Free to Love

Chapter 69

Joanna

It was such a relief to no longer be puking every day. I still threw up a couple times a week, and I always woke up queasy, but the worst of it was over.

I loved living with my husband and his children. I'd gotten my few belongings and all my clothes moved in before the tour started. After the tour, it started to feel like home. I think it helped that I'd lived there for half of the previous summer. I was already familiar with the place and felt totally at ease. Despite what Mallory had written in her letter, I didn't want to totally redecorate. I loved the look of the condo. I did add some new aesthetic touches to the place, though. It was fun to pick out art for the predominantly bare walls. Shawn and I visited several local galleries to find pieces we both loved.

One of the best parts of marriage was going to bed with Shawn each night and then waking up in his arms the next morning. After weeks of not fooling around, it was glorious to have sex again when the morning sickness subsided. Shawn hadn't complained at all while I was sick, but I knew he missed it. We'd gone from doing it constantly on our honeymoon to not doing it at all. Finally, after several months of marriage, we could behave like newlyweds again.

The other best part of married life was living with Grace and Nolan. Shawn and I fell into a great routine. On school days, we'd get the kids up and ready for school. I loved packing their lunches. I soon learned that Grace liked grapes in her lunch, but Nolan preferred tangerines. Nolan liked hummus and pita chips as his main food, while Grace liked pretzels and cheese cubes. They both liked peanut butter sandwiches, but no more than twice a week.

Shawn would drop them off and go to the gym. I'd shower, do chores around the house, and usually count the minutes until he got home. As soon as he walked through the door, we'd go straight to bed.

Having sex while the kids were gone simplified things. We could be as loud as we wanted and we didn't have to worry about interruptions. Since I'd moved in, there had been a couple times when a child would knock on the door right as we were starting to get amorous. I was too tired from pregnancy to wait hours until it was late at night like we used to when we were dating. Daytime loving was the obvious answer.

We spent our weekends at the house in the woods. I loved this time because it was all about being a family. We'd swim in the pool, play board games, and watch movies. Shawn had started reading the Harry Potter books to Grace, so while they'd do that, I read my favorite books to Nolan. He loved Charlotte's Web and the Nate the Great series.

At the end of September, while at the country house, we decided to break the pregnancy news to the children. We'd just finished dinner and were sitting at the table eating dessert. I'd made brownies, which we were eating with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge sauce, and whipped cream. Shawn had chosen this dessert, but I wasn't complaining. After all the puking, I was loving food again.

After taking a big bite, Shawn set his spoon down. "So Joanna and I have some big news."

Grace and Nolan looked at each other.

"What is it?" Nolan asked.

Grace started to smile.

"You two are going to have a baby brother or sister in March," Shawn said with a huge grin.

Grace clapped her hands. "I knew it! Is it a girl? I want a baby sister!"

I laughed. "We'll find out what our little bean is in early November. I know that seems like a long way off, but it will be here fast."

"Its a baby not a bean. And can you make it a boy?" Nolan asked. "We need another boy."

It was Shawn's turn to laugh. "The baby already is what it is, buddy. We just have to wait to find out. We'll either find out at a doctor's appointment or we'll find out when the baby is born."