Changes 12

Katrina sat on the living room floor behind the couch. Her Barbie dolls and all of their accessories were scattered across the carpet.

"Your dress is so pretty, Barbie!" Katrina said, holding up two dolls and pretending one was talking to the other.

"Thank you! Yours is pretty too! Now we better hurry or we'll be late for the ball! Ken will be there and I can't wait to show him my dress and to dance with him!"

"Okay, let's go!"

Katrina made the two dolls walk off together somewhere around the couch to where the "ball" would be.

Just then, the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs distracted Katrina from her game. She saw her father rush down the steps. He had his sneakers on. It looked like he was going somewhere.

"Where ya goin', Daddy?"

"Out for a run," Rafe answered.

Katrina lit up. "Can I go too?"

Rafe laughed softly. "Some other time, Princess." He bent down, kissing his daughter on the cheek as he headed out the front door.

Katrina threw her dolls on the floor, suddenly bored with the game. She hopped up and ran to the kitchen.

"Mommy!"

Alison stood at the sink washing some fruit. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Can I ride my bike?"

"That's fine. Stay in the driveway."

"Can't I ride on the sidewalk too?"

"Just in front of the house."

"But Daddy's running! I wanna catch him!"

"Katrina, stay in front of the house so that I can see you. And don't you dare go into the road. Do you understand?"

"Alright," Katrina said, a little disappointed, but she knew that was the end of it.

Heading to the garage, Katrina flipped the switch and opened the garage door. She loved making the door go up and down, but she wasn't allowed to play with it. One time, she kept making it go up and down over and over, and that made Daddy mad.

Going down the steps, Katrina hopped on her bike and began to pedal out of the garage. As she rode up and down the sidewalk in front of the house, she soon saw a familiar car pull into the driveway. It was Lucy!

"Lucy!" Katrina hopped off the bike and ran to the driver's side door, waiting for Lucy to open it.

"Hey there, Peanut!" Lucy said, giving Katrina a big hug. "What are you doing up so early in the morning?"

"Riding my bike!"

"Your mom and dad here?"

"Daddy said he's goin' on a run. Mommy's in the kitchen."

Lucy walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk. Katrina followed her.

"Whatcha got in there, Lucy?"

"A surprise." Lucy gave Katrina a grin. "Want to see?"

"Yeah!"

Lucy carefully took out something covered in a blanket. She took the blanket off, revealing a framed painting.

"Ooo!" Katrina said.

"What do you think?" Lucy asked.

"It's pretty! What's it for?"

"For decoration, of course!" Lucy laughed. "Come on, let's go inside and show it to your mother."

As the two walked up to the house, Alison appeared in the doorway. "I thought I heard a car. Hi, Lucy!"

"Hi!"

"Mommy! Look what Lucy's got!"

"What is that you've got, Lucy?"

"How about we go inside and I show you?"

Alison held the door open as Katrina ran inside and Lucy followed, carrying the painting. They headed into the living room.

"So, what is this that you've got here?"

"A little something for you wall," Lucy said with a grin, showing her the painting.

When Alison first laid her eyes on it, she knew right away that Rafe had something to do with it. There it was, their bridge, all lit up and beautiful, set against the trees and sky at night. Memories of their first time together on that bridge, when Rafe made all of those pretty dancing lights, filled Alison's head.

"Oh, Lucy! This is beautiful!"

"Doc painted it."

"Kevin did this?" Alison took the painting from Lucy and held it in front of her, getting a closer look. "Oh tell him thank you! It's absolutely gorgeous!"

"I keep telling him he ought to sale his paintings and make a little money but he never goes for it."

"Rafe had something to do with this, didn't he?"

Lucy grinned. "Well, a little. You see, it all started when I looked over at that fireplace and said you simply had to have some kind of art up there on that wall above it! And Rafe didn't know what kind of art I had in mind. So when I suggested maybe Kevin could paint something, he asked if he could paint that bridge in the park and I told him I was sure he could."

"He got the lighting right and everything. It just looks so magical."

"Rafe said the same thing when he saw it," Lucy said with a grin. "It sure must be a special place for you."

"Oh it is special to us. It's where Rafe proposed, you know."

Lucy smiled. "I know."

"What's 'proposed'?" Katrina asked, looking up from Barbie dolls, which she had decided to play with again.

Alison smiled. "It's when a man asks a woman to marry him."

"Oh." Katrina turned her attention back to her dolls.

"Oh, Lucy. Thank you for this!And thank Kevin for me! As soon as Rafe gets back, I'll see if he'll hang it up."

"It'll look beautiful!"

"Speaking of beautiful…Lucy, the children's rooms! You did an incredible job! Katrina loves it! And the nursery! They're perfect!"

Lucy smiled. "I'm glad you love it. The rest of the house is looking great too. Seems like you've got a lot done."

"We got a lot of unpacking done yesterday."

Just then, the front door opened, and Rafe walked in.

