—Blake—

By now, I’d almost learned to live with the little niggling voice at the back of my mind.

Is it today? Maybe we’ll know today. What if it hasn’t worked?

It’d only been a few weeks since Wanda had had the first round of IVF. “First” because it was extremely unlikely to conceive on the first try. I was trying not to get my hopes up, but my heart leapt into my throat at every phone call and the little voice got louder.

Is it her? Good news? Why isn’t it her?

I looked through the cabinets and then stared into the fridge, listening with half an ear to the sport’s announcer’s excited commentary coming from the living room TV. I wasn’t hungry, but I’d skipped breakfast and had barely anything for lunch. Cooking was a good distraction, too…Except that I couldn’t summon the effort to do anything.

I left the kitchen and joined Danny on the couch. His arm slid around me. Even pressed into the warm embrace of my husband, I still couldn’t shake the niggling voice. I had to hope that it would quiet down with more time.

Danny’s fingers stroked over my shoulder. “I probably should figure out something for dinner,” he murmured idly. I could hear a note of distraction in his voice; I knew I wasn’t the only one with a Little Voice.

“Let’s order—“ I cut myself off when my phone rang. My heart leap and then started to pound when I saw the caller ID. “Wanda?”

“Hey,” she said, a smile in her voice. “I’m sending you a picture.”

I pulled the phone away from my ear and, sure enough, there was a message notification. I held my breath as I opened it. A pregnancy test with a tiny, perfect plus sign stared up at me.

Next to me, Danny let out a whoop of delight and leapt off the couch. A grin split my face wide. From the phone, I could hear Wanda’s joyful laughter.

“I already went to the doctor and had it confirmed,” she told me once I put it back to my ear. “No false positives.”

A minute later, I hung up, tossed my phone, and let my husband wrap me up in a bear hug. “We’re going to be parents.”

We did end up ordering pizza, simply because we were both too overjoyed to focus on cooking. I was itching to tell Mom and Brianna, but I held myself in check. As excited as I was, I knew that it was far too early to tell anyone.

Instead, I leaned against Danny and planned the nursery with him while the game he was watching droned in the background, forgotten. This time when my phone rang, my heart didn’t leap and the Little Voice was quiet. I hardly even glanced at the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Blake, I’ve been robbed.”

I was in a seething rage by the time Danny and I got to Mom’s house—which only got worse once I walked inside. The place had been trashed. Everything of value had been taken—the stove even looked like it had been shimmied around, as if the thief had even tried to take it.

“The thief.” I knew who had done this.

“Mom, you have to call the cops. You can’t let him get away with this.”

The older woman sniffed softly and nodded in resignation. “I already have.”

I hugged her tight. I couldn’t believe Brad would do this to our mother. Honestly, I couldn’t. I’d known he was a loser, a user, a piece of shit, but to steal from his own mother? It was a new low I hadn’t realized he was truly capable of.

“You’re going to stay with me and Danny tonight, okay, Mom?”

She nodded miserably. When red and blue’s flashed outside, she straightened her spine and went out to meet the police.

Hey everyone! Sorry for the accidental little hiatus. I wanted to check in and share a bit of happy news. You may notice some small changes in my pictures–I just got a new laptop and can now run Sims on ultra settings! My old computer really couldn’t handle the game, much less the settings I forced it to struggle with, but my new beast is fully prepared for it. There’s nothing like being able to actually play the game to rejuvenate your interest in it! I’m hoping this will mean no more breaks.

By the way, we’re closing in on the end of the teen arc! Thanks all of you guys for sticking around; I can’t wait to close out this arc with you and begin the next.

A belated happy new year to you all!