Page 44 of Double Bind

“Darmaine sewed the cushions for me on trade,” he said, and she widened her eyes. She’d missed the significance of thebluecushions. “My dye! My fabric!”I was the special customer!Amity had found a way to bleach and then dye horniger fabric.She’d finished one bolt of blue when Darmaine had reported she already had it sold to a “special customer.”

“You guys!” She fanned her face as tears welled in her eyes.

“I modeled the couch after an antique sofa called afuton. The back folds down, so it’s multifunctional.” He demonstrated. “If we ever need to sleep another person, we’ll have a bed for them.”

Can’t expect a better segue than that.“Funny you should say that. About my surprise for you…maybe you should sit down.”

“I can do that. We have a sofa now,” he joked.

She didn’t laugh. Her stomach had tied itself into knots again.I hope I don’t throw up.She pressed a hand to her abdomen.

“What’s wrong?”

They’d talked about so much, but notthis.“Marshall…I’m…pregnant. We’re going to have a baby.”

They’d taken no precautions. She’d had a contraceptive implant at one time, but, after a long sexual dry spell, never bothered to recharge it. Birth control had slipped her mind when she married him. Given her age, she’d figured the odds of getting pregnant were slim, so when she skipped a couple of periods, she’d assumed she was entering the change of life.

Instead, she’d beencreatinglife.

His jaw dropped. “Are you sure?”

“The doc confirmed it this morning. I saw the embryo on the bio-scanner.”

He let out a whoop, grabbed her, and swung her around. “A baby! Our baby!” He kissed her then pulled back to gaze into her eyes. “You are happy about it, right?”

She broke into a huge smile. “Thrilled.” Given her poor relationship track record, she’d been certain she’d never get to be a mother. She wasalmosttoo old. But,almostdidn’t count. Her grin widened. “But I worried you might not be. We never talked about kids.”

“I love you. Having a family, a child, is like the cherry on top. A cradle will be my next project.”

“I’ll make the mattress for it. We’ll have to turn the futon into a toddler bed,” she said happily.

“But in the meantime, we can use it ourselves.” He drew her onto the futon and kissed her.

“You’re right,” she said afterward. “It works quite nicely as a bed.”

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