“No need to apologize. I enjoy listening to you. It makes the drive go by faster.”
“Yes, well, I’ve run out of small talk.”
“Maybe we should discuss some of the decisions we have ahead of us. I made a list last night...”
She chuckled softly. “Of course you did. Should I pull out your trusty notebook?”
He didn’t mind her teasing any more than her chattering. It was all just part of what made up Stevie, and he couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to change her.
“There’s no need,” he said with his own attempt at levity. “I memorized the list.”
It pleased him that she laughed before asking, “Okay, what’s the first item on the agenda?”
He started with an easy question. “How are you feeling? Still no morning sickness?”
“Not a day. Unlike poor Jenny. She said she starting getting sick almost immediately. She didn’t tell us about the pregnancy until Wednesday because she said she was afraid she’d jinx it, but she’s been dealing with morning sickness for a couple of weeks.”
“You’re lucky, then.”
“I suppose.” As if hearing how the words might have sounded, she shook her head quickly. “It’s not that I want to be sick, of course. I just don’t really feel pregnant, you know? I’ve seen the tests and I saw an ultrasound and heard the heartbeat at this week’s doctor’s appointment, but sometimes it still just doesn’t feel real.”
“I can imagine. Well, not really, because it’s not something I’ll ever experience, obviously, but it must be an odd sensation. You said you saw an ultrasound?”
“Yes. I have the printout at home. It’s pretty cool. Still just a little peanut a couple inches long, which I guess is why I’m not really showing yet, but you can see the little arms and legs and some facial features.”
Another ripple of nerves coursed through him at the thought of actually seeing the baby he planned to raise as his own. “Can you tell yet if it’s a boy or a girl?” Not that it mattered to him.
“No, not yet. I’ll have another ultrasound after twenty weeks and we should be able to tell then.”
“Will you want to know then or would you rather be surprised at delivery?”
She laughed wryly. “I wouldn’t be patient enough to wait that long. It’ll be hard enough waiting until the ultrasound to find out.”
Exactly as he’d have expected from her. And, being the type who always liked to be prepared, he felt the same way. “Have you bought any baby supplies yet?”
“Nothing yet. Except...”
“Except?”
“I bought a night-light shaped like a turtle. It’s made to sit on a table beside the crib. The shell glows and there’s a battery backup that keeps it illuminated even if the power goes out. I was afraid of the dark when I was little, and I thought maybe the baby will be, too.”
Curious, he slanted her a sideways glance. “Are you still afraid of the dark?”
“Sometimes,” she admitted. “I still sleep with a flashlight close at hand.”
That surprised him. He hadn’t thought Stevie was afraid of anything. “Is there a particular reason you’re afraid of the dark?”
She hesitated a minute, then sighed. “I’ve always had that tendency, but it got worse when I was nine and Tom was ten and a half. I had a night-light in my room, but I still got scared when I heard funny noises. I didn’t say much about it because Tom made fun of me, and you know how siblings can be.”
“I was an only child, but I saw enough of my friends’ siblings to get the picture.”
“Anyw
ay, Mom had taken a part-time second job working at a hotel desk in the evenings, earning extra money for Tom to get braces. Mrs. Clausen from next door came over to stay with us on those evenings. One night there was a thunderstorm and the power went out. I woke up in a totally dark room and got scared. I called and called, but no one answered and I was certain I was alone in the house—well, except for maybe the monsters under the bed or in the closet,” she added ruefully.
“Where was Mrs. Clausen?” he asked, caught up in the story.
Stevie gave a low laugh that held little humor. “Stuck in the front bathroom. She got flustered in the dark and couldn’t find the door lock. It was probably no more than minutes before she managed to get to me, but it seemed like hours. I was sobbing hysterically by the time she made her way to me.”