“Oh, they’re good. I’m not even far along and I can already see a bump,” she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice. I’m glad she’s excited, despite the surprise and Asher’s attitude towards the pregnancy this time around.
“They always say you get bigger faster the second time around,” I tell her, trying to assure her it’s normal.
“Oh I know, and probably doesn’t help that they’ll be under two years apart.” She laughs, and I know she’s going to be just fine.
Harley walks into the bathroom and leans against the door frame, not seeing that I’m on the phone. “You about ready, princess?” he asks.
“Gross, I’m getting off here now,” Atlas says, audibly cringing at Harley’s pet name for me.
“Hey Atlas! Everything okay?” he asks, checking up on her. Their relationship is so cute. They’re just like siblings.
“Yeah, we’re good, just confirming when I can grace you with my presence on Friday.” she saysmatter-of-factly.
“You’re pregnant, so you won’t be moving a fucking thing,” he tells her in a stern but light tone.
“You can’t fucking tell me what to do. I’m pregnant, not crippled. I can carry small shit,” she argues. I roll my eyes because they do this about everything. I laugh to myself and finish up before grabbing my phone and walking down the hall.
“We’ll fucking see about that,” Harley follows up.
“Harley, I still carry Aria around, and she’s a solid twenty-one pounds, I can carry some fucking light boxes,” she retaliates. She’s not wrong there, but if she doesn’t have to, she shouldn’t.
“Okay, okay, you can come, and we’ll play it by ear,” I tell them both. “We’re going to go grab some dinner, and we’ll catch you Friday.”
She lets out a huff. “Fine. Love you guys.”
“We love you too!” we sing in unison and hang up.
“She’s so fucking stubborn,” Harley says, grabbing his bike key. “Just like her sister.”
“Hey now, I didn’t do anything to warrant an insult,” I tell him, both playfully and defensively. I grab the one coat left in the closet by the door, the one just for the bike, and pull it over my shoulders. Without a second thought, Harley comes over and zips my coat for me. I watch him zip up the coat, and when it reaches the top of the zipper, he uses his hand to guide my chin up and kisses me softly.
“I love you, even though you’re stubborn and you know it,” he says.
When he pulls the door open, a middle-aged man has his fist raised as if he was about to knock.
“Can I help you?” Harley asks, pulling me behind him with his hand that was holding my own.
“Hi, I’m looking for Ember Alden,” he says, quick and to the point. My stomach drops to the floor, and before I can answer, Harley’s voice cuts into the air.
“What exactly do you need?” he asks apprehensively.
“I have some information about the last will and testament of my client.” He looks between the two of us.
“Who is your client?” Harley asks quickly, and I can tell he’s getting irritated.
“Dean Michaels, sir,” the man answers.
Before Harley can get a word out, I step in front of him. “I don’t want anything from him, respectfully, sir,” I say, about to close the door.
“Ma’am, I did my research, and I understand why you feel that way, but I really think you should listen to what I have to tell you,” he says, quickly continuing as if he knows his time has about run its course here. “There is nothing personal, just a quick reading is all.”
I look up to Harley, who looks from the man to me, and shrugs one shoulder. We allow him inside. He sits on one end of the couch and we stand on the other, waiting to hear what this is about.
“Mr. Michaels, at some point, had a 401K and life insurance policy for himself, and he named you beneficiary, Ms. Alden,” he states, taking a piece of paper out of his binder that’s tucked away in his briefcase. “The 401K is around twenty thousand dollars, and the life insurance policy is for three hundred thousand.”
My jaw drops. “That can’t be right,” I tell him, arguing. “I didn’t even know he was working anywhere that would offer a 401K.”
“Oh he was, and his employer matched all of his deposits. There was another 401K, but his mother was named the beneficiary for that,” he says, finding another paper and handing it to me.
