The vase was heavy and old-fashioned, made of thick glass. A few times a year it’d be home to fresh flowers, but today it was empty. Andy weighed it up in his hand, and eyed its usual perch on the high shelves with a furrowed brow. Normally well out of danger of being knocked over, but for this afternoon…

“Lisa! I’ve changed my mind, I’m putting the vase upstairs as well,” he said, half shouting into the kitchen. 

The door to the kitchen opened in a flurry of steam and the smell of a simmering bolognese. Closely followed by a 5’4 bundle of blonde highlights in a red skater dress and oversized oven gloves.

Lisa blew away the hair that had fallen into her eyes and focused on her boyfriend, who was aiming his frown in turn between the vase in his hand, and its former spot on the shelf. 

“Two things Andy. One, if you keep furrowing your brow like that, you’re gonna get wrinkles, and I want you baby smooth until we’re at least in our forties.”

Andy’s brow didn’t budge. “Weird thing to say.”

“Right, I heard it as soon as I said it. Anyway! Two, you’re worrying too much. We’ve had Kate and Nick over plenty of times since the Biggening. I know it’s a little intimidating but they are still just Kate and Nick. Lovely, polite, funny.”

Lisa walked over and squeezed Andy’s arm, getting on her tippy-toes in her extra fluffy pink socks to plant a kiss on his chin. “You’re not normally this anxious seeing them. We even got the reinforced furniture in over the summer. What’s up?”

Andy softened at the feel of her lips on his stubble, and pulled her into a hug with his free arm, placing the vase back down on the shelf with the other. He let out a long sigh as he nuzzled into her hair.

“I don’t know. It’s just, we’ve been round their place the last few times. There’s much more room there, I’m not sure why they even want to come to ours. And it’s been ages we’ve seen them, Kate has gone through her very own biggening since then…”

“Andy!” Lisa shouted in a half laugh, half scold.

“She has though! She was barely showing last time we saw them, but she’s what, seven months now?”

“36 weeks as of last Tuesday” Lisa corrected.

“Blimey, so closer to eight months. I’d only just started to get used to them being twice our height! That doesn’t even sound like much when you say it out loud, but it’s so much bigger. She was already taller than you before Big Day, so that’s heavier than eight of you combined. Eight Lisas stacked up like cheerleaders! Now add a big pregnant belly.”

“It’s nothing to be scared of Andy,” Lisa said, although her tone suggested otherwise. She hadn’t done the exact maths before. “You’ve not been around a lot of pregnant women have you?”

“No, I guess not? But you also said that she’s not quite been herself recently.”

“Oh that’s just pregnancy hormones Andy, that’s perfectly normal”

“Yeah, perfectly normal on a normal person! But excuse me if I’m a little bit worried about having a temperamental giant stuffed into our little living room.”

Lisa opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the shrill sharp beep from the kitchen.

“Ooh, sauce is done! Ok, I’ve got to go sort this, got enough bolognese in there to feed, well…” Lisa scrunched her face up and looked to the ceiling. “...sixteen of us I guess?”

“Eighteen, if you include…” Andy corrected.

Another beep, this one more inviting. In fact, less of a beep, more of a ding-dong. Andy took a deep breath in.

Their guests had arrived.