If that variety meant he had to give up some things that made life easier on his world, then he was happy to do it.  Smiling as he thought of Caitlyn and their child, he drove up to the second window and collected the milkshakes and sundaes in the cardboard containers the person handed him.

            “Having a birthday party for your kid?” the teenager asked.

            “No.  This is for my wife.  She’s going to have a baby,” he replied, unable to hide his excitement.  A year ago, he didn’t think he’d say those words, and yet, here he was on his way home to a woman who was expecting his child.  If life could get any better, he didn’t know how.

            The teen nodded.  “Gotcha.  When my mom was pregnant, she craved french fries, so I was bringing them home every night.”

            Chris’ eyebrows rose.  “So it’s normal for a woman to eat a lot more than usual when she’s pregnant?”

            “Let’s just say they have the weirdest cravings.  My mom dipped the fries into chocolate sauce.”

            The teen shuddered, but Chris didn’t see what was so weird about that.  Chocolate was a great boost for energy, and right now, Caitlyn needed a lot of it.  When the teen told him to come again, he figured that was his cue to leave, so he rolled up the window and drove out of the parking lot.

            When he arrived home, he parked into his spot.  Another thing he was looking forward to was his new house.  On his world, everyone lived alone in their assigned apartment.  He hadn’t taken the time to think about how lonely the men on his world had become, but they had.

            He got out of the car and collected as much of the milkshakes and sundaes as he could and headed for his apartment.  As he reached the door, Caitlyn opened it.

            “Sorry.  I tried to wait for you, but then I got so hungry, I couldn’t resist.” She motioned to the half-eaten pizza in her hand.

            “I don’t mind.” He entered the apartment where four boxes of pizza were on the kitchen table.  One box was opened and a slice was missing.

            “It’s been crazy,” she said as she sat down and grabbed a milkshake.  “It’s like I can’t get enough food.  I figured if I ordered a lot, then we could save some for later.”

            “I don’t recall how much women on my world ate while pregnant, but I know they ate a lot because the pregnancy hormones made food taste better than it was.”

            She chuckled.  “So that’s why Jack’s food tasted better than usual.  I wondered about that.  You know, I ate so much of his food, he was getting worried.”

            “It’s going to be like this until you give birth.”

            Pausing in drinking her shake, she placed her hand on his arm.  “Tell me the truth.  Am I going to gain a ton of weight?”

            Her worried look amused him.  “No.  This is all necessary for the child.”

Chapter Fourteen

Chris pulled up to the order menu at a fast food restaurant.  “Are you sure you want that many milkshakes?” he asked into his cell phone.

            “Yes.  I wanted to drink a milkshake at the diner, but the machine broke so Jack has to fix it,” Caitlyn replied.  “I already ordered the pizzas so we’re good there.”

            “Okay.  I’m almost at the window, so I have to go.”

            She thanked him and hung up.

            As the car in front of him drove forward, he pulled up to the menu and waited for the woman on the other end to say he could give his order whenever he was ready.  Clearing his throat, he said, “I’d like ten milkshakes; two vanilla, four strawberry, four chocolate.”

            “Will there be anything else?” she asked.

            He glanced at the menu and saw the sundae.  “I should get five sundaes.  Let’s make two strawberry and three chocolate.  That should be all.” He figured that proportionate to Caitlyn’s weight and the baby’s growth, the amount he ordered and the four large pizzas should be enough to get her through the night.  It surprised him that her pregnancy was mirroring how pregnancies had been on his planet.  He didn’t know what he thought would be different, exactly, but he figured there might be something unique about Earth women who carried Pandoran men’s children.  But perhaps that was why the agency sent him here.  The representative said he’d be compatible with a woman on this planet, and she was turning out to be right.

            When he drove up to the window, he counted the cash and handed it to the woman who instructed him to go to the next window.  He shook his head.  What a complex system to get food.  One thing he did miss was being able to log into the files in the kitchen and tailor-make his meals.  Here, the food had to be picked up at stores or at restaurants and then brought home.  Some of it even had to be prepared.  It made little sense to him.  In some ways, Earth wasn’t utilizing its technology in the most efficient way.  He hadn’t realized how far his planet had come in making life easier for everyone.

