Authors Note: The religion in this book is completely made up however you will find elements of real religions all mixed together as well as things I have thought of. 'The Crowe' is basically a Church or a Mosque or a Temple. I currently don't have a name for the religion yet but that's the name of the church. Also, 'Nama' is their God/Allah/creator of their world.
"I'm pregnant." Angelo blurted out as if it wasn't noticeably from the ever-prominent bump she now sported. "Four weeks."
Her eyes were round with excitement and she could hardly stop herself from bouncing on the passenger seat of Kanye's Pachow II smart drive car. Waiting for her husband's reply, she traced her fingers along the groves of the tan leather seat. She waited several minutes as a guided the car around traffic towards the Crowe.
Still no reply.
She tried not to fiddle with her hair, the shade she had been gifted with from Nama, a coppery brown much like the candle holders at their Crowe, was the same as those in hair dye adverts. Often her friends believe that she did-respects Nama's wishes and dyes her hair, a rumour Angelo tries hard to put out.
As they slowed down in the early Sunday morning rush hour, Kanye massaged his face with his fingers, pushing Angelo's hand away sharply when she reaches out to him.
"I know..." Kanye said, trying to avoid eye contact. He fidgeted in his seat, lightly tapping on the pedals with his feet. He found that Angelo had a special ability to look deep into his soul and read his thoughts.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a puzzled expression reach Angelo's face. He looked straight at her and gestured to her bump, raising an eyebrow.
Angelo stared out of the window, she already knew the answer to the question she was going to ask:
"Aren't you happy for us?"
The silence that followed only confirmed her thoughts.
+++
Every body stared as their car pulled into the carpark. Everybody was still staring when they burst through the door and while the walked up the aisle to the priest. It was as if 'ARGUING' was tattooed across both their foreheads. They gestured to the priest who straight away excused herself from her current conversation. Between the two of them, they explained what had happened with the baby. While one spoke, the other gave sharp warning looks to those who tried to eavesdrop. Despite the looks, almost all the Crowe-goers tried to hear what they were talking about. After a several minutes of conversation, interrupted only by the heavy, wooden main doors opening and closing, the priest clasped her hands around each of them in turn giving them a bright smile. The onlookers frowned at she who shook hands with the devil's work. The couple didn't notice. They were too lost in their own oblivion to notice anything.
Angelo and Kanye turned around and went to find a seat near the front row of pews. Kanye placed a gentle hand on his wife's stomach and smiled at her looking down at the barely visible bump on her stomach. The others watched with approval, not one of them noticing the pained look in his eyes or the heart expression hidden behind her smile. Their life was almost perfect. Almost.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated, I have a rather important announcement to make regarding two members of our Crowe." Their priest began, her voice ringing clearly throughout the hall.
"Nama has bestowed upon Angelo one of the greatest gifts of all, to be the bearer of life."
The two smiled again at each other with their tortured smiles.
ns 15.158.61.23da2
