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“I forgot to tell you; Val’s coming to help with the electric,” Justin asked. “I point blank told him to leave your aunt at home and he said it would be his honor.”
Despite the bash about her aunt, Maggie invited Val in for pizza which he accepted.
While the men were occupied, Maggie whispered in Katrina’s ear. “You ready to go for a boat ride?”
“Yes. Can’t wait.”
Maggie filled a bag with bottled water and treats for the dog.
“Come on, Brulee. Maggie, let’s take the dog.”
“Okay.” She leashed Brulee up, squatting to get it attached to the collar, and Katrina burst out laughing. “You’re in the position to give birth. If you keep doing that, all your muscles will be ready to blow the kid out.”
“Yeah, to hell with that. I want drugs and I want all they’ll give me. Forget the natural birth thing. Justin mentioned it and I told him when he gets pregnant, he can have a natural birth.”
They laughed, walking to the dock. The men at the barn heard the laughter and watched them moving along toward the skiff.
“You can’t even tell they’re expecting from the back,” Val said.
“Quick, I’ll get a picture,” Justin said, getting his phone out. “She’ll kill me, but you’re right, Val.”
“Send it to me,” Dave said, lying on his back with a bundle of electrical wires in his hand.
Having all kinds of advice to give, Justin wanted to say something to Dave about the baby but caught himself in time; he was pretty sure one of the last persons Katrina would want to know about their baby’s issues would be Maggie’s aunt Elizabeth. If Val caught wind of it, he’d probably tell her, then she’d tell Rose and Rose would call Maggie.
Dave and Katrina seemed shell-shocked. The kindest thing Justin could do would be to let them talk and keep his opinions to himself.
“How you doing, buddy?” he asked when Val left to use the bathroom.
“I’m not sure. Numb. I’m worried. I made the mistake of Googling it and he could die. Katrina had told me it was a possibility and I didn’t believe it. That’s got me freaked me out. The risk of premature birth is greater for babies with Down syndrome so after the last trip to San Francisco she’s finished traveling. If I can’t get her there in a car, she’s not going.”
“Anything I can do, let me know,” Justin said.
“Run interference with the old man,” Dave said. “I’m scared he’ll put his foot in it. Rose isn’t the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but you didn’t hear it from me.”
“Maggie won’t tell her anything because of the old wives’ tales.”
“Yeah, I’m afraid I accept as fact a lot of that crap myself.”
“Me, too,” Justin admitted, shaking his head. “The big thing is the alligator under the dock.”
The old wives’ tale said if a pregnant woman was on the dock when an alligator crawled under it, her baby would die.
“Oh crap, I forgot all about that.” He sat up and urgently pointed to the door. “They’re not sitting on the dock, are they?”
“No, I heard the boat take off a while ago. They’re at the island by now.”
Holding the skiff steady for her, Maggie watched Katrina carefully step off the dock. She was so much taller than Maggie and her center of gravity was off with the basketball under her shirt.
“You’re so sleek, pregnant. I need a sling to hold this thing up.”
“You are in better shape than I am from getting up and down off that horse,” Katrina said, helping Brulee jump down next to her. “I get zero exercise.”
“You’re not supposed to be exerting yourself at all,” Maggie said, having read the same articles online that Dave had read, all warning of the risk of premature birth for babies with Down syndrome. “What is your doctor telling you that you have yet to share with me?”
“Just not to overdo,” Katrina admitted. “I won’t travel for work. No running through airports, that sort of thing. Dave will go with me if I have to drive longer than an hour or two. It’s all good. I’m healthy, I’ve gained weight”
“They want you to gain?”
