by Cee, DW
“I’ll call the agent right now and then call you back.”
Ending the call, I giggled at the thought of Nick’s ire. I’d spoken with the agent about my plans to surprise Nick with the house, so I knew she wouldn’t let me down.
“Hello?” That was sooner than I expected.
“Bad news.” Nick sounded glum. “Shit. I should’ve acted sooner.”
“What’s wrong?” I feigned concern.
“The house is gone. It’s been sold.” Nick was borderline pissed. I held back the mirth. I was almost giddy at the surprise coming his way.
“No way! Already?”
“Yeah.” He sighed huge.
“I’m sure there will be more units coming up.” I tried to console him.
“I doubt it. That was the fourth one in the past year.”
“How about I meet you at Jane’s, and we go talk to some of her neighbors and scope them out?”
“Yeah?” His voice sounded chipper rather quickly.
“Yeah! I think if the price is right, we can get someone to move.”
“I’ll see you there in an hour?”
“I’ll see you soon.”
Before the night was over, we’d promise the rest of our lives to one another.
I couldn’t wait.
July 31, 2014 NICK: Proposal HoldOver
I didn’t know what had come over Bee, but I was psyched she wanted to buy a home with me. This was pretty much an admission to marriage. Since my conversation with Scott, I’d found a jeweler and purchased a modest but meaningful ring.
Since both Jake and Donovan had taken care of their rings in Europe, it took me some time to find a reputable jeweler. When my search turned into frustration, I asked Max and he sent me in the right direction.
“Are you sure you don’t want to pick out a family heirloom?” He had asked.
A firm “No!” was the only answer I gave him.
I knew I wanted to do this my own way. I couldn’t afford anything on par with what the other three men have offered their wives, but I knew with Bee it wouldn’t matter. In all fairness, the size of their diamonds wouldn’t have mattered to either of my sisters or my cousin.
Arriving at Jane’s, I was still pissed I hadn’t acted sooner and started the purchasing process for this home. This place was a perfect starter home for any couple. Perhaps Bee was right about coaxing someone out of his or her home. I really liked it here.
“What brings you here?” Max greeted me at the door.
“Is that another way of telling me, ‘We’re busy, get lost?’”
There was laughter in Max’s eyes when he said, “Hell yeah, we’re busy. We’re newlyweds.”
“Please, spare me! I don’t want to know about my sister.”
“Do I need to have the birds and the bees talk with you before your wedding night, Brother?”
“Ha ha ha…” I let him know I found no humor in his double entendre.
“Come in. Your almost fiancée is here already and dinner’s on the table.”
“She is?” I looked around the street again, and still didn’t see her car. I thought I was the first one here.
Following Max, I found Bee laughing about something with my sister. They schooled their expression as soon as I walked in.
“Where’s your car?” I asked.
Bee and Jane burst into laughter again. “You haven’t seen me in a few days, and that’s the first thing you’re asking?”
I stepped over to my girlfriend and after greeting her with a kiss, I asked again, “How’d you get here? I didn’t see your car outside.”
“Will ya let go of the car, or lack thereof?” My sister and brother-in-law found great humor at my expense. “Let’s eat.”
I hadn’t expected Jane or Max to be here, and I surely didn’t expect there to be food on the table. I had thought maybe I might take Bee to a romantic spot up in the hills and propose tonight since dinner at a nice restaurant didn’t appear to be a possibility for us. With her crazy schedule, it was hard to squeeze in a nice meal, and I didn’t want to seem insistent for fear she might catch on to my plans.
Since my sister didn’t cook, Max had picked up Italian food from some hole-in-the-wall that held a special meaning to them. I didn’t care to know, and I damn well didn’t want to hear about their dating saga, again.
“How’s the world of research?” Max asked when the ladies turned their conversation into baby shower talk. “It’s odd not seeing you at the hospital.”
“It was the right choice for me.” I admitted. “I should have done this from the beginning. How’s pediatrics?”
“It’s awesome! I love being with little kids all day. Ellie, James, and JR came by the hospital and I was their attending physician while Emily went to see her OB.”
“How are our favorite niece and nephews doing?”
“James took to the stethoscope like he was born to be a doctor. Ellie couldn’t take her eyes off the glamour magazines and JR jumped on the scale and made the nurse measure him several times over. All in all, we had a fun visit. Jake made a surprise visit and the kids wanted nothing to do with their favorite uncle once their father was in the room.”
“Fickle—that’s what they are!” I grumbled. As soon as Max came back from his honeymoon with a suitcase full of toys, the three quickly forgot the uncle who set up their beds and only asked for “Unca Ax.”
“Max, will you be at the baby shower tomorrow?” My sister interrupted us.
