The Problem with Dreams

Chapter 12 - Seven Weeks in July

            Greg awoke on Friday morning realizing that their summer was turning out to be far busier than he'd ever imagined. It was already the last week in July and each week had brought appointments for Susan in Malibu with visits for Richard and Marion afterwards; work for Susan, including a business trip to the company offices for two days; production negotiation meetings for him; work at McDonalds, dates with Ashley, and trips to museums and archive locations for Matt; activities for the other children; and advances in the construction of their new house. Inspections temporarily delayed things when they reached various critical points in the project, but over all things were progressing smoothly.

            The most recent developments including the finishing of the the cottage. Mr. Van Kirk informed him the previous week that they were now awaiting it's final inspection. The path leading to it was in place, along with the irrigation for the spaces surrounding it, and Lee Sato's plan for planting a forest between the driveway and the cottage which would essentially hide it from view was developing nicely. The seven large redwood trees had been joined by dozens of others of varying sizes, though none were quite so tall as those initial seven.

            The house in the valley was finished on the outside, and Mr. Van Kirk was presently working on the swimming pool and the exterior walkways in between the hotel wings, which temporarily made the front door the only way to get in. With the exterior doors on, the house was now sealed and on the lowest levels finishing work had begun on the interior, starting in the bathrooms for each of their guest rooms as tubs and showers were installed, cabinets put into place, and tile was being applied around them.

            Meanwhile at home, Susan's pregnancy seemed to be proceeding normally. After weeks of waiting, today was the day they'd been anticipating since the summer began: it was the day of Susan's first official pre-natal doctor's appointment. Greg was accompanying her, and so they both arose early, preparing for an early trip into Malibu again, temporarily pushing aside all other concerns as they focused on this one important development in their lives.

            "Are you ready to go?" Greg asked eagerly. They'd breakfasted an hour earlier than usual. Greg did the clean up, and Susan was just putting the finishing touches on her hair when he came to check on her. "You look wonderful by the way, simply glowing."

            "Thanks," Susan said with a smile. "You don't look so bad yourself."

            "Not bad for a man my age who's expecting," Greg agreed standing a bit straighter. He smiled too as she picked up her purse, a sure sign she was ready to go.

            "Are you excited?" he asked as they got into the car. He was driving this time which was unusual because typically Susan wanted to whenever they were headed for an appointment.

            "I am actually," Susan said. "I'm amazed by how good I feel. I haven't gotten sick once."

            "Are you finally starting to accept that you're pregnant?" Greg wondered.

            "I know I am, Greg. My shirts are starting to get tighter again, like they did last time. Besides, the technician showed me the image when I went for my ultrasound last week. The bubble has a peanut in it now and it's bigger. I can't wait to see what Dr. Daniels has to say about it though," she said. "We're only two weeks away from the point where I lost the baby last time."

            Greg nodded. It hadn't occurred to him that it was that particular milestone Susan was waiting for.

            "Well we're here, so we should know soon," Greg told her.