Page 61 of Surprise Baby for Mr. Fischer
I shook my head yes, then no.
“Is that a no, it’s not me? Or no, you don’t want me to leave the room? Or a yes to both of those?”
“I don’t want you to leave.” I stared at him. “Yes, you make me nervous.”
“Why?”
"I don’t want to look like an idiot in front of you.” Up until now, Lincoln had made his desire for me very clear. Yet he still hadn’t seen all of me. What if the weird picker girl, who couldn’t show her face in front of the camera where people didn’t even know it was her—and then, couldn’t talk like a normal person, but had to sing to power through—turned him off?
Deep down, I knew that if he didn’t like me because of this, then he wasn’t worth it, but I wanted to hold on to the feelings I’d only just discovered. For the first time, I felt comfortable and confident with my size. If I let him go, I was afraid that would disappear too.
“You won’t,” he said.
“How do you know that?”
“Harper, the excitement you had when we found this toy made me want to be excited alongside you. I’m sure you inspire the same in your fans. You bring out the cool facts about the items and bring them to life. And your singing is beautiful. You have a clear, melodious voice. And the tunes are catchy, like ones I’d hear in a children’s movie. It brings up nostalgia for your viewers through sound as well as sight when they see what you’re showing them.”
Lincoln’s eyes bored into mine. The intensity of his gaze was further proof that he meant what he said. I appreciated that he stayed by the camera. If he came to my side, kissed me, or touched me, I might have wondered if he was using our attraction to hide any negative thoughts he had about my show.
This way, I got the chance to weigh his words and hear his sincerity. “Okay. Let’s start over. I can do this.”
Lincoln gave me the signal to begin. I drew in a deep breath, and as I let it out, I started singing. Lincoln was right. The melody was reminiscent of a children’s movie I used to watch over and over. I’d never noticed that before. In the movie, a young mermaid sings while exploring her treasures from the human world, just like I was exploring my finds.
I sang about the history of the toy, the colors, how many were in production while peppering little facts about knights, jousting, and Timbo, the company that had made the toy. A few times, I tripped over my words, but I kept going, knowing we could edit it out.
The further we got into it, the more I recognized the hand signals Lincoln gave me. A few times, I glanced up and caught the slight furrow of his brow as he concentrated. He only spoke when he had to tell me to turn a certain way or ask me to pause a little longer.
He was a natural at directing. Lincoln was thoughtful in how he phrased his directions, and full of praise when I was able to execute what he asked me to do. He had infinite patience and was willing to hear my suggestions even if it conflicted with his own plan. While my little show wasn’t much, seeing a glimpse of him in action was spectacular.
When we finished, I wanted to do a happy dance. This episode was going to be the best one yet. Usually, I set my phone up on my tripod, recorded myself, and attempted to splice together something that looked and sounded halfway decent. Lincoln could see right away if a scene was working and moved the camera to get a better shot of the toy as I twisted and turned it.
When we’d gotten enough footage, I stood and threw myself at him. He caught me effortlessly and chuckled. “What’s that for?”
“If you ever decide not to act, you could totally direct.”
His arms tightened around me. “Thanks for saying that, Harper. I still have a lot to learn. My parents were phenomenal at it. I want to be that good.”
“You will be. I just know it.”
***
WE GRABBED A QUICKdinner, and Lincoln shooed me away to watch TV while he edited my episode. I wanted to be in there with him but held back when I saw him nervously shift from foot to foot.
Instead, I kissed him. “I trust you.”
His relieved expression told me I made the right choice. It was true. I did trust him to put it all together in a way my fans would love. What was hard was giving up control. I was used to doing this all by myself.
I settled on the couch and waited while he edited my show. Each minute passed by slowly, and my yawns grew wider. My eyelids were heavy. Being pregnant had me fighting exhaustion by 7:30 pm.
“Harper, wake up.” Lincoln’s lips caressed mine. “It’s done.” I’d woken up the first time he called my name but had needed a minute to orient myself. Waiting proved to be fruitful in more ways than one because he started kissing me again.
“Mmm, that’s a very nice way to wake up.” I stretched and yelped.
He jumped back. “What’s wrong?”
I groaned and screwed my eyes shut. “Leg cramp.”
Stupid charley horses.They’d been happening on and off, and damn it, they hurt.
