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Authors: K.G. MacGregor
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to work part-time, like when Andy first came to live with us. And you’re right, I’m the boss. If I want to set up a playpen in my office for little…Ruby…I can.”
“Ruby?”
Anna found herself grinning. “Yeah, what’s wrong with Ruby?”
“Where did that come from?”
“I don’t know. I just said it. Ruby Kaklis.”
“What if it’s a boy?”
“Then you get to name him.”
“Ralph.”
“Anything but Ralph.”
Lily gently trailed her fingernails along Anna’s long arms, and finally lifted her hands to kiss the backs of her knuckles. “I’m sorry I went off on you. Beth said all the hormones would settle down after the first trimester.”
“It’s okay. I’d rather be on the receiving end of an occasional tantrum than having my emotions go haywire or throwing up every day like you.”
“You left out having to pee every six minutes.”
Anna tightened her embrace and rested her chin on Lily’s shoulder. “I love you for all the things you’re going through for us. I wasn’t sure I’d be a good mom, but Andy came along and showed me how easy it was. Now I can’t wait for this baby.”
“And I can’t wait to see you be a mom again.”
“Ruby.”
“Ralph.”
Chapter 4
Lily blinked and tried to move, vaguely aware that her arm was pinned by a small body draped across it. Andy had come to her bedside at two a.m. after a bad dream, and when he couldn’t get back to sleep in his own bed she had brought him to theirs. Anna had barely stirred until Lily nudged her awake to slip into her nightshirt.
The pamphlet Beth had given her warned that she wouldn’t have much energy while her body adjusted to pregnancy. Truer words were never written, but she took it as a welcome sign her pregnancy was proceeding normally. Naps had become her guilty pleasure—before dinner, after dinner and at any given moment over the weekend when she managed to get in even a semi-horizontal position.
Inch by inch she worked herself free of Andy and sat up to see him pressed against Anna’s back, his curly brown hair tickling her shoulder. It was a Kodak moment, but more than that it was an opportunity for her to escape downstairs for a few minutes of solitude.
Not complete solitude though, she remembered as Chester’s thud on the floor signaled his interest in breakfast. She picked up her slippers and tiptoed to the doorway, where she paused one last time to look back at the slumbering pair. It was unusual for Andy to sleep with them. He normally slept soundly in his own bed, but neither she nor Anna thought it was a big deal for him to join them once in a while. It always felt good to have him there, and he probably would outgrow the need long before they tired of it.
As she cinched her robe she was reminded of yet another first trimester side effect—breasts so tender she could hardly stand to button her shirt. At least she hadn’t suffered with morning sickness today. There were few things she hated as much as throwing up.
Chester rushed ahead down the sweeping staircase to sit by the back door, where he thumped his tail wildly.
“Hold on there, fella.” She lifted the panel of the doggie door and he disappeared through the hole.
On the kitchen counter was a packet containing Andy’s school pictures, adorable with his missing front tooth. She selected one and wrote a note in a greeting card to send it off. By the time she found the stamps in the drawer, Chester had reappeared and insisted she fill his bowl.
He was vibrant for an eight-year-old house dog, owing his reversion to puppyhood to Andy, who romped with him through the park, the neighborhood, and up and down the stairs. It made her sad to think of Chester leaving them someday, as he was a living, breathing reminder of her mother, who had been gone for three years. She would have given anything had her mom lived to see their baby. Eleanor Stewart would have made one terrific grandmother. Tears welled up as she envisioned the
“Ruby?”
Anna found herself grinning. “Yeah, what’s wrong with Ruby?”
“Where did that come from?”
“I don’t know. I just said it. Ruby Kaklis.”
“What if it’s a boy?”
“Then you get to name him.”
“Ralph.”
“Anything but Ralph.”
Lily gently trailed her fingernails along Anna’s long arms, and finally lifted her hands to kiss the backs of her knuckles. “I’m sorry I went off on you. Beth said all the hormones would settle down after the first trimester.”
“It’s okay. I’d rather be on the receiving end of an occasional tantrum than having my emotions go haywire or throwing up every day like you.”
“You left out having to pee every six minutes.”
Anna tightened her embrace and rested her chin on Lily’s shoulder. “I love you for all the things you’re going through for us. I wasn’t sure I’d be a good mom, but Andy came along and showed me how easy it was. Now I can’t wait for this baby.”
“And I can’t wait to see you be a mom again.”
“Ruby.”
“Ralph.”
Chapter 4
Lily blinked and tried to move, vaguely aware that her arm was pinned by a small body draped across it. Andy had come to her bedside at two a.m. after a bad dream, and when he couldn’t get back to sleep in his own bed she had brought him to theirs. Anna had barely stirred until Lily nudged her awake to slip into her nightshirt.
The pamphlet Beth had given her warned that she wouldn’t have much energy while her body adjusted to pregnancy. Truer words were never written, but she took it as a welcome sign her pregnancy was proceeding normally. Naps had become her guilty pleasure—before dinner, after dinner and at any given moment over the weekend when she managed to get in even a semi-horizontal position.
Inch by inch she worked herself free of Andy and sat up to see him pressed against Anna’s back, his curly brown hair tickling her shoulder. It was a Kodak moment, but more than that it was an opportunity for her to escape downstairs for a few minutes of solitude.
Not complete solitude though, she remembered as Chester’s thud on the floor signaled his interest in breakfast. She picked up her slippers and tiptoed to the doorway, where she paused one last time to look back at the slumbering pair. It was unusual for Andy to sleep with them. He normally slept soundly in his own bed, but neither she nor Anna thought it was a big deal for him to join them once in a while. It always felt good to have him there, and he probably would outgrow the need long before they tired of it.
As she cinched her robe she was reminded of yet another first trimester side effect—breasts so tender she could hardly stand to button her shirt. At least she hadn’t suffered with morning sickness today. There were few things she hated as much as throwing up.
Chester rushed ahead down the sweeping staircase to sit by the back door, where he thumped his tail wildly.
“Hold on there, fella.” She lifted the panel of the doggie door and he disappeared through the hole.
On the kitchen counter was a packet containing Andy’s school pictures, adorable with his missing front tooth. She selected one and wrote a note in a greeting card to send it off. By the time she found the stamps in the drawer, Chester had reappeared and insisted she fill his bowl.
He was vibrant for an eight-year-old house dog, owing his reversion to puppyhood to Andy, who romped with him through the park, the neighborhood, and up and down the stairs. It made her sad to think of Chester leaving them someday, as he was a living, breathing reminder of her mother, who had been gone for three years. She would have given anything had her mom lived to see their baby. Eleanor Stewart would have made one terrific grandmother. Tears welled up as she envisioned the
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