            But look at where that ease had gotten them.  Women figured they no longer had to bother with carrying children and giving birth, especially since they had to take their chances on the gene matching.  They preferred to specify the children they wanted down to the exact detail of their personalities, strengths, and how they looked.

            After a while, all the children being born seemed to be duplicates of each other since women wanted the same type of child—gifted leaders who would lead the way to further technological advancements.  There were few people who pursued the creative arts or knew how to work with their hands.

            The idea of fiction, whether it was in things like books or movies, was probably the biggest surprise to him when he first got here.  The value people put on sports and music was a second one.  Then there were people who built things and grew crops with their own hands.  Earth was full of variety, and one thing he looked forward to was seeing what his child would be like.  Having no control over the genes, the child would be completely unique—something no machine could fully duplicate.

***

Chris was typing into his computer at work when the phone on his desk rang.  It took him a moment to realize where the sound came from, and he quickly completed the sentence before he turned to the phone and picked it up.

            “Chris West speaking.”

            “Oh good.  They got me to the right person,” came a woman’s voice.

            He frowned and turned from the computer so he could focus on the caller whose voice seemed familiar.  “May I ask who’s calling?”

            “This is Caitlyn’s mom.”

            He straightened in his chair.  “Hi, Mrs. Rogers.  Is there something wrong?”

            She laughed.  “No.  Everything’s fine.  Did you happen to see the little gift I got you and Caitlyn?”

            “No, not yet.” So far the only thing he’d seen was the microwave Lexie and Blake got him and Caitlyn.  “I think she plans to show me the gifts tonight.”  If memory served, she did promise to show him the one from Sandy anyway.

            Caitlyn’s mother sighed.  “Leave it to my daughter to be secretive.  It wouldn’t be the first time.”

            He wondered what she meant by that, but before he could ask, she continued.

            “I need you to keep a teeny tiny secret for me.  Do you think you can do that for me, Chris?”

            Fidgeting in his chair, he asked, “You want me to keep a secret from Caitlyn?”

            “Only for a little while.  You see, I gave her two tickets to a concert for her and Sandy to go to.  Now, here’s the catch.  The tickets aren’t real.  Here’s my real gift to you two.  I’m taking care of all the arrangements for a real wedding.  It won’t be as wonderful as Lexie and the doctor’s, but you two naughty kids caught me by surprise so I have to get everything planned out on short notice.”

            “But Caitlyn doesn’t want a wedding like the one you’re talking about.”

            “Is that what she told you?”

            “Well…yes.”

            “And you believed her?”

            He adjusted his tie and cleared his throat.  “Of course, I did.” Wasn’t he supposed to?

            Her mom laughed.  “Oh, my poor Chris.  You don’t know anything about women, do you?”

            “No, not really.” He might as well be honest about it.

            “Caitlyn wouldn’t say she wants a formal wedding because then it would be her idea, and women want their husbands to take the time to surprise them.”

            “They do?”

            “Yes.  It’s how you show you love your wife.”

            “Okay.”

            “So those tickets will take Caitlyn to a section of the beach that I reserved for the wedding!  All you have to do is get a tux and ring for the special day, and I’ll take care of the rest.  But I won’t tell her it was my idea, and you don’t tell her about it.  Then when she shows up, she’ll get to be a bride all over again.  Isn’t that romantic?”

            He shrugged.  Was it?

            “She’ll be thrilled, Chris.  Trust me.  I’m her mother.  I know her better than you do.”

            “That’s true.” There was no sense in denying the obvious.  “If it’ll make Caitlyn happy, then I want to do it.”

            “Good!  But remember, you can’t tell her anything about it.  It has to be a surprise.  If she finds out, then she’ll be upset.”

            “I won’t say anything.”

            “Excellent!  The wedding is in two weeks.  Make sure you get the tux.  Make it black.  Nothing says tacky like a tux that’s not black.  And I’ll help you with the ring when the time comes.  This is going to be a lovely wedding.”

            “Um…where do I get a tux?”

            “Emerald Coast Formal Wear has a great selection of tuxes to choose from.  I’ll call ahead and specify what tux you will be getting if it’ll save you some stress.”

            “Thank you, Mrs. Rogers.  I’ll take you up on the offer.”

            “Think nothing of it, Chris.  I have a friend who works there, so it’s easy to get these things done.  I’ll email you the directions on how to get there.”

