"Can you believe it, Andrew?" Amanda asked as they walked into the apartment. "They've found her! We're finally going to meet my half-sister."
"Uh huh," Andrew replied. Amanda had talked about nothing but her missing half-sister all the way home from work. "I thought you didn't like the idea of having a sister you didn't know about."
Amanda shrugged. "It was a shock at first, but I'm getting used to the idea. It might be nice. Neither of us have much family to speak of."
"But if they didn't find her, maybe we would have gotten some of the inheritance."
"Maybe, but we're doing ok now."
"A little extra never hurts," Andrew said as he settled down on the couch and turned on the TV.
Amanda sighed. He was tuning her out again. She went into the bedroom to change out of her work clothes.
Every night it was like this and it just seemed to get worse and worse. Between home and work they were together all the time. They barely had a moment apart and they were running out of things to say to each other.
She had been glad when Andrew came home early one evening and said that his favorite bar had unexpectedly gone out of business. She was lonely at home by herself and she didn't like that he went out drinking as often as he did, but now they had fallen into a monotonous routine. She felt like something was missing from her marriage and she didn't know how to fix it.
She sighed and picked up the phone. Maybe Alma would appreciate the news about their sister.
Since school had ended for the summer, Alma was at a loose end. She had more free time than she knew what to do with. "I should make the most of this time," she thought. "I should go somewhere, take a trip." She hadn't been anywhere since she was just a kid. After her father died, money was tight and her family didn't have the time or money to go anywhere, but now she could do as she pleased.
She went downstairs to the kitchen where Bernice was drinking a cup of tea.
"What are your plans for the summer?" Alma asked as she took a seat across the table.
"Same as always. Just catch up on some reading and a few projects I've been meaning to do."
"I'm thinking about going on a vacation."
"Oh, that would be nice," Bernice said. "You should do that. Where are you going to go?"
"I don't know yet. I haven't decided for sure if I'm going to go."
"I'd love to go somewhere," Bernice sighed. "But I couldn't leave my babies."
"Isn't there anyone who can watch your cats for you?" Alma asked with a frown.
"No. I guess I could probably find someone, but I don't think I could trust anyone else with them."
Lucy sat on the balcony gazing past the backyard and over the bay. She placed a hand over her stomach, trying to imagine the life that was growing inside of her. "I'm going to be a mother," she thought. She kept thinking those words over and over, trying to make herself believe that they were true. It was both exciting and frightening. Just as she had been trying to simplify her life, this baby was going to make everything so much more complicated. It was going to be a huge responsibility and she just hoped she would be able to handle it.
"But a baby . . ." she thought with a smile. "A child of my very own . . . I'll really have a family again."
Lucy was startled by the door opening behind her. She turned quickly to see who was there.
"Sorry, babe. I didn't mean to scare you."
"Craig!" Lucy exclaimed as she jumped up and threw her arms around his neck. "You're back!"
Craig held her tight and kissed her. When he finally pulled away from the embrace, he touched her cheek and studied her face for a moment. "I can't even begin to tell you how much I missed you." He kissed her again, before guiding her to the bench where they both sat down.
"It's so good to be back here and away from the studio. I really couldn't take any more of their nonsense."
"What's wrong?" Lucy asked. "It didn't go well?"
"It was going great until I found out that James has a record deal as well and he's trying to pass of my songs as his own."
"Oh, Craig, that's awful. You're not going to let him get away with it, are you?"
"Of course not!"
"You should take him to court. You need to go talk to my lawyer."
"I will . . .later. But for now, I just want to forget about it and enjoy being back with the woman I love," he said and kissed Lucy again.
"Tell me things went better with you while I was away." Noticing Lucy's uncertain look, he asked, "You don't have more bad news, do you?"
"Maybe," Lucy said, drawing away. "I don't know if you'll think it's good or bad."
"What is it?" he asked, his expression clouded with concern.
"I just found out I'm pregnant."
Craig smiled and pulled her close. "That's great."
"Oh, Craig, I'm glad you think so. I've been so worried. We hadn't planned for this."
"Lucy, this is the best news I've had in weeks," he smiled.
Lucy smiled back weakly. She hadn't felt that way when she first found out, but she was starting to think it would all work out ok.
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