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“Maybe I’ll adopt that attitude. I’m the husband of a doctor,” he said.
“You might want to keep working while I build my practice up,” she said, “but then you can be my trophy husband.”
He wrinkled his nose. He didn’t care if she made lots more than him, but it did feel a bit weird. He was supposed to be the breadwinner after all. His mother had never worked a day in her life.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be much of a trophy husband,” he said. “I’m more the type to work hard and eventually retire.”
“You know I’m just joking. Does it bother you that I’m working?”
“On one level of my brain, I know you’ve been working for more than ten years to become a doctor, and it’s what you’ve always wanted to do. On another level, I feel like my wife should have the luxury of staying home and raising our kids, just like my mom did.”
“The difference is that your mom wanted to stay home and raise kids. And it’s great if a woman can do that if that’s what she thinks is right for her and her family. It’s not right for me. I watched my mom work my whole life, and she still works. She’s not ready to retire yet.”
He nodded. “Still hard to watch you do it.”
“Why? I wouldn’t want to stay home. If I had a disabled child or something like that, I think I’d feel differently, but being a doctor is what I’ve wanted since before we ever met.”
“I know. It just doesn’t feel right, if that makes any sense at all.”
“Not particularly,” she said with a grin. “Honestly, I want to work. I don’t cook, and I hate to clean. If you want to make me feel like you take care of me, bring someone in to clean once or twice a week. Have them do laundry and the whole nine yards.”
He nodded. “We can do that easily.”
“You don’t mind?”
Nate shook his head. “No, I don’t mind at all. How would you feel about going to your work for a bit in the morning, and then looking at some more homes that need to be restored?”
“You’re excited to get to the next one, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “I’m only still here because I wanted a nice home to bring my wife to when Dr. Lachele found someone for me.”
“I’m glad she found me for you,” Shelby said. It was hard to be with him and not tell him how much she had hoped they would get back together. And now that they were back together, her heart was singing. But why had he stopped calling her all those years before?
She wanted to trust him implicitly, but she wasn’t sure how. He’d stopped calling, and she’d not heard from or seen him. They’d never even broken up, but they’d definitely drifted apart.
They went through some recipes for the Crock Pot together, and she chose some meals. “Maybe we could do some freezer cooking on the weekends. I’m great at organizing.”
He shook his head. “I’m not a fan of the way food tastes after having been frozen for so long. Let’s just do the slow cooker stuff.”
“All right.” She thought for a moment. “Who did you hire to clean before I came?” The house had been immaculate, and if the person he’d hired had done such a good job, then perhaps that’s who they should have come in weekly.
“A service. One of the neighbors works for them. I could offer her two days a week without going through the company, and we could save a little, and maybe she could quit. She told me she only works a couple days a week anyway.” He tilted his head to one side. “Maybe she could do a couple of meals for us as well. Like we leave out a recipe for the days she works, and we have her just make them.”
“Great idea! Could we have groceries delivered while she’s here so she can put them away?” she asked. “I hate putting groceries away!”
“I do too. Let’s see what we can work out with her. I know where she lives, and we can pop over and bother her.”
“I hope she likes the idea. It would be nice not to have to worry about that kind of thing and have it magically happen while we’re working.”
He grinned. “You know, you are the complete opposite of my mom. She’s all about being home and taking care of her home. You just want someone else to do it so you can work!”
She nodded. “I’m definitely the opposite of your mom in that.”
“I guess it takes every type of person for the world to go round.”
“Sure does!”
*****
