Taylor's POV
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Jay always does a fantastic barbecue. Everything tastes phenomenal, not burnt like you get with so many barbecues. But perfectly chargrilled. I consider this may be my last meal before labour with the way my body is feeling and I decide to eat. A whole lot.
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That can only mean a whole burger, sausages, salad and olives and cheese. And a portion of fries. I sit back afterwards and Jay puts his arm around me.
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"Hows it now" he asks in my ear and I look up at him.
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"Intense still" I remark and he rubs my tummy.
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"Thoughts on hospital visit" he asks me and I smile up at him.
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"We have a nurse and your mum here" I smile at him and he deliberates.
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"Let's open the presents and then go from there" I tell him and he smiles at me.
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"I'm not in labour" I tell him not knowing what I'm talking about. As if I know what it's like to be in labour, I haven't experienced it before but I know I'm not in pain.
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He kisses me finally satisfied and I smile up at him. Eventually we head over to the gifts together, the others congregating around us. It's dusk and the sun is setting. A breeze sweeping through into the kitchen from the terrace. The lights twinkling, above us.
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I well up first and Jay hugs me calling me a softy. We open up the presents together, starting with our friends and moving onto what our parents got us afterwards.
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"Rachel" I say looking at the Ralph Lauren baby romper in the first package. I gasp, it's beautiful. Totally impractical but beautiful all the same. Pale blue and white stripes with a little white collar. A small red boat embroidered at the top.
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"It's beautiful" I say crying and she laughs standing up and hugging me.
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"Thanks Chris, you're great at baby shopping" she laughs and I smile over at him.
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"It's truly very special" I say to them and they both smile.
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"Open the next one" Rachel squeals.
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Jay opens up the second present from them both and I watch him smiling. He pulls out a little Ralph Lauren bucket hat and smiles. It's white, with a little bear on it.
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"That's super cute" I smile holding it.
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"I picked that one, your baby is going to be a little dude" Rachel smiles at Jay. And considering the history between them it's nice to see them interacting and laughing with one another.
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As it turns out, from opening several presents from Claire and my own mother this baby is going to be a Ralph Lauren baby ambassador. With all of his branded bodysuits and bibs. Embroidered towels and little white pram shoes. He's already one spoilt baby and he hasn't even been born yet. Ross, although he has been in hospital, bought us a baby bouncer, lots and lots of nappies alongside fancy clothes. He also bought a newborn story book. Which is the perfect picture book for a baby at bedtime.
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"We got you a few things" Matthew says looking at myself and Jay. I smile at them both and begin unwrapping. Whatever is inside is incredibly soft.
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"It's a sleeping sack" Olivia says softly.
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"This is gorgeous" I smile, it's a fendi sleeping sack and I couldn't have imagined my baby would have been surrounded by such expensive garments. I should have known better.
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"Thank you that is very kind, generous and practical" I say and Olivia smiles warmly. Who could expect less from a nurse, to buy something that is both useful and luxurious. Matthew smiles at her and I find myself crying again.
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"Let's hope it helps with sleeping" she smiles and I chuckle. Jay strokes my hair back and I clutch my waist feeling the pressure again.
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I open the A3 sized present curious looking up at Matthew and his expectant eyes. I pull out a canvas which is exquisitely drawn and painted in watercolours. My eyes stream and I sob, it's truly beautiful and thoughtful. It's Matthew all over. A drawing of us, myself and Jay with a small baby facing the opposite way with a little hat on.
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"This is..." I begin and Matthew tears up too.
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"That's beautifully drawn" Jay says.
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"I know it's totally impractical" Matthew says and I stand up and hug him.
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"No it's wonderful" I say softly.
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"We can hang it in the nursery" Jay says smiling at him. I hand the print around and everybody admires the artwork.
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"Thank you this means so much to me" I say to him and he smiles.
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"There's more" he smirks.
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"Oh what's the other present" I ask and he laughs.
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"Open it, it's more practical" he says softly, eyeing me with his kind eyes.
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I open up the bow and remove the packaging to reveal a baby harness. A wearable baby bjorn carrier, in a soft fabric and a cream colour. It's wonderful and perfect as we hadn't already bought one.
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"Yes" I say super happy and imagining myself using it.
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"That's my more practical one, I just figured you could walk around and still do all of the things you love but have baby with you" he explains looking at me and I smile at him. He's really thought about these.
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"And Jay you can totally be one of those cool dads that wears baby all the time going to grab coffee and that" he laughs and Jay chuckles.
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"Thanks man" Jay says genuinely. I smile looking down into my lap.
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"There's one more, that I bought a while ago" Matthew says softly.
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Holding the small box I can't imagine what it might be. I unravel the baby blue bow and open it up. Looking up at his cheeky grin as he watches me.
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I pull out a well packaged, bubble wrapped music box. It's solid silver with a small teddy bear on the top. The idea is that you open it up and it plays lullabies.
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"I got it engraved with your surname, because you've both been so cagey with names" he chuckles and I trace my fingertips over the silver Gilbert Scott on the bottom. I open it up and it plays sweet music.
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"That is stunning" Rachel says.
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"It's wonderful" I say to him and he looks into my eyes with pure love. Matthew just knew how much I would appreciate a musical gift. And he clearly thought long and hard about what to get for the baby. I wipe my eyes stunned by the thoughtfulness. Olivia strokes his arm and he smiles down at her, happily.
