One More Chapter--Spanna
“And thus, every fall Persephone was forced to return to Hades, and mourning her loss, Demeter stopped giving life to the plants around them. But when spring arrived and Persephone came with it, Demeter would once again give life to nature,” Hanna read aloud, putting down the book of Greek myths. Spencer yawned and stretched out.
“One more chapter,” she begged. Hanna rolled her eyes.
“It’s getting late. We’ve already read three!” she exclaimed. Spencer nodded and rubbed her large stomach.
“Yeah, but you want the baby to know your voice, don’t you? It’s not for me, it’s for her,” she argued. Another eye roll from Hanna.
Ever since finding out Spencer was pregnant seven months ago, Hanna had been insistent about reading to their unborn daughter every night to make sure she was born knowing Hanna’s voice. The couple had fought over what to read; Hanna thought they should read Harry Potter, Spencer had wanted to read Shakespeare. Finally they’d come to an agreement: every night, one of them got to choose a book. Spencer had quickly decided, however, that Romeo and Juliet was too violent for their unborn child and had switched to other works of classical literature. Last night, she had randomly chosen an old book of Greek mythology that had belonged to her mother. To her surprise, Hanna had turned around and picked that book again tonight.
Unable to deny her wife’s request, Hanna began to tell the story of Prometheus and how he gave the humans fire.
“You can’t end on that one! It’s way too violent. It’ll give the baby nightmares,” Spencer whined when Hanna had finished. The blonde kissed her wife’s stomach.
“Okay, first off, I’m pretty sure babies don’t dream. And secondly, it’s ultimately about how his kindness saved humankind, which really makes it an excellent story,” she protested, remembering what Spencer had argued in ninth grade English class. Spencer raised an eyebrow.
“You remember that?” she asked in awe. Hanna nodded.
“Of course I do,” she said, not saying that Spencer was basically the only thing she paid attention to in freshman year.
“Still. That doesn’t mean she can understand that! And scientists believe that babies do start dreaming in utero, so I win,” Spencer said. Hanna was about to make a retort when Spencer grabbed her hand and pressed it to her stomach.
“Look, she’s kicking. As sweet as it is that you remember my interpretation for high school, Mara’s upset. She wants to hear one more, a romantic one,” Spencer said. Hanna grinned, feeling the baby kick.
Spencer had been hesitant when Hanna approached her about having a baby. Part of her had always known the topic would come up eventually. Ever since they were little girls Hanna had talked about her future babies. Still, when her wife had announced three years into their marriage that she wanted to try for a baby, it had taken her by surprise. It didn’t take a psychologist to know that Spencer’s reluctance to be a mother stemmed from her own uneasy childhood. She was afraid of being cold and distant, or favoring one child over another. She was terrified that addiction and anxiety ran through her blood. Luckily, that could be avoided by Hanna being their biological mother. She just hadn’t expected her wife to have trouble getting pregnant. But she’d known the second Hanna opened her mouth to ask if she would carry the baby that she’d say yes.
Now, feeling the baby kick, Spencer couldn’t believe she’d ever questioned wanting this. She already loved her daughter so much, and Hanna was going to be an amazing mother.
Unable to deny Spencer’s request, Hanna flipped through the book, looking for something romantic. Settling on the perfect story, she began reading the tale of Eros and his love Psyche. Halfway through, Spencer’s eyes began to drift shut.
“Should I stop?” Hanna asked in a whisper. Spencer shook her head.
“No, finish the story. I’m listening,” she said. Hanna kissed her wife’s forehead and continued reading. Within moments, the sound of the brunette’s soft snores filled the room. Hanna turned off the light and gave Spencer one last kiss before she too went to sleep, dreaming of her wife and their unborn child.