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thedummysdummy · 1 year ago

Note

Can I have a cup of latte with some sweet cream and yes hcs of our CEO dealing with a pregnant wifey 🤧🤌🏻 Pregnancy reveal to labor that will be a thank you.

Firstborn

In his Victor way, he immediately sensed her presence and looked up from his work. Seeing the grin on her face, he immediately knew something was up. “What has gotten a dummy so riled up?” he asked, pausing as he glanced farther down and spotted the pregnancy test in her hand. He jumped up from the couch and hurried to her side, his large hand reaching for hers to grab the test. She relinquished it with no struggle and Victor stared at the little window. A laugh started deep in his chest and made its way to the surface, emerging as he wrapped his arms around his wife.

“See? All that worry for nothing! I told you that we just had to be patient! We have to celebrate. What would you like for dinner? I’ll make you anything you want. And I’ll call up the doctor to make an appointment. This time everything will go smoothly.” Victor scooped the girl up into his arms and buried his face in her hair.

She squirmed a little and squeaked indignantly, but Victor only laughed louder and carried her out of the office and into the living room. “I can walk, you know,” she insisted, his joy soaking into her soul and making her laugh as well. “But really all I want for dinner is a nice butternut bisque. I’m a little too nauseous for much more than that…”

Victor immediately set her down at the dining room table and went to the cupboard where he kept the tea and coffee. Soon the scents of ginger and peppermint filled the air and a steaming cup of tea appeared in front of the girl. “Drink this first while I make dinner, then. But give it a few minutes to properly steep before you greedily gulp it down.”

“It’s too hot to gulp anyway,” the girl protested, but Victor merely shook his head and began his preparations. She watched his strong and slender form as he cut, cleaned, and drizzled olive oil over the resulting chunks of squash. The edges of her lips twitched in a pleased manner and her heart felt almost too big for her chest.

In this moment, she was the luckiest girl alive. She picked up the teacup and inhaled the fragrant steam before blowing a soft breath over the surface of the liquid. As long as she had the love of that man, she had the entire world in her palm.

His baby wasn’t a bad addition, either.

The cup of tea was gone long before the squash had finished steaming, but the girl was content to sit at the table and just watch Victor work. He often glanced over at her and his dark eyes glittered every time he caught her staring. She enjoyed watching his skillful hands transform the hard vegetable into a smooth and creamy soup which soon he ladled into a bowl and placed in front of her. It was followed by a thick slice of toasted sourdough and another cup of tea.

Only once she was served did Victor dish up his own meal and join her at the table. “Are you feeling any better?” he asked, dipping his spoon into the silky soup and blowing gently to cool it. The girl nodded and tore off a bit of the bread to dip into her soup. It was delicious, as was to be expected, and she didn’t even need to ask the ‘secret ingredient,’ because she already knew exactly what it was.

