Oh my.. Everyone loves the puppy! It's even contagious in text.. lol I totally want the black puppy. And when I get my own place, I will! Lol.. Anyways, on with the story!
Chapter 19- You've Got Mail
I walked into the kitchen, with my new housemate at my heels. The rapid clicks of short puppy nails hitting the tiled-floors. I reached the back door, and grabbed up the retractable leash off the hook. I knelt down and snapped the hook on the collar. I turned around, and grabbed up Randy's hoodie, and pulled it over my shoulders. Then, making sure I had a tight hold on the leash, I opened the door. The puppy ran outside instantly. He was still rather small, so he didn't get very far. We trekked around outside, and I waited for the puppy to do his business. I was trying to get in the habit of walking him around three times a day. And as far as I could tell, it was working. He'd only messed in the house twice in the last week. It hadn't been so bad, being by myself, with him around. He kept me on my toes. He loved to play a lot, which I enjoyed. We would sit in the floor, and play tug with his chew toys. I found out quick, that he wasn't going to sleep in the cage. He wanted right next to me. I giggled at the thought that I was sleeping with another man. My thoughts came to a hold when I heard a distant sound of several house phone ringing out in my house. I pulled on the leash.
"C'mon babe, inside!" I called out, and watched in amusement as his head popped up from the wilted winter grass, his ears perking up. Then his four short little legs bounded him towards me. I followed behind him, and kept him on the leash and rushed into the kitchen. I didn't even look at the ID before answering. I spoke into the phone breathlessly. "Hello?"
"Hey," Randy's voice spoke through the other end. I instantly smiled, still holding on to a tugging puppy leash. "Are you okay? You're panting."
I rolled my eyes to no one. He was hundreds of miles away, and was still hovering. How he managed to do that was beyond me. I laughed softly. "Oh, no. I'm fine. I was just outside when you called. Sting needed to go out."
There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then soft laughter met my ear. And, I couldn't figure out why Randy was laughing. I didn't have to wonder long. "Sting? Is that what you named him?"
I laughed loudly, remembering that I hadn't told Randy what I had named the puppy. Even though I knew how corny it was, I just couldn't help myself. The puppy was black, with white spots on his face. It was perfect fitting name, I thought. And the more and more I observed Sting's behavior, the more I knew it was an excellent choice. He would just show up, seemingly from nowhere, and have made no noise. He had an unwavering stare just the same as his namesake. And, on top of everything, he was very entertaining; again, like his namesake.
"Don't make fun. I love it, and trust me, if you could see his 'Stinger Splash', you wouldn't be laughing," I joked, but it was based off truth. The puppy had moments where he would run at me, and just leap at me. That was when it struck me to name him what I did. And just having a dog that was named after one of my favorite wrestlers made me happy.
"I wasn't making fun. I can see where you got the name," Randy laughed again, before I heard him take a breath. "I like the name." I smiled, glad that he approved of my choice. I unhooked Sting from the leash, and he ran into the living room. I saw that he was already lying on the carpet, playing with one of his toys. "So, what are you up to today?"
I shrugged for no one's benefit. "Well, I'm about to feed Sting, and then feed myself. By the way, I could really go for some cinnamon french toast right about now," I hinted, and Randy chuckled softly, his breath hitting the phone. I bit back my sigh and continued. "Then, I'm going to settle down on the couch, for my favorite Monday night TV show."
"I didn't know 'Grey's Anatomy' came on Monday nights," Randy joked. I stuck my tongue out at him, even though he couldn't see me. Then, he shocked me by saying, "And don't stick your tongue out at me. I may not be there right now, but I have a long memory."
A bittersweet feeling swept over me. It was good that I could talk to him pretty much whenever I wanted too, but sometimes it was just too hard not to be able to see him. To hold him. But I pushed through my emotions, not willing to ruin what time I had hearing his voice. "Ha ha, very funny Orton. I might just want to give my best friend, Cena, a call. Tell him to rough you up a bit tonight, in your match."
"Hey, don't do that! I know he likes you better than me, and he wouldn't mind doing you a favor!" But I heard the smile in his voice. Then another voice sounded off in the background. I couldn't make out what was being said, but I could hear it was a man's voice. I waited patiently until Randy sighed into the phone again. "Lora, I have to go. A runner just came to tell me I had thirty minutes to get ready."
I frowned to myself. I was glad, sometimes, when Randy couldn't see how I reacted to his absence. I poured out the soft puppy food into Sting's bowl, and I heard him come running. I watched as my puppy ate his food swiftly. Then I returned back to my phone call. "Okay. I'll be watching you. Call me after?"
