Chapter Fourteen
Classifieds
Once our not so littletwo-week vacation was over the band went right back to work on their album.
“I think we are going to start recording a few tracks, while Cleo still has the lung power,” Mark told me over breakfast one morning. “What are your plans for today?”
I reached for one of the books I had bought yesterday, “Babies first year”. He raised an eyebrow.
“Sounds fun.”
“I’ve got some other stuff too. One on baby proofing and another on basic first aid. What to do with fevers, what medicines for what symptom. Lots of handy things to know,” I defended. He stood up from the table and leaned over to kiss my forehead.
“True. Well, get all educated and you can tell me the highlights tonight at dinner.”
Once he left, I dove into the books. They were interesting. After the gender reveal party, the reality of our upcoming addition to the family really hit me. I spent the next two months buying clothes and boxes upon boxes of diapers. I got a baby bath and all the lotions and powders. The nursery was quickly filling up.
While the nursery was filling up, Cleo’s stomach was filling out. She was 28 weeks now and looked it. She had started to waddle and had taken to wearing mostly skirts and dresses. With her small size, her big belly was almost comically adorable.
We all were invited to Evan’s Place’s second annual Prom and there was plenty of jokes made at her expense about being pregnant on prom night. Despite her size, she still looked gorgeous. She opted for a long, black dress that covered her growing midsection. She explained that she didn’t want paparazzi to start assuming things and starting rumors. She carried a fake fur with her to cover herself outside of the building just in case.
Overall the second time around was just as fun as the first, but slightly less dramatic. Last year Chase surprised Adrian with an impromptu wedding. We had all been in on the secret, and it had gone off without a hitch. It was so romantic, and seeing them both here together, when we all thought Chase wouldn’t be here, was something amazing. I swear, they didn’t take their eyes off each other the entire night.
Once prom passed Cleo was forced to deal with reality again. Christopher seemed to be a thorn she couldn’t get out of her side. Despite her recent troubles with her ex she still kept a cheery disposition. Christopher’s lawyer contacted theirs and requested an outlandish amount of money to stay out of court. Ethan of course shot it down and they set a date for almost six months from now. They’d see what a judge had to say about the ridiculous civil suit.
The baby was now kicking all the time. Whenever I’d stop over, she’d make me feel her belly. Mark was so excited.
“She’s gonna be great at using the pedal!” He would joke. He now had his heart fully set on her being a drummer like her daddy.
After a long, rather relaxing day of reading, Mark finally came home. I tossed a frozen pizza in the oven and sat down with him.
“Thanks for not eating without me. I like having dinner with you.”
I smiled and looked around.
“No Derek?”
He shook his head.
“Nah, said he had plans. Beats me. Maybe he’s got a date. Don’t know, don’t care. Just enjoy it,” he laughed.
Once we finished our pizza, we went to the bedroom to relax.
“Oh, I almost forgot, Cleo wants to catch us on a day off and do something. She didn’t say what so don’t ask. Talk to her about it.” He said before drifting off to sleep.
Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long, because the next day was our weekly lunch. If I had tried to call her she would have made me wait until I saw her in person, so I learned to stop expecting phone calls could solve my curiosities.
“Mark said you wanted to do something this weekend?” I asked, reaching for my tea. She nodded and sipped on her own water.
“Yes! I have something really fun I want to do with you guys. Both of you need to be free, so Derek will need a different gaming friend for the afternoon. What day works better for you two?”
I thought about it and decided Saturday would be fine.
“Do I get to know what it is?”
She brightened and smacked her forehead lightly.
“Sorry, baby brain. I’ve been getting a little more spacey lately. She’s a wiggler. I hired a photographer to do maternity pictures.”
