“I will, babe. I’ll send loads of photos. Love you.”
We sign off, and I look over at Lou, who is opening all the drawers in the bathroom.
“Alright, baby girl, let’s get ready for your party. Picking her up and shutting the drawers, I turn on the shower. Lou loves the shower, and it can be easier for me to shower her too.
I’m just a little disappointed that Jake isn’t here to enjoy it.
Jake
I hang up my phone and turn around to face my buddy, Michael. He’s holding his nose trying not to burst into laughter.
“She’s gone now. You can laugh.” What I didn’t reveal to Stephanie is I’ve been home from war for two days, and so has my buddy, Michael. We had an incident overseas while playing basketball and got tangled then broke our elbows. We’ve had surgery to put pins in to help it heal, and both of us are on light duties for a long time.
“Does she know you’re in Upper Hutt?” he asks, as I fill the sink in my room and shave my beard.
“Nope.”
“Is she going to be upset that you broke your arm?” He chuckles.
“Don’t you mean that you broke my arm?”
“I didn’t break your arm. We got tangled.”
“That sounds so wrong, dude.” I chuckle as I pack the last of my things into my bag. I need to bring everything home with me. “Who’s picking you up?” I ask.
“Carey. I’m excited to see her. You?”
“I’m hoping to ring my brother, but I know he’s going to be busy with Lou’s party. You, Carey and Esme are welcome to join us if you want to. Just come by later today; it starts at 3 pm.”
“Yeah, we’ll be there.”
“Sweet. See you soon.” He exits the room with his gear and a slap to my back. “Hey, I want to get home in one piece, please.”
“Suck it up buttercup.” He exits the room, and I text Toby.
Me: Toby, I’m going to call you and do not say it’s me ringing. I don’t want Stephanie to know.
Toby: Why? Are you and Steph having problems?
Instead of answering him, I call.
“Hey,” he answers.
“Hey, so I need your help. Are you alone?”
“Yup. I’m in the garage.”
“Good. I need you to come get me from the base.”
“What base?”
“Trentham.”
“What? You’re home?”
“Yeah, and all will be explained, but come fucking get me, would you?”
“I’m on my way.”
“Oh, and can you tell Sasha I need the box.”
“What box?” I can hear the sceptical tone in his voice.
“She knows what I mean. See you soon.” I hang up the phone, sling my bag over my shoulder trying to avoid my arm, and then make my way off the base. I’ll go wait for Toby because he doesn’t have clearance to be on base.
I don’t need to wait long, and he pulls up. He gets out of the car and hugs me. “What happened?”
“Oh, my Army buddy Michael and I were playing basketball. We collided, and this is what happened.”
“Were you drunk?”
I shake my head. “No, but I’m pretty sure if we had been, we’d have ended up with grazes.”
I get into the truck, and an excited Lemon climbs over from the backseat to see me. “You brought the dog?”
“Yeah. I had to make an excuse to leave. I take it we want to stop at a florist’s first?”
“Please.” He drives down the road, and we head to the first shop on the way. I have the worker make up a huge bouquet of peach coloured roses for Stephanie. I pay, and then we leave.
Toby’s phone rings. He looks at it. “It’s Sasha. Stay quiet.” I fall silent as he answers. They talk for a few moments, and I remain completely silent. He hangs up.
“Bro, I need some help from you and Sasha. In the garage, you’ll find a box stored with our whiskey bottles, and it’s labelled ‘Surprise Steph’. I need you to help me decorate the balcony outside our room. I want to propose to her, and I don’t want to wait any longer.”
“See, told you that you’d be married like the rest of us suckers.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, alright, Detective Dickhead.”
“Sasha will be excited to help. Are you going to involve Lou?” he asks.
“Of course. She’s the main part. She’s going to hold the box for me.” Before I know it, he’s parking up the drive.
“You good?” he asks.
“Nervous as fuck.”
We enter the house from the back door, and I see Lou crawling across the lounge floor. Crouching down, I place the flowers down and hold out my arms. She pauses and looks at me. Smiling, I spot two teeth in her gums.
“Dadda!” she squeals.
“Lou, Dadda isn’t here,” Stephanie says, a sadness to her tone. Lou moves between Stephanie’s legs and crawls towards me. Kneeling up, she snuggles into me. I wrap my arms around her and hold her tightly as I stand.
Holding my baby is the best feeling in the world.
Stephanie
I don’t believe what I’m seeing. Jake’s home, holding our baby girl in his arms. I can’t help myself and run towards him and crash into him.
“Hey, gentle babe.” He waves his arm at me.
“How? When? Were you home when we spoke this morning?”
“Yes. I came home two days ago and had to have screws put in my arm surgically. I’m possibly going to need more surgery, but we will see how we get on. Well, where’s my kiss?” he asks.
I place my hands onto his face and press my lips to his, only, little hands reach up to tear us apart, as Lou places an open-mouthed kiss on his cheek.
“Oh, someone is jealous.” He chuckles. “Lou Bug, you know you’re my favourite girl.” He winks at me and leans down. “You, my love, are my sexy sugar.”
“I can’t believe you’re here.” He bends with Lou and picks up the bouquet of flowers I never even noticed laying on the floor next to him. He hands them to me.
“They’re gorgeous. Thanks, babe.”
“What do we have left to do to get ready for the party?” he asks.
“Not a lot. I just have to set everything out and then change.”
“You do what you need to do, and I’ll play with Lou.”
I don’t have much to do apart from putting the snacks out for the party. Once I’m done, I head upstairs, shower and shave everywhere on my body. I slip into my lingerie and am about to put my dress on when I feel Jake’s arms sliding around me, a hand grabbing my tits.
“Fuck me, sugar. You’re looking for some sexy time tonight, aren’t you?” he asks
I turn in his arms and slide mine around his neck as he lays kisses down my neck.
“I have a present for you,” I announce.
“Yes, you do, and I’ll be happy to peel all this stuff off you later, then devour your body.”
“This isn’t the gift.”
“It’s not, because it’s been pretty fucking amazing so far.”