            After he gave her his work email address, he thanked her again and hung up, glad he could do something to surprise Caitlyn.  He couldn’t wait to see her face when she saw what her mother had planned.  Happy, he returned to work.

            “I’ll be sure to do that,” Caitlyn promised before she finished the slice of pie and took the plate with the cheeseburger on it.

            He shook his head.  “Man, I never thought I’d ever see a woman inhale food like that.”

            “I can’t help it.  This food is so good.” Caitlyn took a bite of the cheeseburger and sighed in contentment.

            “Okay.  I’m actually scared,” Jack commented, stepping back.  “Be sure you don’t eat everything in this place, alright?”

            “What?  I’m not that bad.” Jack and Sandy exchanged amused looks and Caitlyn sighed.  “I’m not.  I’m just appreciating your talent, Jack.”

            He rolled his eyes.  “Now I’ve heard it all.  I’m going on a smoke break.”

            Once he went outside, Sandy sipped her coffee.  “So, how did Chris like my gift?”

            “I haven’t put it on yet.”

            “What?  Why not?  Doesn’t it fit?”

            “It’s the right size.  It’s just that when we came back from house hunting and talking to the realtor, we were exhausted and went to sleep.”

            Sandy picked up her sandwich.  “I thought he had to have sex every six hours.”

            “That was before I got pregnant.  Now that his prime directive has been met, he doesn’t need to do it all the time.”

            “You mean, you’re a newlywed, and you’re already skipping the sex?”

            “We had sex yesterday before we went over to my parents, so it wasn’t like we didn’t do it at all.  I am enjoying that aspect of being married again.” With a grin, she added, “A lot.”

            “This is why I gave you bedroom clothes.”

            “I’ll wear it tonight.  I promise.” She finished the cheeseburger and drank her soda.  “You know, I’m surprised you’re so concerned about my sex life.”

            Sandy shrugged.  “I like to live vicariously through you.”

            “You need a life,” she joked.

            “Don’t I know it.”

            Chuckling, she picked up a forkful of apple pie.  “Oh!  I almost forgot to tell you what my mom got us.”

            “You mean you and Chris, right?”

            “No.  I mean me and you.  She got us tickets to a rock concert that’s on the beach.”

            “You’re kidding.”

            “I wish I was.” She ate the bite of pie and shook her head.  “I don’t know if I should ignore her or tell her off.  If she didn’t want to acknowledge my marriage to Chris, then the least she could have done was skip the gift.  Thankfully, I hid the so-called gift before he could see it.”

            “So, what’s the group?”

            Caitlyn told her before she finished up the pie and turned to the last slice.  Finally, she was full enough to get through the rest of her shift, but to be on the safe side, she dug into the last slice.

            Sandy wiped her mouth when she was done eating.  “Maybe we should go to the concert.”

            “I don’t know.  Isn’t it wrong for me to use something that should have been for me and Chris but wasn’t?”

            “Tell him about the tickets and ask him.  That’s the only way you won’t feel guilty if we go.”

            “I know my mom can be hard to deal with, but she’s outdone herself this time.  This is worse than the number she slipped me for a good divorce lawyer when I married Randy.  She didn’t think it was possible for someone to get married at eighteen and stay married.”

            “Yeah, but your dad laid into her on that one.  He probably doesn’t even know she got the tickets.”

            “I don’t think he does.  He hates shopping with her.  She takes hours looking for a good deal.”

            Sandy finished her lunch and picked up her plate and gathered some of Caitlyn’s empty plates.  “At least your dad is there to keep her from sending you another number for a divorce lawyer.”

            “True.”

            Man, her mom was going to flip if she gave birth in five months instead of eight, and judging by the way she wolfed her food down, she suspected the baby would be born sooner rather than later.  She hoped women who’d been on Chris’ planet hadn’t experienced serious weight gain during pregnancy.  With any luck, all the food she was eating would go directly to the child.

            Two women walked into the diner, signaling that their break was over.  Caitlyn ate the rest of her pie and drank her soda as Sandy walked over to the booth where the women sat.  She put the rest of the dishes into the kitchen by the dishwasher and headed out front to brew another pot of coffee.

            “Really?  That’s great!  But do you have money for a down payment?” Sandy asked.

