The Mates of Monsters

Chapter 53

The sweet smell of cooking blackberries wafts in my face as I stir the fruit over the stove to make jam. Helena places the proofed dough loaf in the oven, and we function seamlessly, chatting through our work. "Do you think they will like jam? I hope they aren't picky."

"Children are picky, but they will grow out of it. You know, my daughter was a very picky eater at first, so I would eat the food she feared and act as if it was the most wondrous tasting thing. She would see my reaction and immediately want to taste it. Most of the time, she would act the same way—smiling and saying yum-my. She was a precious little thing."

"I can't wait," I say.

Helena comes to my side. "Here, dear. Let me take over. Sit down for a bit, won't you?"

"I can finish. My belly isn't big yet—I feel fine. But you can bother me in a few months."

"Brigette!"

Helena bumps me out of the way at the sound of David's call. She takes over the stirring, but I'm too curious about David's shouting to care. "David?" I call back and look into the hallway. "Is everything—"

He walks briskly down the hall with a smile on his pretty face. "It passed."

"What."

"The proposition passed," he confirms and sweeps me into his arms.

"Congratulations," Helena says from the kitchen.

"A-Are you serious? You heard just now?"

"I came right here to tell you."

I latch onto him and squeal as he spins us around. "I can't believe it! I have to call Aurora and Bonny and my mom and—"

My rambling stops when he kisses my lips and sets me down. "I'm so proud of you," he says and caresses my cheeks. His thumbs trace my cheekbones before he quickly kisses me again.

"Stay with me?"

He lets go. "Of course."

"Just let me call my mom to tell her the news, and then I want to talk about turning the second bedroom into the nursery. I think it has the best lighting so if we chose that pale green paint, the shadows won't be too weird," I explain. I've been nesting and preparing for the baby ever since my pregnancy was confirmed at the doctor's a few weeks ago.

"Go on and call her, then we can go upstairs and you can show me what you want to do."

"Okay."

David carries on into the kitchen while I grab my cell phone from the dining room. I left it beside my laptop earlier when Helena asked if I wanted to help her in the kitchen. The device is still resting face down on the table, so I grab it and call my mom. We send plenty of text messages, but this is something I want to hear her reaction to.

I sit down while I wait for her to pick up—it only takes two rings. "Hi, Brigie, how is everything? Are you doing okay?"

"I'm doing just fine," I say in regards to my pregnancy.

"Is my grandbaby still being good to you?"

"It's been smooth sailing."