The change meant that within a week she was dodging contractors in their home and had been pushed out of her office. She was extending the house toward the back, absorbing an old patio that they hadn’t used much. But she was replacing it with a covered back patio with an outdoor kitchen. It would be stunning by the time it was done.
She found the comic strip changing. In it, she imagined the main character, Sonja Sniddlebee, finding herself with an unplanned pregnancy. The strips themselves were due for publication for a couple of months, after Christmas, so surely Lincoln would be home by then. It was a well-known secret that the strip followed her life and more than once her sisters or friends had called her to question her about a particular thread. Sonja had recently met a man and the dating process was pure gold for humor, so she’d been able to work ahead in her schedule. If she had to, she could take several months off and there would be no repercussions to her work. Maybe, subliminally, she’d been preparing for this pregnancy.
Her office migrated to the kitchen. The light wasn’t too bad there, but it was distracting being in a high-traffic area. The guys were all super apologetic that they had to be in her space, but there was only so much they could do to be quiet and respectful. Her work kind of paused as she waited for the contractors to be done. If she could have given him a set of keys and gotten out of town it wouldn’t have been so bad, but she knew Lincoln had a lot of valuable things in his gun safe. If something happened to that when she was gone, she would never forgive herself.
So, she stayed, and tried to avoid all the workers. The double crew made the work fly and she noticed changes even when she took the dogs for walks and returned, or when she ran to the store. Since she couldn’t focus on her own work she concentrated on what to get her family for Christmas. Little things for her sisters and fun things for her nieces and nephews. There was also a Team Wives gift exchange coming up she had to find something for. Mary accompanied her on a couple of her shopping expeditions, but she was busy too, getting ready for the holidays. BB was okay not seeing her as often because it was really difficult to keep her pregnancy secret.
She had all these crazy scenarios running through her brain for Sonja pregnancy-reveal ideas, so she made sure to jot them down in her phone for later.
It was such an odd time in her life. BB would find herself gazing off into nothing, one moment excited and joyful that she and Lincoln had created a life together, then so incredibly sad that he wasn’t there to share. Those times were especially sharp when she felt the baby moving inside her. Though she’d never had issues with depression before, she felt like she could understand why people struggled with it. If her mood didn’t pick up, she would say something to the doctor at her next appointment.
Louie was a constant source of entertainment. The pup had recovered fully from his cleft-palate surgery and was going through a growth spurt because he could eat any time he wanted to now. Within a few weeks of the surgery BB could already tell that he was going to be bigger than Frankie. Frankie was still the dominant, though. A couple of times she really had to snap at the pup to keep him in line, but overall BB could tell Frankie enjoyed having another dog in the house as well.
BB signed Louie up for obedience classes. So far he was doing okay with potty training but he had the typical Frenchie stubbornness when it came to other training. He hated the leash with a passion and had already chewed two of them down to threads when she wasn’t looking.
“You get that stuff in your gut you’re going to have to have surgery again, you little shit.”
Louie cocked his head as if he understood and harrumphed at her.
Louie’s favorite place to hang out was in Lincoln’s recliner. More often than not that was where he slept, curled up with Frankie. BB had walked into the room one day and it struck her that they seemed to be waiting for him. The thought made her burst into tears for half an hour. Damn pregnancy hormones. Then she happened upon the Hallmark channel, with all of its Holiday hype. The portrayed homecomings hit her in the heart and she finally had to ban herself from watching the channel because it was making her cry so much.
She shopped for Lincoln and hoped—prayed—that he would be home before Christmas.
The contractor knew how to work his crew and within two weeks, just a few days before Christmas, the house was done. As BB walked through for the final time with Dave, she realized how much they’d been able to accomplish in such a short time. Fresh hardwood floors gleamed beneath their feet. The hallway bathroom had been redone with fresh white subway tile walls and a black tile floor. Her office, at the back, had a wall of glass to let in as much natural light as possible, and she was excited to get to work in here. The house was beautiful, and almost a third bigger. The covered outdoor kitchen was amazing, and she knew that Lincoln would love hanging out back here.
The house echoed with silence as the contractor left for the last time and she stood in the doorway of the nursery. The walls were a blank canvas, and the hardwood floor bare. Once Lincoln got home they would decide how they wanted to decorate,
