by Ali Parker
I headed home as early as I could that day, the nights I’d spent late in the office finishing up work down to the last little detail long out the window. I was starting to feel ill again as I drove home, and I made a mental note to ask Kristo to hire me a driver so I didn’t have to worry about getting myself to and from work. He had been so sweet all day, bless him, bringing me water when he heard me throwing up and talking me through my panicked round of nerves the day before. I couldn’t have asked for a better man to help me through all of this. He seemed as enthusiastic as I was, if not more so, but then, he didn’t have the pukiness to deal with, so maybe he was still a little more optimistic about the whole thing. I would catch up as soon as I was out of this trimester. I had looked up all this stuff about pregnancy hormones and symptoms and how they would hit me and when they would recede. So I knew at least that this wasn’t going to last forever. As soon as I had this out of the way, I could get as excited about this pregnancy as he was.
I arrived back at the apartment and found Kristo there waiting for me. I groaned as I came through the door, and he hurried toward me to hold me up.
“Come on, you need to sit down,” he ordered. “How long have you been on your feet?”
“Not long,” I protested, as he guided me to the couch and handed me the remote. I let out a sigh of relief. Thank God I was back.
“How have you been feeling all day?” he asked.
“Pretty crummy,” I admitted. “But I’m starving. I haven’t been able to keep anything substantial down.”
“And what are you craving?” he asked. “I can get you anything here in the next half-hour. Whatever you want. Just let me know.”
I thought for a long while, and finally, my mind dredged something up, a long-forgotten food memory, something my mother had made me when I was ill in elementary school.
“Matzo Ball soup,” I replied firmly, and he raised his eyebrows.
“All right, I’ll do my best,” he promised. I closed my eyes and settled in on the couch and found myself dozing off. Just keeping up with my normal work had been such a trial today. I wasn’t sure if it was because my symptoms were actually getting worse or if it was just that I knew I was pregnant and was giving myself the excuse to indulge them, but I was doing much worse than I had the week before.
I roused myself as Kristo slipped down next to me, winding his fingers through mine and bringing them to his lips. I smiled at him, my heart twisting up with love for this man beside me.
“And what about you? How was your day?” I asked him. He shrugged.
“Couldn’t stop thinking about the baby so I just worked from home,” he replied. “I think I’m going to start scouting someone to take over my position soon. I want to be able to spend as much time as I can with the baby when it comes along.”
“That’s awesome.” I smiled. “I want to go back to work.”
“And what if I wanted you barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen?” he teased.
“Then, you’re marrying the wrong woman,” I shot back.
“Glad to see the nausea hasn’t taken away your sense of humor,” he remarked as a knock came at the door to let us know the food was here. My stomach grumbled happily for the first time that day.
“It might if I don’t get something to eat soon,” I warned him playfully, and he returned a few moments later with the soup and the utensils. He handed me a bowl and a spoon, and I tucked in, sucking down the savory liquid and closing my eyes with the relief of actually eating for a change.
“Mmm, that’s so damn good,” I sighed, as he flicked through some stuff on the TV and settled on a silly old family movie. We ate together. Then, he pulled me close, and I found myself dozing off once more. I could never get over how comfortable I felt with him. I couldn’t help thinking about those guys I’d dated before him, the ones who had always made me feel like I should be performing for them, like I should be grateful for their presence. But Kristo treated me like he was lucky to be around me, and it made me feel valued in a way I never had before.
When I came to, I realized Kristo had scooped me into his arms and was carrying me toward the bedroom. I wound my arms around his neck and buried my face into his shoulders, letting out a little moan of delight. He was lifting me like I didn’t weigh a thing, like I was the most delicate object in the world, a precious gift he was carrying to bed. He laid me down on the covers and brushed the hair back from my face, and I stretched and wriggled into the sheets.
“You know, I’m going to have to get up and take my makeup off and brush my teeth,” I reminded him. He grinned.
“Just let me have this one, all right?” he asked me gently, and I closed my eyes and let out a long breath.
“I guess I can let you get away with it this time,” I conceded, and he slid into bed next to me and held me close. Even though I wasn’t ready to sleep yet, I let the calmness of his presence sweep over me, and the stress of the day seemed to melt away. I closed my eyes and smiled. Everything had changed, but everything was just beginning. I couldn’t wait to see where it took us.
59
I tapped my fingers on my elbow impatiently. I felt a little bad that I had called these guys out at such short notice, but it was for the best. I wanted to have everything ready to go by the time Amaya arrived here with her sister. I wanted to show them both I was about as serious about this as I possibly could be.
“How much longer do you think you’ll be?” I asked the workman who passed by me, a bag of tools slung over his shoulder and clinking loudly. He shrugged.
“Should be another hour, at most?” he offered, and I could tell my impatience was getting to him.
“If I put another five hundred on the price tag, could you get it done quicker?” I asked, and he nodded at once.
“Sure thing, boss,” he flashed me a smile, and then he disappeared and left me waiting in the kitchen, wondering if there was any way in hell they were going to get this finished in time.