            “$25,000.  When Chris came here, that’s how much got transferred into his bank account.  We merged our accounts together, and I have to tell you my $500 looked pathetic next to his.”

            “Yeah, but you just got out of debt.”

            “And I never want to get back into debt ever again.” She shook her head.  “It’s insane that it’s so easy to get into it but tough as nails to get out of it.” After taking another bite of the cheeseburger, she moaned.  “Did Jack change the recipe or something?  This is really good.  I mean, really, really good.”

            “I don’t think so.” Sandy watched her as she finished the cheeseburger.  “This is weird.  I’ve never seen you eat food with that much…enthusiasm.”

            “It is weird.  It’s like all of the sudden, I have to eat all the time.  I’m going to order another cheeseburger.  You want one?”

            Glancing at her chicken sandwich, she shook her head.  “You want more food?  Aren’t you supposed to be going through morning sickness or something?”

            “I know.  I should, but I’m not.  I’ve never felt so good in my entire life.” She went to the door and opened it so she could peer into the kitchen where Jack was cleaning up from the lunch rush.  “Can I have another cheeseburger?”

            “We have another customer already?” he asked, looking surprised.

            “No.  This is for me.”

            “Did you drop your other one on the floor?”

            She groaned.  “No.  I ate it.  It’s so good I want another one.”

            “You’re kidding?”

            “About what?  It being good or wanting another one?”

            With a shrug, he said, “As long as you’re buying it, I don’t care.  I’ll have it out in a few minutes.”

            “Good.” As she closed the door, she turned and spotted the pie slices on the counter.  She decided to get one and then decided maybe two was better.

            Sandy laughed.  “You’ve got to be kidding.  You plan to have another cheeseburger and two slices of pie?”

            “You’re right.” Caitlyn retrieved another slice of pie and sat next to her friend.  “There.  That ought to keep me full until dinner.” Shooting her bewildered friend a cautionary look, she asked, “Not enough?”

            “This has to be because of the pregnancy because you never eat that much at one time.”

            “You’re probably right.” She dug her fork into the chocolate silk pie.  “You know, I should expect it.  Chris is an alien.  That means I’m carrying a baby that’s part alien, so I can’t expect this pregnancy to be like the ones women on this planet go through.” She ate a forkful of the pie and moaned again.  “I swear, Jack’s food never tasted this good before.”

            The kitchen door swung open and Jack rolled his eyes.  “You’re such a comedian, Caitlyn.  Remind me to raise the prices on my menu now that the food is edible.”

            Caitlyn smiled.  “I’ll miss you when I quit.”

            “You can always come by for a meal,” Sandy said.

            “If you do, make sure you go on and on about how great my food is and how I should be charging more for such fine cuisine,” Jack joked.

            When she approached their booth, Travis made it a point to scan her body.  “Hey there, gorgeous.  If you play your cards right, I might take you home with me.”

            “It’s not a good idea to threaten the person in charge of your food,” she replied.  “Are you going to order or should I have Jack toss you out of here?”

            “Oh, come on now, honey.  Why do you have to be so cruel?” he asked with a pout.

            Richie sighed.  “Haven’t you been playing hard to get long enough, sweetheart?”

            Groaning, she crossed her arms and glared at them.  “Listen up, you two.  I’ve had enough of this.”

            Travis wiggled his eyebrows at her.  “The harder you protest, the more you want it.”

            “First of all,” she began, “I wouldn’t have sex with either of you two if my life depended on it.  Second, I’m married.” Really, how many times did she have to say that?

            Richie shrugged.  “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s polite to share?”

            Before she had time to back away, he reached out to touch her arm.  She felt the heat surge through her and strike at his hand.

            He yelped in surprise and stared at his hand which was red.  “What the…?”  Looking from her to Travis, Richie showed him the burn mark.

            Caitlyn stared at his hand in disbelief.  What just happened?

            “All you did was touch her,” Travis said, glancing at her.

            Caitlyn took a deep breath.  “No, he didn’t just touch me.  He was overstepping his boundaries.  I’m married, and that means he has no right to touch me in a sexual way.” She deducted that it had something to do with her bond to Chris.  He said on his world once a couple bonded, no one could interfere with their connection.  Lifting her pad and pencil, she asked, “So, do you want to order or what?”

