My Thoughts Exactly
Ann gave her reflection in the mirror a chastising look. She knew she should cut herself some slack. She just had a baby 6 weeks ago, no one could blame her for not looking like a bombshell. But that didn't make her feel any better.
Her mom told her it was the norm, and she knew it, but deep down, maybe she had a mentality that it was going to be different for her.
She still had about 15 pounds of baby weight to lose, not to mention the old stretch marks and sagging skin on her stomach.
Ann pulled her baggy shirt back down over her body, not being able to take any more.
She could always call Leslie for reassurance, but she didn't know if she wanted it. Ann just wanted to go back to the way she was.
It didn't make sense before she had her baby, and it didn't make sense now. Obviously there were going to be a lot of differences. She just hated that that fact applied to her new body.
She pulls her hair into a messy bun and walks out of the bathroom. Chris is on the ground doing pushups, a mild sweat glistening his skin, his muscles evident against his royal blue jogging shirt. Ann flops onto the bed and groans.
Here she was, feeling disgusting and horrible, and he looked better every day. It's just not fair.
Chris heard the noise and sat up on the ground, looking over at his girlfriend with concern.
"You okay?"
"Yep. Great." Ann said, muffled against the pillow.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. If we don't count my disgusting stretch marks, I'm fine."
Chris winces at her self-deprecation. "Ann Perkins, how can you say that? You have LITERALLY never looked more beautiful than you do right now."
"Not a compliment." She replied shortly.
He stand up to sit on the bed next to her. "What's going on?"
"Besides the whole 'I'm-fat-and-disgusting' thing?"
"Ann."
He only called her by her first name if he was sad or disappointed. When he was ecstatic (which was honestly most of the time) you could tell in the way he spoke to her and everyone else.
"Ugh, fine. I'm a slob and you're seriously exercising right now and you look better than ever."
"You know that's not true. Give yourself a break, you just had a baby."
"Will that still be an excuse a year from now? 5 years from now? 'Cause it doesn't seem like I'm going to change anytime soon."
"Well, there are going to be permanent changes. We won't get to be alone as often as we'd like, and we won't have time to do whatever we want. We won't get to have a good sleep for a long time. There's going to be a whole new person in our physical and emotional proximity for at least 18 years, and they'll rely on us for support. Maybe your body isn't what it used to be. But you'll bounce back soon and maybe you won't look exactly the same, but you'll be even more beautiful than ever. You did all the hard work on bringing Oliver into the world, give yourself a break." He kisses her hair.
Ann sits up and sniffs. "Really?"
"Of course, Ann Perkins! And honestly, if you could, would you change any of this?"
"No! Of course not. Then we wouldn't have Oliver."
"There you go, then."
Chris pulls Ann into his lap lovingly, and she lays her head on his chest. Poor girl, she did all the work carrying their child and keeping him alive; he'll help her and their child feel better in any way he can.
After a few minutes of silence, Ann pipes up.
"You're the best baby daddy in the world."
"So are you."
Ann pulls her head up suddenly. "I'm the best baby daddy?" She raises an eyebrow.
Chris laughs, loudly. "No, you're the best baby mama."
"Alright." Ann giggles, and a loud high-pitched cry sounds from the other room.
"Not again!" Ann says, hiding a smile but failing, as Chris gently pushes her off his lap to go get Oliver.
"I'll do it." He says.
"Bring him with you so we can all cuddle together."
"My thoughts exactly, Ann Perkins!"