Chapter 3

"Hi, it's Martin. I just wanted to hear how my sister is doing today."

"I'll get her," Susan replied.

Susan's voice sounded distracted and kind of distant. Martin had no way of knowing how untimely his call was. After a moment's silence his sister came to the phone.

"Hi little brother. How's the father-to-be?"

"We're doing fine, all two and a third. Can't be much more than that yet, perhaps even less. And how are you?"

"I'm fine. Just getting out of the hospital can make anybody feel cured. Have you seen Susan's flat? It's fantastic."

"You sound like you're cured already."

"If only. I don't want to think about that right now. I want to enjoy my life as much as possible, just in case."

"You'll get through it. I haven't spent years looking after you just to let you die from some odd disease, you hear me?"

"I promise I won't. How could I with people like you, Anna and Susan by my side?"

"That's the spirit. I'll call you tomorrow. Promise to call me if anything happens?"

"I will. Love you, little brother."

Later, Anna and Martin were doing the dishes, constantly bumping into each other, which was nice because they were in love, but also unavoidable because the kitchen was built at a time when men didn't participate in kitchen chores.

"We'll need a bigger place when the baby is born," Anna said.

"I think we will have enough for the downpayment on a house if we sell the flat."

"I'm not really sure I want to live in a house. I don't like the thought of being alone in a house."

"Why? What's the difference?"

"I've always lived in flats. There are always people around. I mean, I can knock on the wall and the neighbour will hear me."

"Exactly. That's the worst part of living in a flat: too much noise. And wouldn't it be nice to be able to turn up the volume without having to think about the neighbour's taste in music?"

"I don't know. Perhaps I can get used to it. How about an terraced house?"

"Semi-detached."

"Done."

Martin tried to get around Anna and brushed against her.

"Perhaps we'll have to get it before the baby is born. We won't be able to pass each other when your stomach grows bigger."

Anna turned around and put her hands on her still flat stomach.

"Do you think pregnant women are sexy?"

"I've never really thought about that. Do you think you want to have sex when you're, you know, very pregnant?"

Martin felt stupid after he'd said it. Of course women could have sex during pregnancy. Anna had brought a pile of books from the library about pregnancy and they had both spent a lot of time reading.

"I know a few women who had been pregnant and they wanted to have sex. Besides, what makes me feel good must be good for the baby," Anna smiled, but turned serious again. "Not all men want to, though. Lisa's boyfriend couldn't get it up when she was seven months pregnant."

"I don't think that will happen. I mean, I think you're awfully sexy--and the book we looked at the other day, 'The stages of pregnancy', the way the model's breast grew bigger and her nipples became dark and puffy; I think that looked pretty sexy."

"Should we look to see if my nipples are bigger and puffier now?" Anna said, and brushed her hand teasingly over her breasts.

"Let's finished the dishes and get some coffee first. We can go to bed early."

Anna Sighed. "Sometimes you're too practical."

They finished the dishes, rubbing against each other as much as possible. The dishes had really mounted up, not because they had eaten a twelve-course meal, but neither of them enjoyed doing the dishes, and the piles of used dishes were high.

"When is Sis going to tell your parents?"

"She promised to do it tonight."

"I can't believe that she hasn't told them."

"She didn't want them to worry before she could tell them what was wrong--and they would, believe me."

"But they must have been able to tell something was wrong. You can't fool a mother."

"Sis told them she was a bit depressed after breaking up with Sandra, which was half right. Perhaps I would have done the same. Dad worries so much if one of us is ill. I mean, it's sometime s harder on him than it is on us."

"Your dad is very emotional, even though he pretends not to be, right? He tried to hide it but he had tears in his eyes when you told them that they were going to be grandparents."