by Odette Stone
“Yeah.”
“You sure?”
I took a deep breath. “Yeah but now I have something new to freak about anyways.”
“What is that?”
“I went to the doctor today.”
“And?”
“And it just dawned on me that we’re having a baby.”
There was a super long pause and then his laughter was rumbling in my ear. His laughter was contagious and so I started to laugh too.
“This isn’t funny, Jackson. This thing is real. The doctor did an ultrasound of it and there it was, waving it’s little alien arms and legs around. This thing is inside of me.”
He laughed even harder. When he could manage to speak, he asked, “Are you kidding me?”
“We took a picture to show you. Trust me. When you see this thing you’re going to freak out too.”
“You’re priceless, you know that?”
“I drove straight from the doctor’s office to the bookstore. I don’t know anything about babies. I need to do some research.”
“Are you telling me this shit is getting real?” He still sounded super amused.
“You have no idea.”
A long pause.
“Jackson.”
“Yeah?”
“Sorry I freaked out.”
“Can you do me a favour?”
“Anything.”
“I need you to stay the fuck away from Matt, okay? I know you two have a history but it’s really messed up how he’s trying to upset you.”
“Okay.”
“I mean it, Emily. No communication. I can’t protect you from that if I’m here and you’re there.”
“Okay.”
“I gotta go. You’ll text me back, if I text you?”
“Yeah.”
“You sure about that, Mrs. Hunter? I’m hearing some doubt in your voice.”
My smile was so big, it hurt. “I’m sure.”
“Take care of that alien okay?”
“Okay.”
“Bye sweetheart.”
“Bye.”
I was standing there staring at the baby books blinking back pregnancy tears. Sheesh. Only another six months of this roller coaster.
My phone buzzed. I looked down at it.
Jackson: Mail me Echo Tango’s pic
Me: Echo Tango?
Jackson: E.T.
I snickered so loud, someone across the aisle lifted their head to look at me.
Me: I will
It took me until I got to the car to realize that he never actually denied that he only dated tall blondes.
***
The next four weeks passed by in relative quiet. I mailed the ultrasound picture to Jackson. Even though I hadn’t been to work since Matt’s accident, I officially quit my job at the gallery. They took me out for a little good-bye lunch.
I was forced to go maternity shopping. Some of my more fitted clothes were getting way too tight on me. According to my baby book, which I had started to read obsessively, it was just a matter of time before I started wearing maternity clothes full-time, so I went out and bought a brand new wardrobe.
I swam daily and slept a lot. I took my pregnancy vitamins. I stopped drinking coffee and eating sushi. Martha and I took Chloe for daily walks around Central Park.
Jackson texted me when he could. I never texted him first, but I always responded to his texts. He liked to tease me a lot. He often asked me how my day was going or what I was doing. We kept things light. It felt like the easy friendship we had before we slept together.
***
Jackson: Got a text from Chloe this morning
Me: Really? What did she say?
Jackson: She says that she wants to rethink the whole pink studded dog collar thing
Me: I love that collar!!
Jackson: She only wears it because she knows you like it
Me: I can’t believe this
Jackson: Truth
***
Jackson: You there?
Me: I am
Jackson: Did you have some of Martha’s pancakes for breakfast?
Me: Granola and yogurt
Jackson: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Me: WTF?
Jackson: Yeah, that is what I just said. You gotta eat some pancakes. For me.
Me: My clothes are already starting to not fit
Jackson: Feed them to the alien, but you gotta have a pancake for me
Me: You sure seem obsessed with those pancakes
Jackson: Best. Pancakes. Of. My. Life.
***
Jackson: Got another text from Chloe today
Me: Now what did she say?
Jackson: She misses me
Me: What else did she say?
Jackson: She wants to enlist
Me: Into the navy??
Jackson: I was telling her that there are dogs in our unit
Me: You’re kidding
Jackson: That’s exactly what she said
Me: I’m going to have to talk to her about using my phone
Jackson: Please do. I think this obsession with me is borderline unhealthy
***
And then I got the text that sent my heart into overdrive.
Jackson: You packed?
Me: Why?
Jackson: A house has become available. It’s a two bedroom. Available immediately.
Me: Really?
Jackson: Really. You can ship your boxes asap
Holy shit. This was really happening. I was suddenly inexplicably nervous.
Me: Okay.
Jackson: I have the weekend off. I’ll come get you
Me: I can drive myself
My phone began to ring.
“Hello?”
“What do you mean, you can drive yourself?”
“You don’t need to come out here. I need to drive my car there anyways.”
“I don’t like the idea of you driving on the highway by yourself.”
“Well it doesn’t make sense for you to come all the way here and then spend a day driving with me.”
“It makes sense if you’re safe. I get back to the base on late Friday afternoon. I can fly out there and we can drive on Saturday.”
“I can be there on Friday before you’re even off work.”
Silence.
“Emily,” he said my name so quiet. My heart raced with how protective he was. This is what got me into trouble into the first place. His unending need to take care of me. I loved it so much and it made my heart do stupid things in my chest.
