The Sirens Call

28

December 23, 1983

When Lindsey and Stevie went to look at the house Stevie immediately fell in love with it. It was about fifteen minutes from their previous house now, cutting Lindsey's commute by about ten minutes. They were still on the beach and it was a little bit more private than their previous beach. This house even had a boat dock and Lindsey started talking about investing in a boat. Stevie just growled at him when he brought it up, because 'most of the injuries that happen to mermaids are because of the propellor of a recreational boat.' And it's not like they could really afford it anyway. They had gone over budget on the house slightly. Not a horrible amount, But they were still paying 350 dollars a month on a mortgage and they would be for the next six years. Not to mention Stevie had to buy all new furniture for the house, so the first paycheck Lindsey had gotten after they bought the house all went to furniture. Groceries be damned. 

What Stevie loved the most about the house though, was the views of the beach. When you walked into the front door it was a wide open space. If you turned your head to the left there was a dining area.  In the dining room Stevie had a light wooden table that sat eight. The chairs were white fabric. It was the least private room in the house, having three giant windows facing right into the house across the street. But Stevie had put some tan curtains in that room. The house was pure white so to add a touch of color there was a teal hutch where a decorative bowl, candelabra, and fish were sat. 

In the dining room there was an arch way that led into the kitchen. Stevie wasn't overly fond of the kitchen. There was a trapezoid shaped island. The long side had three white fabric bar stools the small side had a cook top. The cupboards where white wood and the countertops were a tan granite. There was a small circular table in their as well. It was a light wooden table and chairs with white cushions on it. One bathroom was off of the kitchen. Stevie wasn't thrilled with the placement of it, but it was a decent sized bathroom with a walk in shower, a sink and a toilet. Though she didn't like it being in the kitchen, it was placed directly next to a door that led out to the beach so she couldn't really argue with that placement too much. The patio wasn't horrible huge. They had managed to put a little swing and slide set up for Marina and the impending baby. There was an outdoor couch, lounger, and fire pit. The deck had to entrances, the one from the kitchen and the one from the living room. When you walked into the living room-had you turned right you would've gotten into the living room-it had a fireplace and Lindsey mounted a TV above it. Stevie wanted color in the mostly White House, so they had a red velvet L Shaped couch and matching arm chair. This room had a dark wooden coffee table, one end table and a little hutch where she had some pictures and shell displayed. Lindsey had a dark wooden entertainment center with records and movies in the room as well. One of the walls had a built in bookshelf which Stevie placed a little red chaise lounger and by. It had become Max's domain because one of his dog beds and his toys were by the lounger but he still opted to jump up on and curl up on the lounger. 

Every bedroom in the house was the same size. The master had subtle instances. It had the only attached bathroom, a walk in closet, and balcony doors that opened up to the sea. Stevie had put a lounge chair and two outside patio chairs up there and that was where Lindsey had started drinking his morning coffee. They had a King sized bed with a mahogany headboard and footboard and they had a chair in the corner of the room. In the master bathroom there was a giant soaker tub and when they were shown the house Stevie got on her tiptoes and whispered in Lindsey's ear, "Marina and I could both shift and fit in that tub." That was the moment that Lindsey put in an offer. The tub was huge and even though Stevie couldn't shift at the moment Marina was loving it. 

Lindsey had transitioned Marina to a big girl bed and Stevie absolutely hated it because she was only two years old, but it allowed them to reuse her crib. Stevie had moved away from the nautical theme for Marina to a point. They had painted her walls a mint green and her comforter was a white and mint colored comforter. It was designed to look like it was under water and there were little cartoon mermaids all over it. One had pink hair and a pink tail. Another purple. One had blue hair and a pink tail. The sheets were mint and white and they were made to look like the gills on Stevie's hip. The nursery had gone full nautical though. She was using Marina's crib but she got a whole new bedding set. She had Lindsey paint the walls navy blue, and the theme was whales. The main quilt from the bedding set had boxes. The boxes were alternatingly filled with a blue whale, a gray whale, an aqua whale, tiny aqua whales, tiny navy anchors, and just plain grey. 

For the first time ever, Lindsey's family and Stevie's family would both be at their house for Christmas Dinner and Lindsey was freaking out. Stevie had her head mostly in the toilet. Her morning sickness was awful. She was laying in bed under the covers in an out of sleep. She was so nauseas it was stupid. 

"Baby, baby...Chris and Lori are here." Lindsey crawls in behind her and rubs her back. 

"Lindsey I feel awful." She groans nuzzling deeper into the pillows.

"Maybe you should go to the hospital. They can give you an anti-nausea." Lindsey sighs. 

"Buy my gills." She shakes her head. 

"Come on Steph. Let's go downstairs for a minute." Lindsey urges rubbing her bicep. She blows out a breath and then she slowly pushes herself out of bed. 

When they get downstairs she resumes the position she was in the bed on the couch and Lindsey looks at Christopher. 

"You're the king of the mermaids, is there something you can do, to like camouflage her gills. She needs to go to the hospital. She can't even keep water down." Lindsey sighs. 

"I can." Chris nods.

"Really?" Stevie asks.

"Yeah, I can...but it'll only last for about six hours." Chris nods.

"She needs to go Chris." Lindsey tells him shaking his head. 

"What about your family." She sighs. 

"Chris and Lori are here with Marina, I'm sure my family will understand." Lindsey looks at her. 

"Lift your shirt." Chris looks at his sister. She was wearing a silk camisole and a pair of black lounge pants. She blows out a breath and rolls over on her couch.

"Well look there's a baby in there." Chris smirks.

"Hmm?" Stevie asks.

"You're showing sis." Chris chuckles. 

"The baby book I read when you were pregnant with Marina said that second time moms tend to show sooner" Lindsey smiles bending down and kissing her head.

"Good to know. Get it over with so I can go and then get back home." Stevie states. "I feel miserable." 

"She's so much worse this time around." Lindsey sighs looking at Lori.

"Every pregnancy is different." Lori nods.