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“I say we surprise her,” Leo said, “She’ll have input on how it’s set up and what goes where, all that, but this way, it’s just done. We found the right place, snapped it up, and we can get to the good part.”
“This is already the good part,” I told him, “All of this. Getting to pick out a place to raise a family together. A baby on the way.”
“Yeah,” Noah said, “The good part already started.”
I called the realtor and put in our bid. The sellers accepted two hours later. I texted my brothers the good news and headed back to my office. I worked all that night and into the next day working out a preliminary design with a floor plan. I used the new software to craft a 3-D walkthrough projection so Madison would be able to see what it was meant to look like. From here we could fine-tune the layout and dimensions of the rooms together to determine what worked best for us. The main thing was that I wanted this to be a dazzling reveal, a magical experience for her. It was more than a starting point for the remodeling project. It was a preview of the home we’d build for our child.
I’d like to say I put the finishing touches on it lovingly, but my head ached. I’d been surviving on strong coffee and force of will by the time I was done. I watched the projection with eyes burning from being awake for thirty hours and felt a surge of pride. I messaged Leo that I’d take a shower and change at the office to meet them at the building with Madison in an hour.
They met me in the lobby and Madison was asking a hundred questions.
“Of course, you’re behind this,” she said to me, “over there doing your enigmatic smile.”
“Thanks for noticing,” I said. I took her in my arms and embraced her, my whole body warming, the tension loosening. “I missed you. Both of you,” I said, stroking her still-flat belly softly. Her eyes softened and she kissed me. The intimacy of it was almost more than I could bear in a semi-public place. I took her hand and nodded to Noah. He took the blue Tiffany & Co box from his pocket and offered it to her. She glanced from one of us to the next and back to the box before the untied the satin ribbon.
Madison found the silver keychain nestled in the box, and a key was already attached. We led her to the elevator. “We have the entire fifth floor. We’re going to join three units to make one big apartment with plenty of room for everything we need,” I told her.
“It’s ours?”
“Yes,” Leo said, “And I’ll be in charge of lightbulbs. It’s already decided.”
“And rewiring and figuring out the lighting configurations,” I added.
Madison unlocked the door to the first unit, and I led them on a tour of all three. She admired the hardwood floors, the crown molding. Leo liked the high ceilings and pointed out that the HVAC system was nice and quiet. Noah liked the southern facing windows in one corner for an office. We made our way through the three apartments and Leo got the notification for the Uber Eats. We sat on a blanket in the third apartment and had a picnic of Chinese food and sparkling cider… and BBQ chips.
“I miss sushi,” Madison said, “but I definitely love that these chips are good with anything.”
“You ate them after your oatmeal this morning. I saw you,” Noah said.
“Don’t be so close-minded. You’ve never tried it,” she laughed.
“Only because you’d kill me on the spot if I went after your chip stash,” he teased.
When we were done eating, I took out my laptop and the projector. Leo got up and turned off the lights—“See,” he said, “I’m in charge of all lighting decisions.”
I played the simulation, the 3-D view of what the space would look like, where the kitchen was, the bathrooms, the bedrooms. Madison gasped.
“It’s so beautiful. How did you do all this?”
“We have a software program at work,” I said modestly, “It gives the client a way to envision what the finished space will be like.”
“I love it,” she said, breathless. “I can’t believe we get to have all this. That this is what my life is going to be. I have my shop, the men I love, our baby on the way, and this beautiful home. Thank you for making all this a reality.”
We hugged her and watched the model play through.
“I love how the nursery is so big and opens into my bedroom. I think it would be good to have the nursery with east-facing windows. That way the sun isn’t streaming in at naptime.”
I made a note of the preference, and we talked about what we thought would work and what might need to be changed. I reveled in their excitement, with how happy my family was with the home we’d found and the ways we could make it our own.
“How many bedrooms do you think?” Noah said.
“That’s a question for Madison,” I said. “How do you feel about having more kids?”
Her pretty face broke into a grin.
“I’d like to have more. I’ve always wanted a family, and I want more than one baby for sure. What do you guys think?”
“That we better find out if Costco has barbecue chips,” Leo said with a chuckle.
