The following morning, Amanda walked into Moose’s room to check the paint and was astounded. Mouse had been up early and was well into painting the large open wall that faced the door. She turned and smiled when she heard footsteps behind her and saw that it as Amanda.
“What do you think?”
“About you or the wall?” Amanda asked.
“Both!”
“Well, you look beautiful, for starters.”
After they had finished the night before, Amanda had taken the girl back to her room and given her sort of a makeover. She had even given her some of her clothes and extra cosmetics, along with some hair clips. This morning, she had apparently employed what Amanda had taught her, doing her own hair and makeup. Thought she was dressed down in a red tee-shirt and jeans, she looked positively glamorous. And that wasn’t the only thing.
“The wall, it’s astounding,” Amanda marveled.
“Do you really think so?” Mouse bubbled.
“My God, Mouse. Where did you learn to paint like this?”
“You’ll laugh.”
“No, I won’t.”
“When I came here, the guys were really protective of me and I spent a lot of time in the rec room where they could keep a good eye on me. They were always watching sports and stuff and I hated it. Aspen’s Uncle Aspen bought me a tablet, so I could get online and I began watching Bob Ross. I started sketching stuff and one of the guys, Redbone, noticed. He bought me a cheap paint set and some canvas sheets to play with. So, I learned to paint from the internet. Eventually, they let me practice on some of the older bikes in the shop and now, I do all the artwork on the new bikes.”
“No, you didn’t learn this, Mouse. You might have learned what to do with it, but his is a gift not everyone has. These colors, these contours - they’re beautiful.”
“I’m glad you like it. It’s not done yet though. This is just the moose. I will put him in a field that spreads across the wall before I’m done.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing it. I’ll leave you be so that you can get back to work.”
“Thanks!” Mouse replied.
She was already back at work before Amanda even left the room. Walking down the hallway, she snuggled up behind Aspen, hugging his waist tightly for a moment. He turned and smiled.
“What was that for?”
“Just for being wonderful,” she replied.
Amanda hadn’t told him that Mouse had told her what he had done for her, but he had already noticed that something was different about the girl it seemed.
“I saw Mouse this morning,” he told her.
“And?”
“And, what have you done to our little girl? I almost didn’t recognize her.”
“What makes you think I did it?”
“Mouse has been a plain little girl since she arrived here and now she looks like she’s headed to a pageant of some sort. Who else would have done that to her?”
“You disapprove?”
“Hell, yeah I disapprove. Now, I have to do twice as much work making sure no one looks at her with an errant thought in their head.”
Amanda knew he was half kidding, but also that he was much more protective of the girl than she had ever realized before last night’s discussion.
“Get over it, Dad. Your little girl is a twenty-two year old woman. She’s entitled to feel good about herself and look pretty if she wants.”
“Maybe she liked the way she looked before.”
“Yes, that’s why she got up this morning, showered and redid the makeup like I showed her last night.”
Aspen looked forlorn as he looked down at her. A faint smile creased his lips and he pulled her to him, kissing her on the forehead.
“I suppose you are right. I have to let go of her sometimes, but I swear, if anyone lays a hand on her, I’ll kill them.”
“You mean without her permission.”
“Yeah, sure. That’s what I meant,” he replied with a roll of his eyes.
“Oh, Aspen. Give the girl a break. By the way, have you seen what she had done with Moose’s room?”
“No. Should I?”
“Oh, yes. You should. She’s painting a mural and now that I’ve seen what she is capable of, she’ll be doing the rest of the rooms...that is, if she wants.”
“Sounds good. I’ll look at it when I go back that way. You want some breakfast?”
“I’d love some.”
“Afraid I didn’t cook this morning. Bear went in there and cooked for the masses, but there is plenty to be eaten.”
Bear was aptly named. He was much like one in appearance with a heavy coat of black curly hair covering his head, face and probably most of his body if the amount on his arms and creeping over the top of his shirt were any indication. His wife, Heather, was a tall, leggy brunette with a loud mouth and a sharp tongue. They were completely different and somehow, completely perfect for one another.
Amanda walked to the large bar just outside the kitchen. It ran along one wall of the front room and was laden with food. Plates sat to one side and she retrieved one before walking down the entire length of the bar. The food looked delicious, but she found that she couldn’t stomach the smell of it. She must be coming down with something. She settled on a glass of ginger ale and a slice of plain toast.
“Oh, come on. Bear isn’t a bad cook,” Aspen teased, filling his own plate with food.
“I’m just not feeling well,” she told him.
“Maybe too many paint fumes. Why don’t you give it a rest today? You’ve been putting in way too much effort. It’ll all get done in time.”
“Don’t know. Perhaps. Maybe this bite will settle my stomach a bit.”
