Generations: The Long Game

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Reece picked his phone up from his lap and placed it back down. He wanted to call her. He just didn't know what to say. He wasn't ready he guessed, but Marjorie's disappointment in him wasn't helping how he felt. He wasn't really angry or disappointed in her. He was shocked. He was maybe a little sad for her. For them. For himself?

He knew whatever he was going to do he needed to do it soon. He didn't want to be the reason she had added stressed. "Marjorie, do you want to go for a drive?"

"Sure, my love, let me go get Emery ready and we can go." She started to get up, but he stopped her.

I'll take him, gorgeous, I need to get something from our room anyway." The two bounded up the steps which always made Emery giggle., and in almost no time at all she heard them barreling back down.

"Ready?"

She nodded and he helped her up from the armchair. She still had more than two months to go, but the weight already seemed unmanageable. Neither of them were looking forward to the sleepless nights that came in the months prior to Emery's birth, and she was really hoping this little one stayed away from her Sciatic nerve. That pain had been unbearable.

As Reece settled Emery in the car, Marjorie got herself into the passenger's seat. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

She hated that answer, but with no other reason to press she just settled in. It wasn't hard to guess where he was going once they had been on the road awhile.

He pulled in outside their flat. "Do you mind if I go up on my own first?" He was nervous and moving about more then usual.

"Not at all. Let's take them out afterwards. There is a cute little café she and I have gone to right down the road."

"Sounds good, I'll be back."

He cautiously knocked on the door. He was nervous that he still wouldn't know what to say, and he absolutely did not want to hurt her.

She opened the door, and he could already tell she had a rough night. Without a word she waved him in. This one room flat would not suffice for long with a newborn. He had no doubt she knew what to do with a baby. If anything, she was overqualified. She had worked in the nursery, helped them with Emery, and nearly lived with Char and Mia when the boys came.

His concern didn't even truly lie with her age. Plenty of people had children in their early twenties. Then it dawned on him. "Carly, I am sorry. I was out of line last night. I was thinking about my hopes and dreams. Not yours. Not Eric's. That is not fair to you or to him."

"You're hopes and dreams? You have hopes and dreams ... for me?"

He was quiet for a moment. How could she not know what she meant to him? To them? "Carly of course I do. As much as we have been like parents to you, you have been like a daughter to us. I bet it didn't take you long after finding out before you started dreaming about them. Planing out what a future would be like with them."

She let a small smile cross her face. "I guess I have thought about it."

"Sure, you have. It isn't all that different with us. I thought you would get your education, and maybe come back and help run the nurseries. Then at some point down the line get married and have children."

"Well, just because it isn't on that order doesn't mean I can't still do all those things, Reece."

He sat at her tiny kitchen table feeling a bit like a giant in a doll house. "Where is Eric?"

"He is studying in the other room. He is in his last term. He has had so much more work to do. It really was lucky that we found this place. His roommates would have made this term unbearable."

"Well, let's get him and go to lunch. Marjorie and little man are waiting on us."

Reece's nerves were still frazzled as they sat eating their lunch at the diner. He noticed that Carly was picking at her food. "Do you want something different?"

"No, I am good thanks." She knew why he was asking, but it wasn't that. She just felt sick all the time, and didn't feel much like eating.

He watched her, and he would keep watching her, but he didn't think he would ever not worry.

After they all got back in the car he turned to leave, but not in the direction of their flat.

"Reece, um you've gone the wrong way." Eric was still a bit worried about Reece's reaction and it brought out his timid side.

"We have one more stop to make and then I will take you home."

"I really need to study." He almost whispered. His nerves around Reece was a bit funny to Carly but she stifled the laugh.

"Eric, I promise you will have plenty of time to study. The last thing I want is for you to flunk out of Uni."

Carly couldn't hold it in anymore, and she let out a bellowing laugh. Then Emery giggled and soon the whole car was filled with laughter.

He pulled them into a small drive and asked everyone to come with him. He pulled keys from his pocket and opened the door. "Look it isn't much bigger than your flat, but there are two rooms and even a den downstairs. Mia, Aut and I own it. It was a property we inherited. I want you guys to live here until your done with Uni. Then I hope you will come home, but if not, at least you will have enough room for your ... family"

They were shocked, but it was Eric who spoke. "Reece, we can't. It is too much. We can support ourselves. I will support them."

Reece was shocked but also proud. "Eric, I understand where you are coming from, but these months will go by fast and the two of you will need a place just like this. That one-bedroom flat is gonna get awfully crowded once he or she comes. That and the attached neighbor will quickly become a problem."

Marjorie was concerned they might argue if Reece kept pushing. "Look, how about if you take some time to think about it, and we will leave the keys with you in case you decide to."

Reece smiled. He knew his wife well enough to know she had a plan. She would make sure they made it to this home before the baby was born.