"I hope I give you something worth watching. And yes, I'll call you when I get back to the hotel."
"Miss you," I murmured into the phone. I spoke so softly, I wouldn't have been surprised if Randy hadn't heard me. But, as it turns out, he had. His soft release of air rushed through the phone.
"Miss you too."
The phone line disconnected, and I was left holding the phone. A now empty shell, that once held Randy's presence. I grimaced at the plastic, as I replaced it back on the home base. I leaned against the kitchen counter for a few minutes. IT was the same thing every time. I would talk to Randy on the phone for however long, and when we hung up, I needed time to re-cooperate. To collect my thoughts. Sometimes the ache for him was just so strong. I wasn't used to being apart for him this long. However, I was making it. Day after day, I pushed through. I made myself busy, so it didn't seem so obvious he was missing. I sighed, and pushed away from the granite top. I busied myself with making supper. After heating up some soup on the stove, chicken and potato, I waddled towards the couch, and pulled the coffee table close by. As I set the steaming bowl on the coffee table, along with my glass of tea, the doorbell rang. Puzzled, I shuffled towards the door, peeping out through a window. I smiled brightly, as I opened the door.
"Oh my, I nearly forgot you were stopping by!" I exclaimed, pulling Melody immediately in the house. It was absolutely freezing outside. I watched as she shivered off the chilly air, and adapted to the house temperature.
"Is this a bad time?" she asked, giving me a worried look.
"Of course not. I just made some soup, and was about to watch a little TV. Do you want something to eat?" I asked, trying to be an attentive host. I saw the gleam in her eye, and she nodded graciously. I laughed at her, and motioned for her to follow me towards the kitchen. It wasn't about ten minutes later that we were both sitting on the couch, enjoying our weather-shielding dish. I glanced at the clock, seeing it was right at eight. I grabbed up the remote, and switched the TV to the right channel, seeing the opening video for Raw already started. I turned my head towards Melody. "I hope you like wrestling?"
Melody laughed hard between her spoons of soup. "Well, I've never really watched it. I never wanted too. And you're the first girl I've known to like it. How'd you get into watching it?"
I bit back my laughter. I decided against the long story, and just put it in a nutshell. "Well, I watched it when I was a kid, with my brother. Then, last April, I was hired on to the WWE as Head of Musical Sound Check. I guess you could say I was biased," I chuckled. Then my attention was turned towards the screen by the sound of a certain entrance theme. I laughed harder, turning back to look at Melody. I pointed to the screen. "Well, there's also that."
I watched as Melody focused on what I pointed out. She looked confused momentarily. Then, comprehension dawned on her face. Slowly replaced by shock. I smirked as she ogled my husband for a few moments. Then she faced me again. "Must be nice, getting to go to bed with him."
"Well, he's not all muscle and thighs, you know?" I laughed hard, and Melody burst out into laughter of her own. Everyone's first thought, when they saw Randy at work, was how lucky I was. And they were right; I was lucky as hell. But, not just for the reasons that were oh so obvious. I got to know a side of Randy that very few people knew. Something I was very proud of.
oo
Hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks. My life wasn't as boring as I had first predicted. What with weekly lamaze classes, weekly doctor visits, Monday night plans, people always dropping by and tending to Sting, I stayed busy. I would be so caught up in my weekly plans, that I soon lost track of the days. I just happened to look up one day, slow down for a second, and realize that February was just two days away. And my baby shower was tomorrow. I was excited. This month had flown by; when I just knew it would drag out. Now, I was a day away from all of Keith's new things, and two days away from Randy. The door to Keith's room was still locked. And only Randy knew how to open it. It drove me crazy, with curiosity, to know what Randy was making in there. If it was anything like how Randy did everything else, I knew it would be perfect. He was a man of many talents. A fact that never seemed to stop amazing me.
Melody and her husband dropped me back off at my house, after this weeks' class. We only had two left, and I was happy that Randy was going to get to be there. Tomorrow night, Sunday, was a big WWE pay-per-view, a Tables, Ladders and Chairs event. And during a match scheduled with Edge, he gets "injured". Randy wouldn't tell me exactly how that was going to go down, but it wouldn't hurt him too much. I was uneasy about that, but I couldn't complain. It was sending him home to me. And by Monday afternoon, he would be back by my side. I was pulled from my thoughts, as I washed what little dirty dishes there were, by a sharp rapid knock on the front door. I dried my hands off, and made my way to the foyer. Without thinking, I opened the door without looking.
