Emma's P.O.V August 7th
My mom and Harry were up and ready to work on the nursery by 8am this morning. I'm glad they're so excited, but I would have appreciated another hour or so of sleep. Normally if Harry is up before me, I fall back to sleep right away, but not when my mom is also awake, loudly discussing where furniture should go in Charlie's room.
It's after lunch now, and I've given up on trying to help with the nursery. For one, neither of them will allow me to lift a single thing. I tried telling them that I'm only pregnant, not on my death bed, but they persisted.
The smell of the paint is also finally making me nauseous, and I'm growing tired of listening to their bickering on which wall the crib should go on. Harry thinks it will look best across from the door and centered, but my mom says it should be placed in the corner at a diagonal next to the changing table. By the sound of it, Harry will be getting his way, but I know my mom still has some fight left in her. That's one thing that I used to hate but now love about my mom. She's always been so stubborn, and it caused a lot of fights between us when I was a teenager, but her determination is what saved us from my dad all those times.
"Baby, please come in here and convince your mum that the crib should go on this wall," Harry yells from Charlie's room.
"I found a painting online the other day that would go so well with the theme and it would look perfect hanging behind the crib," Harry explains as I make my way into the room, cringing at the smell of fresh paint.
"He showed me the painting, and it's nothing special," my mom argues.
"Just put the crib on the wall and Harry you can get the stupid painting," I say, bringing my fingertips to my temple.
"Finally, thank you," Harry sighs but pulls me into him when he sees my distraught state. "Are you okay? Do you have a headache? Can I get you any-"
"Shh," I close my eyes and whisper, "I have a headache and on top of the smell your constant bickering is not helping."
"I'm so sorry, Em," Harry whispers back and wraps his arms tighter around me, "Do you want to lay down in the basement? I don't think the smell has reached down there, plus it's dark."
"Will you hold me?" I ask Harry. All of these hormones have made me extra clingy recently and I'm getting jealous of my mom hogging my husband.
"You guys go rest and I'll finish organizing the room," my mom shoos us out the door.
"Okay, but make sure the crib goes on that wall," Harry retorts and my mom raises her arms as a surrender.
Without warning, Harry scoops me into his arms and carries us all the way to the darkest room in the house, being the movie room in the basement.
"It's cold down here," I complain.
"Stay here and I'll go get some blankets from the living room," Harry says quietly.
"Can you bring my grandma's blue one?"
"Of course," Harry leaves a kiss on my forehead as I make myself comfortable on the couch, even though I know I'll have to adjust when he gets back.
A few minutes later, Harry is back with three blankets, pain reliever, my water bottle, and one of his sweatshirts.
"It's still August you know," I comment, looking at the blankets and sweatshirt while taking a swig of the water.
"I didn't know how cold you were, and I need my babies to be warm," he responds, covering the both of us with the blue blanket, then pulling me into his chest and placing his arms around me to rest on my belly.
"I've been thinking," Harry whispers after moments of silence, "what if Jared and the boys moved to LA?"
"How-"
"I have it all planned out. The boys are starting kindergarten in a month, and once they're in school and the baby is born it'll be harder to make the trip to visit them often. The headquarters for Jared's insurance company are here so I'm sure he could transfer, and I know that the schools are better here anyway. I just think it would be nice to have them closer by so we can spend as much time with them as we can. It's not like they have any ties to where they're living now, we're pretty much their only family. I also like the idea of Charlie growing up with Jamie and Mason. Baby, are you listening?"
"Yeah," I sniffle. It means the world to me that Harry cares so much about my family. He knows how happy I am now that Jared and I have reconnected, and I would also love for our children to be close with their cousins.
"Hey, why are you crying?"
"I just love you so much. I love that you love my family, and you would think of all this just to have them nearby. I don't think it's plausible, but I really appreciate the thought. You really are the best, Harry."
"I would do anything for you, Emma. And as long as Jared is on board, I do think it could work out. I mean it when I say I've really thought about this. I've looked into houses in neighborhoods I think would be good for the boys, and I'm more than happy to offer financial assistance to Jared during the transition. The boys can even stay with us to go to school if they don't have a house ready in time," Harry talks while I play with his rings out of habit.
"I think that sounds wonderful," I smile.
"I really mean it, Em. I'll call Jared today if you want."
"Okay," I respond, barely audible, as I adjust my head to fit into his neck and close my eyes.
"I love you," Harry kisses my forehead, "Go to sleep babe."
***
Only an hour later, I wake up to fingers combing through my hair and massaging my scalp. My headache is gone, but my neck is cramping from the position it's been resting in. I stir and rub my eyes so I can see clearly.
"Why are you smiling?" I ask in a groggy voice.
"You're cute," Harry says, making me blush, "is your headache gone?"
"Yes, but my neck hurts now," I let out a pathetic laugh. "What have you been doing?"
"I texted Jared and asked if they wanted to FaceTime later before the boys go to sleep. Other than that, I've just been a creep watching my beautiful wife sleep," Harry's dimpled smile grows before he presses a gentle kiss to my lips.
"Hmm, I don't want to get up."
"I know, babe but if you stay down here any longer you won't be able to sleep tonight. Plus, I think your mum mentioned something about George visiting for dinner."
"Really? I must not have heard her mention it," I say, turning my body to face Harry better while he plays with the ends of my hair
"Yeah, she said something about him being around the area for something so it just kind of made sense for him to come by."
"Okay," I place my hands on Harry's shoulders to get some leverage to kiss him, "then let's go find my mom and figure out dinner plans."