            The two men hesitated but finally gave their orders without any more suggestive comments.  It was fun to watch them actually mumble and avoid eye contact with her whenever she got near them.  After months of putting up with their slimy treatment, the attitude adjustment was long overdue.

            When the lunch rush cleared, Sandy sat next to her so they could eat their meals.  “Caitlyn, the strangest thing happened to me a half hour ago.  Travis and Richie called me ma’am on the way out the door.  What did you do to whip them into shape?”

            Caitlyn picked up her french fry, dipped it into the ketchup, and shot Sandy a mischievous grin.  “Maybe they’re learning that if they treat women like sex objects, they’ll get burned.”

            Sandy chuckled.  “We can only hope.”  After drinking some coffee, she asked, “So how did the house hunting go yesterday?”

            Caitlyn picked up her cheeseburger and bit into it.  “Great!  We found a really nice house with a bay window and a breakfast bar.  The realtor is going to call us when she hears back from the owners to see if we can buy it.”

            He reached for her hand and squeezed it.  “Are you okay?”

            She glanced at him and smiled.  Well, so she was going to put up with some grief.  Being with him was worth it.  She squeezed his hand.  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

            “Do you really want a picture of me?”

            “Sure, I do.  You’re my husband.  It’ll be nice to have a picture of us in our new house.”

            He beamed with pleasure.  “I’d like a picture of us too.”

            “Then that settles it.  We’ll have to make an appointment with a photographer.”

            And since she wanted to have the picture taken before she began showing, they were going to have to do it soon.  She wondered just when women started showing on his home world.  Before she could ask him about it, she saw the street they needed.

            “This is it.” She let go of his hand and picked up the piece of paper with the address of the first house they planned to look at that afternoon.  “Are you ready to see what might be our new home?”

            “Yes.”

            “Good because we’re almost there,” she said and turned down the street, her mind off of her pregnancy for the time being.  As the house came into view, she suppressed the urge to cheer.  “I think this is going to be it, Chris.  I have a good feeling about this one!” She pulled up into the drive and got ready to meet the realtor who was waiting for them in the driveway.  “It’s got a bay window.  I’ve always wanted a bay window!”

            Chris laughed as she clapped her hands.  “This just might be the right one after all since you love it so much.”

            With her hand on the door handle, she said, “You need to love it too.  I don’t want to get the house unless you like it.”

            “You care about what I want?”

            Now it was her turn to laugh.  “Of course, I do, silly.  Marriage is a partnership.  We do things for each other to make each other happy.” She reached over and squeezed his hand.  “So if there’s anything you don’t like about the house, you have to speak up.  I can’t read your mind.”

            Squeezing her hand in return, he smiled.  “I’ll give you my honest opinion.”

            “Good.”

            As they got out of the car, the realtor walked up to them.  “Are you ready to take a look inside?”

            Caitlyn took Chris’ hand and nodded.  “We sure are.”

            The realtor grinned.  “I hope you don’t mind if I say you two are a good looking couple.”

            “Oh, thanks,” Caitlyn replied before she and Chris followed her into the house.

Chapter Thirteen 

The next day during the lunch rush, Caitlyn saw Travis and Richie enter the diner.  She suppressed a groan and glanced at Sandy who was collecting empty dishes from a vacant table.  Caitlyn sighed and took out her pad and pencil.  Well, if anyone was going to have to deal with the two men, it might as well be her.  At least she wouldn’t be working here much longer.  In a month, she could quit and she’d never have to see Travis and Richie again.

            She glanced at Chris as she shifted the minivan to drive.  “So, what did you think?  Did they scare you off?”

            He laughed.  “They weren’t scary.”

            He obviously didn’t spend enough time with her mother.  Lucky him.  He got to run off and play pool with the men.

            Reaching out, he took her hand and smiled.  “I thought it went fine.  Next time we’ll tell them about the baby, right?”

            “I’ll send an email after the first doctor visit,” she promised.  “Then they’ll know by the time we see them again.”

            “Doctor visit?  Don’t you use doctors when you feel sick on this world?”

            “Yes, but we also see them when we’re pregnant.  At least, that’s a fun reason to see them.”

            His eyebrows furrowed.  “I don’t understand why you need to see them.  What can they do to the baby growing inside of you?”

