One More

Chapter 1

Olivia and Tucker sat over dinner quietly. Their hands were clasped while they ate their food. A heavy subject was settled over them. Tucker said something in the heat of the moment, and neither of them could stop thinking about it. The waiter filled up their wine glasses again and Olivia needed a huge gulp. There wasn't a chance that she would get through this conversation without a little liquid courage. "I am nearly 50." She whispers pushing her salad around her bowl. Ed puts down his steak knife and stares at her. "You are 45, Olivia. You are perfectly healthy. In amazing shape." He squeezes her hand but she pulls it away. With a quick fleeting glance of the diamond ring resting on her finger, she looks back up at him. "You are 50, Ed." He takes another bite of steak, signaling to her that they would finish this conversation later. She pushes her salad bowl to the edge and continues to pick at the piece of bread. After finishing up, he paid the bill and went out to the car. Olivia tried to imagine their future with the way Ed wanted it to be. Ed sent his older daughters a text that they would be home soon. In the car, Olivia stared out the window and he just watched the road. 20 minutes later, they pulled up to the house. Together they climbed the stairs and entered the home. Olivia let her jaw drop when she saw Noah running towards her in his underwear. "What are you doing awake?" She picks him up and hangs up her coat. She walked through the house to find their living room a mess. Jennifer was bent over the toy box quickly throwing toys into the box. "Liv, I am so sorry. He would not go to bed, or keep his clothes on." Olivia turned to Noah and fake glared at him. She asked him if it was bedtime. He stiffled a yawn as he told her no. Alyssa came around the corner with his cup of milk. "Liv! You're home." She hands Noah her cup and quickly starts helping Jen clean the floor up. Ed came in and took Noah. "Let's get you to bed." Olivia kisses Noah and tells him goodnight. He takes him upstairs while the girls stand up. "Do you girls need a ride home?" Liv asks while taking off her shoes. Ali shakes her head and points to the keys sitting on the table. She led the girls out and offered to pay them. "Olivia, Noah is our little brother. You aren't  paying us. Goodnight. Tell dad we love him." With that, both girls leave. She jogged up the stairs and saw Ed closing Noah's bedroom door and walking towards there own. She follows him and pulls the door shut behind them. Olivia slips out of her clothing and pulls on her shorts and a tank top. "Ed, we have to talk about it." After changing into his pajamas as well they both sit on opposite edges of the bed. "You don't want to, Olivia. That's all there is to it. Go to bed." He grabbed a blanket they had folded on the chair and walked out of the room. She felt defeated. He never had been this upset that he would go sleep somewhere else. She let out a sigh and fell against the pillows. It started with a simple question and now he was angry with her. Olivia didn't understand why he didn't see it from her point of view. They were old. Scoffing she pulled the blanket over her body and clicked off the lamp. 

Olivia had only been asleep for a few hours when she woke and could no longer sleep. Climbing out of bed, she padded down the hall to find Ed sleeping on their sectional. Without hesitation, she pulled the blanket aside and climbed right on top of him. Ed opened his sleepy eyes to see his wife laying directly on top of his body. Readjusting the blanket on them, he wraps his arms around her and they fall back asleep. 

The next morning Noah came into the living room and saw his parents sleeping on the couch. "No fair! You had a sleepover party without me!" He cried stomping his feet. Olivia woke up and rubbed her eyes till she could see clearly. Ed moved his body so they weren't squishing each other. "We fell asleep out here, bud. Sorry." She pulled their son closer to the couch so she could lift him up in between them.  Olivia kissed his head and asked him what he wanted for breakfast. When he exclaimed he wanted to go to Jesse's house, she laughed. "How about we eat breakfast then I will called Aunt Amanda. Okay?" She got up and walked to the kitchen without a word to Ed. It was quite obvious things were going to be tense today. Not feeling like doing much cooking, she poured him a bowl of cereal and set it on the table. "Noah, I have cereal on the table for you. I am going to change." Olivia retreated to her bedroom quickly and Ed walked into the kitchen with Noah. He started to brew some coffee and then turned to his son. "So bud, Christmas is coming up. What do you want?" He takes a seat next to the boy and watches him nearly inhale his food. "I want an RC car! And a monster truck! And Five Nights At Freddy's!" Ed laughs and nods. He will have to remember to write those down or tell Olivia. Speaking of Olivia, she came walking in dressed for the day. He admired the long sleeve shirt she was wearing as well as the leggings. "Amanda is going to pick you up and you guys are going to go to the indoor playground by school, okay?" Liv says pouring 2 cups of coffee.

The door shut behind Noah and Ed immediately turned to Olivia. She sighed and sat down at the table. Not really ready for the conversation, they both stared at each other before Ed spoke. "Please don't rule it out, Liv. Let's do some research. Read about other people. Don't you want this?" He asks grabbing her hand and rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "Ed Tucker. We are too old for this." She tries to give him a glare but can't even muster one. "Olivia Tucker. People do this everyday. All the time. If we have this chance do not throw it away." He grips her hands tighter and stares into her eyes. She holds eye contact and rubs her thumb over his palm. "So you really want this? You really want to try for a baby?" His eyes light up and he smiled brightly. They both knew already they would need to try IVF. But none the less, they were trying for a baby.