It didn’t. Amanda had only taken a few bites when she felt the sensation of it churning around in her belly. Then, it wasn’t staying down. She bolted from the table and ran down the hallway toward a nearby bathroom. She couldn’t remember the last time she had thrown up and doing so on an empty stomach wasn’t pretty at all.
“Are you okay,” Aspen asked, looking at her with a worried face as she stepped back out.
“I don’t think so. I must have picked up a virus or something. I’m going to go lay down for a while. This feels terrible.”
“Okay. I’ll walk you down to the room and then leave you to rest, but I’ll check in on you here and there.”
Amanda nodded and walked down to the room with him, laying down in the bed. It took forever for the waves of nausea to finally settle and she drifted off to sleep. Perhaps it had just been a matter of being overly tired and not anything that might linger for a while. When she woke up, she felt better and chalked it up to just that, crawling out of bed to find Aspen sitting in a chair nearby watching her.
“What are you doing?”
“Keeping an eye on you.”
“You’ve been sitting there, watching me sleep?”
“Yes.”
“Weirdo.”
“Yes, but I’m your weirdo.”
“Yes. Yes, you are.”
Amanda climbed from the bed and rubbed her face before standing. She was suddenly ravenous now. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was almost half past twelve.
“Is Bear making lunch?”
“Um, I don’t know. I’ve been in here for a while. Are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
“Not sick anymore then?”
“No. I feel fine now. Not sure what that was about earlier.”
“Me either, but glad you’re better. Let’s get you something to eat while you feel up to it.”
It was the only time Amanda threw up and had to lie down, but the following few mornings all seemed to begin the same way, with an incredible amount of nausea. She tried to keep it from Aspen. He still had a lot on his plate with the Dire Wolves and didn’t need something else to worry about. Though the rival club had seemed to back off a bit after the falls incident, Aspen and his uncle still felt that were merely lying low, planning something. Everyone remained vigilant and prepared to put up an offensive if it came to that.
“Moose, how do you like your room” Amanda asked as she passed by his finished space and saw that he was moving his things back into it from one of the guest rooms where he had been staying while it was completed.
“It’s great. Love the mural. Mouse did a great job, huh?”
“That she did. Listen, can I ask you a favor?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“I need to go into town for a bit this afternoon. Checkup. You know, women stuff. Can you and one of the others go with me? I’d go alone, but Aspen would have a fit if he found out.”
“Sure. No problem. Just let me know when you’re ready.”
“Thanks.”
Amanda left him to finish sorting his stuff back out. Hopefully, he wouldn’t mention it to Aspen, but if he did, she had already laid the groundwork for a routine gyn visit, something he wouldn’t ask too many questions about. She didn’t want to lie to him, but wanted to find out what was going on with her before mentioning it to him. The general practitioner was in the same building as the gyn, so whoever went with her wouldn’t notice the difference.
A few hours later, she sat in the doctor’s office, waiting for him to come back with the results of his tests. She looked around the room at the various pictures on his office walls. Photos of women’s anatomy were on three of the four walls, but on the fourth were photos of what she assumed was his family. Three smiling faces of him, a woman who was probably his wife and two teenagers who appeared to be either very close in age or twins.
“Well, Amanda, I’ve got your results,” he said as he returned.
“And?”
“And you’re pregnant.”
“No. That can’t be right,” she laughed.
“Trust me I’ve been doing this for about twenty-five years now. You have all the physical changes expected of a pregnancy and your urine test confirmed it.”
“You don’t understand. My partner is, um, sterile.”
“And he is your only sexual encounter?”
“Of course!”
“I’m sorry. It’s just something I have to ask. You’d be surprised at the number of women who express shock but neglect to mention there was more than one man in their life. I don’t know what to tell you other than perhaps it is time for your partner to go get re-evaluated for future contraceptive needs. You are definitely expecting.”
“When?”
“I couldn’t say. Just from the changes in your body, I’d say a few weeks. You’ll need to see an obstetrician for a more precise answer,” he told her.
“Can you recommend one?”
“Absolutely. Just see my receptionist on your way out and she will give you a business card for the doctor we recommend.”
“Thank you,” Amanda said, feeling a bit numb at the news.
“You’re welcome,” he replied.
Amanda got up and left his office, remaining in a state of disbelief the entire way home. For a moment, she considered that she could be months pregnant, that she could have been pregnant when she came here, but it was impossible. She had always been very careful, and it had been too long now. She’d have known well before now if that were the case. It was just her fuzzy brain trying to make sense of this.
Finally, she decided that nothing about her life since meeting Aspen truly made sense in a normal society. The rules were different here. So, she was pregnant. How did she feel about that? It was mind-numbing that she might be a mom in eight months or so, but she realized that she wasn’t upset about it. In fact, she was downright excited about getting home to tell Aspen.