“Do you want me to be there?” None of us wanted to be there. “Once the kids were down, we were all going to play basketball in Donovan’s backyard.”
“Laney is so uncomfortable; she’s been living in the pool. The shower might be held in her backyard with the guest of honor floating on her back in the pool. We might all have to jump in.” My sister laughed. “Was Emily this uncomfortable toward the end? Laney still has a month left. What will she do?”
“Emily was half the size of Laney.” I spoke. “I think all those Porterhouses are coming back to haunt her.”
We all agreed. “In any case, Donovan will be at the shower since he can’t stand to be apart from her. You both should assume you’ll be there as well.”
“I guess the queen has spoken. Anything else, Your Highness?” Max teased.
Bee and I started getting this weird vibe from the honeymooners and I knew it was time to leave.
“It’s been fun, but Bee and I have things to do. Thanks for the food, and see you tomorrow.” I pulled Bee from her chair and no one argued with my abruptness.
“What’s the rush?” Bee whispered.
“It gives me the heebie-jeebies to see my sister get those Monsters Inc. googly eyes.”
Bee cracked up. “I think it’s cute.”
“Well, I don’t.” I got chills just thinking about it. “Let’s go knock on some doors and do what we came here to do.”
“I have some good news.” Bee stopped me from walking any further, and I looked at her expectantly. “The real estate agent allowed us to view this home one more time since the property hasn’t completely sold yet. There’s a chance it could still be ours.”
“Damn! That’s fantastic news. Let’s check the place out again, and carefully think through putting in a better offer. Maybe the owner will want to sell to us instead.”
Bee unlocked the door, and I excitedly walked through each room and took pictures. There was definitely still a chance we could purchase this home. Nothing was final until the deed was done.
“Hey Nick?” Bee stopped in the middle of the living room, and called me back from my perusal.
“Did you want to leave already?”
“Um, no. I was hoping to talk to you about something?”
“Can it wait a few minutes? I want to take a few more pictures, and I might even measure each room and see how big it is.” I was psyched to be back here again. I thought this place was lost to us.
Bee produced a large envelope from her purse while waiting patiently for me to finish. “I’d really like to talk to you—the sooner the better.” Her voice was strained and she sounded anxious.
I knew better than to continue when she looked so serious. “OK.” I stopped immediately. “I’m all yours. What did you need to talk about?”
“Well, I know I haven’t taken to either of your proposals with much enthusiasm, and after some thought, I realized I was being unfair. It was unrealistic for me to think that you could read my mind.”
“OK…” Was she about to accept my proposal? Damn! I had a perfect proposal in mind this time. I didn’t want her to accept here. Maybe I needed to get on my knee and propose now?
“I thought rather than expecting the perfect proposal from you, I should ask…”
We were interrupted by an excited Max and Jane. “The water broke. We have two new babies on the way, and we were all summoned to the hospital!”
Jane hurried us into her car and thus, Bee couldn’t finish her thought, and I was kept in suspense.
As soon as all the excitement leveled off, I’d ask Bee what it was that she wanted to ask me. This family of mine continually interrupted my plans.
What timing!
August 4, 2014 BEE: An ‘I Do’ Kinda Love
After putting their mama through thirty hours of labor, both babies came out with all ten fingers and ten toes. Forget the woman in labor trying to pop out twins, I didn’t think my nephew was going to make it. He was in more pain than his wife.
He didn’t eat, he didn’t sleep, and he didn’t relax until he witnessed the birth of both of his sons. Henry Jerry Taylor and Scott Roland Taylor came into the world at a whopping 6 lbs. 7 oz, and 6 lbs. 4 oz., respectively. No freaking wonder my niece was downing Porterhouses like water, and was so uncomfortable toward the end. These boys were three weeks early and yet, both were as heavy as full-term babies.
“They’re beautiful, Laney.” I brought my grandnephews their first kimono-style wrap onesies. The happy grandmothers changed them out of their hospital clothes and into my labor of love.
“Thanks, Auntie. I think they’re gorgeous, too. Can you tell them apart?”
The boys were identical, and I didn’t think I’d ever be able to tell them apart. “Is there a trick to it?”
The proud father answered, “Henry has blonder hair than Scott. We named him after his maternal grandfather because he seemed to have more of the Reid coloring. The same goes for Scott and the Taylor family genes.”
“They are absolutely stunning, and I’m happy for the both of you. You make a beautiful family.” No doubt, the four made an ideal picture. “How was labor? Donovan tells me that it was grueling, but you don’t look too worse for the wear.”
“Pshaw!” Laney answered, rolling her eyes. “Next time I’m in labor, I think Hubby will have to stay outside.”
“Next time?” Donovan asked in horror. “We’re not having any more kids. This is it. I can’t believe what you had to go through.”
