Page 48 of Frederick
“Do we have too many enforcers, do you think?” I asked Benjamin.
“I don’t believe so. The assignments need to be readjusted to wear. Everyone has a chance to feel as if they are actively doing something productive. Marco may or may not be in the area. Do we need three teams on that particular assignment?”
“Personally, I think one is more than enough. But if there isn’t enough for the other nine teams to have something to do, I understand why so many are focused on this one.”
“I will say that after the meeting I just left, I really hope that Marco is located soon because he was the main topic and it was suggested that more teams were pulled in order to focus on him and him alone.” Benjamin shook his head.
What was going on with this? “Is it something personal at this point? Does someone have it out for him, more than would be expected?”
Benjamin shook his head as we slowly walked toward our houses. “Not that I would think so. I know that it is a sore spot since he was missed in Italy. I’m not sure why he hasn’t returned there, other than the fact that Vincent’s coven is in full force there. Now that Marco has left the country, they really want to make sure he never comes back.”
I side, more frustrated with the entire situation than I probably should be.
“What about you? You’re leaving early.”
“My head started hurting, and that told me it was time for me to go home to Dominic. We’ve settled on two separate themes for our nursery, and I am really hoping that we can decide on one over the other this evening it’s nothing grand, nor is it nearly as important as what we are doing at work. But it’s something that is always in the back of my mind even just a little. It’s his tiny little irritation, that I’m ready to be solved”
“Can understand that. Might I ask what the two things are? Maybe I can come up with a suggestion for something that might help ease the frustration.”
“We are trying to decide between some sort of nautical theme, or fun and bright hot air balloons. Both have their pros, but there are of course cons for each.”
“Always. I can certainly see the pros of both right away. Which one are you hoping for most?”
I shook my head “I don’t care. I want Dominic to be happy, and he goes back-and-forth between the two. That is understandable, but, when he gets frustrated, I become irritated because it could easily be remedied”
Benjamin started chuckling. “You may not like this idea, but you could always write them both down on a piece of paper and after putting them in a bowl, you simply pick one. Probably not the best solution, but it can keep both of you from having to make the final decision. Leave it up to chance.”
That seem like the best idea I had heard in quite some time. “That’s what we need to do. I’m not sure why we haven’t done something like that before now, but that definitely would make things easier.”
Benjamin chuckled. “You’re welcome. I’m going to go home and chase after my twins for a bit and you, and Dominic and figure out just what theme you want for your nursery. Enjoy your evening,” he said. Seconds later, Benjamin disappeared. I couldnot fault him for that. In fact, I was a bit surprised he walked with me for as long as he had.
Since he had the right idea, I used a bit of magic to pop myself back home as well. When I entered the house I immediately heard music coming from upstairs. My One was either in the bedroom or he was in the nursery. The other two rooms were still empty. Well, technically, all of the rooms except for ours was empty because we’d not yet been able to decide on how to decorate any of them.
“Dominic?” I called out. The last thing I ever wanted to do again was surprised Dominic by coming home when I wasn’t expected. I climbed the stairs in seconds, and when I reached the top, I found Dominic with his hand sticking out of what was going to be our nursery.
“I’m glad you’re here. Can you come in and tell me what you think about this?”
I didn’t know exactly what this was, but I found out quickly enough when I entered the nursery and found bright, colorful, hot air balloons floating from the ceiling. They weren’t actual hot air balloons, but mini replicas, and quite adorable.
I looked at Dominic and offered a warm smile “Did you decide on a theme then?”
“Only if you like it; which you haven’t said yet.”
“Personally, I think it’s adorable. It’s bright and colorful and I believe that would be more attractive to a young baby. But the bigger question is do you?” I wasn’t the only one who had to look at the nursery on a regular basis. Dominic would probably spend more time in it than I would be honest. It wasn’t as if I was planning on being an absent parent, but I was still working for the council. That meant I was going to have time during my day that I would not be home with Dominic and our son.
“that’s what I was thinking as well. Maybe when he gets older, we can redecorate and go with a completely differenttheme. It’s not as if either of us have to spend hours doing something of that nature.” Dominic flicked his hand toward the far wall on suddenly there were fluffy clouds at the top and on the ceiling. “See? Is simple as that.” Dominic looked as if he was pleased with the results of what he just did. I thought it was cute, but I wasn’t going to say anything to sway him one way or another either way. “I was reading an article earlier, and it mentioned how newborns could not see beyond the basic colors of red, black, and white. I have more colors than that here, and I tried to have just red balloons with very muted wall tones, but I didn’t like the results. You don’t think it’s too much, do you?”
“I think it’s perfect. We are in agreement about waiting until he’s older and then re-adjusting the theme if necessary.” I pulled Dominic into my arms and finally claimed a kiss. “That’s better,” I told him. “But, back to what we were discussing. I think that the balloons are cheerful and colorful. Yes, this isn’t our bedroom, but we will both be spending time in here with our son. Should we have to look at monotone walls?”
“No. And I’m sorry I have been so undecided about this. I should have been able to pick a theme at minimum, a month ago.”
I leaned in and gave Dominic, another quick kiss. “Who says? There has been no rush. We both know that the baby will spend at least the first month, if not the first two in our bedroom with us. You still have seven weeks to go before you’re due. This hasn’t been a top priority,” I told him again. We had time.
I knew he felt as if he should have all of this sorted since he was home all day, but there was no need for him to feel as if he should be worried about all of this. I wanted him to relax and enjoy himself. He more than earned it. He should be enjoying all of the joys of being pregnant and having the ability to relax. I needed to do better at reassuring him that it was all right that he took days to do absolutely nothing.
“You’re right, of course. I’m probably a little stressed about this because it feels like I’m not doing enough to get ready for him.”
I shook my head. “We’ll take it one day at a time. But if you think about it, there really isn’t anything for us to do to get ready for him. We have everything we need, and if we discover we’re missing something, it’s easy enough to get it in an instant. Relax. Enjoy not having to do anything. Catch up on that growing pile of books,” I told him. That got his attention. I smiled because it seemed as if I’d finally mentioned something that he could get behind.
