Page 22 of Having the Bear's Baby

This room was mostly used for storage. He’d just had it painted a light gray, feeling he should do something with it but not knowing what. His mother held up a 30-foot tape measure.

“Where did you even get that?” he asked, waving a hand at her.

His mother stretched from one wall to another. “I brought it. You have to know the size of the room so you can buy the right size of bed and everything. Oh, speaking of bed, I still have your old crib. But if you don’t want it, we could all go out shopping.”

He stared at his mother. Emma wasn’t even pregnant yet, and she was already thinking about things that were way in the future. He found it touching, but it was too soon.

He still had to convince Emma to move in, and if she saw a nursery, he was unsure how she was going to react. She’d stated she didn’t want to take everything so quickly. And he wanted to follow her wishes.

“Mom.”

“What about an animal theme? You had an animal-themed nursery. It would even work if it’s a little girl.”

His sister walked back down the hallway, slipping into the bedroom. “This is the best room for it. It has the most light.”

He sighed. “Mom.”

“Or you could do a specific animal.” His mother turned, holding the measuring tape toward the ceiling. “We could get a really cute mobile.”

“Mom!”

She stopped, and they both turned to him. His mother’s smile slipped as she pulled the measuring tape down. “What?”

“I love the enthusiasm, I do. But Emma isn’t even pregnant yet. We haven’t even talked about much, let alone a nursery or which room it’s going into.”

“This one,” his sister repeated. “It has the most light.”

He crossed his arms. “What if we want it to be farther away? This room is right across from the main bedroom.”

“That’s the point, dear,” his mother said as she walked toward him, patting his cheek. “You want it close. The baby will wake up in the middle of the night, and if you are tired, you aren’t going to want to go the distance.”

“Mom, please. Emma and I will get there, but this is a lot. And she should be here to talk about what she wants. You can’t bulldoze over her.” He knew they were just trying to be nice, but Emma would want to be part of some of this.

His mother exhaled. “I suppose that’s fair. I’m sorry. I get excited about the idea of being a grandma.”

He understood that. His mother had dreamed about this since he was a teen. It was all coming from a loving place.

“Thank you. I just want to make sure that Emma gets everything she wants as well.”

He looked at his sister. “You would want the same courtesy.”

She sighed but nodded in agreement.

He didn’t have a problem with them talking about clothes or even a crib, but a theme? He felt that should be Emma’s decision.

His mother pushed the measuring tape back into her purse. “Fine, but I’m going to check out the kitchen and look for a high chair.”

They slipped out, and he looked around the room, suddenly imagining it as a nursery.

He could picture a crib and a rocking chair in the corner. He could picture Emma sitting in the space late at night and early in the morning. His stomach clenched because he desperately wanted it to become his reality.

He stepped into the kitchen to find his sister on her phone, looking at different high chairs while his mother paced around the space.

“You’re going to need to baby proof this. Better do it ahead of time.”

“Baby proof? Now?” he asked, looking at them like they were crazy.

“It’s important,” his sister said, rolling her eyes at him. “We can help, so let us. And why are you here? Shouldn’t you be out getting her pregnant?”

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