            “When it comes time for the baby to be born, the doctor will deliver the baby.”

            “But the baby is inside of you.  Doesn’t delivery mean someone gives you something you don’t already have?”

            She forced aside the chuckle as she came to a stop at a red light.  “How were babies born on your world when women gave birth?”

            “The records say women who carried children within their bodies had them at home.”

            “You’re kidding?  With all the fancy technology you had on your world, the women did home births?”

            Shrugging, he said, “Our homes were built to accommodate everything required for the birth of the child.”

            She recalled his comment about them not needing doctors on his world.  “So you don’t use doctors for anything?  Anything at all?”

            “Why should we?  We have machines built into our homes to take care of anything that ails us.”

            “Seriously?” The light turned green so she drove forward.  “You’re telling me if someone needed surgery, it was done at home?”

            “Sure.  Surgery didn’t require someone’s body to be cut into like your mother was talking about.”

            She had to admit that sounded like a huge benefit to being on his world, even if women were extinct over there.  “Well, we still use doctors here, and this particular doctor will deliver our baby in about eight months.”

            “Eight months?”

            “It takes nine months to carry a baby to term.”

            “It only took women on my world six of your calendar months.”

            “Six months?” she shrieked.

            “Yes.  I thought it was the same for Earth females since you’re compatible with me.”

            She turned left at the intersection and shook her head.  “You mean to tell me in six months, women on your world carried a full-term baby?  They were healthy and everything?”

            He nodded.

            “How big were these babies?” she asked, trying to force the image of a twenty-pound baby out of her mind.

            “Exactly seven pounds.”

            Breathing a sigh of relief on that count, she ventured to ask the next pressing question.  “And how fast do these babies grow up?  I mean, are they three years old by the time twelve Earth months pass?”

            “No.  Twelve of your Earth months equal a year’s worth of growth.”

            Thank goodness for small favors.  That must have been one of the things that the agency kept in mind when they assigned him to her planet.  A child that grew up at an abnormal rate wouldn’t fit well on Earth.  But then, she realized if she gave birth after six months of pregnancy instead of nine, then she was in for it from her mom.  She groaned as she imagined all the things her mother was bound to harp on her about.

            Her mother sighed.  “Seriously, Caity.  I don’t see what the big deal is.  Randy was your husband at one time, and it’s nice to have a formal picture of you in the wedding dress.  It’s the only one I’ll ever have of you as a bride.”

            “Mom, I’m not going to have a formal wedding.  I have other things to worry about.” Like buying a house and having a baby.  Oh, how she was dreading telling her mother about the baby!  “I’ll tell you what.  Chris and I will dress up in nice clothes and get a professional photo taken.  Then you can hang that up.”

            “That’s a great idea, Caitlyn,” her dad said.  “Your mom will be happy to have a picture of our new son-in-law.”

            Her mother sighed.  “Very well.”

            Relieved, Caitlyn smiled at her dad and returned to the house so she could help Sandy and Chris carry the last gift out to her car.  She found Sandy in the living room.  “Where’s Chris?”

            “Putting the microwave in the car.  I figure he could carry the heavy item.  Lexie and Blake got a pretty fancy one for you.” Sandy handed Caitlyn the last wrapped present sitting on the coffee table.  “This one is from me.”

            Caitlyn laughed.  “I’m sure Chris will love it.”

            “So, your mom gave you a lot of grief today,” Sandy said with a wince.  “It was painful to watch, especially with Lexie marrying the doctor.”

            “I expected it.  You know how she is.”

            “Yeah, but an engineer isn’t shabby.  Your dad was impressed.  Are you going to quit your job?”

            “Yeah.  I want to stay home with the baby.”

            “Speaking of which, you should have told your mom about the baby and gotten it over with while she was grilling you about marrying again without her blessing.”

            Caitlyn gagged.  “No way.  I can only handle so much grief in one day.  I’ll just email her that news, but I’m not doing that until next month.” Chris walked through the front door, so Caitlyn gave her friend a hug.  “Thanks for coming and taking my mom’s focus off of me and Chris.”

            “It didn’t work very well,” Sandy replied.

            “It was better than it would have been,” Caitlyn assured her before she turned to Chris.  “Are you ready to check out a couple of houses?”

