I hope everyone is doing well today. At this moment I have just returned home from a great long weekend. Yea, Canada Day! I did what seems to be a preferred style. I will try to keep it up but I don't have a lot of time to do so. I am on chapter fifty something and that's a lot to change. Here is chapter eleven…
Peyton and Nathan sit on the floor of her bedroom. Candles surround them. Peyton holds her iPod in her hand and watches the stopwatch feature.
"Hurry!" Peyton encourages.
Nathan struggles a moment before holding Peyton's freshly diapered Cabbage Patch Kid up by one leg.
"Done!!" Nathan.
Peyton stops the clock and looks at Nate and then at a piece of paper in a folder.
"Well, how'd I do?" Nathan pants, slightly out of breath.
"According to "Haley's Diaper Change Check List", pretty good. You didn't put it on backwards this time, so points for that. But, you lost a mark for the lack of diaper cream." Replies Peyton.
"Not bad." Says Nathan with a nod.
"Now, this isn't on her check list, but I have a feeling that if you hold her baby upside down, by one leg, your kid's gonna be fatherless." Says Peyton dryly.
Nathan grimaces. "Good point. Let's just hope he has better hair then your doll.
Nathan tosses the doll into Peyton's closet.
"Watch it! Colleen Abigail is delicate, she survived my "let's experiment with scissors" phase, so she's a keeper." Peyton.
Peyton gets up, grabs one of her sketchbooks, a pen, and starts to draw. Nathan leans back against her bed and twirls his wedding band around his finger. Peyton looks at him from the chair by her computer.
"You're gonna do fine, Nate."
Nathan taking a big breath "...Yeah..."
"What?" Peyton doesn't look up but continues sketching.
Nathan looks at Colleen Abigail. "It's just... the difference of the things Haley and I worry about. She stresses about diapers, clothes, and how mid-evil a breast pump looks. Her words. All maintenance, stuff. I figure we'll learn that as we go..."
"What do you worry about?" Peyton asks.
"Screwing him up." Nathan looks surprised by his answer.
Peyton looks over at him.
"I just don't know how to be a good Dad."
You didn't know how to be a good husband, and you figured that out. You'll figure this out to, Nate." Peyton says with sincerity.
"Hopefully, before he turns into a psycho, that stalks girls on the Internet." Nathan.
Peyton narrows her eyes and throws a pencil at him.
Nathan laughs. "Too soon?"
"Pretty much."
Peyton picks up another pencil and sees Nathan check his cell phone again.
"Is the reception still out?" Peyton.
"Yeah. I just can't shake this feeling like... Haley needs me. (Shakes his head) Ah, Luke is with her. He won't let anything happen to her."
Peyton, not looking up from her sketch asks "Hey, Nate...?"
"Yeah...?" Nathan looks over at her.
"Do you ever wonder about those two?" Peyton.
"Haley and Lucas...? Do, you...?" Nathan hedges.
"I asked you first!" Peyton.
"I asked you second!"
Both pause to contemplate a question, as if it's the first time it's popped into their minds.
"Nah." Nathan.
"Yeah, me neither." Peyton replies quickly.
To get away from the slightly awkward subject, Peyton puts her stuff down and picks up the folder.
Peyton sit up and points a finger in his face. "Pop Quiz!!! Name three important things about preparing a bottle."
Nathan jumps up. "One, shake it. Two, check it. Three never put it in the microwave!
"Perfect! …Why, no microwave?" Peyton questions.
"I have no idea."
A rapid pounding at her front door startles them both.
"Who the Hell would be out in this weather?!" Nathan.
"I know this guy, that listened to his crazy wife and went out in this storm." Teases Peyton.
Nathan gives her a look before they both take off downstairs to the door. Nathan signals Peyton to stand back before pulling the door open. Mouth stumbles into the house and slumps onto Peyton's stairwell.
"Mouth?!" Peyton.
"I think I saw my Granny, she told me not to walk into the light...(shakes his head, as if to clear it) Wow... I'm gonna have to call her more often." Mouth.
Nathan and Peyton look at him.
"What? She lives in Maine. I'm talking serious long distance charges." Mouth.
"What's wrong?" Nathan.
"Haley's in labour." Mouth.
Peyton looks at Nathan impressed. "Dude, you totally have E.S.P!"
Nathan ignores her. " Is she okay? Luke's still with her, right?"
"Brooke's there to." Mouth.
Peyton says more to herself. "Well, at least we don't have to worry about them hooking up right now."
Nathan shakes his head at her as he grabs his coat and pulls it on.
"Nate, it's still crazy out there." Peyton.
Nathan opens the door and looks back at them.
"My wife needs me, she's having our baby and I'm not going to miss it." Nathan says firmly.
Peyton looks at him, and then grab her coat.
"I'm coming too!" Peyton.
"Peyton..." Nathan.
"Hey, this is all anyone is going to be talking about for months. Where were you when the Naley baby was born? I want to say that I was there, handing you the scissors." Peyton.
"Scissors?" Nathan.
Peyton looks at him. "You should have read page twenty-six of the folder."
Nathan asks Mouth. "You coming?"
"This leg of the Pony Express is done. I'm okay with, catching up with you guys at the hospital later." Mouth.
Nathan and Peyton head out into the storm. As Nathan closes the door, Mouth hears...
"#$. Haley has the worst timing in the world." Nathan.
Ta-Dah!!! I know a lot of people were wondering when Nathan was going to get there, well now he is on his way!
P.S.- I'd also like to say that my Cabbage Patch Kids' name was Colleen Abigail. May her memory live on.