you reading?" He asked taking the journal. Claudia quickly grabbed it back. "Sorry." He retorted.
"No, I'm sorry. It's just girl stuff that I'm not ready to let you read." She said, trying to distract him by kissing him.
"What? Stories about your past loves?" he said smiling. "I won't get jealous, I promise. In the end, they're the losers and I'm the ultimate winner," he said, leaning in to return her kisses. Even after two years of marriage, she still melted when he kissed her. They began debating over the decorations for the nursery when the discussion was soon interrupted by the phone. Shane jumped up from the floor and ran out of the room.
"It had better be our help. Bry and Kian said they would come over to help move the furniture." He yelled down the hall, as he tried to find the phone amidst the clutter.
Claudia sat quietly as she listened to the conversation between Shane and Bryan. She finished her milk and placed it on the floor. She still held the journal in her lap and slowly opened it to the last page. She focused on the sentence as she read out loud.
"I just met the man of my dreams and I can't do anything about it."
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