NYLON ~ CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR ~ THEY GROW UP SO FAST
Emily walked into the kitchen carrying a large foil tray as Ali followed holding a bouquet of hand-picked flowers. Behind them Kristin cradled her son Ben on her hip.
"We brought dinner," Emily called out.
"Thanks," Hanna smiled appearing in the doorway.
"How far along are you?" Kristen asked.
"A little over a week past my due date," Hanna explained.
"That's why we brought all the essentials," Emily smiled unpacking the food. "Cajun chicken and jambalaya. Spicy food is supposed help induce."
"Let me at it," Hanna smiled. Then she gave her friends a hug. "I really appreciate you guys doing this. I haven't had the energy to do anything lately. I'm just so tired."
"Well," Emily said picking up Ali, "we had a bit of an ulterior motive for coming over."
"What's up?" Hanna asked taking a bite of jambalaya.
"We are moving in together!" Kristen told her. "We wanted you to be the first to know since you introduced us."
"That's amazing," Hanna smiled. "I'm really happy for you guys."
"Thank you," Emily said. "We couldn't have gotten this far without you. I'm glad you convinced me to go on that blind date."
"You guys are so sweet!" Hanna gushed.
"Sweet"! Ali cooed. "I want sweets."
"You're lucky," Emily laughed bouncing Ali on her lap. "They grow up so fast."
"Well," Kristen cut in, "I don't want to cut this visit short but the kids look like they're ready for naps. We better get going."
"Let me walk you out," Hanna said waddling behind them toward the foyer.
She gave them each a hug and headed back into the kitchen to finish up her plate of jambalaya. She put the rest of the food in the fridge and took her plate to the couch where she sat down to watch a movie. Just as she was getting comfortable she felt a tightness in her belly.
"Ow," she groaned rubbing the spot. She shifted in her seat and the pain dissipated. Then she heard the elevator land on her floor.
"Hey," Caleb's voice echoed through the room a few minutes later.
"Hi," Hanna smiled. "Emily brought jambalaya. It's in the fridge if you want some."
"Yeah," he replied. "I'm starved."
Caleb disappeared into the kitchen and returned minutes later holding a plate. He took a seat on the couch next to Hanna and she leaned into his chest.
"This is amazing," Caleb said taking a bite. "I didn't realize Emily was such a good cook."
"Oh guess what!" Hanna interrupted his thought process. "She and Kristen are moving in together."
"Crazy," he laughed. "Have they even been together that long?"
"They've been together longer than us," Hanna reminded him. "Well, if you don't count when we dated in high school."
"Touche," he smiled. Then he turned to her bump. "How's the little guy doing?"
"He is not budging," Hanna told him. "Emily brought the spicy food to give him some incentive but I don't think it's working. I'm feeling like he's never going to come out."
"What did the doctor say?" Caleb asked.
"He won't induce until next week," Hanna paused, "but there's another method we could try."
"What's that?" Caleb asked.
"We could," Hanna stood up to her knees and slipped a leg in between his as she slowly unbuttoned his shirt, "do a little of this."
"Really?" Caleb was suspicious.
"Yeah," Hanna whispered. "It couldn't hurt."
Caleb let out a soft laugh. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist. Their lips met and Hanna slipped her hands around his neck pulling him close. Caleb slowly lifted her up to her feet and they scampered toward the bedroom. Hanna pushed Caleb against the wall continuing to kiss him. Then he flipped them around pinning her to the wall as he ran his hands along the length of her torso.
"We should have," Hanna breathed, "done this a lot sooner."
"That's what I've been saying," Caleb laughed.
"Wait," Hanna said feeling her belly get in the way.
She grabbed Caleb's hand and led him to the bed where she sat down. Caleb knelt in front of her and he pulled off his shirt as she worked his belt off.
"That was amazing," Caleb said lying next to Hanna.
"Enjoy it buddy," she teased. "That's the last you'll get for a while.
"Do you think it worked?" Caleb asked pressing his hand to her belly.
"Nope," Hanna sighed. "I don't think he's ever coming out."
"We could try again," Caleb smiled.
"Stop," she said. "I don't really have the energy for that anymore."
"How about we do something else," Caleb said. "Something low energy. I promise."
Before Hanna could answer her phone started beeping like crazy.
"What the fuck is that?" he asked. "Is there some sort of global emergency?"
"Just emails," Hanna laughed reaching across her bed to grab the phone. She pulled up her emails and her mouth dropped. "This is insane."
"What is it?" Caleb asked.
"I used to write a blog when I worked for Maria to keep customers updated on the line," Hanna explained. "So after I left I started my own blog just for me about, like, maternity clothes and stuff and then this morning I posted a video about how we're engaged now and I just keep getting all of these comments and new subscribers and stuff. It's crazy."
"Really?" Caleb had a confused look. "I kind of wish you would have told me before you posted personal stuff on the internet."
"I'm sorry," Hanna told him. "I guess I didn't think about that. I just thought it would be a cool way to stay busy while I'm at home alone all day. I promise, you can check it out and I'll take it down if you don't like it. I just wanted to have something to stay relevant in case I have to look for a job eventually. I want something to show for my time other than being this little guy's mom."
"Hanna," Caleb said softly, "I told you, I will always take care of you and I want you to be able to count on me as a husband and a provider. I won't keep you from going back to work if that's what you want but I never expect you to."
"I know," Hanna smiled. "It's just something I want to do for myself but if it bothers you I'll take it down."
"It's okay," he replied. "I know how passionate you are about the work you did and I don't want to take that from you. I get it, just don't talk about me too much, okay?"
"Sure," she said. "I promise I won't talk about that weird thing you do with your teeth when you're sleeping."
"What thing?" he asked.
"You know," Hanna teased. "You grind your teeth."
"No I don't" he said in shock.
"Yes you do," she laughed. The two of them erupted into laughter and Caleb softly kissed Hanna before they rolled back under the covers.
I know you were all missing Emily and the other girls. I'll try my best to bring them back into the story a lot more. Enjoy and thanks for the reviews!
