Baby 85, 86, and 87 - Part 2 of 2

Fergus was always so happy to spend time with me.  His bright green eyes sparkled whenever we played his favorite games.  Tonight, he refuses to play any game with me which leads me to my last resort.

"Here comes... the TICKLE MONSTER!"  I shout as he giggles and nearly chokes with laughter.

A midst all of the laughter, Alice calls to me telling me that I have a phone call.  I pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

Fergus goes to play with Glowy while he waits patiently for our game to resume.  The person on the phone is Adam Cohen.  "Is something wrong with Harrison's training?" I ask immediately.  

"No, he's doing excellent.  Brilliantly actually.  I was actually calling about you."

"Me?"  I blubber like an idiot.

"Yes, I'm about to put my house up for sale soon so I was wondering if you'd like to see it.  And I'll provide lunch.  I don't know if it's a good idea but if you're free, I'd love for you to come...."

"Like a... date?" I ask hesitantly, biting my lower lip.  My heart is pounding and I'm hardly paying attention to Fergus' happy squeals.

"Oh, sort of.  I suppose."  He sounds distracted so I take his uncertainty as a yes.

"Of course I'd love to... see your house."  Seeing his house seems like an odd way to take a girl on a first date but it sounds nice.

"Great, it's still a bit messy right now and I still have to fix is up.  It won't be for a while until it's ready but I thought I'd ask you in advance."

"Awesome.  Well, send me your address and I'll see you then!"

"Oh, I'll pick you up, if you don't mind."

"No, of course not.  Uh, night!"

"Mommy play with me!  Tickle monster again!"  Fergus exclaims with wide eyes.  We play tickle monster a few minutes before I give him a bath and settle him into bed.

It's nearly a month later when I find myself standing in front of the mirror, looking for something decent to wear on this "date" with Adam.  I find a simple blue dress that doesn't look too fancy and fits over my baby bump.

I feel a bit unsure about how this is going seeing as I don't really know what's going on with Luke yet.  I'm not sure if I should consider myself single yet.  Adam picks me up in a taxi, which seems strange until we get to his house and I notice he has no garage.

His house is in a more remote location in town which is very convenient.  The air is fresh and today is a beautiful day to spend outside.  Adam prepares some delicious potato soup and we eat out on his deck.  The architecture of his house is just gorgeous and I can tell that his house is old, yet very well built and the restoration done on it is top quality.

"Are those horse stalls over there?  I noticed a lot of horses on your doors and paneling downstairs," I say over the warm soup.

"Yes, they are.  But unfortunately, they've been empty for a while."

"That's too bad," I say blowing my soup.  There's silence as we sip our meal.

Finally, Adam scratches his nose and says, "The property used to be much bigger back when my parents had their horse business running but that ended twenty or so years ago."

"Aw, economic crisis?"  I guess.

"Well, they, passed away in a car crash."

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry.  I didn't realize---"

"It's fine," he says, cutting me off quickly.

There's more silence as continue eating our soup.

Changing the topic I say, "Your house is gorgeous.  Do you mind if I ask why you're selling it?"

"As I've said, the horse business is sort of over and I don't plan on starting it up again so this house is pretty useless.  It's in pretty good shape so I might as well get a good deal on it."

"Yeah, you should," I say quietly.  The truth is, I really don't think he should sell the house.  It's loaded with memories and the lot is in a great location.  But it's not my business so I don't argue against his decision.

"So Calista, what do you do?"

"Me?  Well, I'm actually doing a 100 Baby Challenge right now."

Adam looks pleasantly surprised but doesn't seem like he wants to barf so I take that as a good sign.  I'm about to explain what it is when he says, "Really?  And so Harrison is part of that challenge?"

"Yes, he's my eighty-first."

"Wow, so, wow.  That's impressive.  And you're almost there.  Congrats," he adds, looking down.

Great, I've probably sent him off.

Apparently, the fact that I'm doing a 100 Baby Challenge doesn't send him fleeing so easily because when we finish our soup, he gives me a tour of the house.  Apparently, when the Cohen's had more land, the house was a lot bigger, but as times changed they had lost more and more land due to less success in the horse business and with the expansion of the town so they had to downsize the house.

"Would you like to see the horse stalls?"  Adam suggests as we're resting in the outdoor patio area.

"Sure!" I agree.

He gets up quickly and pulls me up.  His hands are surprisingly rough and his grasp is strong but not crushing.  He gives me a tour of the yard and I notice that the space between us is getting smaller and smaller.  By the time dinner comes around, he takes me home.

We don't talk in the taxi but he walks me up to my front door and takes my hand.

"I had a great time Calista, sorry it wasn't much," he says sincerely as he pulls me closer to him.

I almost think he's going to kiss me but he gives me a tight squeeze instead.  His cologne is so natural and I inhale it deeply, trying to remember the scent.

"See you on Saturday for Harrison's lesson," he says at last and I nod.  I had almost forgotten that this man was my son's trainer.

I walk into the house and Harrison looks confused.

"That... that wasn't... Adam... you were just with him... you... him... together?" He mutters incoherently.

Blushing, I just smile at him and say, "We're just friends right now, I'm not sure how this is going."

The twins girls just giggle at Harrison's confusion and I find an escape when I hear Fergus cry for me.

Kiara is getting old and I know she doesn't have much time left.

Meanwhile, Harrison and Adam are sparring each other.  Adam and I don't meet again during this pregnancy.  I haven't heard if the house sold yet and I still don't know what's going on between us.

Luke hasn't contacted me and I doubt he will until I finish my challenge.

I go into labor shortly after putting Fergus to bed one night.

I give birth to three beautiful babies - Adalyn Arabeth, Nathaniel Castor, and Ivy Piper.

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FAMILY UPDATE

Mei marries Jerry Comb.

They have one child, a curious little boy named Braden.  He's the perfect mix of his parents with his fiery orange hair and dark red eyes.

Sindy marries Jeremiah North.

They have twins, Mikal and Miranda.  They're identical except for their skin tones.

Alex eventually marries his high school girlfriend, Gwen Callahan and their son, Dax, is their only child.  After their experience with the teen pregnancy, they decide not to have any more kids.  At least, not for a while.

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NOTE

Thank you to Megs, my sister, Laura Johanson, and Emma Baskerville for the name suggestions!