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LUKE: I like the plain white furniture. Nothing fancy.
I replied right back, feeling the same way.
ALEXA: Me, too. Is it okay if I go ahead and order it? They said we could get it delivered next week.
LUKE: You don't have to ask me. Go ahead and order whatever you want.
ALEXA: Thank you. It's still hard for me to spend someone else's money.
LUKE: What's mine is yours, my love. Remember that. Now, go spend our money!
ALEXA: Thanks. I love you. XOXO
LUKE: I love you. OXOX
"We can go ahead and buy this set," I said to the girls, showing them the furniture that Luke liked. "It was my choice as well, so at least we're on the same page."
We went to the paint store and after looking at a few color schemes, I decided that I wanted to have a baby room in whites, pale yellows and soft greens, so that it was gender neutral and just in case our second baby -- if we had one -- was a girl. We selected some white paint, with some nice pale green and yellow that would go on two walls, and we also picked some coordinating wallpaper trim featuring Beatrix Potter characters from the beloved children's series of books about Peter Rabbit.
I honestly couldn't wait to get started.
Candace and Jan came out on Friday night for the weekend. Jan insisted, once she learned that Candace was coming out despite the threat from Blaine. I tried to protest, but she wasn’t having any of it, and so I relented. It was nice to have company. We had a barbecue despite the cold weather, and Luke was happy to grill our steaks by a canopy light he rigged up so he could see the meat on the grill. We ate our meal in the living room so we could all watch the NBA game and generally had an enjoyable evening together.
On Saturday, we got right to it, after a brunch of eggs, sausages and homemade hash browns. I was so happy to be hungry and feeling well that I wanted to cook up and enjoy brunch, because I missed it for those weeks I was sick.
As for the nursery, we changed the room next to ours into the baby's room. The three of us spent a happy weekend painting and wallpapering while Luke worked on his proposal pitch to a new company they were hoping to partner with for the coming year. My mother sent a box of baby clothes and blankets, toys and supplies -- more than we could possibly need -- that she'd picked up from the time she learned I was pregnant.
On Sunday, before five o'clock when the limo was coming to take Candace and Jan back to the city, we stood in the room and admired our work.
"It looks fit for a prince," Candace said. "That little guy is going to be so spoiled..."
"No he isn't," I said and pouted. "We're going to raise him right."
"I know," Candace said. "You two will be great parents. I'm going to spoil the hell out of him, however!"
I laughed and hugged the two of them.
"I hate to see you go," I said and walked them to the front door.
When I waved goodbye as the limo drove away, I felt thankful that I had such great friends to go through this with me.
The next month was very relaxed, with Luke working in the city a few days a week but spending most of the week in Westhampton with me. I was getting bigger each day, my stomach taking up much more room than I ever thought possible. Dana gave me her maternity clothes and I was happy to spend most of my time reading and doing research, dreaming of the day Leif arrived and Luke and I learned how to be parents. I expected it would be a hectic time for the first month as we adjusted to new parenthood, but luckily, my mom and Candace agreed to come and stay with us and help out for the first few weeks.
We were going to take maternity classes in month seven, but Luke was so busy flying back and forth between LA and New York that we kept putting it off and putting it off. Finally, our maternity nurse Vanessa urged us to register for class when I was in my 36th week at the latest.
With that settled, I tried to spend the next months preparing for becoming a new mother, trying my best to enjoy every minute of my pregnancy.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Luke
The next few months flew by, with Alexa spending her time doing research for her dissertation, and getting everything ready for the baby to arrive in May and me working trying to find a partner to replace Seneca.
I still felt bad that Seneca turned us down, but life had to go on. I kept working away, approaching one after another possible tech company and investment company, hoping they would get on board with Astra. I was starting to lose hope, because both K&L Investments and Broadmoore Industries declined to work with us, but I figured there had to be someone out there with the same vision and optimism that I had who wanted to get in on the ground level in the space business. While it was early days when it came to commercializing space travel, those who got in early and were smart would be the leaders in the future.
I wanted to be one of those leaders and knew it would mean a lot of hard work at the start.
I lived for this and so I never lost hope.
