Chapter 8
"Madeline? Amelia? Calista?"
"Zoey?" Anna countered. Mary put down the book she'd been reading and stared at her wife.
"Honestly, Anna, you're now 30 weeks pregnant. We need to decide on a name."
"And I have, Zoey."
Mary let out a loud sigh, shifting in her chair. "Everyone says I'm the stubborn one, but it's you. Why must you insist on that name?"
Anna rested her head back against the sofa and placed her hand on her belly.
"Because I feel she's a Zoey."
"Right," Mary said with a roll of her eyes. "You haven't even tried listening to my ideas, darling."
"What name do you like best?" Anna asked. She shifted forward toward Mary and brought her hands into her own. "You have listed off several girl names, but I don't believe you've said any of them twice."
"I don't know. I don't have a favorite, not yet."
Anna's hands slid up Mary's arms and then rested them on her cheeks.
"Maybe you need to see her first."
Mary smiled. "Maybe I do."
"It's settled then. We'll choose her name when she's born and we can see her face."
"I love that idea," Mary agreed. Anna's hands came behind Mary's neck and she drew her close for a kiss. Mary deepened the kiss, grasping at Anna's hips. "I really can't get enough of you like this Anna. I think we'll get you pregnant every other year."
Anna's lips curled up. "Oh really?"
"I just –" Mary nipped at Anna's shoulder. "Let's go upstairs."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Anna checked the time on her watch again and flicked her eyes up over the magazine she was pretending to read. Mr. Carson was supposed to be taking a half-day, but he was still in the front room working. Anna tapped her foot. She was expecting an empty house for the afternoon. It was why she took her own half-day from work.
Once more, she looked at the time. Her toes tapped against the wooden floor before she stood up and walked over to the door leading into the room where Mr. Carson was.
"Don't you have to meet Mrs. Hughes for lunch?" Anna asked.
Mr. Carson closed the book he'd been taking notes in and looked at Anna.
"Yes, you're right. I do. I nearly forgot today was my half-day." He opened up a drawer and placed the notebook inside before closing it. Then he stood. "Will you be all right here alone this afternoon?"
"I will be just fine," Anna assured him. She tapped her fingers against her hip. "You should get going though. You don't want to keep Mrs. Hughes waiting."
"You're right. Have a good rest of your day."
"You too."
Anna watched Mr. Carson grab his coat and then leave the house. She walked over to the window and opened the blinds. His car pulled out of the driveway, and Anna let out a breath of relief. Just seconds later, another car pulled up. Anna smiled.
She dashed to the front door, opened it, and stepped outside, waving.
A woman stepped out of the car. "Anna!"
"Gwen!"
Anna stepped down the two small steps onto the driveway and walked over to her long-time friend. They hugged and laughed, thrilled to be seeing one another again after such a long time. Gwen pulled back first to place her hands on Anna's large belly.
"Look at you! You're glowing!"
"Thank you," Anna said. "I feel huge."
"No, you're beautiful, Anna. This is honestly going to be amazing. You're going to be gorgeous!"
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Mary stared at the pictures Matthew sent her of flooring choices for the cottage. Part of her wondered if she shouldn't ask Carson and Mrs. Hughes, but that would ruin the surprise.
A clearing of a throat made Mary turn her head toward the door. There stood Carson. She quickly closed her laptop and stood.
"Carson, what are you doing here? You're supposed to have the afternoon off."
"I do, m'lady. However, I…" He paused and took a step inside, closing the door behind him. "I don't like to pry, but when I was leaving your residence today, I saw another car pull up to your house."
"And?"
"A woman stepped out of the car."
Mary pursed her lips together. "What are you trying to imply, Carson?"
"I'm not implying anything," Carson answered, raising his hands up in surrender. "I just found it odd, is all. This woman looked familiar. She had red hair."
Mary brought her hands together in front of her and took in a deep breath before asking, "Gwen?"
"Ah, yes, Gwen. Isn't she Anna's ex?"
