Whole Again Chapter 30 - Jennifer POV

What a day! Okay, I probably say that a lot, but today was different. Today when I arrived at the daycare everyone was waiting to surprise me with balloons, handmade cards, and posters congratulating me on my little nugget. I admit I got pretty emotional and I’m unsure if that was the hormones or just me. Even though it’s my job to shower the pups with love, today I felt I was showered in love. Nothing can warm your heart more than the love and affection of an innocent child, and getting to receive all that love from them just made me all the more excited to meet my baby.

I’ve already picked out a name! I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl, and I still don’t want to know, so I have variations for both, and I just know Landry will love them, but for now, I’m keeping them a surprise. If he asks, I’ll mention them, but for now, it’s a secret between me and Beatrix.

“You’re right though, Landry is going to love them,” she says happily.

“I’m dying to tell him, but I want to wait for the right moment.”

“Why don’t you announce it with your other surprise?” She suggests.

I shake my head, “I don’t want to detract from it. It’s an important conversation to have and I know if I bring up baby names, Landry will latch onto it just to avoid the other conversation.”

She nods in agreement, “I agree with you there, he does have a nasty habit of doing that. We’ll just have to do some expert convincing. Even try the leg-holding thing like the pups do, that might work.”

I chuckle, “I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I’ll keep it in mind.”

I really shouldn’t be talking to Beatrix while driving, as it’s very unsafe, even though every mutolupus is an expert at multitasking. We can all carry on normal conversations and day-to-day tasks while engaging in chats with our wolves but seeing as how I have another person to think about, probably not wise to risk it.

I don’t drive much, and I’ve always preferred to walk to work even since moving into the cottage, but when I woke up this morning my feet were the size of canoes, and I just could not see myself walking all that way with my feet looking like someone took a tire pump to them. On the bright side, I got to dust the cobwebs off my car and put it to use. My car is a cute little four-door metallic sapphire blue Kia Rio that my parents got for me back in  2018, and even though I don’t drive it much, I really do love it, and with a baby on the way I’m even more glad we have it.

Parking in our little gravel driveway, I grab my bag and get out of the car. I stop and smile at my picturesque little wooden cabin. The moment this was given to us by Alpha Amelia, I knew it was our forever home. It’s the perfect home to start a family in. With its perfect shingled roof, thick wooden supports around our cute little porch and mint-green doors and windows it looks cheerful and like it invites you in. It looks so cute and wholesome surrounded by the Oregon forest. I can’t wait for it to get colder so we can start having cosy fires in our stone fireplace.

I make my way up onto the porch and step inside and the moment I open the door I’m hit in the face by the overpowering smell of paint that makes my stomach bubble like a witch’s cauldron.

“Better not tell any makkares you said that,” Beatrix sniggers.

“I doubt they use cauldrons anyway, so one can safely assume I am merely speaking on the fictional variety,” I argue.

I walk further in and place my bag down on the sofa while I follow the overpowering smell of paint. I walk down the hallway off the living room and can hear Landry muttering to himself and feeling very frustrated as I approach the spare room. I open the door and gasp in surprise and awe as I look around the room.

What was once just a room filled with packing boxes has suddenly been turned into the most gorgeous nursery. Thick white ruffled curtains frame the small window illuminating beautiful lilac purple walls. There’s a large grey armchair in the corner with a little side table and white ottoman, and the carpet is a lovely cream with subtle gold roses printed in the fabric. There are little shelves housing a couple of stuffed toys on the walls and there is an enchanting feature wall. It’s a grand wisteria tree with white and purple flowers cascading from its branches. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen and it has tears swimming in my eyes as I cradle my growing belly.

“I’m sorry, I was hoping to have the crib done by the time you got home,” says Landry guiltily. That’s when I notice him sitting on the floor surrounded by furniture pieces. He’s been assembling our baby’s crib. More than that, he decorated the entire nursery in under a day!

“And to think he was worried he’d make a crappy father,” sniffles Beatrix, also overcome with emotions.

“We wanted to surprise you,” chimes in Matthan, “You’re already working hard growing our pup, this was the least we could do,” he says lovingly as Landry gets to his feet.

