Neighbor Dearest

All of the items we’d purchased for the nursery were gray, white and green, although Damien would pick up small pink items when he was out and place them strategically around the space; it was essentially a baby girl’s room.

I was carrying small and low, prompting Damien to dub my belly his “little beach ball.”

Overall, the pregnancy was a smooth one all the way up until the final month.

We were both under a lot of stress because Jenna had blindsided us with the news that she was planning to move to Colorado with her new boyfriend. She also decided that the dogs were technically hers and that she had the right to take them with her.

Damien tried to convince her that staying in California was in the Double Ds’ best interest because it was the only home they’d ever known. She wasn’t having it and threatened to take us to court for full custody. It wasn’t looking good at all.

I’d gotten so worked up and ended up on bed rest due to high blood pressure. So not only was Damien worried about the dogs getting taken away, but now he had to worry about the health of his wife and unborn child. I was, in turn, worried about the stress that all of the above was putting on his heart.

The dogs were my only saving grace during the bed rest period, since they’d climb next to me and keep me company during the afternoons when Damien had to get things done around the building. He didn’t even fight them being in our bed anymore because he knew what a comfort they were to me. They were still banned at night, however. I knew he was terrified that Jenna was going to win and that they’d be gone soon. As a result, the dogs were getting spoiled rotten.

One day, Damien had gone out for a couple of items I’d been craving. He’d taken two hours longer than he should have.

When he finally returned, the front door slammed shut, and I heard him say, “It’s done.”

“What?”

“It’s done. She’s letting us keep the dogs.”

“What? How?”

“I drew up a contract and paid her off.”

“You what?”

“I threw a shitload of money at her, enough that she couldn’t refuse it. I wasn’t going to let this stress us out anymore. I wasn’t going to let her take them away from us.”

“How much did you give her?”

“Don’t worry about it. We have the funds for it. And they’re worth any amount.”

Once again, Damien had taken charge of a situation and come to my rescue. Tears of relief began to roll down my face. It was only in that moment that I truly realized how much the fear of losing the animals had been taking its toll on my health and well-being.

Damien normally didn’t climb into bed with us, but that afternoon, he squeezed himself into a spot. Lying in the bed with the Triple Ds, an enormous peace came over me. The baby was kicking to boot. Our family was complete, and no one could take that away.

You couldn’t put a price on that.***It was a clear evening, and the dark sky filled with bright stars. Damien and I were sitting in the courtyard the night before my scheduled C-section, fantasizing about all of the things we were going to do once the baby was born.

“I can’t wait to have sushi again and to be able to shave my own legs.”

Firmly gripping my thigh, he said, “I can’t wait to be able to wrap these legs around my back and pound into you without worrying about impaling my kid.” He turned to me. “You can go back to shaving your legs, but leave the pussy shaving to me even when you’re able to see it again.”

“Sure. In fact, I’m counting on that.”

“Good.” He winked.

“Oh! I can’t wait to have my afternoon latte again. That’s another thing I miss, being on a caffeine high.”

Damien grunted. “You know what I can’t wait for? I can’t wait to throw that damn stuffed cockblocker out the window. That’s gonna be the first thing to go.”

That made me crack up. He was referring to the body-length pregnancy pillow that I’d been sleeping up against these last few weeks. It formed a big barrier between us.

“Actually, why don’t you just let the Ds have it? I caught them humping it the other day. They were double teaming it.”

He wriggled his brows. “Did that remind you of your books?”

I nudged him with my elbow. “No.”

He snickered and kissed my cheek.

Tomorrow’s C-section couldn’t come quickly enough. Because of my preeclampsia, my doctor thought it best to get the baby out a week before its due date, especially since my cervix had not dilated at all.

We were nervous but so incredibly excited to finally meet our baby.