“I promise I’ll be so careful. I’ll have Chloe with me.”
More silence on the other side. This was in Jackson’s DNA. I had to remind myself that he was just a natural born protector. This had very little to do with me and was all about how he viewed the world and his role in it. “I don’t want you to stop at any of those shit rest stops.”
I struggled not to laugh at the tone in his voice. “I promise.”
“You don’t stop for anyone along the highway. I don’t care what the circumstances are. I don’t care if you see little kittens and puppies crying for help. You do not stop.”
“Jackson. I promise. It’s going to be broad daylight.”
I got a long-winded sigh from his end. “Take this serious, Emily.”
“I’m taking this seriously.”
Chapter 14
On Friday, I rolled up to the gates of the military base at 4 PM. I had texted Jackson my estimated time of arrival but it still shocked me to see him sitting on the tailgate of his truck waiting for me.
He was dressed in army boots, grey and white military fatigue pants and a grey t-shirt. He was wearing some sort of body armour vest and a baseball hat. My heart was literally tripping in my chest. He had more facial hair that I remembered and when he stood up, he looked absolutely massive.
My hands were shaking as I put my car in park. I seriously did not remember him being this big. Chloe was so excited to see him she was positively howling besi
de me. I opened the passenger door so that she could go greet him. I watched as she ran and leapt into his arms. She was squirming in his arms. I saw that familiar smile break across his face and just like that my heart squeezed a bit tighter. If only my reunion with him was so easy. I closed my eyes and took a calming breath.
I got out of the car slowly, feeling self conscious as he watched with interest as I walked towards him. He set Chloe down who immediately wandered off to explore. It was positively unnerving how good looking he was. I had practiced what I would say to him about a hundred times and all those witty little conversations completely evaporated beneath his intense scrutiny of me.
“You look bigger than I remember,” I blurted out.
“I tend to bulk up a bit when we’re in training.”
“Oh,” I looked down and pushed a bit of gravel around with the toe of my sneaker.
“How was your drive?”
“It was good.” I looked back up at him.
We studied each other. He seemed tougher, harder to read. We felt like two strangers. Was I really married to this man? Away from New York and the loft he seemed so different than I remembered.
“Your boxes arrived.”
“Oh,” I chewed on my lip. “Okay.”
His glance dropped to my stomach. “How’s Alien?”
“Normal. Still inside of me.”
A smile traced on his perfect lips. “Ready for this?”
“Yes.”
“Follow me.”
***
I followed Jackson’s truck through a fenced gate that reminded me of a border patrol. There were real soldiers with real machine guns. It took over an hour to get my special military ID. I would need that ID to get on and off the base, to buy groceries and to see the doctor.
I slowly followed Jackson’s truck through what appeared to be a small functioning town. I had never been on a military base before. The main street looked quiet and almost deserted. We traveled through a few streets and then Jackson pulled up in front of a small two-story, boxy white house with a red door and black shutters. It had a huge tree in the front. The street looked like a normal suburban street.
Clutching my jasmine plant in a death grip, I followed Jackson up to the house. Jackson unlocked the door and the three of us wandered in to look around.
***
The house was completely empty except for my shipped boxes which were stacked high in the hallway. On the left was a small sitting area that extended to a dining room. Straight ahead, was a large kitchen that was stark white. There was an area for a kitchen table. Just off the kitchen was a family room that had windows that overlook the backyard. The back door led to a large plain deck and an absolutely massive backyard. Just off the kitchen was a small laundry room closet without a washer and dryer.
Jackson and Chloe stepped outside to explore the backyard. Curiosity drove me upstairs. There were two bedrooms. The master bedroom had a small walk-in closet and a full bath. The hallway had a second bathroom. The place felt different than the loft. This house had a distinct suburban vibe.
I heard the backdoor slam and then my name, “Emily?”
“Upstairs.” I walked out of the bedroom and looked down.
Jackson was standing at the bottom of the stairs. “Some buddies are going to help me move my furniture over from my place.”
“Do you need any help?”
“No. It should be pretty quick.” I couldn’t read the expression on his face. Did he feel as weird having me here, as I felt being here? “How are you holding up?”
“I’m good.”
He studied me for a long moment.
“Okay. I’ll be back soon.”
I unpacked my car and found Chloe’s food dishes. I gave her some dinner, and then I walked around the house. I don’t know what I had been expecting from Jackson but I hadn’t expected for us to feel like two strangers who were slightly wary of each other.
***
I was upstairs, unpacking my toiletries when I heard loud male voices come into the living room.
“I can’t believe MacDog got married.”
“I guess hell did freeze over.”
Laughter.
“Did he tell you? He’s been back in training for over a month.”
“Not a word. He just texted me this afternoon and let me know he’s moving into family housing and could I un-ass and help move his furniture.”
“Damn that guy is the vault.”
“You know it.”
“I thought him and Harper broke up after Stubbs and Bixley.”
