When we returned from church today, he held my shoulders and helped me sit gently on the bed. He opened my zip and helped me undress. He sat on the floor and took my shoes off. He placed my foot on his lap and started giving me a foot massage. I was smiling. He looked into my eyes and asked, “Is the pain gone?” I asked what pain and he answered, “You mentioned that your feet were hurting when we were going to church.”

I smiled. I told him not to stop. He kept going and I kept wishing I would remain pregnant for the rest of our marriage.

This is our second year in marriage. We dated for three years. If there’s something I know about my husband, I know he hardly shows emotions. He won’t hug me when he comes home from work. He won’t say I love you or kiss your forehead. When I tried doing it to him, he folded. He swerved my hug and avoided my lips. “We are not teenagers,” He would say. So with time, I accepted him for who he is. I loved to be touched but when he didn’t do it after several conversations, I stopped talking about it.

He was asleep at dawn when I told him I was pregnant. He smiled. That dawn, he pulled me into his embrace and left me there till morning. That was when everything changed.

He opens doors for me, wait until I enter before he closes it. He carries my bag and holds hands when we walk. In the night, he’ll put his head on my tummy and scream, “Knock knock.” In the morning he will do the same thing.

When the pregnancy was five months, he had a pregnancy party for the baby. We ate the cake while he promised the baby he was going to be the best dad in the world.

I cried. He rubbed the tears with his thumb. I asked, “Who do you love, me or the baby?” He answered, “I love who I’ve been with all these years and I love that what we had is bringing forth another human.”

I asked him to make me a promise. That this won’t stop after the child. He lifted his right hand and said with amusement in his voice; “I promise.”

I love the way he’s treating me and I’ll enjoy it while it lasts. If he continues after delivery, it will be a plus for our love story. If he doesn’t, well, it’s life and it goes on. It won’t change a thing and I’m not going to hold him against his promise. At this moment, I’m enjoying what we have and I’ll take it all in so that when it stops coming, I can tap into the memory of it to keep me going.

I’ll let him read this. Maybe, he’ll know how deeply I love what’s happening and keep them coming as we age.

— Eme

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