"The nursery is done too; do you want to see it?" Harry asks, placing his hands on my waist and allowing us to stand up.
"Yes," I smile, and he kisses my forehead before we go upstairs in search for my mom.
We find her admiring Charlie's room, which is adorable and perfect in every way. It just makes everything so much more real. In a little over four months, we'll have a baby, changing our entire world.
"Hi, Mom," I say, walking up to her in the nursery, taking in the finished product.
"Sometimes I just can't believe I'm going to be a Grandma," my mom says, holding back a few tears.
"I know, it's unbelievable."
"I miss it when you were little and I didn't have to worry about you growing up," she wipes a stray tear. "Anyway, did Harry tell you George can have dinner with us tonight? Only if it's okay with you."
"Of course, I'm really excited to meet him," I tell her.
"Okay, well he offered to pick up Chinese so if that's what you guys want then I can text him the order."
"I can pick it up, I don't want to make him pay for it," Harry speaks up.
"I guess if you really want to, that's fine. He's not there yet so I can just tell him to come straight here."
"Yeah, tell him we'll pick up the food. By the time he gets here I should be back anyway," Harry tells my mom, "Em, do you want to come with me?"
"Yes, I'm dying to get out of the house," I answer, causing them to laugh.
"Alright, be safe!" My mom says as we get into the garage to leave.
Even though the drive to the Chinese restaurant is quick, I was still excited to see the outside world again. That was, until we were opening the door to enter the building and a series of flashes blinded Harry and I. We were holding hands as Harry held the door open, and based on the angle of the flashes, the paps were most definitely trying to get a shot of my belly.
"For fucks sake," Harry mumbles, pulling me into the safety of the restaurant and forcefully closing the door behind us.
"It's fine, it was only one guy and there's no crowd," I try to calm Harry, ignoring my own feelings on the situation.
"Do they just wait outside every place in LA? I mean, how do they always know where we are? And do they not care that we're regular people who don't want our lives plastered across every tabloid?" Harry whisper-yells.
"Harry, it's not worth it to get worked up over. Can we just order the food and get out of here?" I ask.
"Yeah, I'm sorry baby," he kisses the top of my head, "I just like my privacy and I want to keep my family safe."
"I know," I take his hand and it's now our turn to order.
George isn't here yet when we get back home, but my mom has just finished setting the table for out carryout.
"Were you able to get everything?" She asks as we walk in.
"We got the food, and hopefully that pap got everything they wanted too," Harry rudely comments.
"There was a photographer?" My mom asks, surprised.
"Yeah, and I'm sure they got a perfect view of my stomach. I can't wait for the articles to come out about that," I say sarcastically.
"Oh, I'm sorry you guys. That's just terrible of them."
"I don't understand why they do what they do," is all I can respond with, not wanting to open that can of wounds.
"George just called, and he should be here any minute now," my mom changes the subject.
Not even five minutes later, Harry lets George's car through the gate so we can start dinner. He's a handsome, older man, and I'm surprised at how tall fit he is. He seems to be the total opposite of my dad, which I think is a very good thing for my dad.
"George, it's wonderful to meet you! Come in," I greet my mom's boyfriend at the door.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Emma," he returns my handshake, "I've heard so many great things about you and Harry," he says with a smile.
"I'm happy you could make it, George. It's great to meet you," Harry meets him as well.
We welcome George to the smaller dining table in our kitchen where food is served, and the couples sit across from each other. George tells us a little about his career as a freelance photographer, which is oddly similar to mine, and then how he retired a few years ago and moved out of the city.
"It was just so hard to stay in that house in LA after my daughter passed. After I retired, I didn't have anything left connecting me to the city, so I moved away and luckily met your mom."
"I'm so sorry hear about your daughter," I tell George.
"I've come to terms with it, but thank you. You actually remind me a lot of her. I'm going to love getting to know you two," he gestures to Harry and I, "Besides the fact that you're Jillian's daughter and son-in-law, I can't help but feel connected to her when I'm around you."
"Thank you," I respond, not really knowing how else to take his confession. Judging from the face Harry gives me, he also isn't sure what to make of George. The man seems nice, just a bit unordinary. I'm sure once we all warm up to each other we'll get along fine, though.
Once George decides he's done enough talking about himself, he asks many questions about the baby and our recent wedding. He seems very fascinated in our lifestyle, and I can't help but think he doesn't fully approve of Harry and I conceiving Charlie before we married. He doesn't say anything explicit, it's more of the aura he presents.
"George is... something," Harry whispers into my ear as we watch my mom walk her boyfriend out to his car.
"Yeah, my mom likes him though, and I trust her. I bet as we get to know him this whole, 'my mom has a boyfriend,' thing will become more normal."
"I hope so," Harry chuckles, slinging his arm around my shoulders as my mom reenters the house.
"We're going to head to bed, but it was nice getting to meet George," Harry tells my mom.
"I'm glad you liked him, I just know he loves you two," she says with a smile.
"Goodnight, Jillian," we say are goodnights and then Harry whispers, "Let's head straight to bed, we can shower in the morning. I've had something planned in my mind since that nap, we took earlier," he winks.
"What if I told you, I wasn't in the mood?" I tease him.
"You wouldn't," Knowing I'm only messing with him, Harry gasps and we run up the stairs and into our bedroom for the night.
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A/N: Helloooo! I've included pictures of what I imagine the nursery to look below here. Also, what does everyone think of George???
I'm planning on having another chapter out very soon, but until then vote and comment please!!! It means a lot to me that so many people are reading, and I love to hear your thoughts/comments.
Thank you for reading! <3