“What are you doing home so early?”
I hadn’t used my key, and I’d been leaning, or more like sagging, on the wall waiting for Theo to open the door.
“Took the rest of the afternoon off.” I staggered inside and collapsed on the couch.
“Gods, you’re having a rough time with all-day sickness.” My mate brought my favorite water bottle, the huge one with the big straw, and I sipped tiny drinks so the water didn’t annoy my tummy.
“Can I help you to bed?” My mate kissed my brow, and the kittens tumbled into the room. They’d probably been toilet papering the bathroom, and I didn’t care.
“Don’t think I can move.”
Theo removed my shoes and grabbed a packet of crackers. Gross as it was to eat dry crackers, they calmed my belly, along with ginger tea. But I was fed up with the tea and was convinced my pores were secreting a mild ginger aroma. I sniffed my arms so frequently, my assistant gave me side-eye.
One by one, the kittens jumped on the sofa. One sat on my head, two on my feet, and the fourth snuggled under one arm. None of them attempted to sit on my belly, as though they sensed that was a no-no.
Socks, who was balanced on my head, leaned over and studied my eyes. He was such a cool little dude, wanting my bear to shine through my gaze. It was a sure way of getting all four kittens to sleep, though the others didn’t appear to be interested right now.
Should I growl?
No. Socks might accidentally scratch my face, or worse, my eye.
I allowed my bear to be at the forefront of my gaze. Socks froze, his fur spiked. He wriggled his little kitten nose, before sniffing the air as though he could scent my bear and collapsing on my chest.
“Glad someone’s content.” I munched on a cracker, crumbs spilling on the couch and inside my shirt. Midnight and Fluffy inspected and then rejected the crumbs. I didn’t blame them.
“I made clear broth and thought that might not upset your tummy, perhaps with a slice of toast.” Theo spent his days on pregnancy blogs—interspersed with work—searching for foods that wouldn’t roil my belly.
“I’d like that, love. I’ll shower first.”
My mate removed Socks from my chest, and he cuddled into Theo. The other three leaped onto the floor, perhaps wanting food. Or they didn’t want to miss out on any excitement. There was nothing of interest happening with me.
“This is yummy.” Theo served the soup and toast on a tray while I propped myself up with pillows. “But when I’m done, I’m ready for a nap.”
Theo pursed his lips, a signal he wanted to broach something awkward and was waiting for the right moment.
“Out with it.” I slurped the last of the soup. As any soup devotee would know, soup had to be slurped, not sipped, to show the cook or chef how much you enjoyed it. Sadly, Theo wasn’t aware of that rule, and he cringed when I did it. He also begged me not to do it in front of our child.
“I was thinking…” He was getting closer to bringing it up, whatever it was. “Your job requires a lot of you and…”
“I’m way ahead of you, love.”
“You’re quitting?” Both Theo’s brows shot up. “Wow! I didn’t expect you to agree so easily.”
“Not quite.” His face fell, and I rushed on, not wanting him to misunderstand. “I spoke to my boss.” He and I had been discussing giving Dan, my assistant project manager, more responsibility, but we didn’t think he was ready to take on a project by himself. “And I’m going to work two days a week and job share with Dan.”
It was a great solution because I didn’t really want to look for a new job, but I couldn’t continue working the hours I had been.
“And you’re happy with that?” Theo had the look of someone who was bursting to celebrate but was waiting for me to give the okay.
“Yes.” I’d worked so hard to reach my current position, and I was happy with the company and my boss. “And I start next week.” Dan was up to speed and with me at the end of the phone and on site two days each week, there was no need for a long drawn-out goodbye. Not that I was saying farewell, but my relationship with my colleagues would change when I wasn’t with them Monday to Friday.
Theo flung his arms around my neck. “Me too.” He smirked and tapped his lips. “But having you around three days a week, or make that five, might be a huge problem.”
What? No. I thought I’d smoothed out the difficulties, and now my mate was saying, “Hold on.”
“I might be distracted by your presence and my work will suffer.” He giggled. “You might have to sit in the naughty corner.”
“Oh no. Will I be naked? And if I continue to be naughty, will you smack me?”
There was a sharp intake of breath from Theo. “Maybe, but only after the baby is born. I’m not smacking my pregnant mate’s ass no matter how much he begs.”
“I can’t wait.” To hold our baby but also to have alone time and have Theo whack my ass.
“And as you’re going to be earning less, it might be time to give up your apartment.”
I should have done it as soon as we mated, but any free time I had, I wanted to spend with Theo. And having sex. Lots of sex.
The following Saturday, we left the kittens to do their worst at Theo’s, or at home. It was our home now. And I sorted through boxes I’d never unpacked since my last move, family photos and old receipts. We sold the furniture, other than a lamp I’d bought with my first ever paycheck, and donated the rest. Some of the plates and utensils I’d had since college.
As my all-day sickness waxed and waned, I wasn’t in the mood to clean the place, so we hired someone. I hadn’t expected to be emotional when closing the door for the last time and handing over the key, but my eyes welled with tears as I said goodbye. Silly pregnancy hormones. My gramps used to say goodbyes were often sad, but there was often a hello around the corner.
“Where should I put this?” I held up the box containing the lamp. Theo already had living room and bedroom lamps.
“Maybe in the spare room?” He turned away and stuck his head in the fridge.
“But no one will see it there except the kittens.” And they might knock it over.
“When we have guests, they’ll use it.” Theo was ferreting about in the fridge.
“Oh no, love. That will become the nursery. We can use it when I feed the baby at night.”
My bear cleared his throat, or as close as a shifter animal could.
What? Is there something I’m missing?
Theo doesn’t like the lamp.
But it’s beautiful. And it was special. It was cheap as chips, but no one ever forgot their first paycheck.
“Theo.”
“Mmmm.” He was taking forever choosing ingredients from the fridge. Maybe he was planning on moving in there.
“Do you not like my lamp?”
“I know how special it is to you.”
He hadn’t answered my question, but I supposed he sort of had by avoiding it.
“It’s not suitable for a baby’s room.”
I studied the base which was a naked guy, his cock hard and ready. My mate was right. Not for a baby. But there was nowhere else to put it. My mate emerged from the depths of the fridge.
“You might not like this, but what if you donated it, perhaps to college students who would appreciate the dimensions of the cock. I’ll take photos of you with the lamp as a memento, and in years to come, we can look back at it and laugh.”
Gramps’s words about goodbyes and hellos echoed in my head.
“And when our kids are adults, we’ll show them the photos.”
My mind zigzagged from cock and lamp to kids. “Are we planning on more than one?” I wasn’t halfway through this pregnancy and was already wishing I had a time machine and could zoom ahead to the birth.
“Maybe. I’d have to discuss it with my mate.” He poked the tip of his tongue between his lips. Damn him, he knew that got me hot and bothered.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
“Pretty sure you have to wait until after the birth to get pregnant again.” He flapped a bunch of celery at me.
“No, the lamp.” There were a bunch of college kids in the next street over. “Take my pic and we’ll take the lamp over tomorrow. But on one condition.”
“Which is?” Theo left the salad ingredients and grabbed his phone.
I yanked down my pants. “When we look at the pics we can compare my cock” —I held the lamp close to my crotch— “to his.”