The Boot (Book 1)

Chapter Fifteen

A/N: I'm sorry if some of the timing doesn't add up. A lot is happening at once in this chapter and it's kind of hard to keep it all organized so if the timing seems off I'm sorry :) I did my best. Also, let's say it's been a week since the appointment, which means Lucy is 21 weeks along

TIM

Since Lucy is supposed to be resting as much as possible, we've come up with the perfect plan for getting this gender reveal party ready. She was going to do the actual planning, like deciding on certain decorations and placing the orders, and I was going to do the physical work, getting everything set up.

Everything has come down to today. We had six hours until the party, and I had a lot to do. Lucy offered to help, and literally right after she ran to the bathroom to vomit. I was going to have her stay home and rest regardless, but this simply served as all the more reason for her to rest rather than come with me for everything that I'm going to be doing.

I've got a lot to do in not much time, so once I get Lucy situated in bed with the TV remote and some water, I give her a quick kiss and I'm off.

I need to go pick up the cake, the balloons, and the party decorations. Luckily, the places aren't too far away from each other, so it shouldn't take excessively long for me to finish picking it all up.

As I'm driving to my first stop, a text comes in from Lucy.

8:22 am - LUCY: I got bored so I started brainstorming baby names.

8:22 am - LUCY: For a boy, what do you think of Micah? Luca is also a nice name.

8:23 am - LUCY: I love the name Eloise for a girl. It's so elegant.

I chuckle. "Hey siri, text Lucy."

'What would you like to say?'

"Those are all great names. Another idea, for a girl, maybe Simmone?"

8:25 am - LUCY: Oh, I love that.

I arrive at my destination, grabbing my phone and heading inside. The party store opens at 8:00 am, so it was still pretty early and as a result, the store was decently empty. Not that I cared one way or another, I just found it interesting.

I go to the front counter and give the cashier a friendly smile.

"Hello, thanks for visiting [redacted] party store, how may I help you today?" he asks.

"I'm here to pick up an order. The pickup time is 8:30, so I'm a little early. If it's not quite ready yet, that's alright."

The cashier, who's nametag reads 'Adam' nods. "I appreciate you being understanding. We sometimes get customers who can't seem to understand the concept of pickup times. The other day, we had a lady outside the door at 7:30 in the morning, insisting that it was her pickup time."

"Wow, I'm sorry to hear that."

"Anyway, what's the name and type for your order? I'll pull it up and check on it's status for you."

"Thank you. It should be under either my name, Tim Bradford, or my girlfriend's name, Lucy Chen. It should be categorized as a gender reveal package."

Adam nods as he types the information into the computer. "Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"I see it here. Looks like they're just getting it finished up. Shouldn't be too much longer."

"I appreciate it, man," I say, my hand wandering once more to the box in my back pocket. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. "I, um, I also have another order."