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"Okay" I say pulling myself together, wiping my eyes and taking a deep breath.
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Myself and Jay begin opening the presents from both of our families. Baby has managed to score himself a gold Hermes bangle from Andrew, Jays dad.
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Jay laughs at the impracticalities but I tell him it's very sweet. Andrew jibes with Jay that a boy isn't a Gilbert Scott without a bit of gold around his wrist and that he'll get him his first Rolex when he's just a little bit older. I laugh knowing that Andrew is one hundred percent serious.
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Claire purchased us a whole host of practical stuff, including stuff for me as a new mum. A pamper box for myself and some post birth clothes which I'm eternally grateful for. I embrace her and she smiles, whispering in my ear that she will fly whenever and wherever to help me out. Her words mean the most to me, over the Armani dummy clip.
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My mother purchased us a Dior baby set which is intended for days out, it's stunning. The last gift from my mother is wrapped up in silk and bows. I eye her curiously and she smiles.
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I undo the navy blue silk bows one by one, unfold the silk and reveal a handmade quilt. I sob, my mother made me a quilt when I was very little and it was the one thing that comforted me when I was sad or sick. Or even when I just missed my absent father. She hugs me, telling me that I should have expected her to make something.
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Pale blue and silver patchworks make up the quilt with embroidery on them which she has hand sewn. The embroidery of baby Gilbert Scott must have taken her a long time, she has also embroidered different animals on it too. A little elephant, ducks and even fishes.
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"That is impressive and so soft" Jay says smiling and thanking her.
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"How long did this take to make" he smiles inspecting her amazing skills.
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"A few months" she says smiling.
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"Taylor had a quilt" she explains wiping my eyes.
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"I sure did" I smile slightly embarrassed and Jay chuckles.
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"Mom this means so much to me" I say thanking her.
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"Wow" I say overwhelmed looking at all of the stuff.
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"This is wow... thank you" I say to the room and Jay chuckles, far better at speaking than myself. I wipe my eyes and he pulls me in to his side.
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"We also wanted to say whilst we're embarking on this journey to Italy, we will of course still be around. And we will be more than happy to host all of you in Italy at any time" Jay says and I eye Matthew. He glances up at me just a hint of sadness in his eyes before he smiles at me.
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"Jay is intending on throwing you all a pizza pasta wine party" I smirk.
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"I'm in" Rachel smiles at me and I go over to hug her, tears in my eyes. I will miss her so much, I can already feel the sadness of her absence from my life and I haven't gone anywhere yet.
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"I'm going to move you all to Italy" I laugh and she chuckles wiping my eyes.
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The rest of the evening flies past us, I spend the entire time lounging on the terrace as our guests enjoy the food and wine. I tuck myself into Jay and he keeps his arm around me, occasionally checking in on baby.
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"This place in Italy" Andrew begins talking to us and I smile up at him. The glow of the fairy lights making me feel sleepy.
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"It's pretty magical" I say and he smirks, it's not a natural expression on him. He's a very serious guy. A business man. A multi million dollar business man.
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"It looks wonderful. Also are there links to local winery's?" he inquires looking at the both of us. Jay smiles, he has already researched it, of course he has.
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"Indeed, there are" he smiles, he's drinking water and juice tonight. T-total just in case anything happens. However I've made him a coffee which he is currently drinking.
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"Is that something you can tap into" Andrew inquires.
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"Of course, I've actually already begun fermenting grapes. We have a lot of land, lemon groves and such. It's possible to get a whole lot produced there" he says, farmer Jay. I begin imagining Jay in overalls, with our small little boy next to him collecting grapes.
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"That could prove interesting" Andrew says simply and I can see the cogs working in his brain.
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"I thought so" Jay says, and they say so much to each other without saying barely a thing.
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"Taylor you are going to love having the little one in Italy" Andrew says changing tact.
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"The food and the beaches. The culture, it's wonderful" he says starry eyed. Claire rolls her eyes and I smile at her.
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"Italy is wonderful" I agree and she smirks at me.
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Andrew goes on a torrent, talking about Italy, the food and the scenery. I listen and Jay nods pretending to.
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"Guys you're all welcome to stay" Jay says to our friends and I nod. They're all rather tipsy and it would be rude to make them find a way home, especially when we live a fair distance out into the suburbs.
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"Thanks Jay" Olivia says politely and I smile at her. Matthew has been giving her more attention this evening, appropriate attention for a girlfriend. He looks more like himself; happy and attentive.
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I catch his eyes in the glow of the twinkling lights and he watches me for a few seconds. Olivia is grabbing wine, Rachel just egging her on. He smiles slowly looking at me. He's been on his best behaviour indeed. I begin to imagine a future where we can both be in each other's lives as friends, with our respective partners. Thank you, I mouth to him. It was a hugely thoughtful gift. Welcome, he mouths back.
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I’m more thankful for his happiness than I am for any gift he bought for us. It makes me feel complete when everybody is settled. I look at Olivia, glancing down at him, she sweeps his hair back. He winks at her and she giggles. Lifting her up with his arms and placing her back down in the chair next to Christopher. He excuses himself and heads into the house.
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