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She shifts back and forth, fidgeting beneath his stare “A little hungry but fine”

They keep to this banter of small talk until I can’t take the tension anyhter You know she’s pregnant You still love her” I point to Tasha “And, you, this is your dad He still loves you and isn’tit out so we can go eat I’ue

Beck

I pluck at the sleeve ofif the color is what Lia envisioned when she told the tailor “I want hiht blue, not cornflower blue or sapphire, and definitely not navy Midnight” She was slightly over twoat that point, far less miserable than she is now She had returned the first two fabric saain If this didn’t uess that’s what happens when you propose to an artist

She designed her wedding gon to the tiny flower ribbon things she wanted sewn onto it As long as Lia is happy with everything, I will be I am ready to start our forever; the details are minor tobut wedding plans, and I’lad that today means I don’t have to answer another question about which type of fork I like better or what pattern I want on the plates we are renting froive a the committee and then let them have their ith the parties at work

We were up until al the party favors Lia wanted to give all the guests There were holass vials of bubble solution, and little fabric bags of flower petals Lia clai sinally intended for a different project that she knee didn’t have tiift

“How is Lia?” Paul is sitting on the ar his hands on his knees He has been here since shortly after breakfast ti unsure if he’s ready to walk his daughter down the aisle or if he’s excited to see Lia in her dress She’s letmy opinion every step of the way, but she wanted it to be a surprise for everyone else After the rocky start we had thanks to her for We talk until we think we’re done talking, then clarify our positions one more time Usually, our conversations end with us sweaty, sticky, and exhausted fro interrupted while outside near the pool, Tasha and Lia developed a series of colored scarves that they’d leave around the house as warnings

“Lia is not puking, which she’s grateful for,” I answer hih” Her bouts ofsickness and all day sickness subsided as she reached the third tri Lia up at night Asher so nancy aot up to pee at least three tih two of the to be supportive

Paul snorts and tries not to soes silent as he counts on his fingers “She has what, three weeks left?”

I nod and fasten the cuff links Lia ift They look likein my office The mirrored surfaces are so tiny they could be disco balls in a doll house I really don’t kno she could capture so o so quickly We have our staycation sort of honey up to the house daily to give nancy so far along at this point, Lia’s doctor doesn’t want her traveling outside of the city in case she goes into labor We planned so that exhausts her I knoe both need to rest up in the days to come in preparation for the little one’s arrival