“Me either,” said Meg as they pulled into the driveway of her house. It took them ten minutes to get everything in and unpacked. Kevin helped her put some of it in the laundry and the rest in the nursery. Luc had given up his office for a nursery as it was closer than the spare bedroom. Meg had been decorating it in greens, and forest tones. No pinks or blues.
“Thanks Kevin. I should let you get back to the office before Luc rips your head off,” said Meg.
“To be honest, I called Ginny a while back and let her know that I’d taken you shopping,” said Kevin.
“Oh good. Now to wait until Luc gets home,” said Meg a little apprehensively.
“It will be okay. He isn’t mad at you, just being over protective. If you were my mate, I’d be the same way,” said Kevin who gave her a kiss and then left.
*
Luc stopped at the flower shop to pick up a dozen roses. Then he stopped by the Chinese place they both liked and picked up the order he’d called in thirty minutes before. He pulled into the driveway to find the lights on in the living room and Meg sitting at the table with her papers scattered around. She was humming away under her breath to Maroon 5 and didn’t hear him come in.
“Oh! You startled me Luc,” she said.
“Sorry Meg,” he said and handed her the roses.
“Oh, they’re beautiful,” she said as she set them on the table.
He set the food down on the table and then took Meg in his arms. “I’m so sorry I displaced my anger on you. I was worried and concerned and I was being over protective,” he said to her.
“And I over reacted and the hormones just took a ride and I’m sorry too,” she said.
Luc kissed her and held her in his arms. “Plus, Ginny has been yelling at me for at least the last three hours reminding me that I’m an ass. I swear that my ass is at least three sizes smaller for all the chewing she did,” he said.
That made Meg giggle. She disengaged from the hug and looked at Luc’s ass. “Yup, at least two sizes,” she said. That made them both laugh.
“We better eat this before it gets too cold,” he said gesturing to the food. Meg smiled and went to get plates. They dived into egg rolls, orange beef, stir fried rice and fortune cookies.
“What does yours say?” Meg asked Luc.
“Your family will benefit by your wise judgment,” said Luc. “And yours?”
“Perfection comes from working hard. Joy is doubled by perfection,” said Meg. “Are you sure you didn’t plant these?”
“No! Little Ma looked at me and just picked those two out,” said Luc.
“Weird. Take the dishes to the kitchen and I’ll show you what Kevin and I bought today,” she said.
“Okay. And yes, I thanked Kevin for coming to your rescue. I was upset and so mad and just wasn’t thinking about anything except eating reporters,” he said.
“I hear Buttercup and Fezzik got a couple of bites in,” she said as she showed him blankets, booties and little sleepers.
“Oh yeah. And that’s another reason I don’t want you around the office for the moment. We had to bring the reporters in and Buttercup came tearing into the office. I’d have killed the reporter and the dog if you’d have gotten hurt,” he said.
“I understand. It’s just been a very rough couple of weeks. Is this ever going to settle down?” she asked as she put the last of the purchases away.
“I think so. George called this afternoon and said that things have been much quieter. Only one incident and that was someone local. He took care of it,” said Luc.
“Good. Are you going to be able to cope if they don’t come home?” she asked.
“Why do you say that?” asked Luc.
“Well, I just have this feeling that Sam is going to want company. In spite of all she said, she and Buster were an item for a long time. Even when George stops playing Buster, she’s going to miss him. Plus, didn’t you notice how much more relaxed George and Angie were up there?” Meg said.
“Now that you mention it, yes. Hmm,” he said as he thought for a moment. “You know, I think you’re right. Plus, Ginny and Patrick have the house under control and plenty of room. I guess we’ll see what happens when the sale on Angie’s house goes through,” said Luc.
“Did they get an offer?” asked Meg.
“Yeah. That call came in today too. It’s why George called me,” said Luc.
Meg nodded and stretched out on the bed. She was full and the day had been exhausting. Luc curled up next to her and put his hand on her stomach. He waited and after a few minutes, he felt the kicks. They looked at each other and smiled.
“Meg, if Jeff says it’s okay, and the world doesn’t end, would you like to go camping one last time before you’re too big to do so?” he asked.
“Yes!”
*
Friday finally arrived. Meg went to her doctor’s appointment and Luc headed to work. He got there to find Buttercup and Fezzik wagging their tails at the warehouse gate. Luc walked up to the gate and spoke the off duty phrase and then walked in the gate. Buttercup sat waiting for her treat and Fezzik sat right next to her. Luc realized that he’d actually miss these two when this was all over. It wasn’t often that he had been so comfortable with a working dog. Far too many of them cowered at the scent of him.
He headed to the office to find that Cal and Peter were already unpacking the latest order from their supplier. New routers and servers for an office complex. Kevin was handling the phones and when he got to his desk, there were maple doughnuts in a bag waiting for him.
“Thank you Ginny!” he called towards her cubbyhole.
“You’re welcome!” she hollered back.