“To know his place?” she says in a snooty tone.
“Yes, actually. As much as you make fun of the need for any type of hierarchy, it’s there for a reason. If the security team starts getting too attached, they compromise their ability to be effective in a crisis. Haven’t you seenThe Bodyguard, with Whitney Houston and what’s-his-name?”
“Kevin Costner,” she says, standing and pulling on her robe. “Did you see it? Because in the end he saves her life from the hit man her awful sister hired. And in that movie, he wasin lovewith her. Xavier’s not in love with me. He’s like a really naggy older sister, if anything.”
“You’re making my point for me. He’s completely unaware of his job.”
Tessa rolls her eyes and crosses her hands over her belly. “I’ve never doubted my safety with him, and I don’t think you should either. So, he didn’t notice that one of those women was recording the conversation yesterday? It’s an honest mistake. It probably looked like she was reading on her phone or looking at her Instagram feed from his angle. So if you’re going to lay blame, lay it where it belongs, at my feet!”
Looking down at her swollen feet, I realize there is absolutely no way I’m laying anything at them, let alone blame. “No need because I’m not angry.”
“You most certainly are. You’re angry at your father. You’re angry at Xavier.”
“Yes, buttheyboth deserve it.”
“Then so do I.” She walks out of the room, presumably to get some breakfast, leaving me to dress.
By the time I walk into the kitchen, she’s sitting at the island, eating toast and staring at her phone. "I can't believe how much you're going to be away."
"I know. It's honestly the last thing I want, but I can't really see any way around it at this point. Maybe your mum or Arabella could go with you to some of your appointments?"
"Oh Christ, no. Not my mum. She'll drive me loopy if she comes with me."
"Arabella, then?"
Shrugging one shoulder, Tessa says, "Maybe. But I don't know how comfortable she’d be with that. It is a lot of rather personal medical stuff."
"Oh right,” I say, remembering about the menstrual cycle stuff. “Nikki, then? She certainly doesn’t have any boundaries."
Tessa gives me a dirty look, then says, "I'll figure it out. You don't need to fix this."
"I'd like to if I could. It's really the least I can do since I'll be abandoning you."
Tears fill her eyes, and I realize I've said exactly the wrong thing. I walk over to her, placing my hands on her cheeks. "That came out wrong. I'm not really abandoning you."
"I know, it's just that I’m going to really miss you. And I’ve been feeling really overwhelmed with everything we need to do to prepare for the baby."
"Like what?" I ask, walking over to the coffee maker, checking that everything’s set up and pushing the ‘brew’ button.
"There’s a mile-long list. We need to paint and redecorate the nursery, choose the best car seat, and figure out which push-chairs we want—we’ll need one for travelling and one for jogging, of course, because I really do want to get my body back as soon as possible. And push-chairs aren’t exactly easy to choose. Do you even know all the factors you need to consider to find the right one?”
Turning to her, I say, “No, but based on the expression on your face right now, I’m assuming there are a lot more than one would think.”
“It is honestly one of the most complicated purchases we’re ever going to make.” She shakes her head, then continues with her list. “Also, I need a birth plan, which it turns out is a highly political decision that will offend any number of special interest groups, no matter what I go with. We’re going to have to baby-proof the entire palace—which is not going to be quick or easy, I can tell you. Do you know how many outlets there are in this place?Thousands.Literally thousands. It’s insane. Not to mention, we haven't even started discussing baby names yet, and that's not exactly something you can do in an hour. It takesweeksof brainstorming and careful thought just to come up withonename, and everyone in your family seems to need four or five, so that’s going to take ages! Plus, we’ll be naming a future monarch, and I haveno ideahow we do that. We probably need an approved list from Parliament or something..."
"Well, no. We don’t, actually, but I can see why you’re panicking a little. But all of these are things we can decide together, even if I’m away. We could divide the list or talk on Skype and sort things out a few at a time...” I smile reassuringly.
Tessa bites her bottom lip, then seems to relax a little. “All right. I guess we’ll figure out a way to get it all done.”
“Of course we will. We’re reasonably intelligent people,” I say with a nod. “How about this? We take on some of it every Sunday, and we find a weekend—very soon—to go up to Didsbury, just the two of us, so we can make plans, shop online for baby stuff, and get everything straightened away without interruption."
Tessa gives me a small smile, so I know I'm heading in the right direction. Nodding, she says, “That sounds lovely."
“Good. It’s settled, then. We'll go away for a weekend of very productive baby preparations. Just you and me.” And by that, I mean we’re leaving Xavier here. “It’ll be terrific.”
By the time I leave for my office, there’s a spring in my step, in spite of my lingering headache. For the first time in a long time, I’ve managed to figure out a way to make my wife happy. Now if I can just keep her that way...
