By her seventh month of pregnancy, Luina’s stomach had gotten big enough to lift even her maternity clothes. She no longer insisted on doing her part of the chores, which was difficult on her considering how active she’d been all her life, but it was impossible for her to properly lean over.
Having nothing to do, Luina spent the majority of each day in the safety of the bed. So too, however, did Anima and the girls, as keeping her company was one of their highest priorities.
They’d gotten a new table and sofa for the bedroom so the girls could draw and play while also spending time with their mommy, but with the weather getting warmer every day, both Anima and Luina were starting to feel bad for them.
Even the doctor, who was visiting Luina every other week, had suggested that she take a light walk outside every once in a while. Per that advice, short family walks around the garden had become a daily activity, and they even visited the town once a week.
Anima and the girls were currently taking their daily walk in their garden, planning their exciting weekly outing to Garaat, which was coming up tomorrow.
“I kinda wanna go to a café,” Myuke proposed, pushing the baby stroller as exercise for when the baby was born.
The day prior had been Bram’s day to push the stroller, which she’d managed without any issues, and the next day would be Marie’s chance to try to rise to the challenge. They’d been practicing ever since they’d bought the stroller, and while Myuke and Bram had gotten a good handle on it, Marie was clearly struggling with the task. She could barely reach the handle and couldn’t see inside the stroller at all when the sun cover was down.
Anima was worried about her, but he was even more worried about what would happen if the baby was in the stroller while she was trying to push it. Even so, despite the difficulties, Marie was actively looking forward to walking with the baby, and he didn’t want to spoil her enthusiasm. She would likely be fine if they were on a well-kept road and he paid extra attention to them.
“You look super comfortable with the stroller, m’kay?”
“It’s easy. I can’t wait to walk with the baby.”
“Me too!” Marie exclaimed from right next to Anima’s ear. He had expected her to ask if she could ride in the stroller, but that didn’t happen. Her favorite spot was still Anima’s back, and piggyback rides had become her most common method of transport when they went out on walks. “I can rattle!”
“I’m sure the baby’ll stop crying right away if they see you rattling.”
Marie really liked the rattle they’d bought, and had recently started to practice calming the baby down with the help of her sisters. A real baby definitely wouldn’t be as easy to calm down as Myuke and Bram, but everyone was convinced that her enthusiasm would be enough to make it work.
The five of them enjoyed the gentle rays of the sun as they strolled across the lush green lawn. Toward the end of their daily walk, as they passed by the well, Luina suddenly stopped and longingly looked its way. Anima followed her gaze, but didn’t see anything worthy of note. All that was there was the lawn, the small wooden fence, and the nearby forest.
“Why did you stop? Are you hurt?”
Hearing that, the girls were struck with a tinge of worry as well. She turned back toward her family and shook her head, looking at them with a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry; I’m perfectly fine.”
“Then how come you spaced out?” Myuke asked, utterly lost.
“I was just remembering what happened last year.”
A sudden breeze blew through the garden and fluttered Luina’s hair, the sight of which completely spellbound Anima. Her gentle eyes and adorable smile took his breath away, filling him with a sense of warmth, admiration, and awe as butterflies took flight in his stomach. In that moment, he realized what she was referring to.
“It’s already been a year since we met, huh...?”
“Yes. In just two days, we’ll have met exactly one year ago, making it our first anniversary.”
Anima was enamored by Luina’s soft yet excited words.
“It’s been a whole year...”
Their first year together felt to Anima like it had flown by. Every day since their marriage had been filled with joy and happiness, and there had never been a boring second with his family by his side. Days felt like they lasted twenty-four minutes rather than twenty-four hours.
“Oh wow, has it really been that long? I remember coming home and all of a sudden Mommy was married. That was a shocker. ...Wait, Daddy, did you really forget your one-year anniversary?”
Myuke was in disbelief, and Anima had no defense. He did forget about it until Luina brought it up.
“I’m sorry...”
“Oh, no, it’s okay. I only remembered it as we were walking past this spot,” Luina confessed, which prompted an exasperated sigh from Myuke.
“Jeez, you two really were made for each other. Like, for real, how can you both forget about your very first anniversary?! We’ll have to have a big celebration—at least as big as the one we had for your birthdays!”
“I cebebate too!”
“I’ll help too, m’kay? We’ll make your anniversary even better than your wedding ceremony was!”
“We didn’t have a ceremony.”
Bram couldn’t believe her ears.
“Why not?! You two’re so lovey-dovey around each other that it makes me blush, m’kay?! I figured you woulda had a super cute ceremony! Unless you weren’t that close back then?”
“No, that’s not it. We were head over heels for each other from the moment we saw each other. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, head over heels indeed.”
It had taken them a few days after getting married to share their first kiss, but they had undoubtedly loved each other from the very first moment.
“Then it makes no sense, m’kay?! Are marriage ceremonies not a thing here?!”
“No, they are,” Myuke explained. “Most couples have them. Rich people usually have huge parties with dozens if not hundreds of guests, while poorer people have small ceremonies with their families.”
When they’d gotten married, Luina had had no money or family besides Myuke and Marie. She’d never brought up the idea of a ceremony either. As for Anima, he’d had a completely different reason.
“I was just so happy about our marriage that the idea of a ceremony never so much as crossed my mind.”
“Honestly, Daddy, that doesn’t surprise me at all. I am surprised that Mommy didn’t bring it up, though.”
“I didn’t bring it up for the very same reason. Listening to Mom talk about her wedding made me want to have one as well, but marrying and being together with Anima was fulfilling enough for me.”
Hearing Luina’s reasoning thrilled Anima, and the fact that he hadn’t been the reason they didn’t have a ceremony was the icing on the cake.
“I’m glad neither of you thinks it’s a big deal, but you missed an amazing chance, Daddy, m’kay?”
“What chance?”
“You can only ever see Mommy wear her wedding dress once in your life, m’kay? It’s supposed to be the most beautiful moment in a person’s life. ’Sides, a girl’s cutest when she says you-know-what while wearing that dress.”
“Luina, we’re having a ceremony.”
Anima didn’t need to hear more, and Luina’s sweet giggle suggested that she was on board with the idea as well.
“That sounds lovely.”
The thought of having a real wedding ceremony was getting Anima visibly excited. He wanted to hold it in two days’ time, so they would need to plan the event quickly. It was a daunting task, but he was up to it.
“We can’t just jump right into this, though. We don’t nearly have enough time to plan a ceremony for your anniversary. I mean, maybe if we do it in a super-tight circle with just us it’s possible, but don’t forget that Mommy’s pregnant. We can’t let her get worked up and do a lot of work.”
Myuke’s warning pulled Anima back to reality. She was completely right; he didn’t want to force Luina to overexert herself, and he also didn’t want to rush the preparations. Luina was probably just as excited for the ceremony as he was, which meant that they had to make sure the once-in-a-lifetime event was absolutely perfect.
“It seems like we’ll have to wait to have our wedding ceremony,” Luina said.
“I think that’s for the best. Even if we do hold off on it, we still have our anniversary coming up. I like the idea of dressing up for the occasion.”
Luina must’ve thought the same thing as she immediately nodded to his proposal.