Sameya

Patris looks up from his phone. “Mom called, by the way.” Sameya raises her pointer finger and nods, but finishes the paragraph she’s reading. “Are you listening? She wanted you to ask the gynaecologist if they could send the gender only to her. For some stupid reveal party. I already said no.”

Sameya puts her finger on the sentence in her book and looks at him. “Why not?” She’s already waited three months for this moment. What’s one more week? “Honestly, it sounds like a nice idea.” Patris sighs, tilting his head back. “You just don’t get it. My mom isn’t like your mother. Trust me, we don’t need this.”

That night in bed, Sameya stares at her phone. It feels like the entire world is throwing gender reveal parties. She can hear Patris rustling around in the bathroom and snuggles deeper under the covers, warm and content. After all, he is her safe haven.

She’s completely relaxed and can feel the baby. It’s not kicking, just a soft little tapping, like a rubber band snapping loose. “You’re right, little one,” Sameya whispers. “We’re going to have a party.”

On Thursday, Patris puts both hands on her shoulders, his eyebrows furrowed. “I’m sorry I can’t come with you. I just need to work as much as I can right now. You know. Before the baby.” Sameya nods and kisses his cheek. “I know.”

After he leaves for work, she goes into the kitchen. Today’s job is a birthday cake with a large green T-Rex on top and a pink “Congratulations on getting your driver’s licence!” She slowly chews small pieces of banana and the morning sickness isn’t that bad at all.

One of her clients is late to pick up the cake and Sameya is already dressed and ready to leave for her ob-gyn appointment. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I had to drop the kids off at school,” the client apologizes. “It’s totally normal that you’re nervous, so was I!”

The waiting room is already full of pregnant women with large bellies. Sameya looks down at her own stomach, but there’s nothing to see yet. A woman straightens her back, puts her hands on her hips, and exhales heavily. A pink baby sock dangles from her bag. She probably had a beautiful party with one of those giant pink-and-blue balloon arches.

Sameya waits at the reception desk while the assistant finishes a phone call. Feeling the weight of the other women’s stares on her back, Sameya gets the urge to turn around and just walk out. Maybe she can reschedule for a day when Patris can come with her.

“Sameya,” the assistant says warmly. “10:30 appointment. Right on time! Go ahead and take a seat.” Haltingly, Sameya tries to explain what her mother-in-law has asked her. “How fun,” the assistant says flatly. Sameya scribbles the phone number on a slip of paper and sits back down. She wants to pull out her phone, but she doesn’t want to look superficial.

Finally, the gynaecologist comes out to call the next patient. The assistant whispers something while gesturing toward Sameya. The gynaecologist nods. Sameya tries to read her expression. Does she think it’s sweet? Does she think it’s ridiculous? She definitely thinks it’s ridiculous, Sameya decides.

When it’s finally Sameya’s turn, the gynaecologist starts by turning the monitor away. “Just to be safe,” she says reassuringly. “We don’t want to ruin your mother-in-law’s surprise party, of course.”

Sameya gets a cold dollop of gel on her stomach and she can feel the baby. She leans her head back and takes a deep breath. They have a whole lifetime ahead of them. Waiting one more week isn’t going to change that.

Once everything is done, she leaves and calls Patris. “He’s getting big! The gynaecologist says he’s like a bouncing ball.” She’s so proud of this tiny little one who doesn’t know anything about the world and yet is already so determined to be a part of it. “He?” Patris asks rapidly. “Is it a boy? Did you see it for yourself or did she just tell you?”

“Well...” she stammers, fidgeting with the strap of her bag. “Well, I. They’re going to tell your mother.” Patris mumbles something and hangs up. Sameya’s shoulders feel heavy. All she wants is to go home.

The front door slams shut.“Why do you never listen to me? I don’t know why I even told you!” Patris drops his jacket onto a chair and stomps into the kitchen. He opens a bag of crisps and begins to chew loudly. “She’s called me five times today. I don’t want this. I’m just not going.” Sameya feels a new wave of nausea. “Then don’t go. I’ll just go alone. Like always.”

He turns to face her, his eyes locking onto hers. She leans back. “Like always?” he hisses. Sameya starts to cry. Patris drops the bag of crisps, kneels beside her chair, and takes her hand. “We’re in this together,” he whispers. She presses a soft kiss on his hair.

Sure enough, her mother-in-law starts calling Sameya multiple times a day, too. “Oh, sweetheart, how are you? How are you feeling?” Sameya notices she’s looking forward to the chats and answers her phone the moment she sees the caller ID. “Oh, sweetheart! You’re pregnant, not an invalid. You don’t have to sit on the couch clutching your phone all day, you know!”