Joy.

~~~

Two months passed by as a moment and a lifetime simultaneously. The girl lost count of how many times she’d had to run out of a filming shoot, returning to the concerned looks of her coworkers.

Finally, Kiki pulled her aside. “Boss, we’ve all noticed that you’ve been ill a lot lately. Is everything okay?” She looked into the girl’s face with concerned eyes, seeming to seek the answer in her boss’s expression. The girl fought with herself for a long moment. Was it too early to make an announcement? She knew it would be another month before she was out of the most dangerous portion of the pregnancy, but if her coworkers were already getting worried…she knew she wouldn’t last another month without telling them.

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just…don’t spread this around, okay? But I’m pregnant.”

A look of wild excitement filled Kiki’s face. “Oh my goodness! Congratulations, boss! How far along are you?! Has anyone planned a baby shower yet? Are you having a boy or a girl? How does Victor feel about it? This is so exciting!”

The girl slapped a hand over Kiki’s mouth, but that did little to quell the other woman’s excitement. “I’m only eight weeks along, but Victor and I are both very happy. We won’t know if we’re having a boy or a girl for quite a while.” She giggled and her other hand went instinctively to her stomach. “It definitely is exciting. But!! You have to swear not to go announcing it to the entire world, okay? I’ll tell the others after the shoot today, then you all can gossip to your hearts’ content with each other.” She shot Kiki a serious look, and Kiki straightened into a salute.

“You’ve got it, Boss! I won’t tell a soul!”

It was a promise which lasted approximately twenty minutes before the news was nearly enough to make Kiki explode. “But you have to act surprised when the boss tells everyone after the shoot, okay?” she whispered after spilling the beans to Willow.

“Oh, obviously,” Willow insisted. “And we’re also obviously going to plan a surprise party.” Kiki agreed wholeheartedly and the pair went back to the shoot. The day seemed to drag by even slower than usual as the secret burned a hole in their mental pockets. They did their best to look innocent every time the girl was nearby, but the moment she turned her back, the pair could barely contain their excitement.

By the time the shoot wrapped up, everyone was completely exhausted except Kiki and Willow. They were still hyped up on the high of their secret and practically vibrated with excitement when their little crew was called together.

The girl looked at each one of her friends and smiled. “I have a bit of an announcement. I was going to wait a little longer, but I have no doubt the cat would get out of the bag sooner rather than later. So here it is: Victor and I are expecting our first child.”

Cheers of congratulations filled and echoed around the mostly-empty set, making it feel as if the girl were surrounded by an army of well-wishers.

~~~

“But the casual white shirts go on the blue hangers, and the formal ones go on the black ones!”

The girl began pulling all of the clothes that Victor had hung up off their hangers and tossed them on the bed, her arms moving in far more exaggerated circles than was entirely necessary. Victor watched with exasperation, his arms crossed over his chest and his brows furrowed. “Why does it matter? Besides, they are my shirts. Shouldn’t it be my opinion that counts when it comes to putting them away?”

He may as well have declared the instigation of World War 3. The girl looked at Victor incredulously and threw the hanger she was holding to the ground. “Fine! If you’re so opinionated about it, I’ll just let you put them away yourself! And the closet can be a mess.”

“I already put them away myself once, and you pulled them all back out. That seems like you caused the problem, not me.” Victor’s exasperated tone only earned him a look that could kill a nation before his wife stomped out of the room and disappeared into the darkness of the rest of the house.

Victor took a moment to breathe. Why was everything a fight lately?! Good grief, it was the color of hanger for crying out loud. He’d thought putting away the laundry would make her happy, not cause yet another argument. He glanced over the pile of shirts on the bed and wondered where exactly he’d gone wrong.

A cloud settled over his heart as he picked up the shirts and ensured they were on the ‘proper’ hangers before putting them back in the closet. Every now and then he glanced at the bedroom door, half expecting to find her standing there watching. However, she never appeared. It didn’t take too long to fix the shirts and make the bed for good measure; only after that did he dare go seeking his wife.

Perhaps ‘seeking’ was the incorrect word. Victor was pretty sure he knew exactly where he’d find her. He easily crossed the dark house and opened the nursery door, standing in the doorway. Moonlight filtered across the carpeted floor and landed on the chair on the opposite side of the room, highlighting the small amount of dust which drifted back and forth as sand in the ocean.

Sure enough, the girl was curled up in the rocking chair, clutching a shiba plush. Even in the moonlight he could see the glisten of tears on her cheeks and he sighed. “Dummy,” he whispered, crossing the room in three long strides. She looked away, hiding her face behind the golden fur of the shiba. But Victor pushed it gently away and lifted her chin. He wiped away one of the tears with his thumb and kissed her forehead. “I love you, my little dummy.”

While the words were simple, they seemed to be the magic words which unlocked the door. A torrent of tears ran down the girl’s cheeks and she flung herself into Victor’s arms. “I didn’t mean to yell at you,” she sobbed, burying her face in his shoulder. “I don’t know why I’m like this! It’s like I can’t even control myself and I hate it!”