It was my fault. If I wanted a stairlift put in, I could have organized it long before the actual day Jolene was supposed to come down here and visit us, but I wanted to surprise both Amaya and her sister. We probably didn’t need it since the elevator was right there, but I’d decided to have a chairlift put in on the staircase up to the apartment, just to make sure. I wanted Jolene to have every option she could, to have the choice to do anything she wanted when she came to live with us.
I knew these workmen were charging me double the cost already, and there was that thrifty part of me that was rolling my eyes at how obviously they were ripping me off right now. But I would swallow it if it meant I could get this done before Amaya was back from picking up Jolene after work. I had tried to offer to do it for her, but she’d insisted, despite the pregnancy. She seemed to be determined to prove to both herself and me that she was perfectly capable of doing anything she set her mind to, and I didn’t want to get in the way of that. It was her pregnancy, her body, and I wasn’t going to try and control her. Besides, I had a feeling Amaya wasn’t going to be the kind of woman who let just anyone have a say in how she conducted herself over the next eight months.
I heard them working downstairs and went back to trying to finish up dinner. I had slow-roasted some lamb alongside some balsamic vegetables and a little rice, and I was looking forward to having a proper family meal. Cleo would be coming later. Since the shit with the contract, she had practically been at my beck and call trying to make it up to me, and Amaya had invited her friend Darla from work as well. I was looking forward to meeting her, glad Amaya finally had a proper friend outside of her sister and her family. Though I didn’t like the thought of sharing her with anyone, I knew she was too good to keep to myself.
Finally, the workmen seemed to finish up. I counted the cash out and pressed it into the hand of the guy in charge, throwing in a hundred extra in case I ever needed them to come back and do more work for me.
“Thanks.” The guy raised his eyebrows at the wad of cash I ha
d handed him. “Anything else you need done, you just call, all right?”
“Will do.” I managed to smile at him. Now that I knew it would be ready in time for Jolene’s arrival, I felt a hell of a lot better.
They left, and I continued to work on dinner. I was ahead of schedule, but that was fine by me. Before anyone else arrived, I wanted to take some time to talk with Amaya and Jolene about the best course of action going forward when she moved into this place with us.
Suddenly, I heard the familiar growl of the SUV pulling into the garage downstairs, and I headed down to meet them.
“Kristo!” Jolene exclaimed as we helped her out of the back of the SUV. She reached up to give me a hug, and I held her tight for a moment before extracting myself.
“There’s something I want to show you,” I told her, and I glanced up at Amaya, who raised her eyebrows at me as if to say what the hell have you done this time? I wheeled Jolene over to the stairlift, praying it would actually work, and her eyes lit up.
“You had this put in for me?” she asked, glancing up at me with surprise. I nodded.
“When did you have time to do this?” Amaya demanded, shaking her head as she made her way toward me. “This wasn’t here this morning.”
“That’s not important.” I waved my hand. “What’s important is making this as easy for you as I can. Right, Jolene?”
“Sure thing.” She beamed back at me, and with a little maneuvering, Amaya and I got her into the stairlift and the three of us headed up to the apartment.
“You didn’t have to do this, you know,” Amaya told me quietly as we trailed a few steps behind her sister. I shrugged.
“Yeah, but I wanted to,” I replied. She grinned and gave me a quick kiss while Jolene was looking the other direction.
“What did I do to deserve you?” she asked, brushing her nose against mine briefly.
“Hey, lovebirds, I’m going to need someone to unlock this door for me,” Jolene called down to us, and Amaya sprang away from me and went to help her sister. I paused for a moment on the stairs, grinning up at the two of them as Amaya opened the door and let Jolene in. This was what it was going to be like, the three of us living together. It was never how I’d imagined my life, and it was crazy how much sense it seemed to make now that it was right there in front of me.
I hurried up the stairs to join them, and Amaya headed to the kitchen as soon as she was inside.
“Wow, that smells good.” She inhaled deeply, pulling the lid off one of the pots and looking at what was inside. “I should get you to cook for us more often.”
“As if I don’t do all the cooking already,” I replied, shooting a wink at Jolene, who grinned. Amaya rolled her eyes at me and came over to join us on the couch.
“How long do we have until the others arrive?” she asked, and I glanced at my watch.
“About a half-hour,” I replied. “Enough time to figure out some more details for when Jolene is living here with us.”
“I can’t believe this is actually happening.” Jolene shook her head, fiddling with the charms on the bracelet we’d purchased for her a few days earlier. “I’m going to be living here. Here! Have you seen this place? It’s like a palace.”
We chatted a little about exactly what we would need to do in order to make the place as friendly to Jolene and her wheelchair as possible. Amaya and I had already started looking into caregivers for her, for when we were away at work. I was planning on taking some time away from the job myself, just to spend time around the house and look after Jolene and the baby where I could—well, and cook more often as well since Amaya seemed to love it so much.
The half-hour sped by quickly, and before I knew it, there was a knock at the door. I went to answer it, but Amaya waved her hand at me and got up instead.
