Life of a pregnant woman.

"OMG, Anna! Look!" Isabella squealed, standing before the mirror in nothing but her underwear. Her belly looked a little like it had bloated over the past six months and she couldn't help but flaunt it.

"Awww, look at that baby bulge. It's adorable." Anna gushed from the phone she held in her hands. "You'll look like an elephant in a few days. You're happy with that?"

Isabella rolled her eyes, giggling. "Yes. I'm fine with it, you pessimist. I can't wait to meet him or her."

Anna grunted. "Sure, yeah. If the sperm they used didn't come from bigfoot."

What the heck?

"Anna, I'm having a wonderful day. Don't ruin it," Isabella warned, glaring at her phone screen. Her best friend sighed and nodded.

"Sorry. I'm just really worried about you. There's so much risk attached to this, Isa. A simple mistake and you could end up with some genetically weird baby."

Isabella hummed, eyeing her baby bump in the mirror. After several repeated cycles and spending almost all her life savings on each insemination, she finally got pregnant. The past months had been spent extremely carefully. She made sure not to walk too fast, reduced the amount of workload she did at the office, and had thrown away all her alcohol.

"Things will be fine, Anna. I've been really careful. I swear it. I read all the books the doctors recommended. And I haven't drank a Chardonnay in two months, no matter how much I want to." She reassured her best friend.

Anna sighed in relief and nodded. "Yeah, I should stop worrying like an idiot."

"Yeah, you're worrying like an idiot. I got this, Anna. I'm gonna be a super swell mom, you'll be jealous of my baby."

Anna laughed. "Yeah, right. Whatever floats your boat, Isa."

Isabella did a twirl. "Have you seen me? My boat floats just fine."

"Did you take your leave yet?" Anna inquired.

She nodded. "Yup, yesterday. I won't be getting paid though. I hope I've saved enough for this, you know?"

"If the money runs out, we'll go and be showgirls." Anna joked, sipping from a cup of tea. She was in a cafe having breakfast before she left for work.

"We'd fail horribly. No pole in the world can hold this baby. And what the hell would my stage name be? Elephantiasis?"

Anna spat the drink in her mouth, her body shaking with laughter. "The heck, Isa! That's just dark, girl!"

Isabella grinned shrugging. "Living alone has helped me grow my humour."

"Oh, no!" Anna falsely exclaimed. "Raising a child in such an environment? What will he become? Chris Rock?"

"Or Bill Hicks," Isabella added and they both burst into fits of giggles.

"I'm glad you're happy, Isabella. You deserve to be after all you've been through, babes," Anna said somberly,

"Thanks, bestie. Really. You've been so supportive, I couldn't have done this without you," Isabella replied.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get all sappy on me. I have to go, Isa. Take care, will ya?"

She beamed a cheery smile at her best friend and cut the call. Walking to her wardrobe, she pulled out an orange free-form dress that allowed her to feel comfortable. Anna wasn't wrong, she was starting to look like an elephant.

Being pregnant was an entirely different experience. And it had its ups and downs.

Her lips twisted in disgust as she recalled the first two months of morning sickness. For a while, she had been afraid that the baby would die of dehydration. Nothing she ate or drank stayed in her stomach for long, it always ended up with her, spewing her guts into the toilet bowl.

Next came the fatigue. She got so easily tired that she could sleep anywhere. One time she had fallen asleep on the sidewalk while waiting for the bus. A man had woken her up and it had been darned embarrassing.

"I had spittle all over my face. Surprised I didn't sink into the ground in shame." She murmured as she powdered her face. Satisfied with how she looked, she grabbed her bag and walked out of her condo.

Outside, the air smelled a lot like coffee and sweet cakes. A cafe was close to the condo she lived in and every morning she treated herself to its sweet milk tea and delicious cakes. The baby kicked hard, and she doubled over on the sidewalk.

