Page 89 of Gideon
“Based on my own calculations, the baby should be here sometime around the end of January or early February,” she exclaimed happily.
“Hopefully, we are far as hell away from here by then,” Delilah chuckled.
“Hear, hear!” Talia agreed.
“Are you hoping for a girl or a boy?” Ruth asked her.
“Honestly, we just want a healthy baby. I don’t care either way, and neither does Zeke,” she answered.
“How is Zeke taking all of this?” Ruth asked her, a knowing look on her face.
“Oh, horribly,” Talia chuckled. “Well, not horribly. Probably the way any expectant father would. He is happy, but he is so nervous.”
“Can you blame him? With everything going on and the plan? I’m a nervous wreck, and I’m not the one who’s pregnant!” Delilah exclaimed.
“Is there anything you need? Anything we can do to be helpful?” I asked her.
“Thank you, Naomi, but no. Right now, we are just getting used to the idea of having a baby and what that will look like for our future, especially once we leave this place,” Talia answered.
“What do you think you’ll both do after we leave?” I asked her. I found myself wildly interested in what the other brothers, and their wives, had planned for their own futures.
“We want to find a quiet place to live. Somewhere small, but definitely bigger than Zion,” she laughed.
“That’s not hard to find,” Delilah scoffed.
“True. But we want a smaller town, somewhere that we can have a little farm. Zeke enjoys what gardening he does and wants to sell things in a local store, possibly. I’m trying to push him into focusing on his art. He really is an exquisite painter,” Talia explained, a dreamy look in her eyes.
“What about you, Delilah? Have you and Ollie talked about it at all?” Ruth asked.
“Oh, have we! Ollie wants to live in the city. He honestly wants to just move to St. George and possibly work for Abditory,” Delilah exclaimed.
“Abditory, like the dungeon they all belong to?” I questioned. “Before you answer, does anyone want a drink? I’m feeling parched,” I offered.
“Water for me, please,” Talia asked, a tinge of blush gracing her cheeks.
“Same,” Delilah piped in and Ruth joined her.
“Waters all around. Coming right up. You were saying, Delilah?” I asked again, walking to the kitchen to fetch the bare minimum in the way of refreshments.
“Yes, Abditory, as in the dungeon they all belong to. He enjoys being there and wants to learn the ropes,” Delilah answered.
“Pretty sure ropes are Gideon’s territory,” I scoffed, carrying over four glasses of water to the small coffee table.
“Sister’s got sass! I like it,” Delilah giggled. “But in all truth, he wants to get into the business side of things.”
“I think he’d be great at that,” Ruth offered, taking a sip of her water. “As for Levi, he can’t seem to settle on one thing or another. I have a feeling the city life is for him as well, based on our discussions. He wants to get into business, too. I thought perhaps he’d want to do something with accounting, as he handles most of the financials for the brothers, but he said no. So I’m not sure.”
“Naomi? What about Gideon?” Delilah asked. I thought about the question.
“Well, Gideon and I haven’t been together long. We haven’t discussed much. But he wants to take his boat on the open water. Perhaps move to a place like Seattle, or somewhere on the ocean. I think if he could live full time on that thing, he’d be the happiest man alive,” I teased, rolling my eyes.
“That doesn’t surprise me in the least. What doyouwant, Naomi?” Ruth asked. The question caught me completely off guard. What didIwant to do?
“Sheesh. I don’t know. I haven’t thought too much about it. All these years, I’ve been focused on just getting out, getting away from here. I haven’t put much thought into what I would do when I left. Find my family, for one,” I answered honestly.
“Agreed,” Talia chimed in.
“I, for one, would like to get into something artistic. I’m not sure what yet, but I enjoy being creative,” Delilah answered.
