“Did you save anything for me?” he asks, entering the room.

I smile around a mouthful of fruit and shake my head, even though there is still plenty of food. He bends down and takes the bite off my fork I am holding up and hums. He sits down across from me and picks up the cup of coffee I poured for him.

“What are your plans for today?”

I take a minute to answer having my mouth stuffed with food. Landon grins at my predicament.

When I finally finish chewing, I answer, “I’m in the middle of a project and am hoping to make some headway with it today. It appears I will never finish it. What with me having to pee every five minutes,” I rant.

Landon chuckles and I glare at him. He tries to put on a serious face. “Oh my poor darling,” he says before laughing again.

“You did this to me, you jerk,” I whine. His eyes brighten with joy, and he just stares at me.

“What?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “Nothing. It’s just… I never thought I’d hear you say that or that I even wanted you to say that. It’s just I don’t know…domestic.”

His words throw me for a loop, and I say the only thing that I can think of. “Oh”

Landon laughs, shaking his head. I do not know why the word domestic gave me a sense of joy. However, it also overwhelms me. I’m getting too caught up in a fairy tale. I cannot forget my plan for when the baby comes.

We finish breakfast, and Landon leaves for work. He gives me a kiss and tell me to think about him while he is gone. It is not a hardship. I think about the baby, about him, about the change in our relationship. I think about a future where we sit on the back patio watching a small child run around the backyard. I imagine a small little boy giggling as his father chases him, teaches him to catch. I think about a young girl learning to braid hair and losing her first tooth. I think about all the moments I will miss.

I never make it down to my work room, but rather, spend the day crying in bed.

CHAPTER 21

Brooke Has a Secret

Brooke

Time seemed to fly by, and in that time Landon and I grew closer and closer. He took me to see a Beauty and the Beast play, to dinner, and then an art gallery. The latter was my favorite. Landon insisted that I should have some of my pieces put in a gallery. “Your art is beautiful. It should be shared with the world.” I blushed at the compliment but told him I could not do it. My work was my escape from the world. To have it out for everyone else to judge would crush me.

We started going on evening walks, where I would take pictures of the sunset. Sometimes Landon let me take pictures of him with the golden pink glow surrounding him. Derik and Rebecca signed us up for a birthing class as well as an infant CPR course.