“I know I probably should have run some ideas by you, but it’s not done, and I went with your favourite colour purple,” he says proudly, “I also thought grey and white would go well and keep it all neutral. Not that I think a colour determines gender, but ya know,” he says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

I bound over to him and jump up throwing my arms around his neck hugging him with all my might as I kiss him fiercely as my belly presses against him. I sense his surprise and delight as he encircles his arms around me and returns my kiss. Our lips are locked, moving in sync and I no longer care about the smell of the paint, all I can think about is his yummy roast coconut scent.

Currents of pleasurable electricity course through my body from our touch as I continue to kiss him, but quickly I notice him not responding as much and I notice that he seems to be in discomfort. I pull back to look at him and see that he’s gone bright red in the face. “Landry, what’s wrong?” I ask in a panic.

“Can’t… breathe,” he chokes out.

My eyes fly open as I quickly release my grip on him as he drops to the ground like a sack of flour, coughing and spluttering and gasping for air. I kneel down beside him, my hands flailing around not knowing what to do.

“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!” I sing out. “I’ll get you some water,” I say. I race out to the kitchen, fill a glass with some water, and quickly race back in just a few seconds, kneeling back down beside him as I hand him the water.

He sits up, coughs a little and takes the water with a reassuring smile, “It’s okay,” he says, as he takes a few sips.

I gently rub his back, chewing on my lip remorsefully for nearly suffocating my animai.

“I assure you, suffocating on your kisses is how Landry would want to go,” says Matthan matter-of-factly.

“I’d rather not kill the love of my life at all, Matthan,” I shriek.

“It’s okay, Pixie, he was just being silly,” says Landry, holding my hand as he places a gentle kiss on my cheek.

“You say such dumb things sometimes,” chastises Beatrix, shaking her head. This makes Matthan whine and hide his head under his paws.

“I’m so sorry, Landry. My whole life I’ve been weaker than other wolves, I’m just not used to having this much strength,” I sigh.

He wraps his arm around me and pulls me close, “It was just an accident, and you’ll be back to normal in no time. Besides, I find it comforting to know if anyone tried to mess with you or our pup you could crush them with your bare hands,” he chuckles.

I give him a half-hearted smile, “I didn’t mean to ruin your surprise by choking you. I really do love the nursery. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” I breathe out, looking around the room in wonder while Landry tightens his hold on me. “But how did you get this all done so fast? This room was full of boxes this morning.”

“I called in some help. Your parents, Nare, Michael and even Jane came to help,” he says with an odd inflection in his voice.

I stare at him in shock, “You invited all three of them into the same place?”

“It’s not entirely my fault. I linked them, and Jane was the only one who responded. Nare and Michael just showed up. Had they responded to my link to say they were coming I could have done something about it. It was super awkward, and Jane was prepared to leave, but your parents played mediator, which was a huge relief. Jane was trying to be friendly towards Nare, I think in the hope of getting the chance to apologise, but Nare couldn’t take it and eventually left. Jane and Michael managed to be civil, but you could cut the tension with a knife. It was Jane who painted the mural,” he says, pointing to the wall.

I look at it with surprise and appreciation, “I had no idea she was so artistic. It looks amazing, and I’ll be sure to thank them all for their hard work, that must have been very difficult for them,” I say with deep concern.

“The three of them have to learn to deal with their issues eventually, avoiding each other won’t help.”

I nod, “I agree. I’ve really been enjoying getting to know Jane better, even if it’s making Nare hate me, but I don’t want to lose a friend because I gained a friend,” I sigh.

“I understand where Nare is coming from, and even more so Michael, but it’s not fair for them to put restrictions on your life. Like you’ve said, Jane isn’t the person she used to be. Yes, it will take a lot of time for Nare to heal, if she ever does, but the fact is, the person she hated – the one who treated her so horribly – just doesn’t exist anymore. I guess that makes it harder to move on, but not impossible.”

“I just wish there was something we could do,” I say as I rest my head on his shoulder.

“Let’s discuss it while I get you and our pup fed. I know how hungry you get these days,” he smiles playfully.

My cheeks turn scarlet at his words, “There might be some truth to that.”

He chuckles, “Come on, let’s get some food in you,” he says, helping me to my feet and guiding me out to the kitchen.