Page 37 of Holiday Wedding
“You start,” he says.
“Okay.” I screw up my face, thinking. “Oh! If you had to go the rest of your life shoeless or shirtless, which would you choose?”
He snorts. “That’s easy. No shirt. I mean, have you seen my abs?”
If I were there, I’d throw a pillow at him. “So humble.” I roll my eyes sarcastically.
“Next question.” Caleb moves us along. “Do you ever want to move back to California, or are you happy here?” He tilts his head, regarding me intently.
I cross my knees and rock side to side as I think. This is how we play the game. We jump between lighthearted questions and serious ones. I’ve learned some of his deepest secrets this way.
“I’m fine in New York. It’s important to me that the art therapy program is successful. It’ll take a while to get it up and running.” I smile, thinking about the art therapy program I instituted at my hospital last year. It has been a ton of work to set up, but now we have three full-time therapists who go to the patient rooms and use art to help the patients process their illnesses and heal.
“I miss Teddy, though.” I chew on my lower lip, wondering if I could convince my baby brother to move to New York someday. I don’t even bother to consider my older brother, Brandon. He’ll never leave the Midwest.
“How about you? L.A. or New York? L.A. is better for movies and television.”
Caleb crosses an ankle over his knee, his foot bouncing. “I’m fine with either. Working in front of a live audience has been pretty amazing. New York is great for that.”
I sigh happily. I enjoy this, planning a life with Caleb. Thinking about all the things we’ll do together. Sometimes I picture my heart like a house full of rooms. It used to be a tiny apartment, with just enough space for Jenny and my family. Caleb has turned it into a mansion. I’ve put memories of him—ones from when I first fell in love with him to last week, when he made popcorn and we watched a movie on TV—into that home. Some rooms sit empty, waiting for future Gwen and Caleb to decorate them.
“My turn,” he says. “What do you think about getting a dog? Like Pip, but bigger?”
“Really?” I practically shriek. I’ve wanted a pet for so long but figured that with our busy schedules we wouldn’t have time to give it enough attention. “Who would walk it, though? When we’re gone all day? It might get lonely.”
“There are tons of professional dog walkers in the city. It’s a serious profession here. We’ll hire one of them.”
“I’d love that.” We spend the next few minutes arguing over different breeds. I would love a Siberian husky. He thinks a golden retriever is better.
“Why a retriever?”
“I hear they’re great with kids,” Caleb says shyly.
Oh.
We’ve discussed this several times before and agreed that we both want children, but we haven’t figured out all the details. Seems like a good conversation to have before we say, “I do.”
“My question,” I remind him. I drop my eyes to the white hotel bedspread and smooth out the fabric with my fingers. “I know you want more than one, but exactly how many kids are you thinking?”
He answers immediately, “Six.”
“Six!” My gaze whips up to find him chuckling.
“You should see your expression right now,” he wheezes out between laughs.
I mock glare at him. “You can have six when you figure out how to squeeze them out yourself.”
He winces at the thought. “Ouch. I’m kidding. I’m not sure. Four?”
“Two,” I counter. “A boy and a girl.”
“Um, I’m not the doctor here, but last I heard, you don’t get to choose.” One corner of his mouth lifts.
“True.” I pin him with a stare and say, “No pressure, but it’s all up to you.”
“Me?” His eyebrows go up.
“The sperm determines gender.”
