Selling Satisfaction by Ashley Beale Page A

weekends are basically it for me."
    "It appears Kandy has a friend down there, or the better yet, the lack of one. A few of her girls went down there when the list came out, so I want Jeff to interrogate them and you to snap pictures and take notes of them all. I'll have more for you later this week."
    "Sounds great, Sir," I tell him. Even if I find myself frustrated by it all.
    "You can bring the folder home with you. Nothing you need to concern yourself with at this current moment." He nods his head, heading out the door.
     
    I'm not at home ten minutes when Emily calls my phone. I haven't even gotten my boots off yet, but I'm certainly not missing a phone call with my little sis. "How's it going?" I answer the phone.
    "I was about to ask the same." Her voice seems jubilant. "Things are going well up here. Got to see an ultrasound of the baby, next month we get a 3D one, which is nerve wrecking and exciting all at once. I'm not sure if I'm ready to see his face. I almost wanted to be surprised when he was born. You know?" She rambles on. "How are you? Settled in any?"
    I can hear the engine rev to life, so she must have literally just left the doctors. It makes me happy that she wants to share the news with me right off- it makes me twice as sad though that I'm not actually there for her. Either are our parents. I know more than anything she wanted Mom to be here to help with the nursery and all the first time parent questions. Either way, we had great role models growing up, so I know she'll make an excellent mother- not that I ever had a doubt.
    Propping the phone between my shoulder and ear, I start to unlace my boots. "Not too bad. Work is good, I settled in here a lot better than I thought I would. I like my place, but it's almost too big. It's empty. I'm not sure where to put anything. I still haven't unpacked half the boxes."
    "Well, good news for you then. Actually, it's the main reason I called."
    She pauses, so I know she wants me to guess something. "You're... moving down here?" I'm not sure if I can sound any more hopeful.
    I can hear her breath deflate, which means that she wishes that were the truth. "No, sadly. Sebastian said it isn't fair to his parents or he'd think about it. So maybe in a couple years, if you're still there. However, I got some extra time off work, so I'll be visiting you this upcoming week!" Her voice raises several octaves with excitement. "Which means I can also help you set your place up."
    "Sebastian is coming with you, right?" I have to ask.
    "No. He can't get the time off work."
    "You can't drive here alone!" I sound like Dad right now, but she's pregnant- that is far too dangerous for both the baby and herself.
    She giggles softly on the other end. "Okay, Dad." Calling me out. "I'll be flying, it's perfectly fine. He'll drop me off at the airport, you can pick me up when I land, and it'll all be fine and dandy. Don't worry about me."
    "Can you fly while pregnant?"
    "Are you being serious right now? Do you know how many pregnant women fly?" She clearly finds amusement in my concern.
    "Yes, I'm serious. What if your stomach pops or something from the pressure?" Okay, that was definitely a Dad comment, and probably not even close to a possibility. I want to make sure if it's actually safe for her to fly though.
    "Seriously?" My ear if filled with an echoing roar of laughter. I have to pull the phone from my ear. "No, my stomach most definitely will not randomly combust, you moron. There is a small chance of blood clots because of the elevation and other minor things, but it's all unlikely to happen. I need to avoid salt, and try to drink lots of water, get up and walk around the cabin once or twice. That's about it. I already discussed it with my doctor, and she said she had absolutely no reason to believe it'd be harmful for me or baby. I've been perfectly healthy this pregnancy thus far."
    It reliefs me that she asked her doctor- although the idea of blood clots while pregnant for