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Chapter Nine – November 23 / November 24

Two days before Thanksgiving, Nick and I stood in the airport waiting for my mom’s plane to land. I couldn’t wait to see her. She had never flown before and I prayed that things had gone well. If I had any chance of talking her into moving here, everything, and I mean everything, had to go perfectly.

I looked over at Nick. He was sprawled across three plastic chairs; he looked like a hobo. For the last week he had practically lived in his studio; I daresay that he hadn’t hit the shower in the last day or so.

“You are going to clean up by Thanksgiving, right?” I teased. He looked up with a little scowl; a dark blonde mustache was erupting over his upper lip.

“I don’t smell,” he said. I watched as he raised an arm and took a test sniff.

“You’re immune to your own stank,” I said. He stuck out his tongue.

I stuck my own tongue out and turned back around. I saw my mom coming down the tarmac. My face lit up with a smile at the same moment she spotted me. She ran towards me, squealing.

“Look at you!” she said, her arms wrapping around me tightly. She squeezed me, then patted my stomach. “Oh, you’ve gotten so big.”

“Don’t remind me,” I said with a laugh. “How was your flight?”

My mom continued to smile; it was a good sign. “Oh, it was great. I had a window seat. It was so cool.”

I took her arm. When we turned, Nick was standing up, smiling.

“Welcome to Florida,” he said. My mom gave him a big hug.

“Thank you,” she said. “Oh, I see you’re growing a mustache.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “He’s shaving that thing off by tomorrow.” Nick laughed.

After getting her luggage, we headed out to the SUV. Mom squinted into the bright sunlight. She quickly took off her winter coat.

“It’s snowing like crazy back home,” she said.

“It’s always so pretty as it falls,” I said. “But, it’s not so fun shoveling or driving in it.”

“Yeah, I can’t stand snow blowing,” my mom said with a sigh as she climbed in the backseat.

I unrolled the windows and let the warm air blow through the SUV. Through the rearview mirror, I saw my mom looking out at the water.

“It’s beautiful,” she said softly. I smiled. So far, so good.

A half hour later, Nick pulled up to the house. He grabbed my mom’s bags as she climbed out. She gawked at the house.

“It looks just like the pictures you sent,” my mom said. “It’s huge.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I almost needed a map the first few weeks I was down here,” I said, taking her hand. “Let me give you the grand tour.”

I showed her the living room, kitchen, downstairs bath, and the guest room where she would be staying. After she loved up on all of the dogs, we headed upstairs where I showed her our master bedroom, bath, the other guest rooms and lastly, the baby’s room.

“Ohhhh,” she said as she walked in. I had found the perfect curtains; they were already hung, held back with pink and white polka dot sashes.

“You did a great job picking out the crib,” my mom said, running her hands over the smooth curves. I smiled.

“Nick fell in love with it,” I admitted. “So then he got the matching changing table, dresser, and rocker.”

My mom glanced around. “You need a cushion for the rocker.”

I laughed. “Yeah I know. Maybe tomorrow you and I can hit the mall.”

My mom looked over at me. “Do they have a nice mall?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” I said. “It puts the mall back home to shame.”

I watched her drift over to the window and look out at the ocean.

“I’ve never seen the ocean before,” she said softly.

“It’s relaxing, isn’t it?”

She nodded, turning back to me. “Sweetheart, you look…” she trailed off. “You look so happy.”

I smiled. “I’m amazingly happy. Nick’s a great guy. I can’t think of anything else a girl could ask for.”

“And you picked a wedding date?”

“We did. August 6, 2011.”

“That’s going to be here before you know it.”

I laughed. “I know. I try not to think about that too much. What’s even worse is the thought that the baby will be four months old by then.”

My mom turned back around, touching the polka dotted sash. “Have you thought of any names?”

Remembering my conversation with Nick, I shook my head. “No, we’re still flipping through the baby books.”

“You know,” my mom said. “I’ve always liked the name Megan.”

I smiled. “Yes, I know. I think you’ve mentioned it, oh, once…twice…a thousand times.”

“Megan Lynn Carter. How pretty would that be?”

I gave a noncommittal shrug. “There are so many pretty names. I’m sure we’ll pick just the right one.”

“Well, just keep it in mind.”

I headed out of the baby’s room; mom followed. We walked back down the stairs and I led her back to Nick’s studio. He was already back at work, his headphones on.

“This is Nick’s studio,” I said, opening the door. The equipment was wall to wall. Three guitars stood against one wall; a keyboard and his drum set were set up along the other.

