“Taylor, I really don’t want to go,” I said with a sigh as I looked up from the magazine I had been reading.

“Come on, Ede,” Taylor coaxed. “I’ve already told Isaac we would come.”

“Well, you can just un-tell him,” I replied.

Taylor was trying to convince me to go out for dinner that weekend with Isaac and Tracie, but I was not in the mood to go out –especially with Tracie.

It had been a couple of weeks since I had gotten the letter, and, luckily, there hadn’t been any more incidents, but I was still being very cautious. I did not want to take my chances, so I was staying at the house a lot.

“Eden, you’re being ridiculous,” Taylor said. “Please just say that you’ll go!”

I sighed softly and rolled my eyes. “Fine,” I replied without much enthusiasm. “I’ll go.”

“Thank you, babe,” Taylor smiled as he sat down on the couch beside me and kissed my cheek.

“Yeah, yeah,” I sighed.

“Baby, are you okay?” Taylor asked with concern. “You seem upset.”

“I’m not upset,” I said. “I’m just really pregnant, so I’m tired, and I feel fat.”

“Oh, baby, you’re not fat,” Taylor said with a sweet smile.

“Not fat?” I snorted. “I can barely see my feet! I can’t even remember what color my toenails are!”

“Eden, baby, believe me, you’re beautiful,” he said stroking my cheek gently with the back of his hand.

I smiled softly and stared into his eyes. “I love you,” I said.

“I love you, too,” he whispered as he kissed my lips gently. “Hey, if you really don’t want to go out this weekend, I’ll just tell Ike we’ve already made other plans,” Taylor offered.

“Oh, I’ll go,” I sighed. “I guess it won’t be that bad; besides, I need to get out of this house.”

“Thanks, sweetie,” Taylor smiled.

We sat on the couch in silence for a while before I rested my head on his shoulder and said, “Tay, I’ve been thinking.”

“What about?”

“Well, what if we didn’t find out the sex of the baby and let it be a surprise?” I asked.

“Is that what you want to do?” he asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” I nodded.

“Okay,” Taylor agreed. “I’m always up for a good surprise.”

“Okay,” I smiled.

Truthfully, I didn’t know if it was so much the element of surprise that I liked about not knowing the gender of the baby. I guess I was really more worried about Taylor’s reaction. Like what if the baby was a girl and he really wanted a boy? I couldn’t deal with Taylor being disappointed right now because I really needed his support.

“So, have you given the names anymore thought?” Taylor asked.

“Well, I was thinking about Ezekiel for a boy,” I replied.

“I kind if like that,” Taylor nodded. “Ezekiel what?”

“Hmm... Ezekiel Walker?” I suggested.

“Yeah, I like that,” Taylor nodded. “I bet my dad and Zac would too.”

“Yeah, probably,” I smiled. “And for a girl I was thinking about... well, actually, there were a few... Shaylie... Shylah... Caitlin... and Hannah...”

“I like Hannah,” Taylor said. “But Shaylie is pretty too.”

“Yeah, well, we’ve got some time to think before the baby arrives. Besides, there’s no use in picking a name right now anyway because the baby may get here, and the names we have picked out might not suit him or her.”

“That’s true,” Taylor nodded with a smile. “So, the baby shower is in two weeks, right?”

“Yeah,” I nodded.

My mom and Diana had conspired behind my back to throw a baby shower for me, and they had only recently let me in on the news. My mom and sisters would be flying to Tulsa for a few days for the little get together.

“Are you excited about seeing her mom and sisters?”

“Yeah,” I smiled. “But I’m also kind of nervous.”

“Why nervous?”

“Because my mom drives me nuts sometimes and I don’t want to end up making a mistake about the baby’s due date.”

“Hey, you’ll be okay,” Taylor smiled. “I’ve got your back.”

“Thanks,” I said with a light laugh.

I sighed as I brushed through my dark hair and stared at my reflection in the mirror. “You can get through this,” I whispered to myself. The weekend had arrived, and it was time for Taylor and me to go out for dinner with Isaac and Tracie. I was trying to convince myself that I would be able to get through this evening with Tracie.

“Are you ready to go, Ede?” Taylor asked as he appeared at the bathroom door.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “I’ve got to get my purse first.”

“Okay,” Taylor nodded. “I’m going to go on out and start the car.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in a minute,” I said.

“Thanks for doing this, Eden,” Taylor smiled as he gave me a peck on the lips and headed out to the car.

I finished smoothing down my hair and headed downstairs. I had managed to misplace my purse, so I had to do some searching before I finally found it. As I was headed toward the door, the phone rang. For a moment I considered just letting the machine pick it up, but then I thought it might be Isaac or Tracie, so I hurriedly answered it.

“Hello?” I said. I waited for someone to speak, but the line was silent. “Hello?” I replied.

I sighed heavily and hung up the phone. ‘Damn prank calls!’ I thought as I walked out to the car.

“I was about to come looking for you,” Taylor grinned as I fastened my seatbelt.

“Well, I couldn’t find my purse and then someone called,” I said.

“Who called?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I answered the phone, but no one said anything.”

“It was probably just someone playing a prank,” Taylor said thoughtfully.

“Yeah, probably,” I nodded as we pulled out of the driveway.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we had to wait on Isaac and Tracie. Over the months I had known the Hansons, I had come to the conclusion that at least one member of the Hanson family had to be late getting to their destination.

We all went inside together and were quickly seated.

“So, Eden, the baby shower is in a week and a half?” Tracie asked during dinner.

“Yeah,” I nodded.

“Is there anything specific you need for the baby?” Tracie asked. “I never know what to buy people for these things.”

“Well,” I began thoughtfully. “I can’t really think of anything off the top of my head, but we could always use clothes or diapers.”

“Have you found out the sex of the baby?” Tracie asked.

“No, Tay and I decided we want to be surprised, so we’re just going with neutral colors,” I replied.

“Okay, cool,” Tracie nodded with a smile.

Dinner went surprising well, and Tracie didn’t get on my nerves either. We actually got along rather well. I was beginning to think I might have misjudged her. I decided that I would just have to wait and see.

After dinner Taylor and I headed home. Isaac had invited Taylor to go out for a beer, but Taylor had declined, which surprised me. Taylor hadn’t been doing much drinking and going out at night. It was actually nice he came home right after he left the studio, and we would have dinner together and talk or watch TV. It was so nice because I was beginning to feel like this marriage was real. I mean, I knew that it was a real marriage, but it felt like we actually wanted to be married to each other. We weren’t just going through the motions anymore.

When Taylor and I got home, I was very tired. I yawned as I walked into the living room.

“Did anyone call while we were gone?” Taylor asked.

“I don’t know,” I sighed as I walked over to the answering machine and hit the play button.

There were a few hang ups on the machine, a couple of messages from people Taylor was working with at the studio, and there was – one that really caught my attention.

“I’ll get you next time!”