Victor ran his fingers tenderly through her hair and held her close. “It’s just the pregnancy. You’ll feel better soon. Only six weeks left, hm? I’m not going anywhere, no matter how moody you get. So stop beating yourself up and come to bed.” He slid one arm under the girl’s legs and scooped her up. “You need your rest if our little one is going to be healthy.”

~~~

It was dark when the girl waddled into the office. She groaned a little and shifted on her feet, trying to find a position that didn’t hurt. Unfortunately, there was no such thing at this point in the pregnancy. Her hand went for the lightswitch and she wondered idly how she was the first one there for the meeting. Anna had seemed quite insistent that it was incredibly important, and even Victor had seemed keen to get her here on time.

The lights caused her to go momentarily blind and she squinted as they adjusted. A jubilant shout of ‘SURPRISE!’ caused her to jump, but once she was able to open her eyes again, she was met with a room full of pink and blue balloons and streamers. Everyone she loved sat in chairs around the room with bright grins. Cupcakes decorated with pastel frosting and baby bottle sprinkles made up a large centerpiece, surrounded by various other snacks, while another table was absolutely loaded with brightly wrapped gifts.

A hand softly on her back propelled the surprised mother-to-be into the room; it was connected to a smirking Victor. “Come on, get in there. Your friends didn’t organize this just for you to stand in the doorway with your mouth hanging open.”

She broke out of her stupor and joined her loved ones for an evening of ridiculous games, eating, and opening of gifts. The sheer amount of love she felt from everyone in the room was a warm blanket which encircled her heart with tender softness. Each hug, each gift, and each kind word helped erase just a little bit more of the pain and discomfort of being eight and a half months pregnant.

And when Victor noticed that she was beginning to tire, he took her hand in his big, warm palm and addressed the room. “Thank you, everyone, for the party and the gifts. We very much appreciate it, but my wife is going to fall asleep in her chair if I don’t get her home soon.” She gave his hand a squeeze and with those they loved trailing behind them with arms full of gifts to load into the car, the happy pair returned home with far more than just a new mountain of belongings.

~~~

Of course it would be the middle of the night. The girl got up for what felt like the fifteenth time that night to use the bathroom, only to feel warmth running down her leg. “Too slow…” she muttered as she waddled into the other room.

However, it soon became apparent that this wasn’t a middle-of-the-night bladder leak. An intense pain gripped the girl’s stomach and she curled up on herself, letting out a strangled squeak of pain and surprise. It wasn’t incredibly loud, but loud enough to cause Victor to rocket up from the bed. His sleep had been poor for the last week already, just in case this exact thing happened.

“Is it time?!” he exclaimed, looking quite silly with his dark hair tousled upwards and his boxers slightly twisted. All it took was a single nod for him to spring into action, tossing on the clothes he’d specifically kept on the chair next to the bed for easy access and grabbing the hospital bag they’d lovingly packed together.

Minutes later the girl was dressed as well and Victor helped her into the car. His hands trembled as he buckled her belt, though out of fear or excitement was up for debate. Probably both. He hustled around the front of the car and into his seat, turned the key, and soon the pair were speeding down the road toward the hospital.

Each time a new contraction hit, the girl fumbled for Victor’s hand. “I’m right here. Just breathe,” he soothed, running his thumb over the back of her hand. “We’ll be there soon. I’m right here.” As Victor was wont to do in situations involving his wife, he drove with a reckless abandon in regards to the speed limit. They soon walked into labor and delivery, where the girl was whisked away while Victor paced the waiting room.

Luckily for everyone in the hospital, Victor was only made to wait until his wife was dressed and put in her delivery bed before he was allowed to go back with her. “It will probably still be a little while, Mr. Li. The contractions are still ten minutes or so apart, and she’s only at an eight. We’ll check in often, but why don’t you try to get a little rest while you can? When the contractions are two minutes apart or less, we’ll get the doctor in here.”