“He can work from home?” my mom said. I nodded.

“Yeah, it’s going to come in handy once the baby’s born. Right now he’s working on his second solo album, but by March I think the Boys are going to want to start laying down tracks for their next record.”

My mom smiled. “Remember when we went to the House of Blues in Chicago to see Nick?” She laughed. “God, you were so obsessed. You were so upset that you weren’t twenty-one so you could go to the after party.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I remember. I tried so hard to get up to the front of the stage, but I kept getting pushed backwards.”

“And I was smart and stayed at the bar. It was a perfect view.”

“Yeah, I remember you telling me how hot you thought he was,” I teased. Mom grinned.

“He’s a good looking boy,” she admitted. “And if he treats you right then he’s the total package.”

A loud belch came from the recording booth. I laughed. “He’s the total package alright.”

Nick looked up and realized we were there. He pressed a button, his voice filled the room. “Sorry!”

I blew him a kiss and walked back to the kitchen. For the next hour, I worked with mom to make a list of groceries I had forgotten.

“You didn’t do too bad, sweetheart. You only forgot three ingredients,” my mom said as she scanned my notepad. “What size of turkey did you get?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. My mom raised an eyebrow.

“You didn’t get a turkey, did you?”

I shook my head.

“How many people are coming?”

I counted off on my fingers. “Let’s see. Nick’s mom Jane and his sisters Angel and Bobbie Jean will be here. So we’ll have six people altogether.”

“So we’ll need about a ten pound turkey,” my mom said.

“Don’t forget we have to feed Nick,” I said. Mom laughed.

“Twelve pound turkey,” she amended.

After a few hours of walking the beach, we ended the evening by watching The Last Song on DVD and devouring a large green pepper pizza. Even though Nick teased my mom and I for tearing up several times during the movie, by the end even he had to grab a tissue.

“Pregnancy hormones,” he complained as he dabbed his eyes. I laughed.

After hugs and kisses, mom drifted to the guest bedroom while Nick and I headed upstairs.

“Pretty good day?” Nick asked as he kicked off his clothes. I nodded.

“Yeah, she was pretty impressed,” I said.

Nick threw back the covers for me and I climbed in. He hovered over the side of my bed for a minute; the light from the lamp casted his shadow around the room.

“Well, you make everything more impressive,” he said softly. He leaned over, kissing me softly. He slowly slid over me, his hands taking mine and pinning them over my head.

“Nick, you’re not thinking of sexing me up with my mom in the house are you?” I asked as his face buried into my neck. I felt him pause; he looked at me adoringly.

“It’s kind of fun. It’s like we’re teenagers sneaking around,” he said.

“You smell like a teenager,” I said. He laughed. “Aww c’mon.”

I smiled. “You take a shower and we’ll talk.”

Grumbling, he slid out of bed; I watched him pad barefoot to the bath. I found the cool side of the pillow as I heard the sound of the glass door sliding back and the water turn on. The ocean breeze blew the white curtains in a lazy fashion; the stars sparkled in a flawless night sky.

I’d be lying if I told you that I was awake when Nick came to bed. The more likely truth was that I was probably drooling on my pillow, snoring softly. I was certainly not the picture of sexuality. When I awoke the next morning, Nick was curled into a small spot of the mattress; I was hogging all of the covers and half of his pillow. Not only had I booty blocked him, but I had stolen the bed.

I was a bad, bad fiancée.

-------------------------------------------------

The day before Thanksgiving was pure mayhem. I awoke early, showered, changed, and met my mom downstairs to go shopping. Our first stop was the grocery store to pick up a turkey and some last minute ingredients. After stopping back home to drop off the goods, mom and I got back in the car for some fun shopping.

My first order of business was taking a drive by the condos that I had found. At the sight of the rows of ‘For Sale’ signs, I slowed to a stop.

“What’s this?” my mom asked as I got out of the car.

“I thought we could look at those condos I told you about,” I said. I lifted my sunglasses, shoving them up on my head. I started to walk up to the first one; with any luck the realtor I had scheduled would already be there.

“Olivia Renee!” my mom yelled out at me. I stifled a laugh. Nick was right; the full name effect was important. I turned and looked at her. She was still half in the car.

“Humor me,” I called out. With a lot of grumbling I saw her stand up and swing her purse on her shoulder. With the slam of the car door, she followed me reluctantly.