"Oh my, Lora! You look like I did about four months ago!" Stephanie McMahon squealed, immediately throwing her arms around my neck. I stood in shock for half a second, before coming around. I wrapped my arms around her back, hugging her gently. She pulled away, and knelt down to grab the handle of the pumpkin seat. It was the first time I had noticed she had brought along Michael. I closed the door behind them, and led the way towards the living room. Stephanie set Michael down by the couch, and lowered herself onto the light colored couch. I joined her and gazed over at Michael. He had gotten so much bigger since the last I saw him. He had at least doubled his weight, and grown several inches. That being true, he was still a small baby. Five small fingers on one hand, stretched out, swatting at the toys that hung from the handle. The eyes had started to change, from blue to a light green.
"He's beautiful, Stephanie," I gushed, feeling a wave of intense impatient anticipation wash over me. I still had a month to go. I wouldn't be able to hold my baby for another four weeks. Stephanie smiled at my words, and reached down, unfastening her child from the seat, and lifted him into her arms. He was old enough that he could hold himself upright on his own now. His hands reached, grabbing handfuls of his mother's shirt, to steady himself. "Oh, hold on. I have something Michael would just love!"
I stood up and hurried upstairs, and into my bedroom. There, asleep at the foot of the bed, was Sting. I picked him up, cradling him in my arms. He was instantly awake, and trying to lick my face. I readjusted him, and went back down stairs. Sitting back down on the couch, I let Sting rest in my lap. Stephanie laughed, and turned her son in the direction of the puppy. Michael let out a high-pitched squeal and throaty stream of giggles peeled from his mouth as he lunged over towards Sting. His little hands grabbed the puppy on either side of the face, and Sting began to lick wherever he could reach. Stephanie laughed at her son's antics.
"Isn't wonderful to think that you'll have one of these in just a short time?" I smiled at Stephanie, thinking her words could have not been anything other than the truth.
oo
I sat in my living room, staring around at all of my guests. My mom and sister had flown up from the Georgia to be here. Stephanie had stayed in town and Casie and Edoin had left work earlier to get here on time. Melody was sitting on a chair, talking to Becky. She lived in town, and it wasn't much for her to come over. Even Elaine had traveled from Tennessee to be here. I was touched that my friends and family went out of their way to be here for me. A massive pile of brightly wrapped gifts had been stacked up by the fireplace. There had to be more presents then there was guests. I didn't understand how that worked, but it happened.
On the kitchen table, plates of food were laid out. A vegetable plate, with carrots, celery and broccoli, a fruit tray, with red grapes, orange and pear slices. A tray of miniature cupcakes, varying of chocolate and vanilla. A crystal bowl of red punch sat on the middle of the table, with paper cups surrounding it. A bowl of tortilla chips and three different kinds of dip. Way too much food for the amount of people here. It looked as if the refrigerator would be put to use after this party. The party had been a blast so far. Melody had some really fun ideas for party games. Like have all the women bring in baby pictures, of them and their men; the object was to write down how you thought was in the picture. John's baby picture had everyone laughing, because he was butt-naked in it. Then, I was blindfolded, and told to guess what baby items were in the bag before me. Everything from lotion bottles, baby bottles, pacifiers, diapers and diaper rash cream came out of the bag.
I hated to admit, but I was looking forward to opening the presents. I had ever since I registered for them. I just had to see the items, of an ocean theme, for my baby. Randy and I had decided on the ocean theme, because it incorporated both blue and green, and we loved the ocean creatures as a pattern. Finally, after cupcakes and punch, it was time for the presents.
Zoey wanted to go first, and I didn't care which present I opened. I just wanted to start. She picked up one of the medium sized boxes and sat it down before me. I tore at the paper eagerly. Inside, a box displayed a baby bouncer seat. The material was blue, with a pattern of sea horses, wails and fish on the seat. A plastic arch raised above the seat, letting toys of ocean creatures swing below, as toys. It was perfect and I loved it. I hugged my sister's neck tightly. Edoin went next, with a present from her and Matt. I tore the paper off, and saw a picture of a baby play mat, with an animated ocean floor scene on the cloth. Two padded half hoops, that connected in the middle, made an arch. All sorts of fish toys and octopus toys hung from the middle. A blue stuffed whale was attached to one side, along with a mirror. A plastic box was fitted on one side, that with the right batteries, would play music. I hugged and thank Edoin for the wonderful gift.
