At First Sight - Nicholas Sparks [78]
“Just watch,” she said. “Sit real still so you can see it.”
Jeremy did as he was told, and all of a sudden a small spot on her belly seemed to bulge involuntarily. It happened so quickly, however, he wasn’t sure what it was.
“Did you see it?” she exclaimed.
“I think I saw something. What is it?”
“That’s the baby. She’s kicking. In the past few weeks, I thought I felt her moving a little, but this morning was the first time I knew for sure.”
The spot bulged again.
“There! I saw it!” Jeremy exclaimed. “That’s the baby?”
Lexie nodded, her expression rapt. “She’s been active all morning, but I didn’t want to wake you, so I snuck out here where I could see it better. Isn’t it incredible?”
“Amazing,” Jeremy said, continuing to watch for it.
“Give me your hand,” she said.
When Jeremy reached out, she took it and placed it on her belly. A few seconds later, he felt it bulge and he grinned.
“Does it hurt?”
“No,” she said, “it’s more like pressure or something. It’s hard to describe, except that it’s wonderful.”
In the soft yellow glow of the lamp, Jeremy thought she was beautiful. When she looked up at him, her eyes were shining. “Doesn’t this make it all worthwhile?”
“It’s always been worthwhile.”
She put her hand over his. “I’m sorry we haven’t fooled around lately, but I’ve been feeling nauseous again the past couple of weeks. It kind of surprised me, since I didn’t really get morning sickness. But my stomach’s been so woozy, I was afraid I might throw up if we made love, but at least I know why now.”
“That’s okay,” he said, “I hadn’t really noticed.”
“Yeah, sure. I can tell when you’re sulking.”
“You can?”
She nodded. “You toss and turn. And sometimes you sigh. It’s pretty obvious. But I’m not feeling queasy now.”
“You’re not?”
“In fact, I’m kind of feeling like I did right after our marriage.”
“You do?”
She nodded again, her expression seductive.
If there was one other downside to their first couple of months together, it related to work. Just as he’d done in May and June, in late July Jeremy sent another of his prewritten columns up to his editor in New York. It was the last one. From this point on, he knew, the clock would be ticking. He had four weeks to come up with something new.
Still, when he sat at the computer, there was nothing.
With August came a type of heat that Jeremy had heard about but had never before experienced in such an unrelenting fashion. Though New York was humid in the summer and had more than its share of miserable, sweat-inducing days, he realized that he’d dealt with them by staying indoors with the air conditioner blasting. Boone Creek, on the other hand, was an outdoor town, with a river and summer festival that lured people out of their homes.
As Gherkin had predicted, the festival drew thousands from all over the eastern part of the state. The streets, crammed with people, were lined on either side with dozens of kiosks that sold everything from barbecue sandwiches to shrimp on a stick. Near the water, the traveling carnival had set up rides, and kids waited in lines to ride the mini–roller coaster and a creaky Ferris wheel. The paper mill across the way had donated thousands of pieces of lumber—two-by-fours, squares, circles, triangles, blocks of various sizes—and kids spent hours constructing imaginary buildings.
The astronaut was a big hit with the crowds and ended up signing autographs for hours. Gherkin, meanwhile, had displayed an uncanny knack for playing up the theme of space. In addition to face painting—instead of animals, the offerings were of space shuttles, meteors, planets, and satellites—he’d somehow convinced the Lego Company to donate a thousand kits so kids could assemble their own space shuttles. This activity, spread out beneath a giant canopy, was a huge hit even among the parents, as it was in the only shady spot around.
Jeremy soaked through his shirt within minutes, but Lexie, now a little more than six months along, was even more miserable. Though she wasn’t large yet, she was definitely showing, and more than one of the older