They talk about the pregnancy, about what things were like back in the day. Her mother-in-law knows a fantastic bakery and wants to order a custom cake for the big reveal. Sameya thinks it’s perfect.

Finally, the day arrives. Sameya’s friends have made their polite excuses as to why they can’t drive all the way to her in-laws’ house for a slice of cake. Her parents already know Patris’ family and her younger sister says she’s coming along as well.

Patris and Sameya are in the car and he squeezes her hand. “Can you believe that in a few months… We’re going to be three people.” Sameya nods with a hand on her stomach. “What do you think?” she asks softly. “Boy or girl?” Patris keeps his eyes on the road. “Doesn’t matter,” he says. “As long as it’s healthy.”

The house is completely decorated in pink and blue streamers. The large living room table is stacked with cupcakes. Half of them are pink, the other half blue, of course. Sameya sees the empty spot in the center that’s obviously reserved for the cake. She wants to know right now, but first her mother-in-law takes her arm. They walk around the room and stop for small talk with the guests. There’s a lot of “Isn’t she glowing?” and “You must be so proud!”

Sameya fiddles with her dress and keeps glancing at Patris. He’s sitting on the couch with a few other men. They're watching TV. Someone reaches out and puts a hand on her belly. Sameya takes a step back, but smiles. Her mother-in-law grabs her hand and leads her into the kitchen.

“Here it is. This is the cake!” giggles her mother-in-law. It’s a gorgeous cake, skilfully built and finished with classic piped frosting along the sides. It has crushed hazelnuts and sliced strawberries on top. An impressive, rich chocolate cake. Exactly how Sameya likes it.

“A cheesecake would’ve been better, of course,” her mother-in-law says as she lifts the tray and carries the cake into the living room.

Sameya wants to follow her, but she feels the familiar nausea again. She presses a hand on her stomach. Hey, little one. I’m ready. Are you?

Patris and Sameya stand at the head of the table. The guests are coming closer, everybody is focused on the cake. Patris kicks her foot softly “Ready?” She nods. “Ready.”

He places his hand over hers, and together they push the knife down into the cake. Sameya jerks her hand back, but Patris squeezes her harder. The first cut reveals nothing. After the second cut, there's a clean wedge of cake in front of them. Patris’s hand starts trembling. They roll the slice onto a small plate.

The inside of the cake is striped: layers of pink and blue. The people closest to the cake are silent, but in the back some people start to ask what's going on. Patris stammers. “This. This. You know? This wasn't my idea.” He raises his hands and takes a step back. Sameya looks around the room, but can't find her mother-in-law.

“Hooray!” her mother-in-law appears in the kitchen doorway. She's holding a tray with blue cupcakes. “It’s a boy!” She now balances the tray with one hand and thrusts her other arm in the air. “I’m having a grandson!”

Everybody starts to cheer and applaud. The cupcakes get passed around and a woman Sameya doesn't recognize hands her a cupcake too. “You’re so quiet, darling. Were you hoping for a girl?” Sameya doesn’t answer. She quickly takes a bite of the cupcake.

Patris stands beside her, his arms pressed against his sides. His eyes are fixed on the window.

“Hey,” Sameya tugs on his sleeve. “What are you thinking?” He doesn’t reply. He doesn't even move. Her mother-in-law comes over, but doesn't look at him. “Oh, sweetheart, what did you think? I hope you didn’t mind. My little joke, I mean!” she says, while giving Sameya’s shoulder a single pat. Sameya just mumbles, “No, not at all. It’s fine.”

A dull throbbing hums in her ears, and she presses a hand to her hot cheek. She avoids eye contact.

After a moment her mother-in-law is called away by other guests. When Sameya looks up again, she sees her own parents quietly taking their coats and heading to the door. She wants to run to them and cry, but her feet seem glued to the floor.

Her sister follows her parents, but stops to look back. When she spots the blue cupcakes on the table, she shakes her head. And when she sees Sameya, she smirks. She quickly circles her index finger a few times against her temple. Sameya shakes her head and smiles. Her sister blows her a kiss before she leaves.

In the car on the way home they listen to happy pop music. Sameya stares at the large box in her lap. It's the entire chocolate cake, including the cut slice, neatly repacked in the original bakery box.

She glances at Patris, but he looks only at the road. His hands are firmly on the steering wheel. “What are you thinking?” she asks softly. He exhales. “A boy. We’re actually having a boy. I’m going to play football with him, build rafts, go camping in the woods... It just suddenly feels so real.”

Sameya smiles as tears drip on her cheeks. “Yeah,” she says. “We’re having a baby. And that’s all that matters.”