This Masterpiece Will Fall Apart

I hadn't been feeling good all morning after I had taken Finley to school. I mostly just sat on the couch watching TV until Josh had woken up at 1. I felt about twice as sick this pregnancy than I did the first time. My mood swings were terrible, which I honestly think horrified Josh, I was eating more than what I should have been, although, I did eat a lot to begin with, and I seemed to of bloated up within a matter of days. Josh spent most of the day downstairs avoiding me until it was time to go get Finley from school. Josh said he was going to take Finley to see his parents for a bit. I texted Airin to see if he wanted to come over for a little while, and he said he'd be right over. Marque was at home with Duncan, who were both sick, so Airin needed any excuse to get out of the apartment for a little while.

When Airin came over, he let himself in as usual, he had this giant grin on his face. I just looked at him strangely when he plopped down next to me on the couch. “What are you in such a good mood for?” I asked him.

“Well, you have to promise not to tell any one, because it's not really official yet, okay?” Airin asked. It surprised me to hear his voice. Since his operation, his voice had become more gravelly, and it didn't sound like Airin at all. His doctor said that his voice could go back to the way it was, but it was very unlikely. I was going to have to get used to the weirdness that was now my brother.

“Did you finally get Marque pregnant?” I asked excitedly. “I'm really getting tired of being the only pregnant one. Ever.” Airin tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.

“No. Marque is not pregnant. Believe me, we've been trying...” Airin said, but stopped when I made a face at him. “Hey, you brought it up.” Airin put his hands up in defence.

“I'll give you that one.” I nodded at him. “So, what is this top secret news?”

“Well, Marque and I have been giving it a lot of thought, and... we were planning on adopting again.” Airin had the biggest grin on his face ever. I stared at him in excitement.

“Really? That is so amazing!” I exclaimed, leaning over and hugging my brother. “But why is this top secret?” I asked once I let go of him. “It's not going to be the whole Duncan situation again, is it?” Airin and Marque adopted Duncan when he was two. Duncan's biological parents were terrible people, often neglecting Duncan's needs and leaving him unsupervised. Marque, who had been on walk one day, had basically rescued Duncan from an abusive home when he found Duncan alone, with no one in sight. When Marque actually had to go to court for custody of him, it was revealed that the father was in jail for dealing illegal substances, and the mother was spending 90% of their money on alcohol and drugs. Seeing as Marque had a clean criminal record, maintained a steady income, and had negative results when it came to the drug tests he was subjected to, there was no question that he would have full custody of Duncan.

“No, definitely not. We're just don't want to get everyone's hopes up just yet.” Airin said.

“How old is she?” I asked.

“She just turned 7.” Airin smiled. I could see that this was something he really wanted. Airin had always loved kids, and he was a fantastic dad. When he was around Duncan, he seemed to mellow out, which was pretty strange for Airin.

“Tell me more about her Airin. I want to know about my potential niece.” I smiled at him.

“Well, for starters, her name is Kaylee. When I first met her, I felt this instant connection between the two of us. Something just drew me to her. She is such a smart kid too. She's very tomboyish as well. I really think you'd like her.” Airin smiled. “I really hope this happens Jaws.” I took his hand in mine and gave it a light squeeze.

“I'm sure it will. You and Marque are great parents.” I said. Airin smiled softly.

“That's another thing. I just get nervous about whether or not they're going to reject the request because Marque and I are a gay couple.” Airin explained. “I mean, if it's solely for that purpose, I wouldn't know what to do.”

“If they do that, they better be prepared for a tiny, 5 and a half month pregnant woman's wrath.” I said. Airin laughed at me. “And besides, you've had Duncan for what? 3 years now? You haven't had any problems, you haven't had a social worker pay you a visit. I think you should be fine.” I reassured him. It seemed to put Airin a little more at ease. “When will you know if you can adopt Kaylee?”

“They said anywhere between a few days to 3 weeks.” Airin said. “It's been about a week now. You would not believe how on edge Marque is. Every time that phone rings, he gets his hopes up so high.”

“You really want this to happen, don't you?”

“More than anything.” Airin sighed, leaning against the couch. “But, enough about that. How are you doing?” Airin asked me.

“Terribly.” I stated. Airin looked at me with a strange expression. : “I've been sick all day, and my mood has been all over the place today, which would explain why Josh is nowhere in sight.”

“What, he's scared of his moody fiance?” Airin joked.

“Terrified, actually. He spent his whole day down in the basement.” I said. Airin chuckled and shook his head. “I honestly think he thinks I'm going to murder him in his sleep.”

“Well, you do have a history of killing men.” Airin winked at me.

“It was once, and Danny is still alive.” I laughed.

“Speaking of Danny, I don't know if you checked your twitter lately, but when I got home from the shoot, I saw that Josh had posted a tweet that was pretty funny actually. So, ultimately, I was curious as to what he was talking to.” Airin pulled out his phone so he could most likely check what it said. “The guy he was talking to was Danny, and Danny had written on his twitter, “Made out with Josline Jaulby today. It was a good day. Jealous, Josh Ramsay?”, and Josh replied with, “You may get to make out with her, but I get to have sex with her.”” All I could do was laugh.

“I don't know if he will much after that comment.” I stated. Airin laughed and put his phone away.

“So, have you thought of any names for them yet?” Airin asked.

“Haven't even begun to think of it. Josh brought up the name Adam the other day, but you know me, I like unconventional names.” Airin nodded at me. “I think were just going to wait and see. I mean, I know Marque is set on the name Max, but when Marque finally gets pregnant, he can name your kid that.”

Josh brought Finley home about an hour after Airin had left. I was trying to pack things into boxes when the front door opened and Finley came barrelling through. I sometimes wished I could bottle his energy. Finley wrapped his arms around my legs before running off to his room. I just looked at my son with confusion. “What the hell did your parents feed him? Crack?” I asked Josh when he walked up to me. I noticed he had one arm behind his back. Josh laughed and shook his head.

“No, I really don't know what's gotten into him. He's been like that since I picked him up.” Josh explained. Josh kissed my cheek before revealing a small bouquet of flowers. “For you.” I smiled at him, taking the flowers from him.

“What have I done to deserve flowers?” I asked, breathing in their scent.

“Nothing in particular. I just wanted to get you flowers.” Josh smiled.

“I should do nothing more often then,” I said. I walked into the kitchen to put the flowers in a vase of water. Josh followed close behind and leaned on a counter when I put the vase on the table.

“So, I was thinking...”Josh started.

“Oh no.”

“It's nothing bad! I was thinking about names.” Josh said. He paused for a moment before continuing. “What about Jasmine?” I stopped dead in my place. “If you don't like the idea...” Josh said after I didn't reply.

“No, no, no! I like the idea.” I smiled, walking up to Josh. “What brought on this sudden idea though?” I asked.

“I was driving by the park on the way home and I just started thinking. I mean, Jazz was a huge part of your life, and she was always so keen on us having a girl.” Josh said. I hadn't honestly thought of Jazz in a while, which I then felt bad about. And she bugged Josh and I up until the day she died that she had better get a niece or there would be hell to pay. I leaned against Josh, wrapping my arms around him.

“I honestly think that's the best idea you've ever had.”