Chapter 8
Oh, Baby!
Dez was depressed all the time. Two weeks had passed quickly enough because she’d worked herself into the ground. Dropping into bed every night she was so tired she fell asleep instantly. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to keep working. Now she was getting sick. Dez rarely ever got sick so she was alarmed when it began to happen nearly every day at various times.
To offset the nauseous and avoid the vomiting, she began to take a nap whenever she felt dizziness coming on. Moe visited her regularly up until the baby decided he was ready to come. Junior looked just like his proud daddy. Now Moe had her hands full with the little one who didn’t want to sleep much and was always hungry.
It was okay because everyone seemed to feel bad for her. Ariel and Marissa even visited and she knew how busy those two were. Sometimes they brought the kids, sometimes they came alone. Company always made her feel better. Dez also wasn’t afraid to put them to work. This small forty acre ranchette was going to become a dream home. She’d already established two bee hives. The orchard was planted where several fruit trees already flourished.
The garden spot had been quickly fenced in then prepared and planted using every available spot for something. In the back yard, not too close to the house, she had started dumping scraps so they could be used in compost. Dez loved gardening, it helped her relax. Her cousin had a fruit stand so it was easy to sell anything she had too much of.
Her next project was to build a barn for the animals she planned to get. She already had a chicken shed. Her cousin Alfred had built it like a mini red barn. He’d fenced it in so the chickens had a fair space to walk around in, but nothing could get in to bother them. Raccoons and possums were notorious for getting in with the chickens and killing them all.
It helped to keep busy and the sickness seemed to be easing. She was in good shape from all the exercise which included cutting wood for her fireplace. She’d probably overdone it. There was enough stacked for the coming winter with more cut down so it would dry out for next year.
The house had a nice storm cellar where she could go in case of a tornado. It also had shelves for storing canned goods or the necessities one might like to have handy if they were stuck inside waiting out a storm. This storm cellar had been built more recently as had several of the upgrades like the garden shed. Someone had started to fix the place up, but either ran out of money or had the ultimate tragedy beset them.
This place was nearly perfect, the only thing lacking was someone to share it with. Not even necessarily a lover. Just someone close to her. Dez was playing with the idea of never marrying since her taste in males was so appalling. Maybe she should just adopt a child so she never had need of a male again. The troubles she’d been through lately trying to get a lover were just not worth it.
Dez surveyed the stack of lumber that had been delivered for her to build a barn with. She’d played with the idea of using raw lumber, it weathered well. But she also liked the idea of a little red barn to match the chicken shed so she’d decided to get treated lumber. The plan was to take concrete up four feet on the sides. A cobblestone floor would be poured since she had access to the river. It was easy to get all the gravel she needed for any project.
Digging out a spot in the river would also give her a swimming hole. She loved to swim, had loved it since she was a small child taking swimming lessons. The water didn’t scare her, but she had a healthy respect for it. When the river was up she didn’t go swimming. So far she hadn’t done much more than take a quick dip to cool off when she got hot after working in the garden or the yard.
Her new home was a little piece of paradise. She’d already rescued a half grown puppy from the shelter. He’d been a mangy half-starved critter, but he already looked much better since she’d had him. Outside, he followed her everywhere. She’d bought him the mansion of dog houses which he seemed quite proud of. He also had half a dozen chew toys to play with. She’d wait until the barn was complete to get a cat for it. Dez loved animals of all kinds. It would be hard to imagine a life not surrounded by animals. That was something she’d missed with the Tulsa pack. Just thinking about her time there was upsetting.
She heard a car in the driveway. It was Ariel and someone was with her. “Hello, Dez. This is Doc, I think you may have met him before.”
Darn. Had she? She couldn’t remember. “We’ve not met.” He replied curtly.
“He’s here to give you a checkup. Better safe than sorry.” Ariel said.
“It’s been at least two weeks since I’ve had any issues.”
“Well we’re here now.” Ariel insisted.
“Fine. Let’s go inside. Would either of you like a drink?” Dez asked politely.
“I just want to check you out then get back home.” Doc said.
“Be nice.” Ariel warned.
“That was nice.” Doc replied.
“No bedside manner.” Ariel muttered.
They headed into the kitchen from the back yard through the screened in porch. It was perfect for the weather right now before it got too hot. It kept the bugs out. Mosquitoes were awful at night this close to the river. That might also be because of the ponds on the property. One was large and well stocked with fish. Dez planned to go fishing once she got her big projects done.
