Chapter Twenty-Four
Mal shifted in his chair and rubbed his back. It was a month later, and as Doc had said, the babies were definitely growing. At their appointment the day before, Doc said Mal had at most two weeks left, given how much the larger pup had grown. “We want to leave them there as long as possible, to give the smaller one the best chances of success, but if your larger pup gets much bigger, birth is the best option for both of them.”
Mal agreed. He could understand what his pregnant friends had been complaining about. He struggled to put on his shoes, none of his clothes fit, resulting in a hurried online shopping binge. Mal was also tired all the time, and he knew it was starting to show.
“I told you to take my chair,” Rocky said, rolling his big executive chair in front of him as he came out of his office, putting it next to Mal. “You take this one, and I’ll perch my butt on your chair.”
“Thanks.” Mal was too tired to argue. He took Rocky’s arm to help him stand and shuffled over, sinking into Rocky’s chair. “Babe, we need to talk.”
“Is this about us giving up work?” Rocky plopped into Mal’s now vacant chair, resting his arms on Mal’s desk. “I got Simon to check over our investment accounts. They’ve been doing really well, so we’ll be all right. Do we need to resign our jobs?”
“Rocky!” Mal didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. “You’re really good at your job, and so am I. Why should we resign? We’ll probably need a few weeks off, maybe a month at most, but Joe and Liam can cover for us until then, and Beau said he’d help with the paperwork and reception while we’re away. I’m trying to work out how we can have the babies in the office when we come back to work. See?”
He pushed a piece of paper in front of his mate – a basic layout of the office and squiggles and cross outs where he’d tried to fit everything in. “No matter how I work it, I can’t see how I can get a double crib in here without the extra furniture impeding the flow of foot traffic around this place.”
“Hmm.” Rocky turned the paper one way and then the other, and then stabbed at a blank space. “What’s in here?”
“The cells, Rocky.” Mal turned the plan back up the right way. “We’re not putting the babies in there.”
“Definitely not.” Rocky frowned and then pointed to another blank area. “What’s here?”
Mal barely resisted sighing. “That’s your office, hon, and before you ask, the room back there is behind the cells and is the private interview room we have to have for sensitive cases.”
“Which we barely get any of. All we seem to deal with are drunks and idiots, but all right.”
“So see here. This is the doorway to your office, my desk, the desk Liam and Joe share, the filing cabinets, windows, and this is your office space. This is the space I’m trying to rearrange.” He drew his finger around the reception area.
“Why don’t we use my office space for the babies?”
Mal did sigh this time. “I know you don’t like to remember it, but you are in a position of authority in this town, and that means you need to have a professional office space to speak with legal personnel and council authorities.”
Rocky screwed up his face. “That’s happened like twice since we took this job.”
“It’s still important for you to have your space.” Mal had already considered Rocky’s office as a short term solution, but he wasn’t about to mention it. “The only thing I can think of is to put the filing cabinets in your office, or in the hallway by the cells, but they do contain sensitive information…”
“What about this space here?” Rocky pointed to a spot on the back of his office.
“That’s outside. We’re not letting out little ones sleep outside.”
“I know that.” Rocky patted Mal’s hand. “I mean, what is outside the back of my office?”
“Not a lot, it’s part of the parking lot and a couple of dumpsters.”
“We’ll build space for the little ones there.” Rocky beamed.
“Babe, I love you dearly, but I’m tired, and you’re not making any sense. I am due in a matter of days. There’s no way we can get anything built in that time. What are the babies and I meant to do in the meantime. Did you want me to throw up a tarp between the dumpsters and huddle under that with our twins?”
“It’s not like you and I haven’t done that before, but no, I want a lot better life for our little ones and I know you do, too. You leave this to me.” Whistling, Rocky pocketed Mal’s map and went to retrieve his hat. “Don’t go having those babies without me, hon. I love you.”
Mal slumped back in his – Rocky’s – seat as Rocky sauntered out the door. “I’m not sure I even want to know what he’s doing now,” he muttered as he swung the chair from side to side. He reached for his phone as it started to ring. “Sheriff’s office, Mal speaking. How can I help you?”