The young couple has been married for well over three months and since they'd already been together so long, they fell into a comfortable rhythm. Clarice and Spot had been working extra hard so they could start saving for the family they couldn't wait to start. Their kids were going to be able to go to school and not have to work, not if they could help it anyway. Spot ended up bartending over at Irving Hall on the weekends just to earn the extra cash. As for Clarice, even though it made her eyes burn and her hands ache, she started picking up extra hours at the seamstress shop. The young couple wasn't sure how they were going to afford having a family because at this rate, they weren't even going to see their kids if they had any with the hours they were pulling.

Clarice was finishing up a few blankets and as she was mid stitch, she began to feel an unusual feeling in the pit of her stomach but thought nothing of it. The girl has been feeling slightly off lately but she thought it was merely fatigue
"Lassie, are you almost done with that blanket?" Lorali had spoken as she came up behind the girl sitting in a chair with the blanket at her knees.

"Just finishing up the corners," was the smiling girl's reply.

"Good, those younguns should be coming for this blanket real soon." Clarice's boss held up another blanket. Lorali's strong Irish accent made Clarice miss Patrick all the more. The silly man had been driving her nuts lately with his. It was so sexy and he knew that she thought that. He was such a tease!

"It doesn't help that they're also expecting a child, I'll finish before noon." Both women knew that that fact was making the customer a little more on the demanding and irritable side. She looked like she was going to have the baby any second! Clarice glanced at the clock and her eyes widened, where did the time go?! She began to rush.

"Don't let her trouble you." Lorali assured the young girl as she watched the deft girl finish her last stitch.

"Fanito." Clarice said holding up the soft orange blanket.

"Looks lovely." Lorali complemented.

Suddenly a girl around Clarice's age looking no more than six or seven months pregnant had  entered the door.

"Clarice, nice to see you." Annalies grinned.

"You too Anna, how are you feeling?" She asked even though the two had seen each other just last  week.

"I have my moments." She sighed placing a hand on her now rounded abdomen. "She's kicking up a storm and Louis refuses to believe me that she's a girl." Annalies sighed, "with all my morning sickness this far in, it'd better be a girl."

Clarice went behind the counter to fold the small blanket as she wrapped it up and handed it to her friend. Clarice was smiling, but in her heart she was a little sad, she wanted to be the one getting ready to welcome a new one to her family, not just sit by and watch every other customer come in with a rounded belly. She knew that was selfish, but her body's desire for a baby was in rare form.

"Thanks Clar, Louis will be happy. Oh! And stop by later we need to have a little chat." Annalies said as she left the store.
What on earth did she want? Clarice felt that feeling from her stomach this time she felt something travel to her throat. She covered her mouth as she ran out back as quick as she could to the outhouse, feeling sicker than a dog. Lorali noticed and quickly rushed to the young lass' aid.

Once Clarice was done, Lorali pulled a fabric scrap from her pocket wiping the younger girl's mouth. "You don't look so good lassie, maybe you should go home." Lorali put a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh it's probably that stomach bug that's been going around, nothing to fret about."

"If it is, then you'd really better go home, we don't want all of Brooklyn ending up with it. You'd better talk to Pat, it might be something more than just the flu, go home I'll finish the last few orders and close up the shop." Lorali suggested and Clarice hesitantly complied. She collected her things and left. Clarice was feeling so poorly, she even took a carriage to her destination.

She had found the Ballatt's apartment  and hastily knocked on their door. Annalies had answered. "Clarice you're here so soon."

"My boss let me go home, right after you left I felt sick and threw up."

Annalies rolled her eyes playfully at Clarice's response. "Well that's what I wanted to talk to you about." She motioned the girl to the kitchen table and Clarice sat down across from Anna. Annalies sighed before speaking. "How long have you felt ill dear?"

Clarice gave it a thought. "Mm, well over a week. Why?" She cocked an eyebrow hoping it wasn't something serious. 

"Well, you see Clar, that might be a sign that you're with child...is there a chance?" Of course that was a silly question, an idiot could tell from the sparkle in Patrick's eyes that his wife was very thoroughly loved.

Clarice's eyes widened, the girl gasped quietly. "Wait, you mean um, I'm pregnant?"

Annalies slowly nodded her head.

It was no lie that nausea and vomiting was a tell tale sign and Clarice knew that, she just hadn't had enough time lately to think about it that much. She suddenly had this odd premonition that something was going to do wrong, seriously wrong...