“Let’s go where you can lay down on the couch.” Doc instructed.
Dez led them through the kitchen to the front room which was the living room. She laid down on her overstuffed leather sofa. Her desire was just to get this waste of time over with. Trying to relax, she lay still as he checked her blood pressure, heart rate, and pressed on her stomach.
“Ah ha.” He mumbled.
What was that about? He continued to check things out even taking her temperature. Once he was done, he began to write out a prescription. What the hell was that for?
“Congratulations.” He said as he handed her the scrip.
Prenatal vitamins. That was what it said. “This can’t be right.” Dez challenged.
“I assure you, it is. But feel free to take a test from the grocery store to verify.” Doc said.
“He’s right, Dez. I already knew, but I wanted him to confirm my dreams.” Ariel declared.
“Why didn’t you warn me?” Dez asked.
“So you could do what?” Ariel questioned. “There was nothing to be done. Besides, you know the dreams don’t work that way.”
Yeah, she knew. It looked like she would have miniature JC all her very own. That was alright. She could handle this. “When?”
“Wolves carry five months, humans nine so you’ll carry about seven. That’s the average for unturned wolves. If you turn now, you might cut it down to six and delivery will go much easier. You could be anywhere from three to four months along. I believe you have a slight baby bump. I’m surprised you hadn’t noticed yet.” Doc observed.
“I’ve been hungry. My food choices haven’t been the best. I thought I’d gained some weight so I was working harder to lose it.”
“You can continue to work as much as you can handle, but eat more meat. Make sure you get at least eight hours of sleep. Pups can be a hard pregnancy if you stay human. The delivery can be rough too. I’m not trying to convince you of anything, just inform and prepare you.”
“If you want to change, all you have to do is tell me.” Ariel pipped in.
Dez nodded. She needed to think about things. “I need to go shopping.”
“I know. We’ll go together, but you have to be in disguise.” Ariel insisted.
Dez smiled. Finally she would get out into the world. “Anything.”
“Remember you said that. I’ll come get you tomorrow.”
Ariel and the doctor left so Dez now had time to think things through. Would she tell JC? Eventually she would have to. This little being would be part of him too. If he didn’t care, that was fine with her. She’d get through this thing alone.
Now that she understood more about her strange cravings, she went inside to cook a medium rare steak. Dez grilled onions, made a salad, and fixed a loaded baked potato. It was a huge steak, but she ate it all along with the other foods without apology. It was strange calling her baby a pup, but that’s what he or she was.
In that moment, she decided she needed to make the change. She had a little person to protect and danger still stalked her. Even though the case was airtight, Big Mick’s lawyers had managed to put the trial off again and again keeping him out of jail during the delay. Everyone knew he was searching for her hoping to take her out of the trial. At the least it would reduce his sentence, at the most it might see him set free.
The next morning she was ready when Ariel came. At least she thought she was until Ariel pulled out a granny outfit complete with a wig. “Good morning, Mom.”
“Oh my God!”
“Don’t even argue. Anything, you said. This is anything.”
“It’ll draw attention.”
“But no one will think you’re you.”
Dez couldn’t deny it so she dressed in the granny dress. Once she was dressed, Ariel let her keep her sneakers on, she sat still while Ariel fixed her up. The wig fit perfectly and the makeup made her look horrendous.
“You’ve done this before.”
“Maybe.” Ariel smiled looking sneaky.
“There’s a story there.”
“There is and I might tell you someday, but not today.”
It was a Friday, the best day for yard sales. They began to find them just miles from her home. Ariel was driving one of the trucks they used on jobs so it had a double cab and a full bed. It would hold a lot of stuff. That was good because she needed everything.
The second yard sale had a lot of old junk. Looking through it she found an old dilapidated crib. It had some broke spindles and desperately needed TLC. She aggressively bargained with the woman selling it. They were both tough negotiators, but she got the price she wanted in the end.
“Good job. You’ll have a lot of work, but that’s an antique. It must have been left in a shed and forgotten for years.” Ariel assessed. “You got lucky. The rails aren’t spread out more than two inches. Most antique cribs I’ve seen are dangerous because baby’s head can get through. This one was either made different or fixed at a later time.”
They went on buying many more things including boxes of baby clothes. By the time they headed home after eating lunch, she felt like the old woman she resembled. “I want to do the change as soon as possible.” Dez admitted.
“Get a goodnight’s sleep. We’ll do the ceremony tomorrow.