Alison went straight into his arms, greeting him with a kiss. "I wasn't expecting to see you back so soon."

"I saw Lucy's car in the driveway, so I didn't stay out much longer. Did you get my surprise?"

"Yes! And I love it! Will you hang it up?"

"Sure. After breakfast that is. I'm starved."

"Of course. Lucy, you'll stay for breakfast, right?"

"Well, I already had some coffee on my way over."

"Blueberry pancakes," Alison said, hoping she'd give in.

She did. "Oh all right! I'll stay! I do love blueberries."

Alison laughed. "I'll set an extra plate."

The three headed into the kitchen.

"Katrina, come on!" Alison called out to her.

"Just a minute, Mommy!"

Katrina reached for her Barbie doll case and dug out Ken. She stood the Ken doll next to Barbie on top of the coffee table. In her mind, they were on a bridge, just like the one in the painting.

"Barbie, will you marry me?" Katrina said, pretending to speak for Ken.

"Yes! I'll marry you, Ken! And I've already got a wedding dress!"

Katrina pushed the dolls together, making them "kiss" as she made kissing noises.

Alison poked her head out into the living room to see what was keeping her daughter. She couldn't help but laugh. "You nut! What are you playing?"

"Ken just proposed to Barbie. Looks like there's gonna be a wedding!"

Alison laughed. "Come on, silly girl. It's time for breakfast."

Katrina threw the dolls back on the floor and ran to her mother, following her into the kitchen.

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That afternoon, Rafe went to the store. Alison had a craving for vanilla ice cream, and Katrina was begging for chocolate.

It was pouring rain outside.

But Rafe couldn't think of anything that would stop him from getting ice cream for his girls.

Katrina looked out her window, watching the car pull out of the driveway. She jumped back when she saw a streak of lightning in the distance. Lightning wasn't as scary in the afternoon as it was at night, but it was still scary.

Katrina left her room and walked down the hallway. As she peered into her parent's bedroom, she noticed her mother lying on the bed.

"Mommy, why are you laying down?"

Alison looked over to Katrina and smiled. "I'm just sleepy."

"Are you taking a nap?" Katrina asked, climbing up on the bed.

"Sort of. I'm just resting. I might fall asleep."

Outside, a big boom of thunder was heard. The storm was moving in.

"The angels must be bowling again," Katrina said, looking up towards the ceiling.

Alison laughed. "You want to lay with me for a while, keep me company?"

"Yeah. I'm scared of the thunder." Katrina curled up beside her mother and rested her head on her father's pillow.

"Mommy, can I touch your belly?"

"Sure."

Katrina placed her hands on her mother's rounded belly. She was amazed at how big her mother's stomach was growing. And Mommy said she was going to get even bigger than this real soon.

"Mommy, when will Gabe come out?"

"Not for a few more months. It'll probably be around the time you start school."

"I want him to come out now."

"Oh, no we don't want Gabe to come out now."

"Why not? I want to see him."

"I do too, sweetie, but it's too soon. Right now he's too little. If he was born now, he'd be really sick and have to spend some time in the hospital. He needs a little while longer to grow so when it is time for him to see us, he'll be strong and healthy."

"Oh. I don't want Gabe to be sick. But I still wish he was here. I want to touch him."

Alison smiled. "He'll be here soon enough."

Suddenly, Katrina felt something very strange. It was as if she felt the baby move right under her hand. "Whoa! What was that?"

Alison laughed. "Did you feel him kick, sweetie?"

"That was him kicking?" Katrina looked up at her mother with amazement.

"Yes! And I imagine he'll be moving and kicking a lot more now that he's a little bigger."

"But he's not big enough to be born yet."

"That's right."

Katrina impulsively went to kiss her mother's stomach. "I love you, Gabe!"

"I think he's trying to say he loves you too," Alison said with a laugh as she felt the baby kick again.

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Rafe smiled at the sight of them. There they were, his two favorite girls, fast asleep in the middle of the afternoon.

The rain had stopped, but it was still cloudy. He didn't blame them for being lazy and wanting to nap on a day like this.

Rafe quietly crept towards the bed to get a closer look. He tried not to wake either of them up, but Alison opened her eyes anyway. She had sensed he was there.

"Hey there," she whispered.

"Hey." Rafe smiled and sat down on the bed. He leaned over Katrina and kissed Alison. "That ice cream is in the freezer whenever you want it."

"Thank you. I'll have some later."

"Do you need anything right now?"

"Why don't you lay down with us for a while?"

"I'm not really tired."

"Oh come on. Just for a little while. I always sleep better anyway when you're in the same bed."

Rafe gave in. It wasn't as if he had anything to do on a Sunday afternoon anyway. He wrapped his arm around the two of them.

Alison smiled, closing her eyes. She loved convincing Rafe to take afternoon naps with her. Of course, not like it was hard to do or anything. He could never say no to her.

Katrina's eyes moved rapidly, as she was still in dreamland.

And soon afterwards, they were all asleep.