He makes the realtor and appraiser repeat it to him at least five times just to make sure he isn't hearing things. On the drive home, he is in a daze. He can't even imagine having that much money at his disposal.
On seeing his face when he walks in the door, Eponine immediately thinks something is wrong. He must look as stunned as he feels. "What's going on? Why do you look like that?" She pushes herself up off the couch with considerable effort, protectively cradling her stomach.
He shakes his head and leans against the front door as it closes behind him. "Holy shit, Eponine."
She looks at him in exasperation and waits for him to elaborate. When he doesn't speak for a minute, she huffs impatiently. "I'm going to go into labor before you decide to tell me what's going on."
"Make your best guess on how much my parent's house is worth."
"How about you just tell me? Like, sometime this decade, please."
He grins and crosses the room to stand in front of her, reaching out and putting one hand on each side of her face to hold her gaze with his. He wants to watch her face as she hears this news.
"Ten million dollars. The house is worth ten million dollars."
Her mouth immediately drops and she reaches up to grip his wrists. "Are you kidding me?"
"I'm serious. Can you even fathom what this means for us?"
"I...oh my God." She sways a bit unsteadily and leans forward to rest her forehead against his shoulder. "I don't know whether to cry or jump up and down. Oh shit, I think I'm going to cry. Fucking hormones!"
Enjolras laughs and rubs her shoulders, still a little uncomfortable with this Eponine who cries at the drop of a hat. "It's good news, baby."
"I know, you idiot! I just...what the hell?" She pulls away and wipes her eyes. "What are we even going to do with all of that money? Who needs that much money?"
"Whatever we want. Buy our dream house, build our dream house...buy an island. I don't care. What do you want?" He sits down on the couch, holding onto her hands, and gently tugs her down onto his lap.
"A house...but I still don't want something unbelievable. Just something we won't grow out of. I...I can't even process this." She takes a deep breath and looks at him. "My mind is going a million miles an hour."
"I know. This is a lot to think about, on top of the baby and everything. But it's not like we have to rush to get anything done. It could be months before the house even sells."
A wistful expression suddenly comes over Eponine's face and she bites her lip. "But at the same time, wouldn't it be amazing for her to be born in our house? In her house, where she'll grow up and have sleep overs with her friends and..."
"Eponine," he interrupts gently, "slow down. Yes, it would be amazing. But I'm ninety-five percent sure that's not going to happen. So please don't get your hopes up."
She sticks her tongue out at him. "Fine."
They sit quietly for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts, until Eponine speaks up again. "Enj...you know what this means for your job, right?"
He clears his throat and nods, beginning to run his fingers through her hair, like he always does when he's in deep thought. "Yes, the thought crossed my mind. But like I said before, there's a lot going on. I don't know if it's the best time to make another huge change."
Eponine looks at him seriously. "We're having a baby. Yes, it's a huge change, but it doesn't mean everything else has to be put on the back-burner because of it. And if you wait a few years, then what's your next excuse going to be? Probably that I'm pregnant again and it's still not a good time. Enjolras, you don't exactly love your job. It's not what you thought it was going to be. This is your chance to do what you want to do."
"I know...believe me, I know. I just need to think about it for a while. I don't even know exactly what I want to do. I haven't thought about it in so long because it just wasn't financially feasible to quit. And it seems pointless to talk, anyway, until the house is sold."
Eponine grudgingly acquiesces, and for a few days, they don't say anything else about the fact they are (potentially) about to become millionaires. But only a week after putting it on the market, his parent's house sells, in a stroke of pure good luck. The people buying it want to close immediately, and Eponine urges him to move as fast as he can, because, she announces stubbornly, she's already found the house she wants. And, even if it kills her, she will not have this baby anywhere else.
Enjolras worries that poor Evangeline is going to be living in a drawer for the first few weeks of her life because of her mother's pure stubbornness. Eponine absolutely refuses to put the crib and bassinet together until they are in the new house on Bayou St. John, believing that she can absolutely will this whole thing into being.
And somehow, it's like she does, which is how Enjolras finds himself sweating his ass off in early June as he loads boxes onto a moving van, only two weeks away from Eponine's due date. Everyone volunteers to help; Musichetta is already at the new house working on painting and decorating the nursery and everyone else is doing manual labor along with Enjolras. Everyone but Eponine, that is; she's just directing, and refuses to sit down no matter how much he begs her. She insists she's fine even with the ninety-five degree heat and one hundred percent humidity, though, and has enough energy to lead an army into battle. All of the guys are treating her like she might break with the slightest touch, and Enjolras can tell it's pissing her off, but he doesn't know what she expects: she is absolutely enormous and it makes him uncomfortable just looking at her. Despite her very pregnant state, however, he still thinks she's gorgeous, and he can't even put into words what he feels as he watches her laugh hysterically at Bossuet when he nearly falls off the front porch, teetering precariously on the stairs.
