Hello Dolly!

Malia's pregnancy was progressing well. Her gardening kept her exercised and when she felt fatigued Carl was happy to take over the more strenuous tasks. In fact his boss at the lab was keen for Carl to become more familiar with plants and their life-cycles as part of a major research project he team was working on.

Every few weeks Malia would be surprised to see another exotic plant mixed in amongst the ordinary fruits and vegetables she was growing for the local market.

The lab would allow them  to sell on the produce from some of the specimens Carl was given to work with; those that weren't particularly rare or exotic but merely unusual in this part of the world.

The local store owners did sometimes require considerable persuasion to take these unlikely local goods but slowly word of Malia's garden prowess grew and some of the residents of Hidden Springs would visit specifically to check if she could grow a particular vegetable or fruit that they had discovered on holiday and now wanted to try at home.

Apart from the benefits to both their careers, having access to such a variety of fresh foods meant that Debra was exposed to a diverse variety of foods and tastes so they hoped they would have no problems with her developing fussy eating habits.

It was clear to Carl that with another baby on the way they would need to extend their small home again.

This would be a more substantial modification than that required to create the nursery room for Debra.

The architect had suggested fully extending the rear of the building and rearranging the kitchen and living area.

To minimise the stress of all the works Carl and Malia decided to involve Debra by getting her to design her new room.

The look Debra decided to go for was quite typical for a young girl.  Surrounded by a cloudy skyscape with lots of her favourite animals and, a recent obsession, a wall full of pretty boy band posters!

While Carl was busy working on the extension to their home and getting the children's rooms finished, Malia would be in the garden tending to the many varieties of plants they now grew.

In these warm late spring days she loved being able to spend time outdoors, not doing any strenuous groundwork (Carl would take care of that!) but just being in the sun, surrounded by the colourful bounty that she, and Carl of course, had coaxed out of the earth.

It was on one such early summer day that Malia was taking out some weeds, with Debra at school and Carl working at the lab, that she felt this sudden tightening pain and as she struggled to stand up she realised her waters had broken ... it was a couple of weeks before due but it looked like baby was ready!

Malia called her midwife who was actually on a call a couple of streets away and by the time she arrived the regular contractions had started in earnest so she immediately phoned for an ambulance and rang Carl to let him know what was happening.

Carl shouted across to his partner "that's the call, gotta go!" who barely had time to wish him luck before he was out of the lab.

He knew and trusted the midwife and had confidence in the staff at the Sacred Spleen Memorial, but Carl felt anxious that he was not there at the start of the labour and the taxi ride across town seemed to take forever.

-- * --

He needn't have worried though, after the initial surprise at the slightly premature labour, everything went perfectly and that night Malia and Carl had their second child.  Another beautiful daughter, who they decided to name 'Dolly'.

Pleased with the condition of both mother and baby, the family were soon leaving the hospital and heading home to introduce Debra to her new sister.

Debra couldn't quite believe how small Dolly was ... but then surely she was too big to have been inside Mummy ... Babies sure are complicated ... and funny looking but she smelt nice and warm and cosy ... which is weird, how can something smell warm?  But somehow she did!

Carl explained to Debra that he and Malia would be extra busy looking after baby Dolly but that didn't mean they loved her any less because the new baby brought even more love into the house to share around and before she knew it Debra and Dolly would be playmates and the best of friends.

Malia Has News

Now that Debra was growing up and was more aware of the world around her Malia and Carl loved sharing some of their favourite places in Hidden Springs with her, and Debra really seemed to enjoy being more a part of the 'adult' world

One place Debra loved was the Indulgent Bakery which was full of creamy baked delights and the very fanciest tea pots and cups.  Everyone was always so relaxed and cheerful, and it was a great place to take time out to chat with friends.

But, as much as she loved cream cakes and fancy tea, sometimes all the grown up chatter got a bit, well, boring.  It was at those moments that Debra loved to play with her favourite doll, Peaches.  Between them they would decide which was the best cream cake in the whole world and just what flavours of tea they would have in their own cake shop.

A few weeks after her birthday, it was time for Debra's first day at school.  She was quite looking forward to it, she enjoyed spending time with the other children she had already met and their could be new friends to make.

Even so, when the big school bus pulled up outside their home it suddenly seemed very real and just a little bit scary ...

But she, and her parents need not have worried. From that first day forward Debra loved school and, especially, getting back home to tell them all about her day.  The incredible new things she had learned, the games she and her friends played, all the gossip from the playground.

Carl was delighted to realise that Debra had really taken to school.  She already had a few good friends among the other children in the neighbourhood but she could be a little moody at times, often a result of over-thinking quite innocent things her friends might do or say.  But when she came home after school she always seemed excited about something that had happened during the day.

He particularly loved that she had an eagerness for learning and understanding how things worked - so much so that there were times when she really tested his own knowledge of some subjects.

It was about two or three weeks after starting school that Debra noticed here parents seemed to be whispering and giggling more than usual.  They would disappear into their bedroom for a while and when they emerged they would often be smiling or hugging or even kissing.

Not that she really minded, it was a bit 'icky' but they seemed happy so Debra didn't complain too much ... though she was sometimes distracted from her homework!

-- * --

Malia had her suspicions, her body was giving her those oh so subtle signals that the smallest of changes were happening.  Then she took a test, watching nervously for the indicators ... yes, now she could tell Carl ...

"Carl, honey, I've done the test again ... and ... it's positive!  I'm pregnant!"

"Oh Mal, that's ... wonderful!  It's going to be great to have a brother or sister for Debra."

Carl had started to wonder if they would ever have another child, it seemed that Malia had become pregnant with Debra so quickly, but it had taken so long this time.  So now that their next child (or maybe even children!) was on the way he was besides himself with joy.

The weeks passed and Malia started to show, enough for Debra to notice that Mummy was somewhat larger than usual.  As everything was progressing normally, and the scans and tests were all good now was the time to tell Debra the happy news.

"Debra, darling, Mummy's got something wonderful to tell you ... you're going to have your own brother or sister!"

Debra looked a little confused, before bursting into a broad smile ... "Oh, wow!  When?  Can I choose?"

"Oh darling, we have to wait a little while before they arrive - what we'll do is make a special calendar so we can count the days and make sure everything is ready and perfect for the big day.

"It's going to be a surprise; even Mummy and Daddy don't know if it will be a baby brother or sister.  You see they are growing inside Mummy right now, right here in my tummy waiting to get big and strong.  It's only then that we will know if we will have a baby boy or baby girl"

"In fact," Malia continued, " if you listen really closely, or if you rest your hand very gently on my tummy, you might be able to hear or feel them growing ..."

Debra thought for a moment then, very gingerly, reached out to put her hand on Malia's stomach.  Looking expectantly up at her mother she moved in closer and was about to place an ear over her hand when she suddenly pulled back ... "I felt it Mummy, like a little punch from inside!  Oh Mummy, I can't wait to see my little brother or sister!"