            He nodded.  “I got everything in the car.  We’ll have to get something for your sister when she gets married, but you will have to pick it out since women know more about buying gifts than men do.”

            With a chuckle, she took his hand.  “I’ll see you at work tomorrow, Sandy.” As she and Chris left the house, she breathed a sigh of relief.  Thank goodness that was over.  “Oh, before I forget, I told my mom that we would get a professional picture taken.”

            “You want a picture of me?” he asked, looking pleased.

            “Yeah.  It’s something I should have thought about sooner,” she admitted as they stopped in front of the minivan, “but I got caught up in house hunting.  I still can’t believe it’s happening!  I’ve wanted to have a house for ages.  It’s like a dream come true.”

            “I’m glad I can make you happy.”

            She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.  “I am, especially now that we can get out of here.  Hop on in and we’ll go check out another house.  Maybe this will be the one.”

            Once they got into the car, she started it and backed out of the driveway.  With any luck, she wouldn’t have to see her mom again until Lexie’s wedding rehearsal.

            Caitlyn sighed.  And her mother wondered why she intentionally made an appointment with the realtor during this get-together?  Caitlyn didn’t know why she thought coming while others were here would stop her mom from getting too much in her business.  “I’ll see you later.” Much, much later.

            “Before you leave,” her mother began as she got up, “you might as well pick up your wedding present.”

            “You didn’t have to get us anything,” Caitlyn said.

            “Nonsense.  When people get married, you’re supposed to get them a gift.”

            “It’s custom to give gifts and congratulate couples when they get married?” Chris asked.

            “Well, it’s custom for the wife to pick out the gift, but the husband gets full credit for it,” Caitlyn’s dad joked.

            “Really?” Chris asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

            Her dad nodded.  “Trust me on this one.  Nothing a man will pick will ever meet up to the expectations of the bride.”

            “Oh,” Chris replied.

            By the look on Chris’ face, she could tell Chris was cataloging this in his brain, just like he catalogued everything else.  In many ways, she thought it was cute.

            “I got you something too,” Sandy said as she approached them with a soda in her hand.  “But wait until tonight to open it,” she whispered with a wink.

            Now that was something Chris was going to love.

            “We chipped in and got you all something too,” Lexie added, motioning to Blake and her.

            Blake sighed from where he and Andy were setting out the remaining hamburgers and hot dogs to save for leftovers.  “I tried to get you a grill, but Lexie wouldn’t have it.”

            “That’s because Caitlyn’s been talking about needing a microwave,” Lexie replied.

            “But a grill makes everything taste better,” Blake argued.

            “A microwave is much better,” Caitlyn said.  “I don’t have to put charcoal in it to get it started.” Making a show of checking her watch, she added, “Well, we better go.  Thanks for the gifts, but I meant it when I said you didn’t have to get them.”

            Sandy smiled.  “We wanted to.  I’ll join you guys on the way out.  I have to get to work soon anyway.”

            After they said good-bye, Caitlyn joined Chris and Sandy as they walked to the living room to pick up the gifts.  As they passed through the hallway, Caitlyn caught sight of the wedding picture of her and Randy and nearly tripped.

            “It’s a good thing you don’t do that at work,” Sandy joked.

            She stopped and glanced at the patio doors where her parents were talking at the picnic table.

            “Is something wrong?” Chris asked.

            “I forgot to tell my parents something,” Caitlyn said.  “Chris, why don’t you wait for me in the car, okay?”

            “Come on, Chris,” Sandy began.  “I’ll help you carry your gifts to the car.”

            Caitlyn waited until they left the hallway before she pulled the picture off the wall and headed back to the patio.  She approached her mom and showed her the wedding picture of her and Randy.  “Why is this still hanging up on the wall?”

            Her mom turned from her dad and looked at the picture.  “Because it’s the only wedding picture I have of you.  If you’d had a wedding with Chris, I would have one of you and him up there.”

            Caitlyn had dealt with as much as she could handle.  “You want to know why I didn’t want to have a wedding or bring Chris over right away?  It’s because of things like this.” She pointed to the picture.  “How do you think Chris would feel if he saw this up on the wall?”

            “Did he see it?” her dad asked.

            “No.  Thankfully, I saw it before he did,” she replied.

            He held his hand out.  “Good.  I’ll put that away in storage.”

            She handed it to him.