A/N
Thank you, Hannah (grahamlecter) for Beta-reading my story, finding my mistakes, and tagging them for me to fix. I am truly grateful.
In my rush to get the last chapter posted before I went to bed last night, I neglected to thank my Beta Reader, Hannah. So, I edited and reposted it. Without her dedication to this story, there would be several mistakes. She deserves my gratitude. And I feel these characters deserve the best writing possible.
I'm juggling these stories the best I can, y'all, and I'm tired. Trying my best to get the several chapters from Hannah fixed so that I can post them. I just sent the last handful to her for checking. AND I'm finalizing the edits for the chapters in Side Stories. I decided to put off working on the new one for another week or so.
For those celebrating the 245th year of this nation's independence, Happy 4th of July. After I post this chapter, I'm taking the rest of the day off to celebrate. My daughter and I are going to watch our usual 4th of July movies (The Patriot, Independence Day) as well as the musical 1776. And for the 2nd year, Hamilton.
Please enjoy the chapter.
G-Girl
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Chapter 50 - Purple and Gold Vikings Couch
Susan got up after a while and went to the table by the front door to get her cellphone. She curled up on the sofa and called Lizette, who answered with, "What took you so long?"
"Hey now, do you remember how long it took you to answer my calls after you and Andy got married?"
"Okay… you got me. I wanted to tell you we've been pre-approved by the bank. And Scott Willig called me an hour ago to tell me they're almost finished loading the moving van and should be done this evening. Oh, he asked if you have a spare spindle for the staircase. He accidentally broke one moving a dresser down the stairs. I'm surprised he hasn't called you already. How's the hubby?"
"He's good… asleep at the moment, so I'm gonna fix lunch. Later I'll go out to the garage and dig through the spindles. Stan's supposed to call me back on the paperwork. He said he'd call back by today. Oh, wait, I have a missed call. That was probably him. Gotta go. Later, Gator. Love you."
"Toodle Poodle, love you too."
Getting up, she put her cell phone on the coffee table and took a drink of her water before going back to the bedroom. She laid back down behind Spencer this time, with her hand on his side, and closed her eyes.
She woke up a half-hour later, still snuggled against him with her arm over him, her fingertips absently drawing little doodles on his skin under his shirt. Susan heard him chuckle, felt his hand close over hers.
"That tickles." He reached behind and gave her thigh a light squeeze, then lifted his arm as he turned over, slipping his hand under the pillow with his head on top. "I love waking up next to you." His other hand slid lazily down her back.
"Mm-hmm, and I… with you." After a few more kisses, they sat up, moving over to the edge of the bed.
"Now, I'm hungry. How about lunch?"
"I'll make lunch for us while you rest." He held her hand as he got up and led her to the sofa in the living room.
"But… I've been resting." Susan stuck her bottom lip out. "Fine. There are a few meals prepped in the fridge." As she sat down on the sofa, he draped a blanket over her legs, kissed the top of her head, and went back to the kitchen. Her cell phone rang, and she reached over to pick it up.
It was a number she recognized, so she answered it. "Hey Stan, sorry I didn't call you back earlier. What's up?… Great, that would make things easier. Lizette said she and Andy were pre-approved by the bank… He did? That's awesome… So, can they buy it for less than market value?... Sure, I'll sign it, gladly… I'm happy to hear that… Oh, yeah. As soon as I get them, you'll get one. Thanks for your help… okay, see you then… Bye."
Spencer walked out of the kitchen a little while later, carrying two plates to the dining room table. "Honey, lunch is ready." Susan sat down at the table as he brought over silverware next with cloth napkins, a glass of ginger ale, setting everything on the table.
Susan took a sip and set the glass on a coaster. "Thank you, Sweetheart. It looks delicious. Stan said the house can be sold directly from the trust and below market value, but I'll need to sign a form to approve it. I talked to Lizette earlier; she and Andy were pre-approved by the bank." She yawned, holding the back of her hand over her mouth for a moment. "Oh, mmm, 'scuse me. He filed the scanned marriage certificate, and as soon as we receive the certified copies, I'll give him one. You can take one to work, and we'll have four more copies for all the other… stuff. Also, he told me Andy's been promoted to Senior Account Manager, which comes with a nice raise. I'm thrilled they'll be living so close."
"Hold on. Andy… is an accountant? He looks like he should be in construction, moving heavy equipment with his bare hands. He reminds me of Thor… with the… short hair."
"It's his Viking ancestry; his words. He was a CPA, then a year ago, he was promoted to an Account Manager, and now he's up another rung on the ladder. He knows how to swing a hammer, though. His family owns a construction company in Minnesota and most of his siblings still work for their dad."
"Most of them? How many does he have?"
"Five. Two of his brothers are site managers, and his two sisters run the office. His brother Kris started his own business in Delaware."
