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He says it with such conviction I’m almost tricked into thinking he means he doesn’t want to be married.
But he really just means that that kind of wedding is off.
“I thought that’s what every girl wanted? A fairy tale wedding,” he muses before shrugging his shoulders.
Not even minding that I’ve changed my mind yet again.
Something else I’ve been doing a lot of lately.
When I’m not eating, sleeping, or having Xander give me crash courses on how babies are made again, I just think.
“Then we’ll have it somewhere else. We can go anywhere you want. Do it any way you want,” he smiles with renewed interest.
“I never liked the idea of all those people having you all to themselves anyway,” he says.
“And having your sister as a bridesmaid,” I add. “Whose idea was that?”
“It was your idea,” he tells me, trying not to smile.
“Oh…,” I trail off.
“See? I don’t even remember organizing it all, and now I just… Now I just want things to be us again. Nothing fancy,” I conclude.
Feeling way better now that I’ve actually pinpointed my feelings.
And I’m double glad that Xander agrees.
“I’ll have the lawyer come around and witness a celebrant if you want,” he tells me.
“As long as I get to see a gold band and chase you around this bed on our wedding night shouting ‘wifey,’ I’m not fussy how it happens,” he says fondly.
“It’s special already, the life we have. At first, I thought we had to make a big show of it, but that’s all that would be. Just for show,” I add.
“For people like my dad, you mean?” Xander asks.
“Oh no!” I groan. “Mom and dad… I totally forgot about them. They’ll be put out, but I think my dad will be relieved if he doesn’t have to give me away in front of all those people.”
“If that’s what you want,” Xander says, looking thoughtful. Not even minding that months of planning are just about to be tossed aside.
Not even thinking about it like that either.
“Is there something else on your mind?” he asks, always knowing that I have a habit of sharing one problem because I actually have about a dozen to get off my chest.
“I didn’t want to bring it up,” I murmur.
“Come on, out with it,” Xander says with mock seriousness, making me giggle and almost forget I have any problems at all.
“It’s just, well… Living here in the hotel. Being up so high… I get dizzy every time I go near the windows. And the thought of having a baby forty stories in the air…”
Xander’s face drops, and I’m certain I’ve gone too far this time. But when I see him rushing for his phone, a smile forming on his lips, I know I’m just imagining the worst.
“I’m glad you brought it up,” he says, opening his phone and flicking through it until he finds what he’s looking for.
“Here,” he says triumphantly. And I take his phone, gasping at the sight of it all.
“It was going to be a wedding present, but like you say… The thought of you and the baby on that balcony getting dizzy? No way. Even with the safety barrier… It’s too much,” he says to himself, almost annoyed he hadn’t realized it himself sooner.
“Oh, Xander. It’s perfect,” I coo. Looking through the photos of our new home.
A surprise I can just tell he’s had in the making for some time, but he’s happy to let the cat out of the bag sooner, so I know I don’t have to worry anymore.
“That’s it. I promise,” I tell him, feeling lighter already until I feel my belly stretching and moving all on its own.
“Oh…He’s kicking,” I shout, realizing we’re never really alone anymore.
“He?” Xander quizzes me, giving me a sidelong glance.
“Ummm. Well, maybe there was just one more thing I had to talk to you about….”
ONE YEAR LATER
Xander
The house in the valley was a masterpiece, if I do say so myself.
For twenty-plus years, I’ve lived with my head in the clouds. Literally.
Being up so high for so long kept so many things out of my reach.
Not just the ground beneath my feet or terra firma beneath me when I slept. But simpler things like grass and trees.
It's easily overlooked when you live in a high-rise penthouse and only leave it to go to an office that’s pretty much the same thing.
But our new house, our home. It’s where I know we’ll be for a while yet. And there’s plenty of room inside and out for our growing family and the existing one we have that pays us extended visits and often.
Old Kenneth Condor’s health has gone from weaker to stronger now that he’s discovered things worth living for that aren’t all about business.
And we go fishing on the lake at least once a month. He seems to spend the rest of the time making sure Chloe’s okay, sympathizing with her pregnancy pains even.
