Trauma of the Forest (Meadema)

~ Chapter 81: Feelings of Gratefulness ~

They drove into the familiar street, the street they hadn't driven through for over a year. They were getting a better view of Beth's grandfather's house, their house, the house they would be living in for the next few years at least. A two-story house with an attic, with four bedrooms, perfect for their future plans. This house was simply theirs, a family home. Now it was a matter of making it really to their liking, but that would come with time. At first their focus was purely on Beth and the baby, and hopefully picking up Peter.

The police signaled again, they had agreed to drive along to the house, then do some extra rounds here on patrol, but they gave them the space to move into their new house together. Viv pulled into the driveway, parked the car, opened the door for Beth and then they walked hand in hand towards the door.

'Liefje, ready to see what they've made of our house?'. A deep sigh left Beth's mouth. 'More than ready, but a bit nervous too actually'. Viv turned the key in the lock and slowly opened the door, after which their eyes shot wide open in surprise. The stone floor that was there, replaced with laminate so that their baby can play there safely in a while. The brick wall, demolished and completely plastered and painted. If this was just the hallway, they wouldn't even know what they would see when they walked into the room.

'Jesus Christ Vivi, I can barely recognize it anymore. It's so beautiful'. Tears of gratitude welled up in Beth's eyes, causing Viv to smile brightly. She took a few steps towards Beth and wrapped her arms around her from behind, then pressed a few soft kisses to her neck. 'Yeah, It's absolutely amazing. They did a great job'. Viv let go of her, but kept one hand on her back, while Beth calmly took it all in.

'Come on lieverd, you go first'. Beth placed her hand on the latch, opened the door to the living room and her mouth flew open in amazement. All the old, the antique house, completely modernized. Their sofa, which was undamaged, moved all the way from St Albans to Whitby, the same as their table and a few lamps. A new kitchen, new flooring, new cupboards, everything was new.

They walked around slowly, Viv's arm around Beth's. Everything was beautiful, they really had nothing that disappointed them. The old rotten window frames, replaced by plastic frames. The dividing wall was demolished to create a larger space, a piece of extension was even attached to the house. They could only have dreamed of ending up here.

They walked up the stairs together, eager to see what they had made of it upstairs. They opened the first door to the room, the bathroom. Exactly as desired, spacious, with both a bath and a wide shower, completely in their style. The next door, their own bedroom, even with their own familiar bed, also brought from St Albans, a TV hanging on the wall, new bedside tables and bedside lamps.

The next door, a kind of office, with a large double desk, a cupboard, two office chairs, a printer, perfect for doing tasks from home or a nice room to retreat to. And then finally, the door to perhaps the most important room for them opened. The nursery, the first room for their baby, still completely empty, but it would soon fill up.

Beth stood still in the middle of the room, looking around, clearly day dreaming. Viv very carefully crept up to her, placed her arms around her and placed her hands on her bump. 'Hmm liefje. Finally it's time. We will make sure that we make this room a beautiful place for our little one'.

It became too much for Beth, all the emotion that came with it, caused her to end up in a feast of tears. She turned around in Viv's grip and leaned against her. Viv said nothing for a moment, just let Beth have her way for a moment. 'Pfff, I am really so grateful to everyone who made this happen. It is even more beautiful than I could ever have imagined. And just here, that in a few months our little one will be sleeping in a crib, how many times I have thought that moment would never come, pfff, it is all just too much for me'.