WAKING UP BRIGHT AND EARLY, the fullness of my bladder was a reminder that I was getting closer to having this little boy. I think I’d gotten up no less than three times last night, only to sit down and release a tiny trickle. What kind of hoopla is that? Thankfully, every time I moved in the night, Dodger barely stirred. I may tease that he should be waking up just as much as I was, but I honestly felt like an asshole if he was losing sleep because of me. We both needed to be getting as much rest as we possibly could.
The sun was currently shining through the window, nearly blinding me as I sat at the small table in the breakfast nook. I sipped my decaf coffee, which only made me grumpy that I’d switched from caffeinated. Despite knowing better, I went along with Donna’s wishes and my own mother’s and cut the caffeine. They thought it would hurt the baby. Honestly, my single cup I drank every morning wouldn’t do any damage. I pacified them so they wouldn’t gripe at me. Meantime, I was busy in my own head, making mental check lists of things I still needed to get done.
Like the constant nagging feeling to clean.
This past week I’d cleaned every damn inch of this house like it was the most disgusting place I’d ever been in. Dodger and I, we weren’t slobs by any means. We typically kept the house pretty picked up, and we shared responsibilities with the scrubbing. But right now, my eagle eye swore it saw every particle of dust, speck of dirt, and item out of place. I bleached, and spot cleaned the place from top to bottom until I couldn’t hardly move anymore. Dodger thought I’d lost my mind, but I guess this was a fairly typical thing to happen. I just wanted the house to be perfect for the baby. I wanted to be able to come home to a house that I could sit and relax and enjoy my baby in. Hello nesting phase. Everything needed a place
As I sat and sipped my coffee, I kept looking at the wall that was across the kitchen. I had been staring at this particular wall every single morning for the better part of two weeks now. I hadn’t the slightest clue why, and then it hit me. Setting the steaming up of warm goodness down, I got up and went over to the wall. I checked it out from top to bottom and determined I needed to run an errand. Going back to my room, I quickly dressed in a raggedy old shirt that was Dodger’s, and a pair of yoga pants that fit comfortably below the belly. After locking up, I hopped in the car and drove straight to the hardware store.
Stepping inside, my senses were assaulted by the smell of cut wood, and plastic. I had only been inside a store like this a couple of times. Once when my dad needed to get a spare key made for the house and I was just a kid. And another time when I was in high school and I wanted a candy bar and figured they’d have one at the registers. Other than that, I was a fish out of water. Glancing around, I saw aisles labeled by what was down them. Gardening, paint, cabinets, tools.
Bingo.
I may not have known exactly what I was doing, but I was after something in particular. I only knew what it was because I’d seen some shows on HGTV. I walked down the aisle marked “Tools” and started looking. I was only a few feet down when I saw it: a sledgehammer. Pretty sure it’s what I needed to take down the wall that has been driving me nuts.
“Can I help you, Ma’am?”
I spun around and faced a man that reminded me of my grandfather. He was shorter than I was, with stark white hair, glasses that were about an inch thick, and wearing a pair of suspenders. Only thing that identified him as an employee was his name badge. His name was Ed. He looked like an Ed.
“Yes, sir. I think I am going to purchase this sledgehammer so I can take down a wall in my house.”
He looked at my face and saw I was dead serious, then he glanced at my protruding belly.
“A sledgehammer is a start. Are you building up a new wall in its place, or opening up the space?”
I thought about it. “Definitely opening up the space . . . I think.”
“Taking down a whole wall can be quite a bit of work. Do you have someone to help you out with it? I’m not so sure a pregnant lady should be swinging that heavy hammer.”
Time to lie. “Oh yes. My boyfriend will be my trusty sidekick.” My pathetic attempt at making this sweet little old man smile just wasn’t happening.
“That’s good. Do y’all have wire cutters, safety goggles, and dry wall to patch the exposed parts?”
“Well, no since I only just decided to take on the project. I got as far as figuring out I needed something big to take it down.”
Ed was making a confused face. “Yes, Ma’am. Well, how about we get those safety goggles, and some heavy sheets to put down on the floor so those don’t get damaged.”
I pointed my finger in the air like it was the best idea ever. “Good thinking. Definitely don’t want to damage my beautiful wood floors. Pretty sure my boyfriend would kill me if I ripped a hole in that too.”
Still nothing. Maybe my humor was only funny to me at the moment. Erm, okay time to go. I reached out and grabbed the handle of the sledgehammer and lifted. Fuck me, this sucker was heavier than I expected. I should’ve grabbed a cart. Wonder if it would be frowned upon if I drug it down the aisle caveman style. Best not to try. Using both of my hands, I hefted the tool up, and walked toward the checkout counter. Ed met me, and handed me two pairs of clear safety glasses.
“Thank you.”
“You bet. And might I suggest you have someone else do the swinging for you. I’d sure hate for you to hurt yourself trying to do home improvements on your own.”
I saluted. “Aye, aye, captain.”
He gave a subtle head shake before he went back to his work area. The old man certainly meant well, but I wasn’t going to let his safety concerns diminish my mood. I was excited. Taking down the wall was going to completely open the space, and make it feel larger. The baby needed larger. I needed larger. I had no idea if Dodger needed it too, but he was certainly going to get it. Wonder how mad he was going to be when he got home today and saw the mess.
After I checked out, I drove back home. I thought about what the man had said about wire cutters and dry wall. I hadn’t really considered the fact that there were likely electrical wires that I could hit, or the gaping patches of dry wall that would be missing. Eh, Dodger could fix it. I was pretty certain I would be able to get most of the wall taken out before he got home.