“Labor was long, but I wasn’t in much pain. Once I was fully dilated and the pain really kicked in, the babies popped out immediately. I think the twins’ daddy was in more pain than the three of us.” Laney placed a kiss on Donovan’s lips. “And we will have more kids. We will keep having them until I have at least one girl. If I’m lucky, the next ones will be twin girls.”
“Dear God!” Donovan groaned.
Nick walked in with more flowers as he’d been assigned the task of receiving gifts. Laney’s room was filled with gifts from family, friends, and staff who worked with Dr. Henry Reid. Her room looked more like a flower shop than a birthing room.
“Who sent those?” Barbara noticed the most stunning array of unusual flowers. I couldn’t say I knew the names of any flowers in the bunch.
“The card reads, ‘Duchess,’” Nick grinned. “Does that ring a bell?” We all watched Donovan turn red with anger.
“Chill out, Hubby. Michael probably did that more to bug you than as an endearment for me.”
Laney was probably correct. But that didn’t make Donovan any happier. I could see that arrangement getting “lost” while in transport.
"What took these critters so long to come out?" Nick asked.
Laney shrugged. “Who knows? I guess they liked the warmth of their momma’s belly. They still prefer to sleep next to one another.”
Nick and I must have had a questioning face because Donovan interjected with, “They cry when they’re separated, but are content when placed next to one another in the hospital bassinet.”
Nick and I nodded our heads in agreement since we had no other way of responding.
“When do you go home?” I asked.
“Since Dad lives next door, the OB said he’d release us first thing tomorrow morning. The twins are healthy and though labor was long, the delivery was easy. I didn’t even need an episiotomy. The boys and I’ve been given clean bills of health, and with all the medical doctors in the family, I think the four of us will be better off at home.”
We all looked to Donovan who had a boy in each arm. He was a proud papa, and his smile put a smile on all our faces.
“That was beautiful, huh?” Those were the first words out of my mouth when Nick and I entered his car.
Once we all realized Laney wasn’t giving birth last night, we came home and made the same trip twenty-four hours later. All the same people milled around the waiting area—just in different clothes.
“That was beautiful.” Nick agreed.
The night was late, but neither of us was tired. We were in a state of carry-over euphoria. I’d never been so close to the birth of a new life, and the woman in me woke up. I was getting older and tonight, I felt my biological clock kick me in the rear end. I wanted a baby.
Nick was in a trance himself. He didn’t say much once we left the hospital and he, too, was deep in thought.
With all thoughts of proposing pushed aside, we arrived back at the loft, and fell asleep without much other than a “good night.”
It was earlier than my usual wake up time, but something was off. I woke up and looked around the room wondering what was different. My search ended with a smiling Nick, facing me, holding my hand.
I returned his smile, but still had no clue what felt different about this moment. Nick watched me search, and it was only when he brought my hand to his mouth for a kiss that I finally understood. On my fourth finger sat an engagement ring!
“I had a myriad of ideas on how I wanted to propose—for the third time.” He added to both our chuckles. “I wanted to take you back to where we first met and propose to you there. Or I thought I might take you away for the weekend and propose to you with a beautiful sunset as our backdrop. But after seeing Laney’s kids being born, I didn’t want to waste any more time.” I understood exactly what he was talking about because I felt the same way. “I love you, Bee Lauren Taylor. You have the power to make an imperfect me want to be perfect. I want to spend the rest of my life playing house, making babies, and being the best husband and father to you and our kids. Will you marry me?”
There was no better answer than, “Yes.”
August 7, 2014 NICK: Another ‘I Do’ Kinda Love
Bee and I were engaged, and I felt as if I was walking on cloud nine!
Soon after I proposed, we went over to the cul-de-sac and spread the good news to everyone. Between the birth of the twins, Emily’s pregnancy, and our engagement, the Reid and Taylor families were in a good mood.
Today was Laney’s birthday, so Bee and I stopped by their house before going somewhere of “most importance,” according to Bee. Then we’d be back for dinner at Aunt Babs’ home celebrating everything Laney.
“Happy birthday, my dear niece.” Bee handed her a large box. I hoped she added my name to the gift since I did not come bearing one.
“Thanks, Auntie. What’s in here?” Laney shook the large box sec
onds before ripping the wrapping paper open.
“Love, sweat, and tears.” Bee laughed. “This will be the only one of its kind that I make, so enjoy it. I don’t ever want to get into this line of baby goods.”
The present turned out to be a diaper bag for twins. There were two of everything—two bottle holders, a changing pad on both sides of the bag, and the bag had the exact same compartments on each end when Laney looked inside. Functional was the key word, but in the usual style of Bee Taylor, it was fashionable.