"He told me he and Lizette met at his office. I just assumed he meant your construction company. How did they meet?"
Susan finished chewing the bite of chicken and swallowed it. "Mmm. She goes with me, from time to time, to Stan's office, if I need to sign papers or pick up the trust fund reports. Nearly four years ago, she was with me as Andy walked through the lobby, where we were waiting. They took one look at each other and boom. She asked me about him, and since I didn't know, I left a message for Stan to call me. After she and I left, Andy asked Stan about Lizette. That was before Stan gave me the info on Andy. He went to GW, interned for the firm before he graduated, and hired after. I gave Stan permission to give Andy my number, so when he called, I bombarded him with questions. After he answered all of them, I told him he had my approval to ask her out and that she taught ballet at the Rec center. He took it from there. And they've been together ever since, married three years, next month May. This is yummy. Thank you, Love."
"He had your approval? Hmm." He chuckled. "You made most of this. I added the mashed potatoes and gravy. And I used the packets of instant in the pantry, I hope you don't mind."
"I don't mind at all, Love. I bought those when I had my wisdom teeth removed last year. It was jello, mashed potatoes, and applesauce for a week afterward."
"How do you feel?"
"I'm good, rested, definitely up for going out tonight."
"We could watch a movie while we relax."
"Sure. Later, I need to go out to the garage. Lizette's coming by to pick up a spindle for the staircase in my parents' old house. Grandpa made extras and stored them above the workbench. He kept a big ring binder of info on each of the houses with spindle info, paint colors, wood stain chips, owner manuals, warranty info, stuff like that. Any time Grandpa sold a house, he would take the pages for that house out, put it in its own binder, and give it to the new owner. He was very detailed and organized. And I've since added pages for the buildings in the Spencer family trust… including the beach house."
After they finished eating, Spencer took the dishes to the kitchen, loading them in the dishwasher as Susan took her ginger ale and set it on the coffee table, then went over to the television stand. She picked up the remote and the movie list from the shelf under the TV and sat on the sofa, looking through it. Spencer sat on the chaise next to her. "What do you want to watch?"
"I was looking, trying to think of a good one. Why don't you pick one?" Susan handed him the list.
He flipped through the pages. "Nine Months? I'm going to assume it's a movie about having a baby?"
"Mm-hmm. It's a good movie… funny. There's a hilarious scene with a Barney-type character named Arney."
"Sure, I'll watch it with you." His eyebrows twisted. "Barney, that's the… purple dinosaur?" He noticed the look of surprise on Susan's face. "I watched it when Henry was little... twice... when I'd babysit for JJ…"
Susan nodded and took a sip of her ginger ale. "Mmm. Okay. Robin Williams, Hugh Grant, Tom Arnold, and Jeff Goldblum are in it."
"Sure. Betty, could you please put on Nine Months?" As the movie started, Susan sat between his legs, with her back against him. Spencer pulled the blanket over them and they snuggled together. His feet, in his usual mismatched socks, stuck out from under the end of the blanket.
"I could bring some yarn and a crochet hook from downstairs and add a few inches to the end of the blanket."
"Another time. Today… rest." They watched the movie, with his hands lightly resting on her hips and his fingers spread out over her midsection. Susan laughed so hard at the scene with Arnie the Dinosaur that she snorted, which made him laugh.
The scene near the end, in which the characters made a mad dash to the hospital, and the birth scenes had them both laughing.
"Please tell me we won't have shenanigans like that when it's time for you to give birth to our baby?"
"No shenanigans. We'll plan for drama-free."
When the movie ended, Spencer said he liked it. "A little over the top on some of the humor, but still good. I wonder why some men are so resistant to marriage? I knew I wanted to marry you after our first day together. The exact moment… was when you walked into the bedroom of your apartment, talking about quantum mechanics... naked." He kissed the back of her head.
Susan turned her head, looking up at him as her brows drew together. "Spencer? If there's ever a time you would rather be with someone else, please tell me? Promise me that; no lying or sneaking around behind my back?"
"I can't imagine ever wanting to be with anyone else. I promise."
"There may come a day when you're tempted. Some woman will see how happy you are and want that and you for herself. I've seen it happen with so many of my friends. Not Lizette and Andy, thank goodness. They're completely devoted to each other… and Tiana."
"Well, I'm completely devoted to you… and our baby." He shrugged. "Sorry... you're stuck with me."
She eyed him, trying not to smile. "It's nice… being stuck with you. And promise me you won't ever get an earring. The same goes for lip rings, or an eyebrow piercing, tongue piercing, or any other… piercings."
He ran his index finger lightly over her ear, "I noticed your ears aren't pierced."
Susan shuddered. "Mmm. I've never felt the need to pierce my ears… or anything else. Even with the jewelry, I inherited from my mom, both of my grandmothers, and a few from my great-grandmothers… like the hair comb I wore for our wedding."