After they haul the last load of boxes to the new house and deposit them in whatever room Eponine directs them to, all of the guys strip their clothes off and jump into the new backyard pool. Even Enjolras joins them (though he actually wears swimming trunks instead of his underwear). They then feed everyone massive amounts of pizza and beer for helping, and by early evening, they are finally alone in their new house.
It has four bedrooms, plus an office and a den that they're already planning on turning into a library. Just the thought of bookshelves covering the walls from floor to ceiling makes both of them swoon. There's also finished attic space that Eponine thinks will be perfect for a playroom, and enough outside space (a rarity in New Orleans) for a whole gaggle of kids to play. (She says they can fit six kids in this house, easily; he says they need to wait and see how one goes.)
Eponine wastes no time once they're alone, and before Enjolras can even blink, she has the kitchen unpacked and everything put away.
"Did you take steroids or something? " he asks in disbelief as he watches her start on the boxes from living room. "I've never seen you with this much energy."
"I know! I have no idea what's going on, but this has to get done," she firmly declares. "I think it's a nesting thing. So pick a box."
"Are you sure you're alright? I don't want you to overdo it." He kneels on the floor and opens a box, carefully laying out the framed pictures that are inside.
"No chance. Seriously, I feel great. I could go run a mile right now. Now grab a hammer and hang those."
He does as she asks, tilting the frames on the wall this way and that until she declares them straight, and when they finally have all of the living room knick-knacks put away on various shelves, Eponine plops down on the couch and says she's finally done for the day.
"Go take a peek at the baby's room. 'Chetta did an amazing job." Enjolras rises with a reluctant groan, feeling really old as he hears his bones crack while he stretches. It's been a long day and the ascent up the stairs is like torture to his sore muscles. He pads softly down the hall on the newly re-finished hardwood floors and flips on the light switch inside the nursery.
He blinks owlishly in surprise; white wainscoting rises halfway up the walls, and dark brown and teal stripes cover the rest. The crib, changing table, and dresser are white, and there are just a few pale pink accents here and there. He doesn't know what the pattern is called on the crib's bedding, but it's pretty. It's definitely a little girl's room, but not overly frilly. He smiles at the monogrammed 'E T E' of Evangeline's initials on wall above the crib. In just a few weeks, she'll actually be here, and her accommodations are definitely better than the drawer he worried about for a while. Enjolras walks over to the crib and peers into it, trying to imagine what she'll look like. What color will her eyes be, and her hair? Will she have a round face like Eponine? Will she smile a lot or be serious like he is?
He turns the light off when he leaves the room and returns to their new living room, sinking down heavily on the couch. "It looks great. Very classy for a baby."
"I know. I couldn't deal with too much pink. I'm glad you like it." Eponine leans against him and yawns. "Okay, now the exhaustion is hitting me. And there's still so much to do."
"It's nothing that can't wait. None of our stuff is going anywhere."
"I know. I just want to be settled in and ready. Look at me. I feel like it could happen any moment."
The panic must show on his face, and Eponine giggles at him. "You just looked like you were about to puke. Are you really that nervous?"
"No," he says defensively.
"You are too! Come on, what are you nervous about?"
"I'm not nervous," he insists, but finally relents when Eponine skeptically raises her eyebrows. "Okay, fine. I'm a little nervous."
"About...?"
"Everything. You being in labor and me not being able to help you, and you having her here and not a hospital, me being an idiot and dropping her, or leaving her on the street car on accident, or her falling into the pool. And fuck, now that I said that, we have to build a fence around that thing." Enjolras sighs heavily and runs his fingers through his hair, suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Eponine smiles and leans her cheek against his shoulder, taking his hand and squeezing lightly. "It's going to be fine. But seriously, you're not going to be one of those dads that passes out as she's crowning, are you?"
He rolls his eyes. "Absolutely not. I'll be totally fine." That's not exactly true, and there is a very good chance he will either be passed out or crying hysterically as their child is born, but he figures that knowledge might worry her.
They talk for a while longer, but it's been a long and tiring day. Unfortunately, the bedroom isn't even halfway unpacked yet, though, so Enjolras carefully stacks boxes out of the way to give Eponine a clear path to the bathroom. Once they're both settled in bed, Enjolras expects sleep to claim him immediately, as it does to Eponine. Despite his weariness, however, his eyes roam restlessly over the unfamiliar room and his brain only speeds up once the darkness falls.
He thinks about everything they talked about tonight, and everything that has happened in the last nine months; hell, over the last two years, really. They've moved fast with their relationship, and it will never be something Enjolras regrets; his career, however, hasn't been nearly as fulfilling as he expected it to be, probably because it ceased to become the most important thing in his life once Eponine came along. His dad's death was another huge wake up call, as well; he had no balance between work and life, which is kind of what Enjolras had always expected for himself. It's still kind of a shock to think about the fact that he doesn't look forward to going to work every day; in college, he was always the first one to class and the last one to leave. And, even though he feels a little guilt when he admits it, he isn't going to be completely happy until he's doing something that he feels passionate about every day. He's just not the type to get all of his joy in life from his family; he needs to be doing something he deems useful, too. He needs that balance.
