Natalie & King

Ch.31

Natalie

The first week with mom sleeping in the living room, I was on edge. In between bathroom breaks from the baby squishing my bladder, I snuck downstairs to check to see if she was still there. Each time, I expected her to be gone. It was mid-September now and mom's doctor didn't think she'd make it past Christmas, if that. A small piece of my heart broke when she told me that a few days before the baby shower Bay insisted on us having. I didn't enjoy the music, the people or the amount of times someone put their hands in King's hair. Most of the people that showed up were Bay's friends, including Nelly, so I distanced myself from Bay. She only let that last ten minutes before she was lacing our fingers together, drawing way too much attention. I could feel the tension between Nelly and I and I know Bay could too but she did a good job of ignoring it. She even ignored the way I bumped Nelly's shoulder on her way out the door. I was more than happy to have my house to myself when everyone left except, mom was still on the couch and I was starting to lose my patience.

It took a few pinky promises to get King to let mom sleep in the top bunk. He was upset the first few days because that was supposed to be Kohle's bed but eventually, his attention was on something new Thor chewed up. Bay was 35 weeks pregnant and more swollen than ever. November was slowly sneaking up on us but I was ready. Physically ready anyway.

King sat at the front door with Thor, both howling at the jeep sitting behind Kohle's car. They did this every time someone came to visit. I picked up a few of their toys on my way to see who was outside. It was Beth, Kohle's mom. She looked sad and incomplete, which I completely understood. With her husband deployed and Kohle locked up, she didn't have anyone. I almost felt guilty for not checking on her but the phone worked two ways.

"Sure looks like it's gonna come down out here." She wiped her shoes on the welcome mat and walked inside after me. I took a second to look at the sky before closing the door. The clouds were dark and only getting darker and I could hear light rolls of thunder in the distance.

"Oh you've gotten so big!" she held her arms open for King and got puppy kisses instead. King giggled, moved Thor out of the way and gave his adopted grandmother a hug. For a split second, the sadness in her eyes was gone. Yeah, King had that effect on people, especially me.

"This is Thor! Mommy and Bay got me him!"

King did the honors in showing Beth around while I scooted around in the kitchen with throbbing ankles. I didn't feel like cooking anything special tonight but I didn't want to order pizza. The last time we ordered, it took over an hour for the delivery man to find our house. Bay walked into the kitchen while I sprinkled seasoning over a few pieces of chicken breast. She wore an oversized t-shirt and long fuzzy socks. Her hair flowed over her shoulders and framed her chubby cheeks perfectly.

"I didn't mean to nap for that long. I'm so fuckin' tired." She rubbed her eyes as she stood in front of the refrigerator.

"King woke up a few hours ago and hasn't stopped moving since. Beth is here. She's outside with them now."

Bay stood by my side and helped peel the skin off of the potatoes because it made King gag. She sprinkled salt on them and then glanced into the pot of boiling water. While she did that, I listened to the rain hit against the roof seconds before King came running inside with Thor on his heels.

"Mama it's raining!" thunder growled loud enough to startle King into my arms despite me frying chicken. King wasn't a fan of thunderstorms, especially loud ones. Bay ushered Thor out of the kitchen by shooing him until he got the hint. She really didn't like him in the kitchen. King stayed in my arms until mom appeared in the doorway. When he saw her, he smiled and wiggled out of my arms.