Victor nodded, though he knew there would be absolutely no rest for him tonight. Not until those sweet cries filled his ears, and that sweet bundle filled his arms. He sat at his wife’s bedside and held her hand as she did her best to remain calm through round after round of contractions. “I’m positive we’re having a boy,” she murmured. “I regretted deciding to wait to find out for sure, but now that it’s time…I think it’s even more exciting this way.”

“I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl, as long as we get a healthy baby.” Victor placed his hand on his wife’s belly and was rewarded with a solid kick. “They’ve definitely got your attitude…”

The hours passed by painfully slowly. Painfully being the key word. By morning, the girl was convinced this labor thing was never going to end. That was, until she was hit with contractions five minutes apart. Then two minutes apart. Victor pressed the call button repeatedly and the nurses soon arrived, the room filling with motion and excitement. The epidural went in and warm, blissful numbness took the place of the hot pain which had been filling her existence.

The doctor arrived and, after a brief examination, smiled. “Alright, love. It’s time to push, okay? Three breaths and push for me on three. One, two, push. One, two, push.”

Time felt like it stood still as Victor watched his sweet wife’s face flush, and her hand crushed his with each straining push. The doctor kept checking repeatedly, his voice encouraging. “You’re doing great, mama. I see a head! Keep pushing for me. Not too much longer now.”

And he was right. Two pushes later, the shrill sound of a baby’s first cry pierced the air. The nurses rushed forward with a towel and a clamp for the cord, while the doctor checked over the new life for signs of health. “Well, Mr. and Mrs. Li, it seems you have an absolutely perfect little boy.”

Victor wasn’t even embarrassed about the tears that ran down his cheeks as the doctor wrapped the still-mucky little boy in a towel and handed him to his father. He was a chunky little man…and the most beautiful thing Victor had ever seen.

#everyone wants pregnant mc apparently #I do admit I love Daddy Vic very much #ask #mlqc victor #mlqc li zeyan #love and producer li zeyan #mlqc #evol x love #love and producer victor #love and producer #mr love queen's choice #mlqc fanfic #mlqc victor fanfic #asks open

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jazzreloaded · 2 months ago

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Play On! By Talawa Theatre @Belgrade Theatre 26 / 09/ 24

Review by Vidal Montgomery

The press night performance of Play On! - A Broadway Blues with a twist on "Twelfth Night" - was not undersold in terms of bums on seats ( because it was a full house, and based on this showing it deserves a full house everywhere it goes!), but in terms of spectacle; because for the near-three hours running time, it was thoroughly engaging, spectacularly entertaining and, despite dealing with some serious subject matters ( such as how a misogynistic Harlem resists change, made all the more relevant with the recent revelations around Music Moghul Sean Comb's recent indictment), it was joyful for the audience from start to end, evidenced by the raucous laughter, gasps and applause throughout.

The title "Play On!" may also refer to the four year development process to get a work of this magnitude and depth and craft and intimacy and nuance in front of a live audience; it is no mean feat that this splendid work of Ellingtonian excellence by Liam Godwin and Benjamin Burell is finally in front of an audience, and with a truly magnificent cast from top to bottom:

Although the dramaturgy obviously has its focal characters, the dancers / understudies / supporting cast acquit themselves equally well, and the audience is gifted with over a dozen amazing voices ( of which Lifford Shillingford was my personal favourite ), who perform comparably, shouldering the responsibility of energetic dance, tense drama and soulful song, and carrying the narrative along. This for me is the most captivating thing about this show. Tanya Edwards as Miss Mary and Llewellyn Jamal as Jester deliver stylish and soulful performances late on into the second act just I thought the show had probably reached its peak - boy was I wrong!

