Disclaimer: I don't own The Penderwicks

Chapter 7 (Skye's POV)

I'd heard of the expression "Queen for a Day" and typically I guessed it was a good thing. I definitely wasn't one of those little kids that had wanted to be a queen or a princess, but sometimes feeling special was nice. Like when I managed to captain my sixth-grade soccer team to sweet victory, or even how my boss smiled at me ever since the lecture. It was nice to feel special sometimes.

Sometimes.

But the only thing was, last I checked sometimes didn't stretch for nine months straight. And instead of feeling like a fearless team captain I felt more like a feeble damsel in distress. Not that I actually felt bad, no that was just it, I felt fine. But convincing everyone else of that was harder than any match against Cameron Hardware. And not surprisingly Jeffrey was the worst about it. In the few weeks since we'd found out we were parents I don't think I'd opened more than three doors for myself. But what had to be worse than anything was Jeffrey's new catch phrase: "Maybe you should sit down?"

I kept telling myself I was only going to put up with it for so long, or that maybe he'd chill out soon but… Well in reality, he only seemed to be getting worse. Today was special though, or almost, really tomorrow was since it was our first anniversary. So normally I would have just shrugged off the breakfast in bed, yeah if it hadn't been the fourth time this week. It was all starting to get to me, mess with my head. If this kept up I was afraid I might lose at least 2% of all the toughness I'd worked my whole life to perfect. And worse than that I thought I just might end up crazy before the baby was even due. Pregnant or not, I was still just me. So why did it seem like everyone thought I was on my death bed?

"Comfortable?" Jeffrey asked softly as he adjusted the pillow behind my back.

I just stared at him doing my best not to roll my eyes.

"Uh yeah…" I mumbled before I carefully sat the tray of waffles aside and swung my feet over the side of the bed.

"Where are you going?" He asked as his paranoid eyes widened a little.

I grinned. "To brush my teeth, but I might get in a little skydiving on the way."

He crossed his arms before giving me a playfully annoyed look. "Hilarious."

I shrugged. "Yep, I thought so."

Not surprisingly he just stood there like a guard dog until I finished brushing my teeth and climbed back in bed to eat breakfast. Honestly he didn't seem satisfied unless my feet were "elevated" as he put it. I was considering looking up some global statistical averages of pregnancies in hopes that he'd get that just because this was new to us, it wasn't new to humankind. But then again I was beginning to think he was beyond help. All the same I figured I'd have to talk to him about how obsessively paranoid he was being, but I figured this close to our anniversary wasn't the best time. If I knew Jeffrey he'd have been overdoing it right now anyway.

So cutting at my waffle I tried to get my mind off of it. But that didn't really work out seeing as I had been given a butter knife and a spoon. I held up the blunt silverware and glared over at Jeffrey without saying anything. He tried to look innocent before he squirmed and finally burst out in confession.

"Okay I thought it was better to avoid sharp edges!"

I smirked. "Yeah, especially considering my long history of accidentally stabbing myself during breakfast."

He frowned a little. "Okay fine that may have been a little obsessive."

"May?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

Sighing Jeffrey sulked from the room and came back with the proper waffle eating utensils.

"Thank you very much." I said taking them from him with a smug look."

He sat on the edge of the bed still looking a little dejected until I spoke up. "So when is Alec expecting us again?"

He brightened a little. "Tonight I guess. But I don't want to rush so…"

I just shot him a look that said I knew he probably didn't have in mind driving anything over 30. Alec had went out of his way to throw our party himself so we were headed to Maine. Dad, Iantha, Rosy and everyone else were going to this time. Not to mention Aunt Claire and Turron. I was looking forward to seeing everybody together, and the last time I'd seen Point Mouette it had been covered in snow, so I was looking forward to enjoying it in spring. That was if Jeffrey let me leave a sitting position for the whole trip. I guess it was ironic that all that paranoia I'd had about Batty "blowing up" had turned on me.

"Anyway," Jeffrey stared as he hopped to his feet. "I'll go load up the car, you just sit there and look pretty!"

He was out of the room before he could hear my audible groan I guess. Which mean he owned me a chance to punch him. And I'd make sure he cashed in on it as soon as possible.

