Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 69170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
I told her about my worries about the nursery, and she gave me a wonderful idea. It meant digging up an old movie and paying very close attention before I was able to go ahead with it, but I felt more relaxed and at ease once I had a plan in place.
JOLENE
I think poor Damon has lost his mind. Two days after the doctor’s visit, I woke up to hammering and strange noises coming from upstairs. Since I wasn’t allowed to leave the bed, I used the walkie talkie he gave me because I couldn’t use the room’s intercom, and I wasn’t about to use Alexa because then everyone would hear me.
Do you know why everyone shouldn’t hear our conversations? Because my husband likes to call me and say naughty things in my ear all day. Now I called him to ask what that noise was and he came into the bedroom two minutes later.
“It’s a surprise for you and our sons.” I rolled my eyes at him and went back to reading my magazine. “I told you already, I feel the same way I did when I was carrying Savanna; these are all girls.” I love watching him go green. Bastard, that’s what you get for making me stay in bed.
What’s worse, he took a leave of absence and has been home since then with no plans to go back anytime soon or at all. “What kind of surprise? It sounds like you’re tearing holes in the walls.”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about. Are you hungry?”
“You asked me that half an hour ago.”
“Yeah, and?”
“Fine, I want sushi.”
“From that same place?”
“Yeah, I like their California rolls.”
“Okay, I’ll get right on it. Anything else?”
“No, that’s it.”
“Wait, isn’t sushi that diet thing? Nice try. You can have cheesecake or gelato to go with that sushi or no sushi and a full meal.”
“Why are you trying to make me fat?”
“I’m trying to make you happy. Sheila said those are the things you liked when you were pregnant before.”
“Okay-okay, don’t sulk. I’ll have both the cheesecake and the gelato.” He smiled like he won a prize. I think he has pregnancy brain because he hasn’t been acting right since we found out I was pregnant, and he’s only gotten worse once we found out about the sextuplets.
I was only allowed to walk around downstairs for a few minutes at a time with him holding me around the waist while holding my hand, so I didn’t get to see what all the noise was up there, but by the middle of the following week, I got to see the new elevator in use.
“You have totally lost your mind.”
DAMON
The work is finally done. I waited until she woke up in the morning and carried her to the elevator she’d been bitching about for weeks. I should get her a chair or one of those things that glide up and down the banister, but she’d only give me shit if I mentioned it.
I led her down the hallway once we got off the elevator and grew nervous as hell as soon as we stopped in front of the door. I opened the door with a flourish all the same and hoped for the best.
“Oh wow, oh dear, oh my.”
“Is that good?”
“Oh, that is more than good. Why does this look so familiar?”
“It’s the nursery from Father of the Bride part two, just a little bigger.”
“A lot bigger, or my gosh. What’s all this?” I walked her through the rooms, which were the sleeping area, a changing area, a bathroom, and a play area for when they got older.
“Did I remember everything?” She opened the closets that our moms, along with Savanna, Sheila, and Maeve, had spent the last few weeks organizing.
She ran her hands over the hanging sweaters and tee shirts before pulling open the glass-faced drawers to look at the stuff that was folded in there. Each kid had his own little wardrobe and drawer set that had been built into the walls in the changing area, while the sleeping area had the cribs strategically aligned.
“Looks like you thought of everything.”
“I’m sure I forgot something, but we’ve got the basics so far.” I had bought thousands of diapers in varying sizes because I read that they could outgrow those really fast. Even their clothes had been bought in graduating sizes, as well as their shoes.
I’ve been on autopilot for the last few weeks, trying to beat the deadline in my head. Now that most of it is out of the way, I can breathe. “I feel so guilty; you did all this on your own.”
“Well, yeah, you’re doing all the heavy lifting, so this is the least I could do.” I patted her tummy, and she started to get frisky.
I had to sidestep her without her realizing what I was doing. It’s been hell keeping my hands off of her, but there’s no way I’m going to hurt her. I go to bed late after she’s gone to sleep so I can avoid getting close to her because of that fear and leave before she wakes up, though I want nothing more than to hold her until she falls asleep and be there when she wakes up in the morning.