It's Time for Maternity Leave
It was my last day of work before my maternity leave, and my whole body was screaming that it was well past time for this day to come. As office manager, I was all over the office and its attached warehouse all day, nonstop fulfilling different needs and requests for a variety of my coworkers. In fucking heels, even at 39 damn weeks pregnant!
I started the day at my desk, but almost immediately had to go to a meeting at the warehouse manager's office, about as long a walk as was possible in this building. Halfway there I decided I didn't care what my boss might say: my feet and ankles were too swollen and center of gravity too off-kilter to stay in my heels. I kicked them off and threw them in the nearest trash can, not giving it a second thought. Stocking feet would be fine for the day.
I'd bump-proofed my own office months ago, extending distances between pieces of furniture and clearing belly-level items from surfaces. No one else did this for their offices, though, nor could I reasonably expect them to. So, I knocked two stacks of paperwork and a fragile paperweight off the warehouse manager's desk within about 30 seconds of entering his office. Awesome.
An hour into the day and I was already cursing pregnancy's limiting of my caffeine intake. So, so tired. Always. I had to price new fax machines for the office, something to do in my office chair. I stretched the task out beyond what was reasonable, too exhausted to stand. Eventually my boss called, and I had to go to his tightly-furnished office to discuss some expense reports. He was kind enough to offer me his padded chair and take a harder one for himself. And he didn't mention my lack of shoes. He was my hero of the moment.
Lunch came, and I ate like a pig. Not denigrating myself or my body: i truly didn't give a shit at this point. Had I gained significantly more weight than the doctors recommend? Sure. Fuck it. I was about to push a whole new child out of my vagina. Wasn't that concerned with pettier issues right then.
After lunch felt like the end of senior year of high school, a time to slack off and wait out the clock. I still did too much walking for my body's liking, though, as I had about a dozen people I felt I should personally say goodbye to before I went on leave. They were located all over the building, of course. After the first few goodbyes, I started clearing spots on my coworkers' desks on which I could rest my bump. I was just the right height for this move, and it had become necessary to maintaining my limited energy.
At three o'clock, they all threw me a party, complete with baby shower-style gifts. And, more importantly, a big cake and lots of other snacks. It was very sweet of them, though I found myself nearly falling asleep repeatedly: I hope I didn't seem ungrateful.
Even sweeter than the party was my boss telling me I could take off at 4. I drove home sleepily, getting into bed the moment I got home. I barely had the energy to call my husband in to eat me out.
The Glow
She stood out in the crowd, reminding me most of a glow-in-the-dark toy. I stood on the second floor balcony of the hotel (or, something like a hotel, anyway), able to see people on the shoulder-to-shoulder crowded first floor mostly from the chest up. Even as she moved, I didn't lose sight of her for a moment. Why was she glowing? I was intrigued, and felt the irresistible urge to follow her movements, hoping she'd come in my direction and I might get a closer look at her. She wound up entering an elevator after a few minutes of observation, and I figured I had a slight chance she'd get off on the second floor near where I was, though one of the other dozen or so floors was probably a more likely destination.
I got lucky, seeing her glow from across the balcony as she exited the elevator. She turned down the closest hallway to the elevator, and I felt compelled to follow her from a relatively respectful, not-quite-creepy distance. Once I got into the hallway she'd entered, I saw her at one of the first doors on the right, fumbling for her room key. Now visible in profile, I see that she's quite pregnant. So it's THAT glow: the one they always seem to talk about with pregnancy. I walked over and asked if she needed any help. She smiled and winked. "I've been glowing for 25 minutes, what the hell took you so long?" I was speechless as she opened her door and pulled me into her room (and out of the dream).
The Librarian