Once I was finished eating I went through the motions of getting dressed and was just thankful I could still wear normal clothes. Even thinking about those girly maternity stuff made my skin crawl. I sighed. There still was a lot to overcome I knew, but I guessed I just didn't want to think about it all at once. Over the last few weeks it was all I could do just to get my head around the fact that we were going to have a baby at all. I really was happy, but that didn't mean the worry bucket list wasn't getting longer. Something told me I hadn't seen anything yet…

I did have a few ideas about a survival plan though, like having them just send gifts to the apartment and skipping a baby shower altogether. Something told me that if a wedding shower had been torture than the baby version would be just that much worse. But mostly I guess I was trying not to worry so much. I'm not saying I was doing a good job of it, but I was at least trying.

Jeffrey came back in the bedroom just as I picked up my binoculars. A part of me was daring Jeffrey to say they were too heavy to lift in "my condition," but thankfully he looked too busy eyeing the wrapped box sitting inside the closet.

"And what do we have here? A secret gift for yours truly perhaps?"

I smirked knowing he'd hit the nail right on the head. "Yeah, but you still can't open it until tomorrow, so don't even think about taping it back together."

Jeffrey looked playfully deflated. "Fine, but the same goes for you my lady. In fact, I already have your present loaded up and tucked away."

I nodded. "Fair enough. Anyway," I said glancing back at the mostly empty breakfast tray. "Thanks for the waffles. But uh next time I think I'll eat them in the kitchen like usual." I smirked playfully. "There is such a thing as a bedsore you know."

For a second Jeffrey looked worried as if he'd never considered that, but punching him in the shoulder I reset his paranoia at least a little back to normal. Petting Treble goodbye and checking one last time to see that he had enough food and water to last, we headed out the door. I wasn't sure if it was because I really was easier to tire out now, or if it was just Jeffrey's painfully careful driving, but the trip seemed to take forever. When we finally did get to Point Mouette I was pretty much ready to crash. It was great to see Alec, but after a few hours of getting caught up I head to bed and left Jeffrey to noodle away with his dad on about a dozen different instruments.

The next morning it was March 19th, our one year wedding anniversary. I assumed that Jeffrey had went to sleep at some point, but when I woke up he wasn't anywhere to be seen. Instead another "sonata" already seemed to be in progress down stairs. I was hoping he hadn't been there all night, but I figured I'd never know for sure. After getting ready I made my way down the stairs and as I did everything suddenly went silent. I was picturing Jeffrey's heart finally stopping after an all-nighter and him slumped over an instrument. But instead when I got to the bottom of the stairs I saw my whole family gathered around a piano. Dad, Iantha, Rosy, Tommy, Jane, Batty, Ben, Aunt Claire, Turron, everybody. With an excited shout they sung out a chorus of "Happy Anniversary" before the music started. Jeffrey looked wide awake and was pounding happily away on a piano, Batty was joining in on her harmonica, and Alec and turron were both blending in with matching saxophones.

All in all I was still blinking back the sleep from my eyes, but it felt like I'd just stepping into a party. Well, I guess I had... Jane came over and tried to drag me into a waltz with her, which I half protested before giving up and disappearing into the mass of Penderwicks. Things only died down a little when everyone started to feel that none of them had eaten breakfast. So cutting the cake Rosy had made herself, we all settled into the rare glory of eating dessert for breakfast. But of course they made sure me and Jeffrey had the first piece.

Kneeling down next to my chair Alec smiled before handing me a slice of Rosy's famous vanilla cake with cream cheese frosting. "Here," he said with a soft glint in his eyes. "Tell them this one is from Grandpa." I just smiled back at him. Maybe it was right then that everything kinda sunk in. When it really hit me. I'd still have plenty of time to worry about everything later, but right now I just wanted to enjoy the moment. Because right now I guess I didn't mind being special.

At least not for today.

