A CEO's Child

Simple Signs

Anissa had taken to reading and reading and reading about babies, hoping it would help the weird case going on before her--her husband. Marty came over for a daily check of vitals and stomach dispositions to help stay atop things. 

Once Ven had finished work out, on a Friday and had come home his behavior had been weird. He was beyond obsessed with organizing and cleaning everything. She'd woken a few times to him in the middle of the night straightening or cleaning things in the kitchen or living room. 

He'd managed to finish the nursery in a twenty-four-hour stretch, including painting. The walls were left mostly white, with rose and gold accents and neat patterns. She wondered if the designs indicated how he saw and interpreted the things around him. They were all mostly diagonal and in hexagons and squares. It wasn't totally feminine but rather futuristic, and it was different and cute. 

 The white and golden crib was taller than normal, he'd modified the legs because of their heights, so they didn't have to do so much leaning to get to their daughter.  The carpet was beyond bushy and soft for when she began to crawl--he hired a day crew to get it done. It was going to be a hassle to clean but Ven decided another vacuum was a good idea, and then got a Roomba. 

Ven didn't let her help, he wanted to do it all on his own. That bothered her, but his behavior was so weird she just let him. He wasn't angry, just pouty when she'd try to help, like he needed to prove to himself he could do it. So, what she did was clean up all the odds and ends. She picked up the minivan, and her mother was borrowing it to install the car seats, and storage in the back. Ven requested tinted windows for skin care, so the baby simply didn't have any risk of burning, despite screens on the car seats. 

They were going to another store shortly, once he managed to plug every outlet with a stupid cover and all the corners with soft foam protectors as well. She crossed her arms, leaning on brand new couch. It was white, in the shape of an L, and it was stupid, but he liked it. A white couch with a baby, spare her. 

"Ven, hon, I'm going to check on Jack. I'll be back. Can you hurry up?" 

He frowned at her, stuck in a mental zone that he wouldn't free himself of, until he was done with the task at hand. He'd been squatting before another outlet, his powerful thighs bunched, and she hadn't minded the sight, just knew he was considering if he wanted to just plaster it. He was going overboard but she didn't want to say anything--yet. 

He was going stir crazy, but he kept putting his hands on his back, indicating pain, and no longer wanted to leave the house.  

"Yeah, can you grab some ibuprofen?"

"Ven, for the last time, we can store some in the cupboard. The baby isn't going to climb the cabinet to steal it for quite a few years. And what's going on? Headache."

He pursed his lips. "Uh yeah...yeah same as before." 

She squinted at him, then headed out the door. She could hear his phone ringing, and he grabbed it a second later.

"What's up, Marylin?" he sighed. 

She didn't stick around to hear the rest. She headed down the small flight of stairs to the next level were Jack and Helsing were rooming. Venyamin's brother was weird. Just as attractive, but aloof. She got the feeling he was noting everything he could about their country, like he sat on high-top buildings and just watch peopled all through the night. Like he was setting up a high-powered computer to hack into the CIA's mainframe during the day.

Jack was on the semi-repaired couch she'd given him, and she smiled strolling in. Their apartment was dark and musty within a couple days of them living in it. Despite all the new furniture and her constant attention. Even Ven being an overbearing mother hen, couldn't tame it. Which was weird, because Jack was normally very cleanly, he just couldn't get up for long periods of time before getting so winded he'd come close to passing out.