The Patchwork Heart

Chapter 7

I started to feel as large as house by the time April rolled around. The baby was due any time; I was basically waiting to go into labour. Though I hadn't worked very much the previous year my parents arranged for me to go on a maternity leave so I would have a bit of money to myself. I was still staying at mom and dad's house because Mitchell wasn't quite done tearing down the wall between the kitchen and living room. He didn't want me to live in a house full of debris, telling me it wasn't safe for me to inhale the dusts. I wasn't going to complain, he had bought me and my unborn child a home after all.

Jess and I had made several trips to the city with my mom to get everything we needed for the baby. I hadn't put the crib together yet because the house would be ready by the time my son was ready to sleep in so I just had a small bassinet in my bedroom. We decided not to have a baby shower, I didn't want the entire community to show up with gifts and sadness on their faces. Instead we asked anyone who was interested in giving me a gift to leave it at the store. Dad brought home various packages each day, and I wrote thank you notes accordingly.

Sandra and Murray Leys bought me a beautiful living room set for the new house as a baby/house warming gift. I told them they had done enough for me already with the house but they insisted. I happily accepted the gift. It was sitting in the living room of the new house still wrapped in plastic while Mitchell finished taking the wall down.

About half way through my pregnancy I decided to start a journal, where I wrote to Dex about how our child was doing. It was for our son when he was old enough to appreciate it. I started with the day I realized I was pregnant and I wrote a little bit each week. I explained my own feelings, the thoughts I suspected Dex would have about whatever happened. I also wrote about the people in my life who loved this unborn child already simply because of who he was. Not everything was happy in the journal, some of it was very sad and depressing, but life wasn't all sunshine and roses.

It was late morning in mid April, I was sitting in the kitchen having some juice when Mitchell came traipsing in through the back door. He was covered in dust, and he looked very tired. He had stopped knocking on my parents' door at some point as the months passed, but I couldn't put my finger on exactly when. Mitchell stared at me and smirked, "It's ready."

I smiled wide and pushed myself out of my chair. I waddled over to him slowly, I was moving a lot slower since I was nine months pregnant. Mitchell stared at my very swollen belly with wonder. As I approached him he didn't take his eyes off my baby bump. I rested my hands on my lower back to try alleviate the pressure, it helped a bit.

"That's great, Mitch. Thank you." I said, trying to bring him out of his trance. Mitchell's eyes snapped up to mine and nodded. He took off his dusty ball cap and wiped his forehead before putting it back on. He didn't say anything for a moment, so I gestured for him to come in. While Mitchell took his dirty work boots off at the door I went to the cupboard and got a glass. I poured him a glass of the juice I had been drinking. He sat down at the table.

"Have you had lunch yet?" I asked. He shook his head. I nodded and went to the fridge to prepare some sandwiches for us. We sat in silence while I made us some turkey and cheese sandwiches with lettuce and tomato. I made three for him and two for myself, just because I had seen Mitchell eat and he could put away a lot of food.

I set the plate down in front of him and murmured, "No mustard. I know you don't like it." He glanced up at me and nodded, "Thanks Bree." I sat across from him and started to eat my own lunch. Our comfortable silence continued. Mitchell didn't raise his eyes from his plate while we ate. I didn't try to push him to talk about anything, he wasn't a bit talker and when he did talk it often came out in a different way then he intended. I knew he always meant well, but he wasn't smooth, he was gruff.

"These are really good. Better then my mom's." Mitchell offered as he wiped his mouth with the paper towel I had given him. I smiled and nodded, "We won't tell her that." He chuckled. He stood and took our plates to the kitchen sink and got the juice from the fridge. As he refilled our glasses he told me, "I came to pick up the crib today. I'll assemble it and then it will be ready for you when you move in."

I nodded, "Alright. It's sitting in the entryway of the house. I don't think you can lift it yourself though, my dad won't be home from work until after 5pm." He thought about it for a minute and took out his phone. He sent a message to someone and then put his phone back in his back pocket. I picked up my glass of juice and led him to the front of our house to how him where the crib box was.

Mitchell studied the picture on the box and read the specs on it. He asked me, "Are you sure this is the safest one on the market? If you want I can buy you a better one." I shook my head, "No, Mitch, this one is good. I did research, don't worry about it. It's a good crib." He nodded reluctantly and continued to read the box.

I looked up when I heard a loud diesel truck pull up and park next to Mitchell's in the drive. A tall, handsome guy climbed out and started walking toward the house. He was blonde, tanned with a chiseled body. It was the first time since Dex that I had looked at a guy with any kind of lust. I found myself shuffling slightly as he approached the house. Mitchell stood up and muttered, "I'll go get my boots. Ryan will help me load it and unload it at the house."

As Mitchell left the foyer Ryan knocked on the door. I opened it and smiled wide at him, "Hi, you must be Ryan, I'm Bree." He smiled at me and held out his hand, "Yes, it's nice to meet you Bree." His smile was so sexy, I felt the blush rise on my cheeks. As Ryan stepped into the foyer I moved aside, "He's just gone to get his work boots."

Ryan nodded and looked at the crib box, "So, you must be getting excited. That baby should be arriving any day now." I nodded, rubbing my palm on my stomach, "Yes, it's any day now." He smiled at me, "Congratulations by the way." I smiled and felt myself blush again. I was feeling like a silly girl, not a nine months' pregnant woman, I was embarrassed by my physical reaction.

Mitchell came back to the foyer and leaned down to put his boots on. He muttered, "It's not heavy it's just awkward. And she's in no condition to help me." Ryan smiled, "Of course not, a lady this fine should be waited on hand and foot." Mitchell glanced up and his friend and snorted roughly. I smiled at Ryan and he winked at me. As the two men moved the crib out of the foyer I followed them down the steps in my bare feet. After it was loaded into the back of Mitchell's truck he came back over to me, "I'll set it up and come back and pick you up so you can see the finished house."

I nodded and smiled at him, "Thank you, guys." Ryan came up next to Mitchell and smiled at me, "You shouldn't be out here without shoes young lady, those pretty little toes will get all scrapped up." I nodded but didn't say anything. Mitchell rolled his eyes and groaned, "Stop flirting, lets go."

As they drove away I crossed my arms over my chest and smiled to myself. I hadn't been flirted with in months. A guy hadn't looked at me like that in what felt like ages. Boys and men looked at me with concern and sadness, not lust. I shuffled back to the front door with a little bounce in my step. I changed into comfortable stretchy leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. I knew Mitchell would return to pick me in about an hour so I wanted to be ready when he arrived.

I was curious about what the house looked like, with the changes he had made I was sur it was going to look different. I tied my hair up in a bun and waited for Mitchell to return. I was reading one of my delivery preparation books to pass the time. The sun was starting to set when I realized it was almost supper time. They had been gone more then three hours. I checked my phone but I had no missed calls or messages. I decided to text Mitchell to see if something had happened. I got no reply. I didn't have Ryan's phone number so I couldn't call him.

Fear crawled across my chest and down into my stomach. After Dex's accident I had become terrified of people getting hurt in car accidents. My parents both knew that it was important to call or text me when they got somewhere when they were traveling. I didn't have that understanding with Mitchell, I was afraid something had happened to him. I sent my parents a message that I would be out with a friend for a while before I got in the van and drove to the little house two blocks over.