"She is," Mary said. "But I'm not sure why that matters or why this is any of your business. I knew she was coming over. They're dear friends."
"Oh, I didn't realize. I only –"
"You should go to lunch, Carson."
"Yes, sorry, m'lady."
Carson left the room, and Mary furrowed her brows. She didn't know Gwen was coming over. She didn't even know Gwen was in town. Why hadn't Anna told her?
Slowly, she sat back down in her chair. Gwen was at her house with Anna, right now. In their home? Gwen lived in London. Why wouldn't Anna tell her if she was in town?
She bounced in her seat. Then she grabbed her phone and dialed Anna's number. It rang in her ear over and over before Mary gave up and sat the phone back down. She was being ridiculous. She trusted her wife.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"Thank you," Anna said, kissing Gwen's cheek. "I can't wait to see the results."
"Of course, me either. Mary is going to love it." Gwen gathered her things and finished placing them into her bag. "I'm glad it worked out I was going to be in Downton this month so we could get it done before Mary's birthday. I'll email you when I've finished getting it all ready."
"I can't wait."
"She's going to love it," Gwen said. "It was nice to see you. I should be back in a few months. Should we do lunch?"
"Yes, of course!"
Anna walked Gwen out to her car and gave her one last hug. She watched her leave, still high on her excitement for the gift she'd done for Mary. It was hard to find Mary the perfect gift for her birthday. She finally came up with the perfect plan and couldn't wait to surprise her.
The baby kicked, making Anna's hand come up to rest on her bump. A smile danced over her features. She stood there, outside, for a while, just enjoying the nice weather and the house to herself.
Mary would be home soon, though, and so she needed to start dinner. She went inside to look through their fridge. Usually, dinner was provided by Ms. Patmore, but sometimes she liked to make their dinner. Sometimes she wanted their lives to be just them.
Right as she decided on a simple pasta dish, she heard the front door open. She smiled.
"Mary?" She called out. Anna could hear footsteps coming closer and her smile widened. "Hey," she said, turning to face her wife. Mary stood in the archway that connected the kitchen to the living room.
"So, she's left?" Mary asked, eyeing around her.
"Hum?"
"Gwen. You didn't invite her to stay for dinner."
Anna stopped what she was doing.
"What? How –" Anna shook her head. "No, Gwen had to go back to London tonight."
"So she was here then?"
"Yes, is that a problem?" Anna asked.
"Why was she here?" Mary questioned instead of answering Anna's question.
"She was in town and stopped by."
"Hum," Mary said beneath her breath. "Just stopped by then?"
"Are you jealous?" Anna asked, a chuckle leaving her lips.
"No. I'm not jealous. I'm just not fond of my wife being alone with her ex in our house without telling me anything."
Anna laughed. "Gwen and I dated for like two months when we were 18. That was over ten years ago. She's my friend. She came to our wedding."
"Then why keep it a secret?" Mary's brow rose and her arms crossed over her chest.
"I didn't. I just didn't realize…..wait, how did you even know she was here?" Then it hit her. "Mr. Carson! I can't do this much longer, Mary. I need our house to be our house, not someone here watching everything I do."
"So you're mad at Carson for you having another female over? Your ex for that matter."
Anna inhaled sharply and then walked up to Mary, placing her hands on her shoulders.
"You've never been the jealous type before. Do you not trust me?"
"I do. I'm just feeling protective of you, darling."
Anna smiled. She rubbed Mary's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
"Nothing happened. I promise."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't think to, is all," Anna said. She kissed Mary. "I love you, Mary. Only you."
Mary softened against her. She raked her fingers through Anna's hair.
"Sorry I got jealous, I trust you, Anna."
"It's all right," Anna replied. "I have to admit it's kind of hot to see you jealous."
"Yeah?"
"Yes."
"Well, maybe you should put dinner on pause and we can continue this."
"Yes, I like that idea."
To be continued...
What did Anna do for Mary's birthday present with Gwen? You'll find out soon! :)