"No, no." She whispered to her stomach. "No more caffeine today. We had so much yesterday, we puked."

"Aww, that's adorable." An older woman said beside her. Her hair had hints of white mixed with her blonde ones.

Isabella gave her a shy smile. "Thank you."

"How far along are you?" The woman asked, wiping off beads of sweat that had gathered on her forehead.

The sun burned hotter across the blue sky and Isabella was grateful she wore a light dress. The heat would've left her heady, dizzy and disgusted by her sweat. It had happened so much in the past week that she never wanted to repeat it.

"Five months. I'll be due in Four."

"That's wonderful, dear. I'll bet you and your husband are all excited." The old woman said kindly and she froze.

Husband? Isabella wanted to laugh. How was she to explain that the husband simply did not exist? She had survived the past five months on her own and it was proof that she didn't need a jerkface around to have a child.

Pressing her lips, she gave a tight smile and shook her head in response. Pity filled the old woman's blue eyes. She glanced at Isabella's baby bump and shook her head sadly.

"He died?"

A chuckle escaped Isabella at the same time a bus pulled up at the bus stop. "No. He... He's not in the picture. Have a nice day, ma'am." She waved and climbed into the vehicle.

***

She watched the sun set slowly, colouring the sky with different shades of orange, pink and red. All around her, children played and hollered, climbing on swings and screaming gibberish.

A smile of satisfaction sat on her face as she took them in and adjusted her knees on her yoga mat.

"Focus, ladies. Just one more stretch and we're done." The instructor ordered. She was a slender middle-aged woman who helped pregnant women do yoga. Anna had recommended that she attend. She didn't care much about the effects as long as it didn't harm her baby. It was a fun way to kill time anyway since she was on maternity leave.

"Now slowly sit on your ankles and stretch forward in a child's pose!" The instructor yelled and she followed the directions, taking deep breaths as the stretch deepened. "Hold and release. That's it, everyone! Weldone."

Relaxing, she shifted out of the pose and rose to her feet.

"You're leaving already?" The instructor asked and she gave a nod in response.

"I'm going clothes shopping." She announced.

"Oooh, nice. "A black pregnant woman commented. She had thick frizzy hair that barely reached her shoulders. "Do you know the gender yet?"

"Hehe, no. I kind of want to be surprised. And yes, that means I'm not buying pink or blue. Green is more neutral...I guess?"

"Uh-huh. Yeah, girl." The woman nodded, palming her swollen womb. "I'm having a boy. Not so psyched about it but Jonathan is."

She frowned. "Jonathan?"

"Yeah. My husband. I'm Livvie, by the way." The black woman introduced, stretching out a hand.

"Isabella."

When Isabella shook her outstretched hand, the woman gripped firmly onto her arm and hoisted herself up with Isabella's support.

"Sorry," Livvie grinned. "The baby's as big as a horse. I couldn't get up on my own. "

Isabella stared at her incredulously and laughed. "I'm not sure I should feel heroic or used. One wrong move and I could have fallen all over you."

Livvie shook her head, her frizzy thick hair swaying stiffly in the air. "Nuh-uh. You are a strong woman. I don't see a ring on that finger so I'm assuming you're raising your child alone. If that ain't strong, I don't know what is."

A warm fuzzy feeling lodged in Isabella's chest and she smiled tearily at Livvie.

"Thank you." She replied somberly. "You have no idea how much it means to me to hear that."

"Not a problem. Keep being strong, Isabella." The woman urged and patted her shoulders. "I guess I'll see you at the next yoga class?"

She sniffed and nodded, tossing her folded mat into her back. "Definitely."

Feeling hyped and encouraged by Livvie, she walked home with a spring in her step. Just a few months ago, she had moped around over a brutal jerk who did not in any way deserve her.

"Not in the least!" She yelled to no one in particular.

But it was all fine now. She had a baby coming, her life was going smoothly and she was truly, genuinely happy.

What more could a woman ask for?