“It’s Darla,” she replied. “I know it. Let me just say hello, and then I’ll introduce you guys, right?”
She opened the door, and a woman I didn’t recognize was waiting on the other side. She gave Amaya a big hug and then turned her attention to the two of us.
“And this must be …?”
“This is Jolene, my sister,” Amaya gestured to her sister, and Jolene extended her hand to Darla.
“Charmed, I’m sure,” she drawled playfully, and Darla chuckled.
“And this is my fiancé, Kristo,” Amaya continued. I got to my feet and gave Darla a kiss on the cheek.
“It’s great to meet you,” I told her. “Amaya’s told me so much about you.”
“That’s concerning,” she joked. Amaya had told me she was always wisecracking. Before I could say much more, another knock at the door sounded.
“That has to be Cleo,” I remarked, and I went over to let her in. I knew Darla had been kidding around with Amaya about dating my sister. Cleo did swing both ways, but I didn’t know how I felt about playing matchmaker. But hey, it might be fun. At least they would both have a date to the wedding if they did end up hooking up.
I let my sister in and made the introductions. Darla shook Cleo’s hand, and I noticed my sister flushing slightly red, her eyes trailing briefly over Darla’s body, but I served up dinner before things could get out of hand.
It was perfect. The food was good, the conversation was better, and Amaya held my hand under the table the entire way through. I couldn’t believe how good it felt to have our families coming together like this. I had never imagined I would find anyone who fit as comfortably in with my crazy family as Amaya, but both she and Jolene knew how to keep up with them, and it was a joy to watch.
By the time dinner was finished, Darla and Cleo seemed to be firmly into each other, flirting away as the night went on. They offered to wash up together, and I waved them on, cocking an eyebrow at my sister when Darla’s back was turned. Cleo shrugged and widened her eyes at me, urging me to keep my mouth shut, and I held my hands up in silent acceptance of her request.
“I had an amazing time tonight,” Jolene told me, beaming as we helped her into the chairlift once more. I was going to be driving her back—I had at least got Amaya to give in to me on that request—and Darla and Cleo were going to grab a drink together somewhere in the city to continue their flirtation.
“Me too.” I grinned at her. “Come on, let’s get you home.”
“Won’t be long till my home is right here,” Jolene remarked, shaking her head in disbelief. “It’s going to be amazing.”
I walked down the steps with her, considering that future, our family, all together.
“Yeah, it really is,” I agreed. We made it to the bottom at the same time, and I helped her into the car.
60
I lay there in bed, staring at the ceiling. The night had gone as well as I could have hoped, but there was a restlessness inside of me that I couldn’t shake. I had tidied the house, relaxed as well as I could, taken a shower, but by the time I came to bed, I still felt as though there was something nagging at the back of my mind.
I didn’t know how long it would be until Kristo came back. He’d insisted on driving Jolene back down the road to her home. I hated to see her leave so much, but I knew it was the right thing. I couldn’t wait for the day when we wouldn’t have to take her back anywhere, when this would be her home, when we could have nights like this and I could stay up late talking with my sister when they were done. I wondered if she’d noticed the way I had that Darla and Cleo seemed to be really feeling each other. Kristo had mentioned that Cleo had dated girls in the past, but I hadn’t expected them to hit it off so completely and obviously. They were probably still out right now, enjoying a drink at some local bar. Or back at Darla’s place. I couldn’t help but grin at the thought. I’d never imagined I’d be any good at playing matchmaker, but maybe I should do it more often.
I heard the door open, and my heart leaped in my chest. Kristo was back. And suddenly, from the way my body reacted, I knew exactly what it was that had been keeping me in such an angsty state.
“Hey, babe,” he yawned
as he walked into the room. The term of endearment made my heart skip a beat and I smiled at him, waving him over to the bed.
“You okay?” I asked. “Jolene get back all right?”
“Just fine,” he replied, pulling off his jacket. He was wearing a crisp blue shirt underneath, and it brought out his eyes perfectly. I wanted to rip it off him, but instead, I settled for moving behind him and beginning to massage his shoulders. He let out a groan as though that was exactly what he didn’t know he needed.
I worked into his shoulders with my thumbs as best as I could, trying to massage out the tension in his neck and upper body. He allowed me to do so for a few minutes before glancing at me with a smile on his face.
“You’re the pregnant one,” he pointed out. “Shouldn’t I be massaging you?”
“I’m sure you can find another way to make it up to me.” I leaned in and murmured in his ear, playing the seductress and stifling my urge to giggle.
“Oh, yeah?” He turned to me and cocked an eyebrow.
“If you’re not too tired,” I assured him.
“Never too tired for you,” he replied, and he guided my face down to his and our lips met. As soon as they did, that anxiousness evaporated like this was what my body had been craving all this time. Damn pregnancy hormones, making me hornier than I knew what do to with.
He guided me down to the bed and slid on top of me, parting my legs easily and running his fingers through my hair. I let out a sigh of relief, finally having him here with me the way I wanted. He grinned into the kiss and let one hand trace down my body, sketching the outline of my waist and my hips and my thighs.