So, even though this added stress is probably not a good idea to put on Eponine's plate right now, Enjolras decides he should probably talk to her sooner rather than later, before he becomes so frustrated he blows up. She did bring it up once already, after all. And with that resolve, he finally falls asleep.
The next morning, Enjolras jerks awake as he feels the mattress shift underneath him. He immediately turns over to glare at Eponine, feeling grumpy from the restless night of sleep he got.
"Sorry," she mumbles when she notices him staring at her. "It's just so hard to get comfortable. I just want to be able to lay on my stomach again." She sighs and shifts around again, finally turning on her side to face him.
"It's alright. Only a few weeks left."
"Yeah, and then even more sleepless nights to look forward to."
She doesn't exactly seem to be in the best mood and it's still ridiculously early, so Enjolras isn't sure what possesses him to just come right out and say it, but he does. "Eponine?"
"Hmm?"
"I want to quit my job."
She doesn't respond for a minute, just stares at him blankly. Finally, she says in the voice he imagines that she'll use when reasoning with their child, "Uh...okay? And this is something you want to talk to your very pregnant wife about two weeks before she gives birth...at five o'clock in the morning?"
Enjolras sighs and reaches for her hand under the covers. "I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. Save it?"
"Well not now that you said it! And I know I'm the one that got you thinking about it in the first place." She rolls her eyes. "Before I came along, were you always this impulsive? Did Combeferre have to babysit all the time and make sure you didn't do something stupid enough to get yourself arrested?"
"Kind of. You already knew this when you married me, don't act like it's a surprise."
"And don't you act surprised when your kid comes home from 3rd grade saying she's suspended because she led a spontaneous rally in the cafeteria to protest the bad pepperoni pizza or something."
"Duly noted. But seriously, Ep. You know I haven't been exactly happy. And now that we have all this money, I feel like it's my chance." He squeezes her hand underneath the covers.
"I know you don't love it. I want you to do something that makes you happy, that you're passionate about. You have impeccable timing for this talk, though."
"So you don't hate me? Or think I'm crazy?"
"Of course not. This doesn't mean you're planning on being a stay at home dad, though, does it?"
"God, no." He can't help the face he makes, and immediately feels guilty. "I'm sorry. Not that there's anything wrong with that at all. But it would drive me crazy."
Eponine laughs and reaches over to give him a gentle shove. "I know, you idiot. What do you want to do, though?"
"That's the million dollar question, I guess. I really don't know yet." He sighs and shoves a pillow over his head. "I have absolutely no idea."
Eponine grabs the pillow and tosses it to the floor. "Okay, well. Let's make a plan, then. Do you want to quit your job right away?"
"I guess not – I don't want to rush into anything. But I also think it would be amazing to spend more time at home with you and the baby for a few months...so maybe reduce my hours? That could give me some time to figure out what I want to do. God knows we don't need the money now."
"I think that sounds pretty reasonable. I can agree to this plan." Eponine smiles and leans forward to kiss him. He tries to scoot closer, and she grins against his lips as he's blocked by her enormous bump. "This position doesn't work very well anymore, huh?"
He laughs. "No, I guess not."
"As much as I'd love to let you have your way with me right now, I want to go back to sleep more. So, wake me up again in three or four hours and you might get lucky." She promptly turns over onto her other side and scoots back against him.
Enjolras smiles and kisses her shoulder, wrapping an arm around her waist and resting it lightly on her stomach. He feels a rush of movement against his hand and grins. "I think she might disagree about you needing more rest."
"Shh. Go to sleep," Eponine mumbles. "If we quit talking, she'll quit moving."
"If you say so." He shuts up for her sake, and within a few minutes, he's back to sleep, this time with a much clearer head, and conscience, than before.
Surprise! I'm still alive!
It's Mardi Gras break here in NOLA, so I've had a week off to party and try to catch up on fun stuff like writing. I managed to finish this chapter, half of the next chapter of BtR, annnnnnnd...start a completely new story, called Heroes and Thieves. It's an idea that's been banging around for a while, based on all of those fun old Robin Hood legends. :) So, it's very different than anything I've written before and I hope I can make it interesting and fun. The first chapter is done, as well as a bit of the second, and I will post it soon. So keep a look out!
And thanks for reading this one - I believe there's two chapters left of this story, and that will mean no more tales for this particular Enjolras and Eponine. (In case anyone didn't read Comfortable and Best Laid Plans, they are meant to come before this story...)
Also, I'm very sorry for the lack of updates for a while. I was promoted at work and have a BUNCH of extra responsibilities now, and then my grandfather had a stroke and passed away, so I spent a few days going home and fell even further behind with work. So, it's been crazy. Everything is mostly back to normal now. Thanks for sticking with me and gently prodding me to update with reviews every now and again. :) Talk to all of you soon.