Chapter 37 Abel
ABEL
“What about this?” I hold up a cream blanket that’s so, so, so soft.
Perry runs his fingers over it, but frowns. “Wrong color. Let’s do purples.”
“Oh! Yes!” I run around the shop and grab purple blankets, pillows, towels, curtains, whatever I can get my hands on and bring it to the cart Perry leans against.
Buckle wandered off a while ago, but I was made to help build nests. I’m a bird, for crying out loud!
“Mmm, yes. Purple is the correct color.” Perry rubs one of the pillows against his cheek, then offers it to me. “Perfect.”
I preen and throw the pillow in the cart. “How many do you want?”
“Seven.”
I turn on my heel to grab seven more of the exact pillow.
We continue on until Perry and I both have carts full of nest making materials that his squirrel decided we needed. He’s four months pregnant, so horny, and a little bossy. I fall deeper in love with him every day, and of course with Buckle, too.
Perry and I are finally moved into Buckle’s house.
It took all three of us, plus Pax and Aaron’s help.
I didn’t have much, but Perry had an entire house worth of stuff.
Some of it stayed, some of it came over.
Eventually, we’ll rent his house out, but right now, that’s so far from any of our minds.
We’re deep into domestic bliss and nesting.
So much nesting and I’m here for it.
We’re taking over one of the spare bedrooms to make a big family nest. Buckle didn’t make a fuss about it, probably because he had heart-eyes again.
“Hey, what about this?” Buckle laughs when he sees our overflowing carts. “Nevermind, it looks like you both have everything we need.”
“Gimme.” Perry holds out his hand to take the stuffed rose. “We need like five of these. Especially if there’s a purple one.”
“As you wish, baby.” Buckle leans in to kiss Perry before turning on his heel.
I sigh, this is the best. “I love nest shopping.” I pat the head of one of my new stuffies I grabbed for my library roof nest.
“Same,” Perry says as he looks over his stash. “I always feel like I’m missing something, though, and I can never figure out what it is.”
Elsbeth strolls right on by without stopping. She’s not supposed to be here. “Mates in your nest with you.”
“That sounds right,” Buckle says, carrying five of the stuffed roses with him, two of them being purple. “I think this nest is going to be perfect once we’re all in it together.”
I hum in agreement and grab a few boxes of candy as we walk down the candy aisle. There are a few more things I need to grab before we go home. I just hope Perry enjoys what we have in store for him.
“I think I need a few new shirts,” he says and waddles off to the clothing aisle with us trailing behind.
Buckle leans towards me. “Operation baby shower is ready. We just gotta get him home.”
“Elsbeth threw me off. She’s supposed to be at our house,” I whisper.
“I think she knows how to play the game. She threw him off our scent. If she’s here, there’s no way we’re throwing a baby shower because obviously she’d be there. Right?”
I nod. “Very true. We’d never throw a baby shower without her.”
Perry finally joins us again, now with several new purple shirts in his cart. We’re all set and as we make our way to the checkout, I can’t help but bounce on my toes. I’m determined to make this surprise baby shower one he’ll never forget.
On the drive home, I sneak glances at Perry, who’s chattering about all the food he wants for dinner. I just know he’s going to love what we have planned.
When we pull into the driveway, I catch Buckle’s eye, and we exchange a quick nod. This is it.
As we step into the house, Buckle and me laden down with bags, my heart races with excitement. The air is thick with anticipation, and I can barely contain my grin.
“Just act natural,” Buckle whispers close.
I nod, trying to suppress my giddy nerves.
The moment Buckle flips the light switch, the room bursts into brightness, revealing a sea of colorful decorations and our friends. “Surprise!”
Perry’s eyes widen, and his mouth drops open in disbelief. “What!?” His voice is a mix of shock and joy, and he stands frozen for a moment before he spins, taking in the room. He finds Elsbeth. “How did you beat us back without us seeing you?”
She just winks.
Our friends transformed our place into the sweetest haven. There are purple streamers, balloons, and a huge banner that reads “Time To Nest!”
I chuckle, because to me it’s always time to nest.
Elsbeth, Carol, Lisa, and Bette stand by the gift table, like aunties. Pax and Aaron offer cheerful smiles from a pair of chairs. Molly and Ryan sit on the couch together. Even Riley and his partner made it and give us a little wave.