"Oh. I… didn't notice that… until you took it off." He was silent for a few minutes, with his arms around her, then he asked quietly, "When do you think it happened?"
"When what happened?" Susan turned her head to look up at him. "What's on your mind, Love?"
"I was wondering… when our baby was conceived. I could probably figure it out, plus or minus a day."
"Well, I'm not exactly sure, somewhere between Las Vegas and Disneyland I think, but the morning after your father's wedding, a line from a song popped into my head, as I bagged up our laundry, and it struck me as funny. Well, maybe not ha-ha funny, but… interesting."
"Mmm. What was the song?"
"See, now that part is funny. It's Defying Gravity from a Broadway musical that Lizette and I saw in New York City." She turned and kissed him, trembling.
Spencer held her close and smiled. "And the line?"
She sang it softly, "Something has changed within me…" as she slid her fingers along his jaw and kissed his chin. "I thought it was interesting."
"Wouldn't that be something?"
She smiled sweetly. "That's exactly what I said after I sang it."
"So, it's possible, when we talked about making a baby, ours had already been... made… since there were… more than a few times we… kind of forgot to use condoms."
"Mm-hmm." She shuddered again as Spencer kissed her and sighed happily.
"How long before the wedding did you know? I mean, did you have any idea before… you did the home pregnancy test?"
"The day before. I had my suspicions when I realized I had missed my period. That's why I didn't drink but I wanted to make sure before telling you. I kept saying there was something I was forgetting."
"True. But every time I glanced at the calendar, all I saw was the heart and bells you drew on the 18th."
"Mm-hmm. Though two days before, after you left for work, I thought I was coming down with the flu. I felt exhausted and my stomach was bothering me."
"Sweetheart, you could have told me."
"I didn't want to worry you... figured it was from all the excitement. So, where are we going to dinner?"
"Mele's in Arlington, at 7…"
"I've never been to Mele's, but I've danced the Hula… to a Mele." Susan yawned and turned, draping her legs over Spencer's right thigh, snuggling against his chest, with her arms around his waist.
"We have time if you want to sleep for a while."
"Mm-hmm."
"What are some other good baby movies?"
"Parenthood, Look Who's Talking, off the top of my head." She yawned again, mumbling a few more movie names.
Spencer said, "Betty, can you please play Parenthood?"
"Steve Martin's in it. He's funny." She smiled sleepily.
"The actor you said used to work at the Disneyland Magic Shop?"
"Mm-hmm." Susan fell asleep while Spencer watched the movie and woke up as it ended, opening her eyes and stretching. "That was a nice nap, but I need to get up." She walked around to the back of the sofa, ran her fingers through his hair as he leaned his head back, and kissed him softly. "I'll be right back," and went into the bathroom across the foyer from the front door.
When she came back out, her phone started ringing, playing Lizette's ringtone. Spencer picked it up off the coffee table and handed it to her as she walked back to the sofa. She answered it.
"Hey, Gator… Yes, much better. A couple of naps, and I'm right as rain… Okay, see you in a few." She sat on the sofa, sliding on her shoes. "They're almost here. Betty? Open the driveway gate?"
The doorbell rang minutes later, and Susan opened the door to find Andy on the porch. "Hey, congrats on the promotion!"
"Thanks! Lizzy's especially happy about it."
After meeting up with Lizette and the baby in the driveway, they went into the garage. Susan pulled a binder from a shelf above the workbench. "The houses are in order of the street name and address number." She flipped through the pages. "Here. Baluster spindles. I need a spindle with 14 written on the end."
Susan handed Spencer the notebook to glance through it.
"Your grandfather was extremely detailed and organized." He saw a picture of the back of a house with sand dunes along a fence. "That's the beach house? It appears to be larger than this house."
The collection of information in the notebook included maintenance schedules, lighting, and plumbing fixtures, installation dates for those and the appliances, shelving sizes, and a wide variety of other information, even down to the sizes of washers, nails, screws, and bolts.
"A bit bigger, but the library is tiny. It's more of a study, about the size of my closet." Susan looked up at the cubbies above the workbench.
Spencer set the notebook back on the shelf and walked to the far end of the cubbies. "13, and here" as he pulled one out, " is a 14."
He handed it to Andy, who put on a pair of glasses to look at it closely. "Your grandfather made all these?"
Susan said, "Yep. It just needs polishing. And if you ever need a spindle and I don't have one, we can always get one copied from Rob, using one of the others. Gator, remember how Grandpa was, with his lathe? His joke about being a leg man. Now, it makes sense, looking back at all the tables he made…" She trailed off.
Lizette stood behind her, smiling. "Yeah, I remember. I get it, Pood. I miss Grandpa too."