Who was Harper? What were they talking about?
“They did.”
“She finally figured out how to drag his dick down the aisle.”
More laughter.
I crept down the stairs. Two mountain men that sported the same shaggy haircut that Jackson wore were assembling a dining room table. One of them had a full beard.
One guy spotted me and he went completely still and almost instantly the other guy turned around. Real slow and easy they both stood up, like I was the threat in the room that needed to be assessed.
The bigger guy, who had a sleeve of tattoos down one arm, said with curiosity in his voice. “Hello.”
“Hi,” my voice sounded tiny. I nervously cleared my throat.
They both exchanged glances and then the bigger one started to laugh and then he looked at the other guy. “I’m sorry. Are we even in the right fucking house?”
We all laughed.
“Are you helping Jackson move?” I asked carefully.
He put big hands on his hips and looked around. “We are.”
“Then you’re in the right house.”
If he was shocked, he hid it well. He brought one hand up to his chest. “I’m Chris and this is Alfie.”
“I’m Emily.”
We stared at each for a long moment and then he tilted his head. “And how do you know Jackson? Are you a friend of Harper’s?”
I swallowed convulsively. I could barely speak. “Jackson and I got…had…HAD a wedding…together.”
Both men just stared at me. Full on I-don’t-believe-a-fucking-word-you-are-telling-me stares. Both of them. At the same time. I had seen that very look on Jackson’s face. Did they teach them this look in the navy?
“We got married,” I said lamely.
“You’re Jackson’s wife.” He managed to make his statement sound like a question.
“Yes.”
He gave me a short nod. “Pleased to meet you.”
I didn’t know what to think about the fact that Jackson hadn’t told his friends about me. Was that a bad thing? Where was he anyways?
I was so nervous, my breath hitched in my throat. “Can I help?”
“No ma’am. We’ll be done here soon.”
“Okay,” I said. They both watched me while I crept back up the stairs, feeling completely awkward. I stood in the bedroom, my hands on my hot face. I heard the front door slam. And then I heard them through the bedroom window as they walked back to the truck.
“What the fuck just happened?” one of them asked.
They both laughed hard.
“Did she actually say that she married MacDog?”
***
I watched from the bedroom window as another two trucks pulled up, one of which was Jackson’s truck. He had changed into jeans and a t-shirt that stretched across his hard chest. Someone pulled out a pack of beer and then they were all cracking open cans. All the men were huge, muscular and looked as tough as nails.
“Hey MacDog,” Chris mocked. “Thanks for the heads up that you didn’t marry Harper. I looked like a complete ass asking your bride who the fuck she was.”
Jackson looked calmly at him and then chugged his beer.
Alfie spoke. “Yo fuck face, how did that tiny little thing manage to get your ugly ass up the aisle anyways?”
Jackson took another long haul from his beer, and then spoke without looking up. “Emily was the one that ne
eded convincing to get married.”
The rest of the men exchanged big looks amongst themselves.
Alfie cut in. “Probably because she knew it was illegal to marry a minor. Did the minister card her before he married you?”
They all laughed, including Jackson.
Another shot. “Do you think your bride can score me some of those girl guide cookies?”
More laughter. And then Jackson had Alfie in a headlock and they were wrestling on the grass. The other guys were hooting and hollering.
This was a side I had never seen of Jackson. He had friends. Big, hairy, muscular, wrestling friends who drank beer, helped him move and harassed him in good fun. I realized that I had never actually seen Jackson in his own environment. In New York, he spent a lot of time either alone or with me. At both of my parties in New York, he had been pretty social, but this camaraderie was completely foreign to me.
Who was Harper? The question nagged at me.
I stood and watched in awe until it dawned on me that at some point soon they would all be coming into the house to unload the trucks. As much as I wanted to lie hiding in the tub with the shower curtain closed, I instinctively knew that the only way I would get through this was to meet them all head-on. For moral support, I forced Chloe to get up and accompany me downstairs.
I needed to get busy. No one could fault a busy person. I would start unpacking. I grabbed a box and ripped it open. I heard laughter as the sound of men entering the house. They worked seamlessly as a team around me. Alfie and another guy carried in boxes. Chris and Jackson installed the washer and the dryer and the other two guys were doing God knows what upstairs. I started to unpack dishes.
They were as curious about me as I was about them. I caught them eyeballing me each time they passed by. I wasn’t even blushing anymore, I was just a constant shade of hot red. Perma-flush, spent about a thousand hours frying two feet away from the sun kind of red.
They were setting up Jackson’s furniture. I didn’t even look at it. I was too nervous. I was freaking out more and more by the second. What was I doing here? Why was Jackson so distant? Was it because his buddies were here? Everything felt slightly off.
And then Chris was leaning over the counter, cell phone in hand. “What kind of pizza do you like?”
“Ham and pineapple?” My voice sounded like a tiny chirp. I cleared my throat.
“Forbes!” he bellowed, a smile on his face.
