Later that evening, after a nice dinner of pasta and garlic bread, I entered the bedroom to find Grayson sitting on his bed with his laptop. This was unnatural behavior for him, since I knew he hated doing work outside of work hours. It was so unusual that I had to say something.
"Working in bed? Are you sick?" I teased.
"Not working," he said, although his face was etched with deep concentration.
"Then what are you doing?" I asked, flopping down next to him and peering at the screen.
"Looking for places in Arlington. What's your address again? I kind of want to be close," he said, still focused on the computer.
I looked up at him in surprise. "Not close enough for you to be weird, I hope?"
He snorted. "I was thinking like a fifteen minute drive, but if you really want, I can buy the house next to yours."
"Stalker," I teased.
"Stalker," I teased.
"Exactly," he agreed. "So...give me advice. Be my tour guide. What's a good neighborhood?"
I propped up my head on my hand, my elbow in my pillow. "Over here is nice. Unless you're buying another mansion. I have no clue where the mansions are," I said, pointing to the map on the screen.
"No mansions. My kid is not growing up like those snooty rich kids who live in palaces," Grayson said firmly. "You can quote that, as it came from a snooty rich kid who lived in a palace."
I snorted. "Like Laura?"
"Exactly like my mother, I'm glad you understand," he said.
"That one is cute," I said, nodding.
"Tiny yard," he said with a shake of his head, and I was impressed. I wouldn't have thought of the yard size being an issue, but Grayson was in full dad mode.
"What do you think of this one?" he asked me.
"You'll want a garage," I said, voting no.
"Are you kidding me? You live in the south! There's no snow! What could I need a garage for?"
My jaw dropped. "Uh, I am not a southerner. I'm east coast. Meaning hurricanes and blizzards."
"Ohhh," Grayson said, mouthing hurricanes.
"Point is, you want a garage," I said, settling in and leaning on his shoulder.
"Okay," he said, modifying his search results. We scrolled for quite awhile before finding anything half-decent.
He turned to me. "What about this one? It even has a pool."
"I might come over to use your pool," I admitted, laughing.
"Only for the sake of Everlie, right?" he joked.
"Oh, of course, only for her sake," I said, snickering. "To be a good mother and all that."
Grayson was giggling too as he clicked on the house. But then we both denied it the chance of victory when we realized that the kitchen and both bathrooms needed huge updates. The baby was coming, and it wasn't going to wait for some home renovations.
We went 'house-shopping' the next two nights, kind of as a way to unwind. For me, it wasn't all that serious, since I wasn't the one buying the house or living in it. For Grayson, he took it seriously, but his excitement over Everlie made it relaxing for him.
"What about an apartment?" I suggested on our third and still unsuccessful night.
He shook his head, making the laptop jiggle. He had it resting on his chest while lying down. I sat next to him, popping chocolate-covered blueberries in my mouth. "I don't want to be that annoying guy in the building who has a crying baby," he explained. "Plus, I'm thinking three bedrooms, and I don't know that there are that many available places that big."
"Three?" I asked in surprise, looking down at him.
Grayson stared at me like it was obvious. "One for me, one for a nursery, and one for you when you come over."
Again, I was confused. "I'm coming over?" I asked.
"Well, like, if you ever needed to. Or if Everlie wanted a birthday sleepover with us. I don't know!" Grayson stammered, clearly flustered. "Anyways, an extra room will be handy for something."
"Okay, you can get an extra room," I said quickly, not wanting his head to explode. That seemed to calm him and we went back to searching.
"Oh my gosh," I squealed right as Grayson clicked on a house. "It's so cute!"
"It's adorable," he agreed, sitting up. That's how much this house stunned him: he sat up to honor it. I loved the little place, with its bright red door and its short picket fence. The flowerbeds were full of tulips. The porch was small, with an awning and hanging flowers. While the place looked small, the description promised three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It also promised a playset–which seemed too good to be true.
"Grayson, Grayson, Grayson, can we get this one? Please?" I begged.
"We?" he teased.
"You, you! You and Everlie! This place is perfect for you guys," I gushed.
He laughed at my enthusiasm. "I'll have Clay look at it for me, then I can put an offer down. Sounds good?"
"Clay is still in Arlington?" I asked, surprised.
Grayson shrugged. "As far as I know he is."
"Interesting," I said with a smirk. I loved that Grayson wore an identical smirk. But then mine faded as I asked, "Um, are we telling him?"
"Yeah, I think we should. Unless you'd rather not," he said, looking over at me.
"I think he should know," I said. "He is Everlie's uncle."
"Oh, don't bring up the fact that he'll be an uncle; he'll go bonkers trying to be the most fun uncle ever," Grayson said immediately.
I giggled. "Okay. We can tell him tomorrow."
"Why not tonight?" he asked.
"Because I'm tired and Clay is mildly exhausting," I sighed, lying down again.
Grayson looked down at me, his eyebrows furrowed in worry. "Is your stomach okay?"
"It's fine right now," I said. "Haven't thrown up in seventeen hours, so that's something."
"Sorry, Jacks. Let's get you to bed," he said, closing his laptop and setting it on the nightstand. I wiggled down and under the blankets, with Grayson doing the same next to me. He even went the extra mile and tucked me in, making sure I was warm enough. I think he was still worried I wouldn't be able to handle the coming Canadian winter. But it was sweet.
"Night, Jacks," he murmured. Then: "Night, Everlie."
"Goodnight, Grayson," I whispered. Again, he pulled me over and into his arms, not daring to let go of me for even one night. I closed my eyes and dropped my head against his chest, slowly drifting off in his tight embrace.
Everlie was going to have the best dad in the world.