First We Were Friends - A Bucky Barnes Novel

Chapter 20. It's Official

The large yellow envelope stared at Bucky all the way home from the post office where he pulled it out of their mailbox.  With a return address of a lawyer in North Lake Tahoe he wanted to open it on the spot but he knew Julia would also want to see the contents at the same time he did.   It sat there on the passenger seat along with their regular mail and he resisted every inclination to pull over and open it.  He knew what it was but having the actual physical proof was different than receiving the phone call to say everything went through.  Even the arrival of the moving van the previous week before to load up almost 80 years of Johnson acquired furniture and possessions didn't have the official stamp that the contents of the yellow envelope had.  Bucky opened the garage door with the remote opener, pulled in and parked his truck.  Then he grabbed the mail and headed towards the house, closing the garage with the wall control.

"Hey, I have the mail," he yelled as he stepped inside.  "There's one from the real estate lawyer."

Julia came to the door to kiss him and she took the mail out of his hands while he kicked his boots off.  Together they went to the kitchen where she dumped the mail on the counter and grabbed the large yellow envelope.  Looking at Bucky in anticipation he nodded and she tore it open pulling out the documents.  They both leaned over the counter to read they were the official owners of #279, Rubicon Bay Lane, Tahoma, California.  The house keys were to be couriered to them by the official possession date in 4 days.

"It's ours babe," said Bucky, putting his arm around her and kissing the side of her head.  "All bought and paid for.  I can start the tear down next week.  Sam said he'll come to help, so have a couple of other Avengers."

"It's really happening," replied Julia.  "We'll make that house just the way we want it.  Then we'll fill it with kids."
"You haven't had your period yet," he said gently.  "I noticed.  Do you think we should get one of those pregnancy tests?"
"I have two in the bathroom," she smiled.  "I was waiting for the possession date but we can do it now, if you want.  I'm pretty sure I am this time."

Bucky picked Julia up effortlessly and sat her on the counter.  Spreading her knees apart he stepped in between them and pulled her close to him before sensuously kissing her.  His hand was on her breast and he caressed it as he kissed her bringing out some satisfied sounds from her as he made her nipple erect.

"Someone's responsive," he noted.

She returned the sensuous kiss and Bucky picked her up, carrying her up the stairs.  Jasper followed them but Bucky closed the door leaving the cat outside in the hallway complaining.  Eventually the cat settled down and he sat patiently waiting for the door to open again.  When it did he went inside and settled on the bed.  Bucky and Julia were lying under the covers with a pregnancy test resting on the duvet.  Patiently they waited for Bucky's phone to count down the minutes.  When it went off he muted it and looked at Julia.

"Go ahead," he said.
She picked it up, looked at it and showed it to him.  With a smile he kissed her, then hugged her hard.  "We're going to be parents," she said, her voice choking a little.  "First the house, and now this.  We'll have a baby before Christmas, before our first anniversary."

"Perfect," he responded.  "Now I know how long I have to get our house ready.  I'll submit the plans next week for approval and start breaking down walls."  He ran his hand through her hair.  "I'm so excited to make our forever home, just like the home improvement shows say."

Over the weeks that followed Julia began experiencing severe morning sickness, prompting a visit to an obstetrician that her family doctor referred her to.  Based out of South Lake Tahoe, Dr. Rudzinski was a vibrant woman of similar age to Julia.  They clicked on that first visit and she made herself available for Julia to phone outside of office hours, considering the anxiety she could feel due to her Asperger's.