redhead59901 asked if these were dreams that Amy is having each week. The only thing so far that has been a dream is the part in Italics at the beginning of chapter 1. There might be more dream sequences in future chapters, but chapter 1 is the only one so far. Amy dreams of having a baby, which leads to Shamy keeping secrets from their friends- her pregnancy, the new house, and a few other things that haven't come up yet.
Friday, March 18, 2022- 10 weeks
The home improvement store. While not my first choice of places to be on Friday night, we're here for things for our new home. It's been two days since we finished the paperwork and were given the keys to our house. We told our parents on Wednesday we'd purchased a house. Of course, my mother commented we should start a family to fill the house. If only she knew. Just a few more weeks until we tell her and everyone else. "Sheldon?" Amy calls my name.
"Is this too much right now? I said your name four times," she's watching me with concerned eyes, flipping through various paint sample strips in her hands.
I'm drawn back to the task at hand. "The master bedroom, right?" She nods, shifting her body to stand between me and the rack of paint colors in front of us. Her movement causes my focus to shift and I reach over her right shoulder for a color sample. "I like this one."
It's a pale gray. A neutral, which we had agreed on for our bedroom and the dining room, which are the only rooms we decided needed to be painted right away. We'd already chosen a light tan called 'mocha cream' for the dining room. The wainscoting around the bottom of the room is bright white, Amy didn't want the room to be fully white. Throughout this process, I've learned it's best to allow Amy to have her way with what our house looks like. It's not that I don't care, it's that she's wanted this for much longer. When we told her parents we were moving, her mother asked if we would be painting the living room purple. I guess Amy said when she was a little girl that she wanted to have a purple living room when she grew up. Thank god she no longer feels that way. "I like it," she takes the paint card from my hand. "We've got colors for the dining room and our bedroom. Let's ask someone to mix it while we look for something to replace the fan in the bedroom. Do you want to keep a ceiling fan or should we go with a regular light fixture? I was reading there are ways to cover the hole from the fan that's there. We could do that and just go with lamps if you want."
"No. Let's keep the ceiling fan. You're going to want it this summer. Don't you remember how much Penny complained about the heat when she was pregnant? I don't want you to be miserable." I might not be a fan of ceiling fans, but I'm sure I can get used to having one.
"Okay," Amy is already waiting at the paint counter for the clerk to mix the paint we'll need. I'm glad it doesn't take long to select a ceiling fan or collect the paint rollers and pans for our day of painting tomorrow.
Saturday, March 19, 2022- 10 weeks
We're up early to get started on removing the wallpaper before Leonard, Howard, and Raj arrive to help with painting this afternoon. "Be careful, Amy. Maybe I should do that," She's standing on the ladder, attempting to peel the small pieces of wallpaper that tore away from the larger strips.
"I've got it," she replies, having already picked the pieces she was reaching for off the wall. She stepped down from the ladder, dropping the wallpaper into the pile in the middle of the room. "I understand why you want me to be careful, but you can't stop me from helping once our friends arrive."
I let out a small sigh and smile at her, "I know. We're done with the wallpaper in here. Want to get started in the bedroom?"
"There's a question I haven't heard from you in a while," she chortles, already making her way across the house. It's come up on my schedule a few times recently, but I've skipped it because she seems so tired in the evening. I don't want her to feel like she has to just because I want to. Maybe once we move and things settle down; I've read women tend to get a burst of energy during their second trimester. I promise myself I'll do better with showing affection to her in the coming weeks and months. I don't want her to feel like I'm taking her for granted again, especially now.
Amy and I have completed peeling the wallpaper in the bedroom by the time our help arrives. One thing I hadn't taken into consideration when making this plan was the fact that children can be more of a hindrance than a help. Howard was attempting to wrangle Halley and Michael when Amy swooped in, with Ava on her hip to distract them. "Do you want to play outside while your dads work? It's not that fun in here, is it?" She corrals all three children to the backyard and I find myself watching her through the bedroom window that overlooks the yard. She's created some sort of game for the children with vastly different interests and they are chasing one another around the yard, stopping to investigate what they find on the ground while running. She's going to be such a good mother. It's only a matter of time before it's the laughter of our children filling these rooms.
I continue to work with the guys until Raj begins complaining he's hungry and was promised food would be provided if he helps us today. We order pizzas and make ourselves comfortable in the living room. Well, as comfortable as one can get in an empty room. Sprawled across the floor, Howard looks at me, "You're hiring actual movers for when you actually move into this place, right?"
"Yes." I have no intention of moving all of those heavy boxes and Amy shouldn't be. "Ask Penny what she wants us to do with her couch, Leonard."
"Oh, we talked about that the other night after you told us you were moving. We assumed you'd want the couch from our apartment so you can have your spot and that couch would move into our apartment." I hadn't considered that. If the couch from Leonard and Penny's apartment were to move into this house, would that end of the couch still be my spot? Would I still have a designated spot when we're at their apartment? Amy and I have been looking at living room sets that include a couch. Would the couch from the apartment fit in one of the bedrooms?
Amy must be able to sense the thoughts running through my head, "We were planning on getting a new couch, something we choose together for our home. But we'll discuss it later." We watch the kids run around after eating, getting familiar with the new place we'll all be spending plenty of time together. The guys leave soon after, while Amy and I make our way from room to room, closing windows and turning off lights. "Can we have a housewarming party after we're all moved in?" She sidles up next to me snakes her arm around me and looks up at me as I tuck my arm around her shoulders.
"They've already seen the house. We don't need to have a party for them to do that." Has she just met me? She knows I hate parties or anything that might resemble a party.
"Please? They won't have seen it after we've moved in and have made it our home. They've only seen an empty house covered in painting tarps and scraps of wallpaper. We can host Thai food night and show everyone our house. It doesn't have to be a party, just Thai food night, like we have every week. It's a non-optional social convention to invite friends and family over after moving to see your new home." Damn, this woman. She knows I can't say no to that.
I let her make pleading eyes at me for another minute before relenting. "Fine. But it's just Thai food night. No mention of the word party."