Because today was special as in a year ago everything it my life changed, and a year before that I never would have imagined any of it would have been possible. It just made me wonder what this day would be like next year. There'd be three of us then…

After everything died down it was around noon. That's when I decided to walk down to the beach before Jeffrey had a chance to go paranoid about me actually using my legs. Stuffing my hands in my pockets I just stared out at the surf rolling in in wave after wave. Maybe it was funny how these places that I'd made so many memories at when I was younger, kept finding a way into my life. Here I was making more…

It kinda made me think that most of my life hadn't even happened yet. It was all in front of me even though twenty something years felt like forever. It felt like it, but it wasn't, nope not even close. So I wondered what was coming. And maybe most of all I was wondering what kind of person my son or daughter would turn out to be. Crazy for music like Jeffrey, into stars like me, or maybe something completely new and different?

It felt funny because for someone what would mean so much to me, that already meant so much to me, I didn't know anything about them. Not hair color, eye color, or even gender for that matter. I knew I wouldn't have to wait much longer to find that out though, just another few weeks according to the doctor.

Sitting down in the moist sand I leaned back until I was staring up at the blue cloudless sky above me. I was starting to think nothing was left to surprise me, everything impossible was happening as it were nothing. Maybe it really was nothing? I frowned. No it was the biggest something ever, I guess I just never imagined it would happen to me… I felt the frown slip off my face replaced with a slight smile. It was amazing honestly.

"Good to see you're laying down." Jeffrey said from above me in all sincerity.

Opening my eyes I sat up quickly and frowned at the irony. No doubt about it, I was going to have to talk to him about the whole helpless thing. "I was just thinking…" I mumbled as I brushed the sand out of my hair.

"The suspense of my gift getting to you?" He asked with a smile as he sat two wrapped boxes down.

I smirked. "Yeah, something like that."

He sat down next to me before handing one of the boxes to me. "Well the wait is over! Open yours first, then I'll open mine.

I just nodded before I tore the paper off and opened the box underneath it. For a second I just stared in amazement before I turned to look at him with surprise. "An abacus?"

He nodded proudly. "Indeed it is! The only gift for the math prodigy in your life."

I smiled as I looked back at the neat rows of blue circular beads. I'd read about them but never had a professional model. Excitedly I flicked a few beads as a calculation danced along with it in my head. I guessed this would have been a crazy, or even horrible gift for most anyone else, but I loved it. Jeffrey knew I would.

Pointing to an engraving on the base Jeffrey smiled. "This way you can always calculate our many years together. On the cherrywood frame our wedding date was neatly engraved. It was just a string of a few numbers, but looking at them now I realized just how important they were.

Turning to face Jeffrey I smiled a little awkwardly. "Thanks, I love it… I mean really."

He grinned. "I knew you would. Now," He said as he playfully rubbed his hands together. "What's in mine…?"

"Open it." I said even though he already was ripping at the wrapping. I felt a little nervous waiting for him to see it. It wasn't like I thought he wouldn't like it, I knew he would but…

"Unbelievable!" He shouted in happy shock. "I must be dreaming, I thought my days with the beloved french horn were forever gone!"

I rolled my eyes playfully. "Hey, this way you'll never have to rent one ever again."

"But I thought you hated the french horn Skye?"

I shrugged as I looked down at the sand and started to trace a line in it nervously. "Well yeah, I do, but uh I know you're crazy over it so…"

"Oh you do care!" Jeffrey said playfully as he reached to hug me from the side. I just rolled my eyes again before I laughed. "So you were worried?"

Pulling back he grinned softly. "Not in the least, my lady. Now," He said as he positioned the horn just inches from his mouth. "This is something I like to call 'Ode to the Summer Sky' your mom has heard it before, but this will be a first for you little Penderwick/Tifton. So listen up."

Then just like that he started playing out that same old melody he'd played the day he confessed his feelings to me. It felt so long ago...like a million years maybe. But really I knew it hadn't been that long. And yeah even though I did hate the french horn, I guess he figured I had a soft spot for this song. And I knew he was right…

Just like the first time I heard it I felt like I was reliving all our old memories, like I could see it right in front of me. But this time it didn't stop there. Nope, I started to picture all the memories that we still needed to make. That we would make.

The three of us…

Thank you all again for your wonderful support! (Hang in there Lady Kick Your Butt, I know slumps can be tough, but you'll pull through!) Anyway, as always stay tuned for more coming soon!