2.

As much as the difficulty of a first pregnancy for Estelle and Jim Fontaine could not have been predicted, the same could not have been predicted for the labour brought about by it as it comes with the opposite effect to the pregnancy. The birth of Ester Leigh Fontaine occurred much quicker than expected. It occurred with less pain than anticipated and it occurred without any of the predicted problem possibilities that mum was sure it might.

Estelle Fontaine had been preparing herself for the possibility that she may pass out before her child is born once labour kicks in, she had been preparing for the labour to last an unnaturally long amount of time, she had been preparing for the possibilities of a c-section, she had been preparing for any possible eventuality all apart from the one she actually got.

What came was smooth sailing, quick as far as labour goes, with levels of pain being well below the norm, not that Estelle knew well what the norm would be with this being her first child, still it was clear that it was to be nowhere near as bad or tough as it could have been. It even came with one element in particular, an element of pleasantness, something that even offered up the impression that the new arrival is a gift.

It left her energized and feeling good to the point she felt good to go home within the hour of having given birth. This completely opposed the tiredness and the pain so often felt throughout the pregnancy. This surely can't be normal.

Of course, the arrival of any child is a gift though when Ester Leigh Fontaine did arrive, she did so as a strong scent of lavender and rose took hold of the maternity ward. Is Ester a gift from God? She is a gift though not from God but from his nemesis ... Lucifer. Neither mum nor dad nor anyone else around at the time of birth could have known this.

Once the birth was complete and the newborn given the once over, she was presented to both her parents with it to be strictly adhered to that this moment was to last no more than ten minutes as instructions are for mum to rest and rest well despite the presence of the afore mentioned feeling of being energized. Little Ester would be well cared for while mum rests leaving dad free to head off and celebrate by downing a beverage or ten.

Whether tiredness had taken him or if it were something else, James 'Jim' Fontaine got drunk rather quickly and rather easily during the evening of the day he first became a father. He certainly became drunk quicker than what he regularly would, not that he regularly gets drunk at all at this point in his life, and as the beverages were going down they did so rather well. They tasted better than other alcoholic beverage Jim had drunk in recent memory. In fact, they went down so well and the effects were such that Jim would have no memory of getting home on this day.

One moment he was enjoying a few drinks in his local and the next he knew was that of waking in bed the next morning to the sound of the home landline phone ringing loudly, echoing up to the bedroom from the downstairs hallway. How he got home he had absolutely no idea.

The room spins and spins, this is how dizzy Jim felt upon waking. The phone rings and rings, there is no let up and despite his light headedness he must get to it. When he eventually does get to the phone, a voice speaking on behalf of the maternity hospital is calling to confirm his pending arrival to pick up his wife and child. How weird it is that as the phone call takes place a strong smell of rose and lavender fills the hallway of the Fontaine home and Jim cannot work out how this is possible as all currently owned floral arrangements are all situated outside.

Maybe there was something in one of the drinks he had consumed though he has no way of knowing such or of what is currently going on. His head hurts and the voice coming down the phone line seems unnecessarily loud and demanding though Jim remains as pleasant as he can be for the duration of that call. He soon has himself a cold shower then it is indeed off to pick up his wife.

The shower however, despite it being a quick one, has its own goings on with which Jim does not notice. Yeah, it is only a quick shower though at one point Jim closes his eyes having placed both his hands on the same wall the water that falls upon him is coming from and for that moment or two he allows his mind to draw a blank. For that moment or two there is nothing, no sound, no images, nothing but darkness. He may as well be standing naked in the middle of a rain forest just as readily as he is standing in a shower at home.

In his moment or two of nothingness, a growth quickly occurs. Directly behind him flowering plants rise and bloom out of nowhere as they also do on either side of the shower. Flowers of purple, blue and yellow sprout and take up the majority of free space within the shower. Dark green vines crawl all around reaching for life, to almost grab life menacingly. One such vine wraps itself around Jim's neck without connecting with his skin.

Jim knows nothing, he sees none of this and definitely does not feel any of it, not even its presence. The plant life retreats, sinking back into itself and is gone before Jim can open his eyes and see any of it. What had just occurred may very well not have happened at all, but it did and indeed Jim saw none of it. What he will see will come in time, of which there is plenty.

The journey home from the hospital is a quiet one, hardly a word is spoken if one is spoken at all. Jim drives without a care in the world and feeling very little emotionally. He is distracted and is finding it difficult to concentrate on the road. He should be feeling something, he has become a father and is bringing his family home as a threesome for the very first time. Instead of feeling something, the distraction delays him at a stop light. A beep or two from the vehicles behind him wake him into getting a move on. He lets off an apologetic wave having not noticed the change from red to green and this is the only acknowledgement he gives to how it is, he is.

Mum Estelle has baby Ester in her arms in the back of the Fontaine family car. She can't help smiling at this gift she has been given. Somehow it feels it has been given to her and not to her and her husband. Child is as quiet as a mouse during the whole journey home and mum hardly takes her eyes off the new arrival and she is completely oblivious to how her husband is behaving even when the traffic light incident occurs.

Behaviours are off, they certainly are not right and neither Jim nor Estelle can see this in themselves let alone see it in each other. Again, this is something that will change with time, time takes everything on ...