Trying Again

Part 5

September 12, 2015
Rick is excited to see this plan finally unfold. About two weeks ago, Lanie texted him and said she wanted to visit Kate, but she wanted to surprise her. He knew his wife would be ecstatic. Kate uprooted her life to be with him, to make sure they were a family. He knows she didn't regret her decision one bit, she wanted them to be together. But he also knows how tough it's been for her to be so far from her friends and family, her comfort for most of her life.
On top of that, they've gotten another negative pregnancy test a few weeks ago and she was starting to close off again. He thinks having someone around who isn't her husband or their toddler will be good for her. That's how he finds himself in the airport pick up lane waiting for Lanie to walk out and get in the car. He told Kate he had to run into work real quick despite the week of leave he put in for so that they could she spend some quality time as a family, little did she know it was so that he could be with Royce while she went out with Lanie.
When he spots his wife's best friend, he gets out of the car to help her with her bag. He hugs her, "Hey! How've you been?" Lanie asks. "Good. How're you? How're the guys and Jenny?" Rick asks. They hadn't seen any of them since the wedding. "They're good. We all just signed leases to be next door neighbors next year." Lanie says. "That's awesome. That'll be fun." He says. "Yeah, so how're you? How's my girl and my nephew?" She asks. "We're good." Rick starts. He doesn't know if his wife has talked to Lanie about them trying for another baby.
"Royce is getting so big. Wait until you see him." He says. "I can't believe he'll be 2 next month." She says as Rick drives away from the airport and back to the apartment. "I know, but do me a favor and don't mention it around Kate? She's been super emotional about how big he's getting lately." He requests and she nods. They keep light conversation on the half hour drive back to the apartment, filling each other in on their lives. When they arrive, Lanie squeals.
They quietly enter the apartment where they find that Royce is sleeping on the couch. He can hear his wife over by the washer and dryer. "Kate! Can you come here?" He calls out to her, "One minute please!" She calls back. They stand and wait patiently. He hears her drop one of the laundry baskets before she rounds the corner in a t-shirt and shorts. Her hair is wet and dripping over her shoulder. He watches as her jaw drops and eyes widen in complete shock. "Hey girl!" Lanie smiles. "Lanie!" She gasps as her best friend wraps her arms around her.
He can see his wife trying to process how Lanie is standing in front of her and hugging her. "How-when-when did you get here?" Kate stutters. "Rick just picked me up from the airport, we've been planning this for a few weeks." Lanie tells her. Kate wraps her arms tighter around her friend as she lets a few tears fall, "I'm really glad you're here, Lane." She says. Lanie smiles, "Me too, girl, me too. Now, go get your skinny little butt ready. You and I are going to dinner." Lanie tells her. "What about Rick and Royce?"
"We're gonna have a boy's night. I'll get us some dinner and we'll play and watch some Mickey Mouse and then I'll get him into bed." He says. "You sure?" "Yes, Kate, we'll be okay for a few hours." "Okay, just make sure he doesn't watch too much TV. And his nose is stuffy again, so if you need to there are some elderberry drops in the cabinet." She tells him and he nods. "I've got it under control. You go get ready and then go have some fun." He presses a kiss to her forehead before lifting Royce off the couch and carrying him into his bedroom.
An hour later, he walks into the bedroom to find her ready for dinner. He walks up behind her and and kisses her shoulder, "You're beautiful." He whispers in her ear. "Thank you." She smiles before turning in his arms, "And thank you for doing all of this. I know these last few months have been stressful and I haven't been myself —," he brushes a curl behind her ear, "Baby, stop. It's understandable. Trying for a baby isn't as easy or fun as a lot of people make it seem." He says.
She sighs and nods in agreement, "Ain't that the truth." She says. He kisses her forehead, "This will happen for us, Kate. But for right now I want you to go have fun, okay?" She nods and smiles when he presses another kiss to her forehead. "I love you." He whispers. "I love you too." She says. She leaves their bedroom and goes into the nursery where her baby boy is still fast asleep. She smiles before leaning down and kissing his cheek, "Goodnight, angel." She whispers and moves a curl off of his forehead. She then walks out to the living room.
Lanie is sitting on the couch filing down her nails, "Ready?" Kate asks. Her best friend pops up immediately. "Let's do this." Lanie says. Kate presses a kiss to her husband's lips and then follows Lanie out of the apartment and into the car. She drives them to a small resturant that she and Rick have been two a few times when one of their parents were here to watch Royce so they could have a date night. "Talk to me, girlfriend. Somethings going on with you and your boy." Lanie says after they order their drinks.
"What? What do you mean?" She plays dumb. "Kate, you two used to be all over each other. Even after you had Royce, it was like you two had just started sleeping together." She says. Kate sighs as she plays with her engagement ring and wedding band. "So, there is something. Are you guys getting divorced? Did he cheat on you?" Lanie asks. "No, no, God Lanie." She sighs as she pinches the bridge of her nose. "It's nothing he's done. It's me." She admits. That's when Lanie's look becomes concerned instead of defensive. "Sweetie, what's going on?" She asks.
Tears fills Kate's eyes before she takes a deep breath. "We've been trying." She says. Lanie gasps, "You're gonna have another one?" Lanie asks with excitement. "Hopefully." Kate scoffs before continuing, "We've been trying since the wedding and, so far, nothing." She says. "Kate, the wedding was four months ago." Lanie says. "Yeah, but we didn't try to get pregnant with Royce. Hell, we'd only had sex without a condom that one time and I got pregnant." She says. Lanie can see her friend's frustration and sadness. "Ok, so you've been trying for four months and haven't gotten pregnant instantly like you did with Royce?" Lanie tries to understand.
"I was so upset during my pregnancy. I hated it. But the minute Royce was put in my chest, I felt guilty for ever feeling that way about a process that could give me that sweet little boy." She says before continuing. "And, now, I just feel like it's punishment. Like I'm not getting pregnant because of how negative I was during my pregnancy with Royce." She says as a tear streams down her cheek. "Kate, you know that's not true." Lanie says. Kate opens her mouth to speak, but Lanie cuts her off.
"You got pregnant at 17. You were a teenager in high school. It is understandable that you weren't exactly happy-go-lucky during your pregnancy. This is not a punishment. You need to cut yourself some slack. Being stressed could make it difficult to get pregnant. You also don't have as much time on your hands. Between Rick's work schedule and raising Royce, you can't just hop into bed everyday like you did when you guys first started dating." Lanie says. Kate takes a deep breath and nods. "I know. I just want another one so bad."
     Lanie reaches across the table and places her hand on Kate's, "Trust me, it will. You're an amazing mother with an amazing husband and an amazing little boy. There's nothing in the world that would argue that." Lanie assures her. Kate smiles, "Okay, enough sadness. Tell me what college life is like." Lanie chuckles as they begin talking about what life is like at NYU. They enjoy dinner and when they get home, Kate sets up the pull out bed for Lanie before she joins her husband in their bedroom. She wipes her makeup off and puts her pajamas on before crawling next to him in bed. She smiles down at him as she watches him sleep before kissing his cheek and cuddling behind him.
Part 5! Comment please!