Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
“Sounds like a solid plan on Eddy’s part,” I teased. “And tell Ida Bell I had nothing to do with Koen. He’s an adult that controls his own actions.”
The rest of the day went about as expected when I was working at my practice, but when I got home, it was to find our living room a wreck.
“What is all this?” I asked as I tried and failed to take it all in.
“That’s a bouncer,” she said as she sat in the middle of all the chaos.
“And this?” I asked, tapping my toe against a metal contraption.
“That’s the shelf for the baby’s room,” she answered.
“And that you’re in the middle of?”
“The crib.”
“And why is it all out at once?” I wondered.
“Well.” She grinned sheepishly. “I started out doing the bouncer. But there were some parts I didn’t know where they went. So I moved to the shelf. Same thing happened there. Then I moved to the crib…and well, I just ended up taking everything out and now I don’t know what to do.”
So that was how we spent our next several hours.
We got the crib put together that my dad had said he would help me with later this week. Then we got the bouncer put together that was quite a bit harder than I felt like it should be.
The shelf went up easily, though it would’ve been better if I had Denver here like I’d intended so that we could get the other shelving done as well.
“We need a bigger room,” she admitted when all the things were in the baby’s room that was right across the hall from us.
My grin was wicked as I said, “Or we need to scale down all the shit we have?”
She scoffed. “Who would want to do a silly thing like that?”
The next day, our conversation from the previous night continued.
“But we could get a brand-new wall cabinet that we can hang some of her clothing in. And on the top shelves, we could put all the diapers and wipes people are dropping off in droves. Then we could…
“Nettie,” I said. “This is one child. She doesn’t need that much stuff!”
She snorted. “Keep telling your family that. Or my sister. Or…”
The doorbell rang, interrupting what she was about to say.
“I’ll get it,” she suggested. “You need to clean up all this trash so I don’t have to bend down.”
I snorted out a laugh and watched her go.
If you didn’t know that she was pregnant, you wouldn’t be able to tell.
I decided that it was her in-shape body that kept her from showing.
She still had abs, for Christ’s sake.
She lived in leggings and big t-shirts these days and still worked out like it was her job. Though, she didn’t play soccer, she worked out like she still had to.
We’d started going on hikes, and she even had one planned for this weekend that…
“Boone?”
I stuffed the trash in my hand into the box for the highchair and headed out into the living room to find Joe there with red eyes.
“What’s up?” I asked in concern.
“Do you, uh, mind leaving to grab us some dinner?”
I paused.
That hadn’t been our plan today, but it was clear that Joe wanted to talk to Nettie without me being around.
“Sure,” I said. “What does everyone want?”
“Arby’s.”
I looked at my wife.
“We’ve had Arby’s literally four times this week alone. Are you sure?”
Joe hiccupped.
“Joe, do you want Arby’s?” I asked, hoping that she’d say no and save me.
“I could eat Arby’s.”
Gag. I just couldn’t win.
By the time this pregnancy was over, I just knew that Arby’s would never, ever be an option for me again. When I die would be too soon.
“That’s thirty minutes…”
Seeing the look on Nettie’s face had me stilling my lips. “Text me what you want.”
I left, thankful that it was finally warm enough that I could ride my bike.
I was going to need the fresh air so I didn’t choke on the smell of subpar roast beef.
Twenty-One
When two people kiss, they create a long tube, butthole to butthole.
—Nettie to Eddy
Nettie
I had no clue why Joe was here, but I’d seen the desperation in her eyes, and I’d had no choice but to ask my heart and soul to leave.
I had a feeling Joe wouldn’t talk with her pseudo-uncle here.
I waited until the sound of Boone’s motorcycle could no longer be heard before I asked, “What’s wrong?”
Her lip quivered, then the tears she’d been holding at bay started to spill forth. “I-I-I’m p-pregnant.”
The bomb had dropped.
“Joe…”
She covered her eyes with her hands and sobbed.
I reached for her and held on tight, letting her cry into the crook of my neck for long minutes before I said, “Can you tell me everything?”
She leaned back and swiped at her eyes, her mascara running.
“It’s bad, Nettie.”
My stomach seized. “Bad how?”
Please, please, don’t say what I think you’re going to say.