The core story of Play On! revolves around the day Duke Ellington loses his muse, and the lengths- and distance! - one lucky lady will go to to help him get it back; Earl Gregory, Koko Alexandra, Tsemaye Bob Egbe, and Cameron Bernard Jones play the four pillars of the love quadrangle that is "The Duke", his old flame ( lady Liv ) , his new muse ( Viola "Vyman" ) and Rev, the manager of the Cotton Club clutching at straws and clasping his hands in his hopes of keeping the four together as exemplars of Ellingtonian Excellence - and also keeping the show on the road...

Sadly the live band - directed by the unassuming Ashton Moore and delightfully driven by the delicate drumming of Empirical's own Shane Forbes - are not featured as characters in their own right - I am sure that later productions in the three month run will attend to this oversight.

Despite this, the mix of moods and blues and beats and grooves from the bandstand become the main character, and for me ( as a musician! ) this is the star of the show: Ellingtonian Classics like Mood Indigo, I got it Bad, It Don't mean a thing, Black Butterfly Rocks In My Bed and In a Mellow Tone are turned inside out and taken back from the trash heap of Abersold Appropriation,and are played in a way that suits the strengths of individual artists, and balances temperaments of their characters as a whole as they play moves towards reaches its climactic reveal; at this moment the only other disappointment was that the band was not as big as, say, the English Touring Opera's for the recent run of "The Rakes Progress" : With this amount of dramatic tension in the stage, and with the audience in the palm of the band's hands the Ellington Big band, really needs to be a BIG band.

As it was, on the night Kaz Hamilton and Alexander Polack acquited themselves very well, making a myriad of moods that were both historically authentic and stylistically de jour. And the commitment to shared seat of Chris Hyde / Josh Vadivello on Double bass ( NO electric big band era please! ) brings gravitas authenticity and sensuality to the greatest american songbook in a way that only a Double Bass can. This show is all about that bass!

Having recently sat through the often turgid and salacious KAOS, a reworking of the mythology of Orpheus and Euridice, ( which was not a patch on Marcel Camus Seminal 1950's classic ) and also attended the afforementioned reworking of Igor Stravinsky's "Rake's Progress" ( often not my sense of humour, albeit markedly less turgid and salacious than Charlie Covell's Netflix Production ) I was far from convinced that , per se, " A reworking of Twelfth Night " was going to as vivacious, contemporary , and nourishing to the soul as it turned out to be. But on this occasion I was rewarded for my bravery ( And by "bravery" I mean only braving the inclement British weather ) , and I will forever regard Play On! as somewhat of a late birthday present - ( or maybe early Christmas gift? )

Ironically, whilst sipping free Prosecco and listening to a(nother) jazz function band in the reception area after the show , I had the good fortune to speak with one the trustees of the Talawa Theatre and we discussed how important it may be to not label Play On! as ( simply ) a "jazz show", because of how many people may miss out on an amazing contemporary socially and culturally relevant human experience, simply because they do not know or have not yet been sold the depth and breadth of the jazz canon.

But Play On! is "Jazz Hands" in safe hands. And I can say with confidence that Talawa Theatre have a winner on their hands; it is Black Joy. And "Black Joy" may turn out to be a better euphemism for the vibrancy we expect "Jazz" to bring to us. Congratulations on the fully immersive experience that Director Michael Buffong brought to the Belgrade Theatre tonight.

PS: As with many theatre shows, the stupidly difficult train schedule doesn't really support the 2+ hour format, but I can only say that on this occasion it was worth missing our last train to catch the "A Train" one more time...

Talawa’s Black Joy season presents:

Play On!

A new Jazz musical

Based on Shakespeare’s

“Twelfth Night”

Conceived by Sheldon Epps

Book by Cheryl L.West

Music by Duke Ellington

Produced by Talawa Theatre Company and The Belgrade Theatre

Co-produced with Birmingham Hippodrome, Bristol Old Vic, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and Wiltshire Creative

Artwork by Feast Creative

For the full programme, click or scan the image below: