Not So Easy (The NOT Series Book 4)

Chapter 3

“Once you find a contractor,do you know what all you want to do with it?” Megan asked. “When Dad redid his kitchen, I couldn’t believe how many decisions he had to make.” Reaching for her Bellini, she added, “There must be a thousand options for cabinet hardware alone. How does anyone choose?”

I was overwhelmed when the initial planning started, but using the house’s original features as a reference helped cut down the options. There was still a million and one decisions to make, but focusing on one room at a time minimized the overload.

“I’m creating a storyboard that includes colors, textures, and the overall feel for each space, but I’m waiting until I lock down a contractor to work on the kitchen and bathrooms, since those will require way more choices.”

Right now the main bath on the second floor was the only one in the house. The primary bedroom would get an ensuite, and there needed to be a powder room added downstairs. Clients who visited the studio would use the existing bath, which meant it needed to be really nice when we were done.

“What about you?” I said to Megan. “How’s the wedding stuff coming?”

At Becca’s reception in January we learned that Megan’s boyfriend—now fiancé—had given her a ring earlier that week. Since she wanted a fall wedding this year, the planning had moved into high gear.

“Becca is doing most of the work,” she said. “Though Miriam is constantly bringing me pictures and ideas.” Miriam was Megan’s boss and I would never not love that the director of a library was named Miriam Webster. “Another plus of working in a library,” she said. “Lots of resources.”

“So far we have colors and the date,” Becca said. “Venues are still being explored, but we need to lock one in soon. Six months out a lot of places are already booked.”

“Are you aiming for Southside?” Lindsey asked.

That’s where Megan’s dad lived and where she and Ryan had an apartment together. Though I could name dozens of venues all over town, I typically left the recommending to Becca. She dealt with the staff of these places and knew where to go and where not to go.

Megan popped a piece of egg into her mouth. “I’d like that, but I’m also open to other areas. The church where Becca got married is beautiful, but it’s booked the rest of the year. Another one I like is a bit of a drive, but we’re going to see it this afternoon. It’s out in Darlington.”

“Where is that?” Josie asked.

“Above Beaver Falls,” Becca replied. “Which reminds me, we’re taking Sophie to the zoo next weekend, if anyone else wants to come. Jill and her guy will be there, too.”

Sophie was Becca’s seven-year-old step-daughter. Against all odds, Becca and Jill, Sophie’s mother and Becca’s husband’s first wife, had become good friends. The two couples even went on the occasional double date.

I wasn’t sure I could do the same in Becca’s situation, but I’d also met Jill and really liked her.

Lindsey scoffed. “How did that remind you of the zoo?”

“Beaver,” Becca said, as if this made perfect sense.

“Do they have beavers at the zoo?”

“They do.” She stacked salsa onto a chip. “We had a wedding there two weeks ago, so Marquette and I took the opportunity to walk around.”

“There you go,” Josie said. “Have your wedding at the zoo.”

Megan shook her head. “It’s booked for the next two years.”

“That sucks.” I rarely entered the picture before such details were locked down so I wasn’t much help. “I’m sure the perfect place will open up. Becca would likely know before me, but if I hear of a sudden cancellation, I’ll pass it along.”

“I appreciate that. Both Becca and Ryan keep telling me it’ll work out so I’m not going to stress about it.” The eye twitch said otherwise, but there was no need to be discouraging.

“What if you don’t find one before Becca pops?” Lindsey asked. The poor woman already looked ready to burst. “There’s only two weeks left before the little tyke makes his appearance.”

The expectant mother leaned back and patted her protruding belly. “I’m sure we’ll find one by then, but if not, Amanda will take over. She’s already handling most of my summer clients.” Her shoulders rose and fell with a sigh. “I can’t even take a deep breath anymore. The doctor says if he keeps growing at the current rate, we might induce a week early.”

We all sat up straighter.

“Really?” Josie said. “We could be holding him as soon as next week?”

She laughed. “You’ll have to get in line behind Jacob, Sophie, and Mom and Dad, but yeah. Next week.” Her eyes locked on her water glass. “Wait. I could be a mom next week.”

The rest of us exchanged glances, surprised by the sudden panic. She’d had nearly nine months to process the situation. Not as if this was new news.

“That’s a good thing, right?” Lindsey said, using a voice usually reserved for disgruntled toddlers. “No more heartburn, constant peeing, and kicks in the kidneys.”

Becca’s eyes were wide as she looked up. “But then he’ll be…out here.” Tiny hands gestured wildly in the air. “I’m not ready for that.”

“Sure you are, sweetie.” Josie rubbed her back. “You’ve done the classes and decked out the nursery and bought the cute clothes. All that’s left is to meet the little guy.”

“But then I have to take care of him. Feedings and burpings and diaper changes. What if I drop him? What if he doesn’t like me?”

A bit irrational, but I remembered when Darnell’s wife was expecting their first. She’d been similarly freaked out.

“Becca, he’s going to have the best mom in the world. You aren’t going to drop him, and of course, he’ll love you.” Motioning to the others at the table, I added, “Plus, you have us. And Jacob and your parents. A whole baby posse ready and willing to help out.”

This appeared to reassure her. “That’s true.” She relaxed into her chair. “It’s just…a lot.”

“It is,” Megan agreed. “But you’ve got this. Imagine him smiling up at you for the first time. Or wrapping his itty bitty fingers around your thumb. Oh, and that new baby smell when you sniff the top of his head.” Voice wistful, her brown eyes glazed over.

“You want one, too, don’t you?” Josie teased.

The daydreaming librarian snapped back to the present. “Well, I mean…someday, yeah.”

“There isn’t anything you aren’t telling us, is there?” Lindsey said.

The rest of us watched Megan intently.

Ponytail swinging as she shook her head, she said, “You know if I was pregnant I’d never be able to keep it a secret. Look how bad I was at hiding the ring?”

Good point. The goal had been to let Becca have her day and tell us about the engagement after, but Megan didn’t make it through the reception.

“Don’t rush into it,” Becca said, slowly lifting off her chair. “I’ve peed more in the last week than in the last decade, and I’m pretty sure my internal organs are squeezed into the only two inches of space this baby isn’t taking up.”

The fact that any woman did this more than once was an absolute miracle.

“He’ll be here soon, hon,” Josie said. “Then all your organs can go back into place.”

Becca grumbled as she waddled off toward the bathroom.

“That poor woman,” Lindsey said, pulling her debit card from her back pocket. “Little Noah needs to cut his mom a break and get out here.”

“For real,” Josie said. “Watching her go through this helps reinforce my decision not to have kids.”

“You don’t think you’ll change your mind?” Megan asked.

“No, ma’am.”

“What about you, Donna?” she asked me. “Where do you stand on having kids?”

As an only child, I’d bounced around on this issue over the years. There were moments of loneliness in my childhood that made me think that if I did become a mother, I’d be sure to have more than one. Then there were times I watched the news and couldn’t imagine bringing another human into this mess of a world.

There was also the fact that I was eternally single with no prospects on the horizon.

“For now, I’ll work on birthing this house and deal with anything beyond that if or when the time comes.”

“At least the house won’t rearrange your organs,” Lindsey pointed out.

That was a plus. “I have a feeling there will still be labor pains involved.”

“Oh,” Megan said, pushing in her chair. “Maybe you’ll find a hot contractor that will make you want to have his babies.”

The others laughed while Calvin’s sexy smile, dark eyes, and broad shoulders danced through my mind. I had to admit, the man would make beautiful babies. Shaking the thought away, I tossed a tip onto the table.

“All I want out of this project is a finished house. Once I have that, hot or otherwise, the contractor can go on his merry way.”

Josie tucked her arm around mine as we walked toward the exit. “Would it be so bad to keep your options open?”

I thought of Calvin again. “Yes. Yes, it would.”

Days passedwith the group chat on baby alert. Becca grew more miserable, while also doing her best not to whine. If anyone deserved a little whine—and wine, actually—it was her. Because of the uncertainty of baby Noah’s arrival, the zoo trip had been postponed. The venue visit they’d done after breakfast had also been a bust, so the wedding venue hunt continued.

“I’ve had a look around,” said Walter, the latest contractor assessing the house. “It’ll be a miracle if you get the permits needed, and the work required to secure the foundation to take on the extra weight will likely blow your budget. Your best bet is to rework what you’ve got standing and try to get your money back by selling this heap off to someone else.”

Walter was clearly not the man for the job.

“Thank you for your time,” I said before spinning on my heels and opening the gate. “You have a good day.”

Understanding the unspoken response, he said, “You won’t find anyone willing to do what you want.”

I closed the gate behind him. “We’ll see.” There was no point in arguing, though I was beginning to fear he might be right. Staring up at the house, I sighed. “There has to be someone willing to take you on.”

“Still no luck?” said a voice behind me, scaring me half to death.

Spinning, I found Calvin with his hands tucked into his overalls and a knowing grin on his face. “Do you always sneak up on people like that?”

He ignored my question. “Walt was a no, huh?”

Crossing my arms, I tried not to grind my teeth. “He says I should repair what’s here and sell the heap to someone else.”

“Ouch. That’s harsh.”

Yes, it was. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll find the right contractor.”

Rocking from toes to heels, he said, “I’m still available.”

I bit back the response dancing at the tip of my tongue. Walter had been the only one to return my call in the last week. My options were quickly dwindling, and I’d already considered hiring Calvin. There was my pride and then there was the house. I could sacrifice the one to save the other. At least he’d saved me the embarrassment of having to call and beg him to come back.

Curious, I said, “Why do you want this job so badly?”

“I told you before. I care about this street. I also think you’ve got some good ideas about what the place needs.” Pulling a folded up paper from his back pocket, he said, “I drew up a quote, just in case you changed your mind.”

I accepted the paper and read it over. It included everything we’d discussed the day we walked around, plus a couple of things I knew I hadn’t mentioned but that were definitely on my list. This smelled of Darnell again, since he and I had discussed the plans just two days ago.

The weight of reality settled in. Calvin really was my only option.

“You can get the permits?” I asked. “Including for the addition?”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“What about the foundation? Walt said we’d need to do extra work so it’ll support the new part.”

Eyes narrowed, he pondered the question. “That depends. Do you want to extend the basement under the addition, or stick with what you have and make the new section a crawl space?”

I’d only thought about the stuff above ground, not below it. “What would you do?”

Rubbing his chin, he stared at the house behind me. “Personally, I’d keep it how it is and stick with building from the ground up.”

That felt right to me. I couldn’t believe I was about to say this.

“Fine, you have the job.”

Instead of the smug look I expected, he offered a genuine smile. “Are you sure?”

Did I have a choice? “Yes, I’m sure.”

Calvin extended his hand. “Then I accept.”

The moment our hands touched my whole body went warm as if I was back in high school about to melt at the feet of my teenage crush.

“Good,” I said, clearing my throat and pulling my hand away. “I’d like to get started as soon as possible.”

I had enough money to pay both the mortgage and the rent for four months, and I’d already lost two weeks trying to find a contractor.

“Do you have time to meet tomorrow?” he asked.

Whipping out my phone, I checked my calendar. “I have clients in the studio at ten and two, but I can meet in between.”

“Great,” he said. “I’ll send you the address.”

“We aren’t meeting here?”

He shook his head. “We can’t do anything without blueprints. Meet me at the address I send you at eleven thirty.”

“Okay,” I said as he walked away. Watching him go, I muttered, “Four months tops. Then he’ll be back out of your life.”

Four. Long. Months.