Page 57 of Jack of All Trades

Rodney waved a hand over the table and served lunch, Trudy insisting to sit near Jack. “When I was pregnant with Maltin, he gave me terrible heartburn the entire time.”

Jack laughed and pointed to his stomach. “Well, his kids are doing the same to me. No acidy foods, no juice, no eggs. The babies hate them.”

“What are you craving, dear?”

He giggled and admitted, “Raw meat.”

“Oh heavens!”

Rodney laughed. “You, my darling sister, are the one that mated with a damn beast from hell.”

“I suppose. Tell me you’re at least telling the doctor all of this.”

“I am. He says what I am craving is likely what my body needs. He’s also said I am gaining the perfect weight, that all the heartbeats are strong, and there are three.”

Neither of them had told their parents how many children they were having. Jack had secretly wished for more, though he’d never shared that with Maltin. Their one and only shot at havingkids, and he’d dreamed of a house filled with little voices. Three, however, was a good number.

“Three,” Trudy whispered. “Oh, dear, that is a joyous thing!”

“You two are hearing it first. Maltin and me are…saving most things for the two of you to know first. You were my family first.”

Trudy hugged his shoulders and then insisted she had to powder her nose and left for the bathroom. Rodney whispered to him, “She’s going to cry, and you’ll never see the proof of it. She’ll be perfectly made back up when she emerges.”

“I didn’t mean to make her cry.”

After a wink, he said, “She loves to cry, and they’re happy tears.”

Maltin got home just as they were finished eating, and after Trudy came back to the table, full makeup intact. “Son, how are you?”

“Better now, Mother.” After greeting his uncle and mother, he kissed Jack quickly. “I have a surprise for you, my darling.”

“Oh? What is it?”

Maltin sat at the table, and Rodney waved his hand to produce a plate of food for Maltin. They all stayed at the table while he ate and told them his news. “Well, I have been thinking about the kids, where we should live, and everything. A loft over a warehouse of cars isn’t ideal.”

“Thank goodness, Maltin,” Trudy said. “This is nowhere for growing children.”

“No, of course not. So, I’ve been meeting with a realtor. I didn’t want to tell you, Jack, until I was sure. She has some houses for us to look at on nice, quiet streets, grass, trees, a yard where we can build them a play area.”

Jack’s heart began to thump wildly. “A house?”

Trudy corrected him. “A home, dear.”

“Let your mother decorate, Malty. No more steel pipes and bricks, for goodness’ sake,” Rodney quipped.

“I happen to like the décor Maltin’s put in place, Rodney,” she told him. “But not for babies. They need more light and less metal.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“A home,” Jack whispered, suddenly ready to cry, but that wasn’t unusual, exactly. The pregnancy brought a lot of tears, both happy and sad ones. It had also brought with it morning sickness, strange cravings, all those stereotypes he thought he might avoid, being a man and a shifter to boot.

Trudy handed him a lace handkerchief and settled an arm around his neck as she stood behind him. “It’s almost over, dear. There, there.”

Maltin winked at him, and Jack appreciated him more than ever. He’d put up with all the mood swings, and they’d been bad at times. He’d bared his fangs more than once at Maltin, with every intention of tearing out his throat.

“My darling, it is almost over. Another two to three weeks at most.”

The time had flown. Sure, his gestation was short as a shifter, but he knew he’d miss it, no matter the downsides. “I know. I’ll miss them being so close.”

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