(02) ; Nico

[new_beginnings]

Nico had wanted to make up for the chicken dinner that had gone all wrong. Grace had agreed, with the caveat that she choose a recipe that they could pull off together. So when the next Friday arrived and it was nearing time for his arrival, she had already set everything up - and even though she had wanted to do some of the prepwork, managed to hold off so that they could make dinner a true collaborative effort.

Grace didn't go out of her way to dress up in something fancy for dinner, but she did make an effort not to look too slobby - if a loose shirt and jeans and a soft cardigan even looked somewhat appropriate. She even looked somewhat rested, she thought, checking her appearance in the mirror, scrutinizing the very slight bags under her eyes. Her morning sickness was still bad, but at least during this time of day, she was usually feeling about as good as could be expected.

Truth be told, Grace almost couldn't wait to slip into the second trimester and leave all the pains of the first trimester behind.

Hope you're ready for some dinner, she texted Nico, settling in on her couch to wait for his arrival. Something or other was on the tv, but she wasn't particularly paying attention. She always felt nervous before they met up, and today was no exception.

Comments

[mechanico]

Nico had changed three times before he finally had to leave the house or he'd be late - he'd felt so bad that she'd shown up last time looking beautiful and he'd greeted her in flour-smudged jeans and an inside out shirt (which he hadn't even noticed until after she'd left), he wanted to actually look nice. He'd worn the same dark blue jeans, cleaner this time, but he'd switched from t-shirt to button up and back again before finally deciding on a light blue button up with the sleeves rolled up - casual, but nice. He hoped.

He'd just pulled up outside her place when he checked his phone and saw her message, and it brought a smile to his face immediately. He still had it bad, but he tried to push that aside as he always did, not wanting to make things awkward for her.

Definitely ready! Hope you can keep me from messing this one up haha he dropped her a quick text back and then tucked his phone in his pocket, heading to her door and knocking. He was actually looking forward to this.

[new_beginnings]

Grace didn't hold the chicken disaster against Nico. Cooking could be unpredictable, and these things sometimes happened. Besides, pizza had been a more than acceptable alternative.

The point was that he continued making the effort to connect with her and to bond with a baby that wasn't even born yet - a baby that was theirs, when he didn't even have to.

It certainly wasn't the only reason that her feelings kept growing, but it didn't hurt. She knew deep down that Nico was a truly good man, and Grace hated knowing that whatever could have been between them had been cut off far, far too soon.

Sometimes, she allowed herself small moments to fantasize about what it would be like to date - truly date - but sooner or later, Grace felt pathetic about it and tucked those thoughts away for another day.

She was lucky enough that he was willing to be co-parents with her, not to mention friends. Hoping for anything more was just being selfish on her part and Grace didn't want to be selfish.

This was enough.

I'll do my best. What do you think about Chinese as a backup plan? 😋

Grace fired off the text, and then jumped up to answer the door once the knock arrived, letting her know that Nico was there.

"Hey", she greeted, her smile widening. "I have something to show you, but I didn't want to do it through text."