Yes Please || c.g. {complete}

Shock

76

.Carl.

I sat on the floor of our bedroom, surrounded by a mess of wooden rods and screws. I had promised Layla I would have the crib put together by the time she got home that day. It was already 1:00, and all I had to show for my efforts was a clusterfuck of parts. Jesus, was this crib shaping up to be like my apartment search?

I sighed and stood up to go get a beer.

I had only taken one sip when there was a knock at the door, and Debs came in.

"Hi," I smirked, slightly confused by her random drop-in.

"Hey," she smiled. "I heard you're putting a crib together?"

I rolled my eyes. "She sent you to check on me, didn't she?"

"Maybe," Debbie grinned. "Let's see the damage."

I hung my head and reluctantly led her to the bedroom.

"Holy shit, Carl!" she laughed, gingerly stepping among the chaos.

I put my free hand over my face. "Yeah, I know."

Debbie looked at me sympathetically. "She gets home in like an hour, right?"

I nodded, taking a long swig.

"Well then we need to get to work. Come on, I'll help," she declared, taking a seat and picking up the directions.

"Thanks, Debs," I sighed, sitting down and awaiting her instructions.

.....

.Layla.

It's rough being eight months pregnant. You feel as big as a house, you're emotional, you're tired; trying to manage all of that and keep up with a full course load at a prestigious university is a tall order. I was trying my best though. God bless Carl, because he made it much easier on me. He went above and beyond to make sure that I had whatever I needed or wanted, even when I knew it was tough for him.

I'd asked him to put the crib together. I had had what I considered to be a nervous breakdown; thinking we weren't ready for the baby, and that we wouldn't be able to make things work. He suggested that putting the furniture- that up to that point had been sitting in boxes- together would make me feel more ready. I eventually agreed, though being as big as I was, was ill-equipped to assist in the assembly.

I knew assembling the crib would be a daunting task; I felt guilty leaving him to do that on his day off. My conscience made me text Debbie to check on him. If he had done it, great! If not, she would be able to help. Either way, that big step would be done, and I knew I would feel much better about things.

I drove home that day feeling excited. Seeing the crib put together would make this even more real. Like most things, it would probably make me want to fuck Carl's brains out.

When I walked into our apartment, I was greeted by Carl and Debs, both sitting on the couch with a beer.

"Hi," I said nervously, hopeful that they had been successful.

"Go check it out, Mama," Debbie smiled.

I grinned and dropped my books to go have a look for myself. Inside the bedroom was our beautiful crib, fully assembled and ready for baby Matthew.

I put my hand over my mouth, feeling overcome with emotion yet again. I felt hands on my shoulders, and then arms wrap around me.

"Thank you," I whispered to him.

"Of course," he replied, kissing my shoulder. "Although, Debs deserves most of the credit if I'm being honest."

"You're damn right I do," she laughed, walking in next to me.