Casie's box was one of the larger ones. I stared at her for a second, hoping she didn't go to too much trouble, then I ripped into the package. Everyone seemed to get a kick out of me being enthused by all of the gifts. I heard snaps from a camera, and I knew that compulsive-picture-taker Zoey was immortalizing this day with Kodak. Once I was able to get to the side of the box, I could see the picture. It was a playpen. It was a royal blue in color, with the sidewalls of the pen made of strong mesh material, keeping with the continuing pattern of the oceanic. I just knew that this would come in handy. I thanked Casie profusely, and she waved me off.
"And this is from John," Casie said, handing me a large gift bag. I removed the tissue paper, thinking that this wrap job was definitely Casie, and not John. Had it been John, it would have been in the sack he bought the items in. But I was shocked to see the bag nearly overflowing with clothes. Of all types; shirts, pants, socks, hats and onesies. One onesie in particular caught my attention, and I picked up the blue material. On the front in old-fashioned blocked letters read "Future Ladies' Man". I burst out into laughter, and showed the room. Casie commented on the item. "Don't tell Randy, but he was a shirt, nearly identical to that. Except his says 'Ladies' Man'."
That just added to the affect, and everyone laughed harder, picturing Randy and Keith in a matching outfit. Elaine just handed me a picture of what she had bought me, because the box itself was too heavy to move. I gazed down that the sheet in my hands, staring at the corner-placed changing table. A scooped pad was set in the middle of the table, with shelf room on either side. Two other larger shelves were below the changing area, that held the diapers, lotion, baby wipes and anything else that belonged a changing table. I hugged Elaine's neck, and told her to give Bob a hug and kiss for me.
Stephanie lugged over her gift next. Everyone here was humbling me, with how much they appreciated me enough to buy all of these things for me and my family. I was getting emotional, and I hated it. I couldn't go one day without getting teary-eyed about something. Again, I ripped the paper, and again, I studied the image to see what was inside the box. It was baby power-operated swing. The seat was white, and clothed in blue, with more starfish and whales printed on. Two long legs triangled out, to steady the machine. A mobile hung from the top, to soothe the baby with colorful fish and seahorses. I hugged Stephanie tight, loving the gift.
Moma brought me her gift next. The package was soft and squishy, and I eagerly removed the wrappings. I gasped. Inside was a plastic bag holding a complete bedding set. A vivid bright blue, with the ocean theme in place. The side of the package said it contained one fitted sheet, one loose seat, a blanket with an ocean floor scene, one pillowcase, a bed skirt, railing protectors and high padding for the headboard. It was also accompanied with a diaper-holder bag. This was more perfect than I think my Mom knew. I kissed her cheek and wrapped my arms around her shoulders. I sat back into the cushions of the couch, after having opened every gift. Melody had brought me several packs of "Pampers Swaddlers" infant diapers, and a huge wicker basket, full of the essential baby items; lotion, pacifiers, baby wash, rash cream, several blankets of green, yellow and blue, and a few soft toys. I had to make a mental note to not let Sting near those toys; he would tear them to pieces.
"Well," I said, resting my hands on my stomach, "looks like I got almost everything I needed. Looks like Randy has a lot of work to do when he gets home," I joked, looking around at all the items that needed to be assembled together.
"Wait," Edoin said, casting a look towards Casie. "There's one more gift." Comprehension dawned on Casie's face, and she and Edoin left out through the front door. It took several minutes for them to return. Carrying a large, rectangular box, that seemed very heavy. I took in the picture on the front. It was white wooden crib. The back curved up in the middle and back down on the sides. As I continued to stare at the box, I realized that it was a three-in-one bed. It morphed as the baby grew. I stared, wide-eyed, at my two friends.
"Who bought that?"
Casie and Edoin smiled sheepishly at me. Casie spoke up, saving Edoin from revealing the truth. "Randy did. He called it in this morning, and asked us to pick it up on our way here."
And surprisingly, I started to laugh. I could have sworn that I was going to cry, but instead, laughter burst from me. Just because, it was so Randy. He absolutely couldn't help himself. He had to make sure that I had everything that I needed. Randy just liked to reinforce that I wouldn't ever need to want for anything. I gazed around all of the items, wishing right now was tomorrow night. That way, Randy would be here and put all of this together, and that I might, finally, get to see our son's room.
A/N
Well, there you go! All that stuff just sounds so awesome! It's changed my mind about when I have a baby; now I want all of the ocean themed stuff! Lol REVIEW please!
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