Gabe

Hank adjusts the box in his arms, so he can wipe the sweat from his eyes. “Where do you want this?” he groans.

“Just put everything in the dining room for now.” I look to Meredith. “If that’s alright with you?”

She nods. “Yep. I see now why I should’ve labeled the boxes before they went to storage. After this long, I have no idea what’s what.”

Hank stoops to place the box on the floor, shifting out of the way as others pass by carrying boxes of their own. “Real smart of you, Gabe.”

As per usual with Hank, there’s no telling what he’s referring to. “What’s real smart of me?”

“You know, getting Meredith moved in before your ribs heal…so you don’t have to do any of the work. No way could this have waited a few more weeks until the doctor cleared you, huh?” He shakes his head. “You must be pretty smart after all.”

I give Hank a wink. “It’s not all roses and champagne for me either you know.”

Hank raises a brow. “Oh yeah? How so? I haven’t seen you lift a finger all day.”

“No, that’s true. I haven’t picked up a single box. But would you leave a monkey unsupervised with your most prized belongings?”

Hank scratches his head, giving me such a wonderful visual of him as a monkey—it’s too perfect. I burst out laughing. “See what I mean?”

When he makes the connection, he is less than amused. “Asshole,” he says as he heads out the door to grab another box from the truck.

Within a couple of hours—thanks to Hank, Jack, Chet, and Meredith’s brother James—all her earthly possessions fill the dining room, ready to be unpacked and put away in their rightful place, in our home. And I mean everything. The stuff she placed in storage after her divorce, the various odds and ends packed up in a corner of her parents’ garage, as well as the contents of her bedroom (yeah that interaction with her folks didn’t get awkward at all). As a small gesture of thanks for all their heavy lifting, we celebrate the move with pizzas and beer.

James is the last to leave, and I’m man enough to admit, if I wasn’t preoccupied with thoughts of ravaging his sister, I would’ve enjoyed him staying longer. I saw a totally different side of the man today. He might be a decent guy once you get him out of his father’s shadow.

With the house to ourselves, I sneak up behind Mer, wrap my arms around her growing belly, and whisper in her ear. “Welcome home, Doll. Welcome home.”

She spins on her heel to face me. “Ah, I like the sound of that. It’s already starting to feel like home, too. Is that bad? For me to be this comfortable with the idea so quickly.”

I shake my head. “Not at all. If this is where we’re going to make our life together, it’s damned important that this is the place you wanna be.”

Meredith has a devious smile on her face and my curiosity gets the better of me. “What? What are you thinking up there?” I ask, as I lightly tap her forehead.

“Well. I’m trying to decide what color scheme we want to go with when we repaint the living room, dining room, and kitchen.” She motions around the house with her hands and then settles her sights on the kitchen. “Or if we are better off waiting to do anything in there, you know, until after the remodel. Why waste the effort until we know which direction we want to go with the cabinets and the backsplash?”

My heart skips a beat and my mind goes numb. “Uhh…” I mumble.

Meredith bursts out laughing.

“What?” I ask. “What’s so funny?” Each time I think she’s getting control of herself, she looks at me and loses it all over again, doubling over and pointing at me while she shrieks and cackles. I have no idea what is so funny, but her laughter is infectious and before I know it, I’m chuckling along with her. “What is so damn funny?”

“The look,” she says as she gulps for air. “The look on your face. You thought I was serious, and you panicked.”

I smile. “Oh yeah? You think you’re a funny girl? Like to have a good laugh?” I rub my hands together. “Well please, allow me to help you out.” I playfully drag her to the couch, tickling her waist and arms along the way. In between giggles she shouts for me to stop before I hurt myself, but even after I lay her down, I don’t let up. I only stop when she warns me she’s about to pee herself, and then it’s only because I fall to the floor beside her, holding my ribs from the pain of laughing so much. When I finally catch my breath, I look deeply into Meredith’s eyes. “This. Right here. This is our life now.”

She skootches herself over, and kisses me. “And it’s everything I ever wanted.”

The house remains in a semi-wrecked state for the next week or two while we unpack boxes and try to decide what of her stuff stays and what of my stuff goes. I made her a promise when she agreed to move in—she has free reign when it comes to decorating. Whatever she wants. However she wants it. By the time she’s through putting up pictures and knickknacks—and then taking them down two hours later to try them in another spot—the place looks amazing. Especially upstairs. I didn’t realize how bare the walls were until we painted and decorated. I guess that’s just the difference of a woman’s touch.

* * *

“Gabe?” Meredith holds the paint roller in her hand as she steps back from the wall. “I’m afraid I hate it.”

I’m across the room, trying to cut in the edge along the ceiling and if I stop now, I know it’ll leave a spot when I come back to it. “What? Why?” I ask, trying to focus on my straight line.

“The color. It’s too…ugh. I can’t even say the word out loud.” When I’ve finished my task, I lay the brush down on the paint cup and rub at the kink that’s forming in my neck. I walk over to look at the wall she’s been painting and notice her nervously biting at her bottom lip. There’s something about those little quirks, the things no one else would likely ever notice, that bring a smile to my face.

“Is it the shade? Or the color itself? Talk to me, Doll.”

Meredith frowns. “I don’t know. After the ultrasound, I was so excited to paint the room pink. Just like mine. I loved it at as girl and I loved thinking she might too.” Meredith rubs her belly.

“And now?” I ask.

“I don’t know.” She sets the roller down in the tray and brings her hands to her hips as she stares at the wall. “You’ll think I’m being crazy.”

“Try me.”

“Well, it’s the same Pepto color as my room and…don’t make fun…but what if we’re setting her up to live the same life I did? I can’t bear the thought of her growing up without a voice.”

I step behind her to rub her neck and shoulders. “If you don’t like the pink, then I say we stop now and go back to the hardware store for something more neutral. Maybe a pale yellow, or pastel stripes? Whatever makes you happy.” I kiss her neck, just below her ear. “But, if you’re worried that we’re somehow going to become your parents and make the same mistakes with our little girl that they made with you, then yes, I think you’re being crazy.”

Meredith raises her chin, inviting me to continue my work. “Really? You don’t think we’re going to make all kinds of mistakes with her?”

I turn her towards me. “Oh no. We’re going to make all kinds of mistakes.” I deposit another kiss. “But they won’t be the same dumb mistakes our parents made with us. She’ll grow up resenting us for entirely new reasons. That’s just the way of it.”

Meredith slaps my chest. “That’s the best you could come up with to make me feel better?”

“What?” I laugh. “I said we could pick out a different color.”

Meredith gives me her not-funny look. “Don’t you have a crib to put together? Or something?”

“The one we found online last night, but haven’t bought yet? No, if I’m honest, putting that together is still on my honey-do list. I guess I figured, seeing as you’re only five months pregnant, I still had time.”

“Oh? That’s the kind of husband and father you plan to be?”

The statement catches me off guard. “What kind?” I ask.

“You know, a procrastinator. One of those men who has to be yelled at to get off his ass and mow the yard, or change the oil in the car, or whatever.”

“Really?” I tap my foot. “If that’s the impression I’ve been giving you, then we need to nip that in the bud right now.” I swoop her up in my arms and carry her across the hall to our bedroom.

“Gabe, careful now, you’ll hurt yourself again,” Meredith warns.

“What? My ribs? They’ve been healed for over a month. Besides—priorities.” I carefully lay her on the bed. “You seem like you need a distraction from the baby’s room, and it’s my duty to oblige.”

Meredith sits up on her elbows. “What about painting?”

“Ahh.” I crinkle my nose. “I’ll do that after I mow the yard and change the oil.” I smile. “Why don’t you come here?”