3 months later

December 25

The snow is white everywhere and it is still snowing heavily. I am in Fias and my house. She has just turned into a mermaid and will be until the babies are born. This was the last day she could be human for quite a while.

Fia is swimming around down there in the basement and she seems to be doing well. I have added just enough salt to the water so it will feel nicer. I'm sitting in the kitchen solving a crossword puzzle. It's not easy because I mostly think about Fia and the babies she will give birth to.

Fia has already given me a briefing on what I should know about the birth. She begins by showing a fin that is just above the cloaca.

- Just before my water breaks and I'm about to give birth, this fin will automatically lift so that the hole here becomes visible. Do not poke the hole!

I withdraw my hand.

- Once the water has broken and the contractions have started, it usually takes between 10 and 50 minutes if there are two babies. The hole is small now but it widens when the cubs start coming out. You must not pull the hole to make it bigger. If it is the case that the big kid has more difficulty getting out, you can gently help and pull it. But like I said, you have to be careful so my birth canal doesn't break. Since the babies are in each amniotic sac and we function a little differently than humans, no placenta comes out, only the babies go out.

I thank her for her information. I will write down what she said on a piece of paper later.

Yesterday we were both with my family. Mom often looked at Fia's huge belly and asked several times if they weren't going to be born today or very soon. We explained again that much more is visible when she is human and that the cubs are expected to be born sometime between January and March. Most likely around February or March as there are two of them. It is normal for it to take longer then.

Dad has never asked questions about the kids but I can see in his eyes that he's not entirely comfortable with what he knows. And yet he doesn't know how I involuntarily spoiled Fia when we mated. We have chosen not to tell you about it. His awkwardness is probably about the fact that he thinks we are animals and not people. He has muttered that we are half fish and it is true.

Christmas dinner was eaten and Fia loved the salmon. She absolutely ate most of it but it was okay for both my parents and me. I, in turn, ate a lot of herring and eel as far as the fish were concerned.

Of course there was ham, meatballs, prince sausage, jam, Jansson's temptation and much more. You didn't have to leave your parents' big Christmas table hungry.

There were also a lot of cakes and sweets and other things.

We all sat and watched Donald Duck's Christmas Eve. I had forgotten how funny some of the features are. The best was probably the camping trip. As usual, they had a feature from some recent movie that was going to be in theaters. Even though it was a short clip, it felt like the magic that used to be in the movies was completely gone now. It felt sad.

After the food and Cold Duck, there was some coffee and after that the distribution of Christmas presents. Since both Fia and I are adults, there were no toys. However, a lot of clothes and baby stuff from mom and dad. They had really gone all in.

We have of course bought a lot of things in anticipation of the birth. Among other things, two cots and also a bedside crib are ready in our bedroom. They have nice and neutral colors. We have also bought lots of baby clothes and blankets. In other words, we feel prepared.

When Fia and I got home from the parents later in the evening, we laid down on the sofa and watched a movie. After some zapping, we watched "The Tales of Beatrix Potter". It is a film where actors are dressed as animals and they dance ballet to the music in the film. It's fun and easy entertainment.

The living room is really nice and we have a very large TV. It is a full 67 inches but fits well in the interior and there is a large enough distance from the sofa to the TV so it is perfectly fine that it is so large.

Throughout the autumn and almost until now, Fia and I have been renovating our shared house. It has taken time, but we feel very satisfied with the result. It looks like a different house when you enter. The exterior still looks a little worn but that's not a problem. We will tackle it next year in the spring.

I have seen on the Internet that my old apartment is for sale. They want several million for it. I am not surprised considering that the house is relatively central in town and that it is a large and spacious apartment.

After futilely trying to solve the crossword, I go down to Fia and transform. We swim around in the basement and cuddle with each other. Fia stops. The cubs are moving and she wants me to feel them.

I feel her stomach and you certainly feel something moving inside. It's a magical feeling both for her and for me. Fia and I splash some water on each other and laugh. Our sound when we laugh and are transformed is a clucking sound that reminds a little of human laughter.

When we snuggle with each other, we have a soft cooing sound. But we can get angry too. Then we have quite sharp sounds to show that we are angry but we haven't used them very often or against each other. We have disputes sometimes but they are often resolved quickly.

After Fia and I have been swimming around for a while, I turn into a human and go upstairs. It's time for some food for both Fia and me. I have bought some whole fresh cod and Spätta which we are going to eat today. Actually it would have been more fun to catch fish in the sea but right now there is ice there so that makes it more difficult.

I put the cod and the plaice on a plate and go down to Fia. I sit on a chair when I eat while Fia is of course in the water, but she is half sitting instead of lying down and it's going well.

After the meal I go upstairs again. Tony comes to visit. He goes down to the basement and of course greets Fia. Tony and I watch some movies on TV. The movie "Gremlins" is being shown. It's still as good as when I first saw it.

It quickly gets dark outside, even if the snow makes it a little whiter. Tony and I sit munching on gingerbread as darkness descends outside. We laugh and joke with each other.

When it's around 9.30pm, Tony goes home. I check on Fia to make sure she's okay and then I go to bed. Sometimes I hear a slight splash of water from the basement and smile. I would have liked to have Fia up here in bed with me, but it will be a bit difficult. It's possible we could have the big plastic pool up here but it would be difficult to fill and empty it properly.