October
Peter walked off his flight aching from being jammed behind a reclined seat for the last ten hours. He looked at the people waiting at the international terminal, and saw Neal and Elizabeth there. Elizabeth held flowers, Neal held coffee. It was an incredibly welcome sight after two months out of town.
Elizabeth was in a blue dress Peter hadn't seen before. Neal was in a tan suit, his coat across his lap. They both waved, looking excited. Peter walked up to them, kissing each of them as they handed him things. He sipped the coffee and almost melted in relief.
"How was your flight?" Asked Neal, as they started to head to the baggage claim.
"Loud, long, and cramped," said Peter, "I just want to forget about it. How was your day?"
They reached a moving walkway, and got on the end.
"Well, I had a lovely opening last night. Neal did the wine list, and Mr. Rydell, the events critic, did a surprise drop by and he's a huge fan of the French reds. I think it went very well."
"It was gorgeous, Peter," said Neal, enthusiastically, "she got these sprays of little lavender paper flowers for the tables, like the wisteria that shows up in many of the paintings."
Neal and El continued to describe the paintings and event, as Peter just listened. They reached a ramp, Elizabeth gave Neal a little boost up the incline, then let go. They reached the baggage claim, found the right conveyor belt. Peter sipped his coffee, then set it and the flowers down on a baggage cart dispenser. He put one arm around El, the other around Neal's shoulders, kissed each of them.
"It's good to be back. I missed you both, so much."
That night, after Peter crashed for several hours, he came downstairs to find Neal and Elizabeth clearly waiting for him, a small box on the coffee table. Elizabeth scooted over and patted the couch between herself and Neal.
Peter sat down obediently, and Elizabeth handed him the box. He looked between the two, but neither of them explained, just grinned at him expectantly. He undid the paper, and opened the box. Inside was a pink and white plastic stick, with a large pink plus sign.
He stared down at it, and then looked at Elizabeth, "you…are you?"
She nodded, "about three months. We wanted to wait for you to find out for sure, but I had to do a prenatal checkup. Neither of us have seen the ultrasound yet, though."
Neal pulled a manilla envelope out from under the coffee table, and opened it. There, in black and white, was a discernible head and body, though they couldn't really make out the limbs in the position it was in.
"Oh my god," said Peter, "we're having a baby."
"Or a sea monkey," said Neal, turning his head to try and make sense of the image, "but probably the former."
Peter shoved him gently, then kissed Elizabeth, then kissed Neal.