“Oh, my gosh! You guys!” Perry squeals, wrapping Elsbeth in a tight embrace, then hitting everyone up with their own hug.
Buckle and I drop our bags off in the spare bedroom and when we get back to the living room, Perry rushes to the gift table, his fingers dancing over the decorations scattered about at the wrapped presents.
There are a few things not wrapped, and he fingers a tiny onesie with adorable animal prints.
His eyes sparkle. “This is adorable. I can’t thank everyone enough for doing this. ”
“Just wait until you see what else we have planned,” I say, glancing at Buckle, who helps Aaron load the snack table with trays of treats.
“I’m touched.” Perry fans his face. Tears well in his eyes. “Thank you for this.”
I rush to his side and hug him. “You deserve a celebration. You’re carrying our babies.”
He nods and drops his head to my shoulder. He’s warm in my arms. We stand there until he’s ready to face our guests again. Maybe shopping and surprising him wasn’t a good idea. He’s probably tired and overwhelmed.
His stomach growls, and he places a hand on it as he laughs. “Maybe I’m a little bit hangry.”
I take his hand and guide him to the snacks where we have all his favorites.
Everyone chats, but thankfully the room doesn’t get too loud.
We get parenting advice from almost everyone.
I soak it all in and wish I had one of my notebooks with me to take notes, but I promised Buckle I wouldn’t do that so I can engage with conversation. He knows me so well.
Aaron bounces to his feet and announces games.
First up? “Guess the Baby Food.” Everyone takes turns tasting a variety of pureed foods and making ridiculous faces, trying to guess each flavor.
I’m not a fan of the consistency of any of it and hope our babies don’t mind until they can have solid food.
Bette nearly spits out the carrot puree, causing everyone to erupt into fits of giggles. Riley wins the prize of a golden spoon.
Next up is The Price is Right: Baby Edition. We take turns guessing prices on baby essentials displayed on the table. Perry is ridiculously good at it, surprising no one since he’s been pricing baby items with Buckle and me for months.
The dirty diaper game has everyone making faces as we squish melted candy in newborn diapers trying to guess which candy it is.
“This game is a little messed up.” Pax laughs as he licks chocolate off his fingers.
“That’s what makes it so fun.” Buckle picks up one of the diapers and scoops out the candy. Perry gags because it really does look like poop.
Elsbeth claps to grab everyone’s attention. “I think everyone should go wash their hands so we can do gifts.” Her eyes sparkle and I have to wonder what she brought.
Perry sucks in a breath and he’s the first to the kitchen to clean up the mess on his hands.
We set him in the middle of the couch and surround him in gifts.
Adorable outfits, new stuffies, a boatload of diapers in various sizes, cute little books, car seats, blankets, bottles, the list goes on and on.
Each gift Perry coos over how cute it is.
Okay, to be fair, we’re both making comments on the cuteness.
Buckle watches us with a sweet grin on his face. Gah, I love these men.
“Okay, last one!” Elsbeth declares as Aaron pushes up a huge box. Buckle helps Perry open it. Inside sits the beautifully crafted wooden rocking chair Buckle and I had custom made.
Perry’s hands fly to his mouth, emotion fills his eyes. “Oh, wow. This is perfect.” He runs his hands over the back of the rocking chair.
Buckle steps forward, wrapping his arms around Perry from behind. Perry had told us how the one thing he missed most about not being home is the rocking chair and reading to his siblings. Now he can do that with our kids if he wants.
Tears brim in Perry’s eyes, and he turns to hug Buckle tightly. “Thank you, both of you. This means so much.” I nuzzle into them both.
The party winds down and Perry looks beat, but he’s keeping a smile on his face.
Elsbeth asks for a group photo and we all oblige. I slip my arm around Perry’s waist, grateful for the warmth and love surrounding us. This moment, this celebration, reminds me we’re all family. A family filled with laughter, support, and a whole lot of love.
The sun starts to set, and we beg people to take snacks if they want so we don’t have to deal with too many leftovers. Of course, everyone takes some cupcakes, which is fine by me.
The room fills with cheerful chatter and laughter. Slowly, one by one, everyone leaves, and it’s just the three of us. This is just the beginning, and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead for us.