CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Were going to look at houses today,” Chloe told her parents at breakfast on Monday morning. Samantha looked sad. Trevor looked at Chloe and said, “You’re not still thinking of buying a plot of land and building on it?”

“We talked about it. We will probably look into it in the future sometime, but we would really like to have a home that’s ready by the time the baby’s born.”

“You know that you don’t have to rush off,” Samantha said with a catch in her voice.

Trevor winked at us and said, “They've newly engaged, Samantha and in seven months or so they will never have another private moment. I think we’re lucky they’ve stayed this long.”

“Oh! I know. I’m just going to miss you, both of you.”

“We’re going to try and stay close, Sam. The properties we’re looking at today are within a ten mile radius of you.”

Samantha actually smiled. “Well, that sounds better. I should be thankful it’s not Mid-Town or even worse, Rhode Island.”

“We’ll do our best to find one we like up close,” Chloe told her.

The first house they looked at was the closest. It sat on five acres and had a grove of apple trees that grew along the cobble stone drive that led up to the house. It had a white fence that separated the trees from the driveway and there were wildflowers growing all along underneath the fence. It was beautiful, like something out of a magazine. Before they even reached the house, Chloe said, “I like this one best.” Derek laughed at her and said, “Okay, but we’ll go ahead and look at the inside of this one and the other two, just to be sure.”

“If you insist,” she said with a smile.

The house was as stunning as the drive leading up to it. It was a traditional stone home, two-stories with a balcony that wrapped around the entire upper floor. The doors were heavy and oak and one entire wall was made of floor to ceiling windows.

Chloe stepped out of the car and looked up at it in awe. “It takes my breath away,” she said. “Is it too much?”

Derek laughed again and said, “No baby, not unless we go in and find out it comes with a butler.”

Derek had the key to it and they went inside. The foyer had highly polished wood floors and a wood and stone chandelier that looked handmade. The stairs went off to the left and there was a long hall to the right of it and straight in front. Derek took the straight one first. It led them into a large, step-down living room. Like in the front of the house, one entire wall was floor to ceiling windows. Another wall was all stone fireplace. Outside the windows was a huge terrace that led out to a large backyard. The lawn looked lush and there were a lot of fruit trees and bushes.

Derek led them back the way they came and took the other hall. They came to a formal dining room and a modern kitchen beyond that. The kitchen had heavy granite counters and what looked like all brand new appliances, including an extra oven for gourmet cooking and a built-in stone pizza oven.

The room that faced the front of the house was a den.

“Oh look at the bookshelves!” Chloe told Derek.

One of the walls of the room was made of built-in bookshelves. It was all oak and it added character to the room. There was a bathroom just outside of that room and they were back in the long hall that led back towards the stairs. The upstairs was even nicer than the first floor according to Chloe. She flitted from one room to the next, pointing out the things that were “different” from most other houses, like the fact that the master bedroom had a fireplace in it too or that the two walk-in closets adjoined in the center. The bathroom here had a deep Jacuzzi tub and double sinks with white granite counters and floors.

There were three other bedrooms, none of them as impressive as the master bedroom, however, Chloe was able to find one she thought would be “perfect” for the baby. Derek could see the wheels turning in her head as she looked at the blank walls. He had a feeling that it would be like giving an artist a blank canvas.

When they finished exploring the house, they went out back and walked around the property. There were some stables in the back with a fenced off pasture and a shop that could probably be converted to a home office, Derek thought. He could definitely see what Chloe saw in the house, but he always advised his clients not to just buy the first one you saw. You should always see at least three so that’s what they were going to do.

Chloe was coerced to leave, reluctantly and they drove the ten miles to the next house. As they drove up to it, Derek noticed Chloe was making a face. “What is it?”

“Nothing. It just looks naked,” she said.

“Naked?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Yeah, no trees or flowers…you know, just naked.”

They went inside anyways. The rooms were all a lot smaller, but it was still a nice house and well-maintained also. Derek could see that Chloe was looking at this one with a lot less excitement in her eye than she had the other. After they made it through all of the rooms, he said, “So what do you think?”

She looked up at him. “What do you think?” she asked.

“I asked you first.”

“Okay. I think it’s fine if it’s cheaper.”

“It costs the same as the first one.”

Derek told Chloe repeatedly that she didn’t have to worry about expressing her own thoughts and opinions to him. He knew that she wasn’t afraid of him, but considering how she grew up it was just an ingrained habit now. Derek put his hands on her shoulders and said, “I’m going to just ask you a simple question. Do you like the first one best?”

“Yes, but it’s going to be your home too…”

“Wherever you and this baby are,” he said, resting his hand on her belly, “That will be home to me.”

She smiled, “Then yes, definitely the first one.”

“Okay, noted. Are we still going to see the last one?”

“It couldn’t hurt,” she said. Once again, he saw a new experience through her eyes and he loved it.

The third house was a beautiful colonial and on the surface, Chloe admitted that she might be swayed into changing her mind. Once they got inside, she didn’t feel that way for long. The entryway was small and cramped and for some reason, all of the windows faced the east. That meant when the sun was coming up, it would be blinding and when it was going down, they would barely able to feel it’s warmth at all. The bedrooms were just plain and boring and Derek could see Chloe growing more disinterested by the minute.

They could see the backyard from where they stood. It was wide open without any fencing around it and it opened up into a field or pasture at the back of the house. It was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. When they finished there, Derek looked at Chloe and said, “Okay, my vote is with you. I like the first one best.”

“Yes!” Chloe looked ecstatic.

Derek called his office before leaving the last house and asked them to put together and offer for them. Chloe wanted this house and he was going to make sure that she gets it.

**

Three weeks later, the owners accepted their offer. A month later, they were given the keys and began moving in. It was right before Thanksgiving that they were able to move in. Chloe’s belly was finally starting to look pregnant and she told Derek that she couldn’t wait to get started decorating the nursery for the baby. The one thing she needed first was to know if she was decorating for a girl or a boy.

Derek went with her to her next O.B. Gyn appointment. They were doing a sonogram and Derek and Chloe would be able to find out the sex of the baby and get some four-D photos of their child. Chloe was lying on the exam table and the nurse squeezed cold goo onto the small paddles and flipped a switch. She started moving the round paddles around slowly until she heard the heartbeat.

Chloe was so fascinated by the rhythmic sound of her baby’s heart beating that she almost missed the fact that the baby was on the little monitor in front of them. Derek was staring at it with awe in his eyes.

“Is that our baby?” he asked the nurse.

“Yep, that’s her right there.”

“Her?” Chloe asked. “It’s a girl?”

“Yes, it’s a girl.”

Derek was glued to the monitor. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the little peanut that almost didn’t look human. He was just so amazed at the fact that Chloe was growing a live human in her body. He had known all along of course but here was proof.

“She’s beautiful, like her Mama,” he said. He squeezed Chloe’s hand and looked up at her. She had tears in her eyes.

“Look what we made,” she said. “A little girl.”

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. “Thank you,” he said. “Trevor and Samantha were right; it’s a gift that can’t be topped. I’m so happy.”

“Me too,” she said.