For the next half hour, the realtor showed us the ins and outs of the condo. There were so many positives to the place; the lawn and maintenance issues were handled for, not by, the residents, the condos were in a great neighborhood, they were close to Nick’s house, and they were very affordable. I could see my mom thawing the more the realtor talked. Before we left, my mom took a contract and a brochure.

“See, that wasn’t so bad,” I said as I opened the car door for her. She didn’t respond, but as I closed the door I saw her open the brochure.

There was hope yet.

We spent the rest of the afternoon having a quiet mother-daughter lunch and baby shopping. By the time we pulled back up to the house, I had bags and bags of clothes, a cushion for the rocker, and a bassinet that mom bought as an early shower gift.

“Did you buy out Tampa Bay?” Nick asked as we walked in. He hurried over to unload my arms of bags.

“Just about,” I admitted. “We’ll have to change the baby about three times a day to get through all these clothes.”

Nick laughed. “We haven’t even had baby showers yet,” he said. “We’re going to need to make a lot more babies to get through all the clothes and toys.”

“That wouldn’t be a bad thing,” my mom said.

“Hey, look who’s talking,” I complained. “I’m an only child, remember?”

Mom laughed. “I want lots of beautiful grandbabies, what can I say?”

I smiled. It was time to dangle the bait. “Well if you move down here Nick and I will see what we can do.”

My mom laughed. “I’m thinking about it,” she admitted. Even that small admittance was a huge step in the right direction.

After unloading packages and washing up, Nick took us out to dinner. When we came home, my mom clapped her hands.

“Let’s get some food ready for tomorrow.”

Nick drifted over to the TV to begin the male ritual of Thanksgiving football while my mom and I made several pumpkin pies, jello, and other appetizers.

As I cleaned up the kitchen island, I glanced over at the turkey.

“You know how long to cook that bird?” my mom said. I looked at her with a blank expression.

“About four hours,” my mom said. “What time is everybody going to be here?”

I peeked out at Nick. His mouth was agape as he watched the ball sail through the air.

“Hey Nick?”

He looked over at me; he seemed to be in a football-induced stupor. “Wha?”

“What time are your mom and sisters going to be here tomorrow?”

He continued to stare at me blankly. “Uh….”

Ten minutes and three phone calls later, he walked into the kitchen.

“Bobbie Jean will be here early to help. Angel and my mom will be here at two,” Nick said. He broke off a small piece of pumpkin pie crust; my mom smacked his hand with a dish towel.

“It’s for tomorrow,” she scolded. Nick grinned, sucking not only the crust but his fingers.

“See? He’s a finger sucker. That’s where the baby’s getting her toe sucking,” my mom pointed out. I laughed and kissed Nick’s temple. He rolled his eyes as he drifted back to the TV.

“So I should put in the bird no later than 9 a.m., right?” I looked over at mom for confirmation. She nodded.

“You know, I can take care of the bird,” she offered. “You can make the mashed potatoes.”

“Mom,” I said with a sigh. “I always do the mashed potatoes. It’s not hard to combine the powder and the water and microwave. I want to cook the bird.”

Mom held up her hands. “That’s fine. I’ll be here for moral support.”

I kissed her cheek. “I know. That’s why I need you here all the time.”

Mom tossed the dish towel next to the sink. “With that, I think I’m going to bed,” she said. After another hug and kiss she drifted out to say goodnight to Nick. I spent a few more minutes cleaning up and then walked out to the living room.

Nick was surrounded by all four dogs. Bitsy looked at me with sleepy eyes as I scooted her over a little. Nick’s head rolled lazily in my direction. He grinned and crossed his eyes.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“You ready for bed?” he asked. I smiled.

“Yup.”

“I shaved my moustache for you last night.”

I laughed. “I see that.” My fingers ran over the smooth skin.

“Can we play principal and naughty schoolgirl tonight?” he whispered.

I looked around at the four sleeping bodies scattered at our feet. The house was so quiet. I stood up and began walking towards the stairs; I stopped and glanced at him over my shoulder.

“You might have to put me in detention,” I said softly. I watched his eyes light up; in seconds the TV was off and he was at my heels, spanking me gently on our way up the stairs. When we got to our room, he closed and locked the door behind us. I backed up as he cracked his knuckles with a mischievous smile.

“It’s sexy time,” he said, sounding a little like Speedy Gonzales.

I don’t know how much sexy back I brought to the evening, but I think I successfully talked my principal out of detention.

All was good.