(book 17) : Sheila And Clifford: Becoming Parents …. [ Chapter 51; For M. J. Lemon, My One True S. And C. Fan; A Section Of A L O N G Sequel Poem; Fiction ] Poem by Bri Edwards

Bri speaks: ……………..{yes it is ‘the author' speaking now! }:

Darien Connecticut is where our loving couple will raise their child,
though visits to the Bronx will happen also; the commute is usually mild.
The Bronx is where Sheila's ‘home office' is, and her Mom & Dad, and Fred.
Fred is her brother; he has Asperger's Syndrome, and he ‘loves' BLUE, not Red.

{{For ‘new readers' in Sheila and Clifford's life of lust and love,
let me, Bri, fill you in a bit on what came before I wrote ‘the above'.
Sheila is from New York City and used to be a bit sexually-wild.
Cliff's parents are dead, and so far he seems more sexually-mild, ….
BUT that doesn't always stop a baby from being successfully conceived.
He IS the ‘Dad-To-Be', UNLESS, by Sheila, or them both, I've been deceived.

Sheila and Clifford met in the Bahamas, where "sight unseen" they shared …….
a vacation home [they HAD emailed! ]. It's where S, to C, first her body bared!
In the Bahamas also were residents and Sheila's ‘friends', Ike and "Vi".
If you read some earlier chapters, I doubt you'd forget them, even if you tried.

Sheila runs a tax preparation ‘family' business. She likes to buy ……stuff.
Clifford inherited millions, so part time work in a bank is for him enough.
He also likes birdwatching, and he's a writer, having at least one book for sale.
Sheila had two abortions before meeting Cliff. Does her uterus EVER fail? ? ?

Sheila speaks:

"Pipe down, Bri! I think I can handle telling the story now from here.
But you made a nice synopsis of what's come before now. Thanks, my ‘Dear'.

I guess, from what I've read and heard others say, I had a pregnancy-"easy":
a little "morning sickness" early on, and a craving for certain foods when not queasy;
I could handle my daily routine pretty well; I could prepare for our firstborn child.
BUT sometimes, when I least expected it, anticipation drove me almost (not quite) ‘wild'!

My mom and my brother Fred were the ones who seemed to be more excited than I.
Clifford was enthused and very supportive when I needed it. With love, he did me ply.
Some say Jews don't "do" baby showers. But that's mostly due to superstition, so ………..,
since my family and I are not superstitious, when friends asked me, I said: ‘By all means, GO …
for it! ! ! ' "

Clifford speaks:

"Who would have guessed just a few years ago that I would become a father after 30?
I was glad to go along with Sheila's suggestion that we have a child, EVEN with diapers-"dirty"!
We could work out our schedules to care for our baby, and if need be get a part-time nanny.
We both read ‘tons of stuff' to prepare us. Sheila was not-too-pleased though ….with her BIG fanny!

She'd expected her boobs to ‘inflate' as her body got ready for breastfeeding.
And, of course, her belly swelled a lot, but …………‘WHY' a big FANNY was she needing? ?
At Lamaze classes we learned about and practiced, with other couples, how to relax.
And other things were taught to make The Birth (for parents & child) successful to "the max".

‘Natural Childbirth' was our plan; arrangements were made for a midwife, and NO drugs!
But when our baby's time to arrive came, after 10 hours of labor, we needed More Than Hugs! !
So, off to the local hospital, in an ambulance we all rushed. A doctor was found for a C-section,
and our daughter was born within another hour. [No abnormalities were found upon inspection.]"


Bri speaks (again!) :

And so Sheila and Clifford, united in love and marriage, became parents of Shannon Elisabeth ….
Damn! I don't remember their last name. Well, you don't need to know it. (Her nickname is Beth.)


('written' with keyboard in early September 2017)