Susan nodded and hugged her. "… and if you need help to install it, I can help."
"No worries." Chuckling, Andy shook his head. "I can set a spindle. Growing up with six kids in our house, we replaced a lot of these. Kris put my head through more than a few railings."
"I can picture that... easily," Susan snickered. "Hey, I talked to Stan, and he said you'll be able to buy the house as a fixer-upper, below market and the amount the bank has pre-approved you for."
Andy's grin vanished. "How much work does the house need?"
Susan pointed to the spindle in his hand. "That, plus, you're getting the friends and family discount, like Grandpa used to do. I have to go to the office on Monday and sign a document, that says I came up with the selling price, and that I approve of the sale."
Lizette laid her hand on his arm. "Don't argue, Babe; she'll win any argument. Let her have her way… and no one gets hurt."
Spencer nodded, pursing his lips, trying not to laugh.
"Oh, ha-ha. Anyway, I still have another couple of weeks to finish cleaning out the apartment, if you want any of the furniture. If you take the beds, I suggest replacing the mattresses; those are ten years old. You'll have three more bedrooms, the dining area off the kitchen, and the entire basement, to furnish." She turned to Andy. "You know, you could make a nice man-cave in the basement. I'm sure Lizette wouldn't mind if you put your Vikings couch in it."
Grinning, Andy gave her a nod. "Yes, Ma'am."
She laughed. "I don't need any of it. If you two don't take it, I'll offer it up in class. I have to ask. Where did you find your purple and gold couch?"
"Babe, take her for a sec?" Lizette handed Tiana to Andy. "Kris brought it from Minnesota. We'll take it all, and if there's anything we don't need, we'll figure it out later. And yes, it would be great to have a sofa with only one color in the living room. Oh, Poodle. Kris sent him a Vikings lamp. We got it in the mail yesterday. The damn thing has horns. I'm okay with the wrought-iron chandelier in the dining room because he made it, but that lamp has to go in his man cave."
Andy looked over at Spencer and shrugged. "You got any weird furniture that's gonna end up in your man cave?"
"Nope. But then, I don't have a man cave. And all my furniture is still in my apartment."
"Let me know if you need any help to move any of it." Andy held his fist out and Spencer bumped it with his.
"Thanks."
"Ahem." Lizette cleared her throat. "So, anyway, once Scott and Hannah move out, the bank wants an inspection and appraisal done. Then the loan will fund after the paperwork is signed."
"I already talked to Frankie. She and her crew will clean it before the appraisal, then Carlo will check it, roof to basement, to see if anything else needs to be done. Everything will be completed before the inspection, so he can take care of the spindle then."
Andy nodded. "Whew. Sound good. Let's leave it here until then. So it doesn't get misplaced." He set the spindle on an empty spot on the workbench and they went back out to the driveway. After they left and the gate closed, Susan and Spencer went back into the house.
Upstairs, Susan changed into a black knit dress with lavender trim on the neckline, hem, and sleeves. Spencer walked into her closet, looking damned near edible in a dark purple shirt, grey slacks, and a black cardigan. He knotted his two-toned purple tie and then zipped up her dress with a kiss on the back of her neck. "You're sure you feel up to going out tonight?"
Susan turned, sliding her hands on the front of his sweater, and kissed him. "I am. I feel good. Well, a little tired, but good. The naps helped. That's adorable—a little heart… with eyes." She chuckled and went back to her closet, sliding a black shawl over her shoulders as she slipped on her wedges. From the jewelry box on the dresser, she put on a necklace with an amethyst pendant. "This was my mother's."
Spencer put his arms around her and nuzzled her neck. "Mmm, my wife. You look beautiful."
"Thank you, Love. And you," she turned in his arms, giving his tie a gentle tug, "my husband… are handsome and… incredibly sexy."
He smiled and checked his watch as they walked down the stairs. "Thank you. We should get going. The reservation is for 7. Ready?"
"You know where this place is, so can you drive?"
He nodded, taking the keys out of the bowl, "Sure." and after he closed the front door, asked Betty to engage the locks. "Earlier, you said you danced the Hula at Mele's?"
"No, I danced the Hula to a Mele. That's a song you dance a Hawaiian Hula to. There's a saying in Hawaii, ʻAʻohe i pau ka ʻike i ka hālau hoʻokahi. It means all knowledge is not contained in one school."
He grinned. On the way, they talked, and he had a thought. It's nice being able to share everything with her. Even epistemology.
Reaching over to pick up her hand, he chuckled. "I can't imagine discussing the nature of knowledge with anyone else. And now, I wouldn't want to." At the red light, he leaned over and kissed her…
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Coming up, Chapter 51 - Ginger Tea & Pretzels. After which, go to Side Stories and read Cheeseburgers & Onions, Wicked, and The Cardigan.