Red Saga Chapter 4

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The first project that Mallie undertook after the house was built was a pond. She had brought back a few koi fish from Shang Simla, and they had been in small tanks all that time. She wanted to set them free in a pond in the front yard.

A visit to the local tree nursery got her lovely tall trees that would shade the area, and some plants to give the fish hiding spots near the surface.

There was also a dock from which she could see the fish in the water below. The landscaping and gardening for the project took a few weeks, during which Mallie’s life took a surprising turn.

 

Mallie decided to ask Hans to move in with them. Her decision was weighed by the fact that she found out she was pregnant. This time it had been a complete shock for her. She wasn’t ready for another child, and she decided to get the father in to help.

She expected Hans to be more surprised by her news, but he took the new pregnancy in very easily. Very.

 

“Are you ok with this? I mean, the first time I discussed my wish to have your baby before I got pregnant. This time it wasn’t planned.”

“…ah, no. No! I’m perfectly okay with having a second child with you, baby. You know I would marry you tomorrow if you want to…, mmhm, do you...?”

“Do I…, what?”

“Do you want to get married? I mean, now that we are having a second child…?”

Mallie’s breath caught for a second at that.

“Hans, did you mess with me so that I’d marry you?”

“What?! Noo! How can you even think that!??! I’m just letting you know that my offer is still there, okay? If you ever want to get married to me, I’d love it.”

His earnest declaration somewhat calmed Mallie. “Ok, it’s ok. I don’t want to get married, I told you this before. What I want to ask you is to move in with Mark and I. I’ve been thinking about it and now, with this second baby in his or her way, it’d be…convenient…, for all of us, don’t you think? Who knows, maybe after sharing a bathroom with me you will think of withdrawing your offer.”

Hans was elated! “Yes! I’ll move in! I just have to give two weeks’ notice to my landlord, but I will bring my stuff tomorrow, ok? We’ll finally be a family and with the new little one, it will be great.”

That was unexpected. Mallie knew that Hans was all in for a family and marriage with her, but he was really…ecstatic about changing everything in his life to accommodate her wishes. She was having a hard time just accepting him into her turf, so it was strange for her to see Hans was so eager.

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After her contract with the archeological excursion ended, Mallie had focused on getting her house built. A full-time job did not allow her to supervise everything like she wanted. She took to writing and had written a couple of sci-fi novels that were published and were giving her some royalties, just enough to pay the utilities really, but it helped a lot. All her savings from Shang Simla—except for Mark’s college fund, were destined to the construction of her house. It was very important to give her child a solid and comfortable home.

Now, with her unexpected pregnancy, Mallie thought that she might go on writing as a freelancer. She was selling the surplus from her little orchard, which also gave her fresh fruit and herbs for cooking their meals. Her share of the profit from the excavations was in the bank giving her money to build and a bit of an interest for expenses so she did not only depend on whether her books sold. Besides, her publisher told her that if she wrote another novel like the ones before, they’d give her a chunky check as advance payment. It was all good, and it allowed her to stay home and enjoy helping Mark learn and grow up.

She would have to consider this seriously. Her other options were to get a full-time job or to hire with an expedition once more, but this was not really the best option at the moment.

 

After Hans moved in, he started doing some chores at home. He also liked to play her late father’s guitar, and she enjoyed listening to him practice. He stayed home almost all day long. She finally asked him about his job and he confessed that he was unemployed. Mallie frowned at that. She was not expecting such news. In fact, everything seemed to be shock after shock for her those days.

“But you always said that you had some business to attend whenever you could not meet me. I thought you were ‘at work’ doing some business.”

“Baby, I was doing business. In fact, I am still doing business here and there. I do have an income, if that is what worries you, it’s just that I don’t keep office hours. Since my late wife passed, I chose not to tie myself to an office job because I could not be with her when she needed me most.”

There was nothing to say after that, but Mallie was left wondering what else she did not know about her children’s father.

 

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The pond was not only Mallie’s favorite spot outside. Someone else appeared to have given it the thumbs up and spent long hours in contemplation on the dock.

 

Mallie found the gnome in one of her boxes from abroad. It was lovely and she knew that they could bring either good or bad luck to a family. She did not know his name or what the gnome could do, but she decided to let him roam freely. She offered him an apple or strawberries from the orchard, when she found him there.

Now, the little gnome looked to be pondering heavy thoughts. Or maybe he was enjoying watching the koi. Maybe they reminded him of home?

 

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Hans was delighted with everything. He offered to stay home when Mallie consulted the doctor so that they did not have to pay for a sitter.

“I thought you wanted to go through every single step with this baby, like before, Hans.”

“Believe me, baby, it is a sacrifice for me not to go along, but I know how you want to save in unnecessary expenses and now that I am home, it would be superfluous to pay a stranger to care for Markie when I can do it.”

It grated her nerves to hear Hans call their son ‘Markie’. What was wrong with some men who cannot stop using ridiculous names for everything? And what was wrong with her that she still wanted him around? “Whatever. I’ll go to the market to sell the fruit after my consultation. I’ll not be too long, I hope.”

The doctor told Mallie that she was about ten weeks into the pregnancy. The baby looked good and she was feeling good too. She had had a little nausea about a month before, but nothing that suggested her situation. All in all, she was glad to get good news about the baby.

The guys at the supermarket helped her with the crates of fruit, and soon she had a nice and not so little extra cash in her hands. She returned home via the longest road. Driving was relaxing for her, and her brand-new car was a joy. Many things to think through were running around in her mind.

Mallie got home in the late afternoon. She took a bath and put on her comfy jammies. Then she sat down to watch TV with Mark. Her third novel was well underway, the house was finished, even if she had only furnished the rooms they were using. Her parents’ inheritance had been used to make the down payment for the land, and the interest was paying the monthly mortgage. Her treasure had paid for the construction, so she was not deeply in debt. Still, she felt unease. Was it only that she was pregnant when she had not planned to have a second child? Or was there something else bugging her?

 

 

She looked at the dragon koi fish she caught at the Dragon Hills Pond. It looked fierce, but she knew that it was not so hard to catch, if you were at the pond at the right time of day. She hoped she was not going to end up like the fish: caught unawares and on display.

 

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