“It was excruciating!”
She focussed upon stirring the cup of tea without looking up,enjoying what she imagined would be knowing, yet supportive looks from her friends.
“I mean,” she continued, “I just never thought it would come. The hours and hours of agonising pain; however, I didn’t complain! My support crew were just amazed at how stoic I was. The only pain relief I had was some paracetamol.”
Finally, she allowed herself to modestly peer up from her tea to gauge the reaction of her audience and was shocked to see that they were all looking at her with barely contained amusement.
Well!
“I must say,” the pitch of her voice rose in annoyance, “you are not being as nearly as supportive as I was of all you when you all gave birth.”
Geraldine, a birth veteran of some four children, leaned across and gently clasped her hand, “It isn’t quite the same.”
She stood abruptly, knocking the table and spilling the cups of tea. “I gave birth.”
Geraldine stepped over to her and hugged her friend tightly, just as she always did when she was about to deliver devastating news to her own children before adding. “To an idea about how to redesign your kitchen, darling, not a baby.”