“You like?” I asked. She glanced at me over her shoulder. For the first time since moving in here, I worried whether somebody else approved of the way it looked. I hadn't played that much of a part in the interior decorating, mostly just hired someone to handle that for me, but that worked because I was the only one who was staying here. I had brought the decorator back in to do Brenna's room. If I had my way, we would be sleeping in the same room, same bed, but that would be too much to spring on her right now. I liked how the place was decorated but it wasn’t my opinion that mattered right then. Perfect, now I was nervous. She turned around and faced me.
“You live here alone?” she asked.
“No. We live here together.”
She rolled her eyes. “Kind of big for one person. Big for two people too.”
“We're having a child, Brenna. We are going to need the space.”
“We?”
“Think of it this way,” I said, “the bigger the house, the more places you can get away from me.”
She smiled slightly at that. “So, where do I sleep?”
“Come on, let me show you around.” I led her up the stairs instead of starting with the floor that we were on. The first floor up had three of the five bedrooms in the house. On the one above that were the other two bedrooms and terrace.
“How much room do you have in this place?” she asked.
“Well, on the first floor is the kitchen, living room, library, my office, and guest bathroom.”
She scoffed. “Yes, and on this floor is the room where you keep all your gold cufflinks, right next to the room where you keep all your diamond cufflinks. Where do you keep all of the portraits of your dead relatives?” She pushed open the door to one of the guest bedrooms and looked inside. “Is all this furniture in here for people to actually use, or are they like art pieces for people to look at and not actually sit or sleep on?”
“Don't you think I get any guests?” I asked her.
“No,” she said grinning, “never.”
I took her from room to room, nervously trying to gauge her reaction to each one. The place was objectively nice. It was a high-end place, and I had moved in and fully renovated it. There were two bedrooms and a living room on the highest floor where the terrace was. There was furniture and a hot tub up there. Every single bedroom had an ensuite bathroom and walk-in closet. It was a nice place, but if it was going to be Brenna's home for the next nine or more months, I needed her to want to live here.
I led her back downstairs, we toured the library and finally came to the kitchen. Two women and one man were waiting there for us. Staff. I hired staff. I had grown up with a fully staffed household my whole life, but finally moving out on my own, I hired cleaners and caterers on an as-needed basis. I lived alone and there was never all that much to do when I was on my own. With Brenna and the house, I wanted a chef on call at all times to make sure she was eating right, and to help her meet any pregnancy cravings she might have. The housekeeper was to keep things running for both of us. Last, was Iris. Brenna smiled politely as I introduced the older woman with salt and pepper hair.
“This is Iris. She is your doula.”
“My doula?” Brenna asked. “Oh, you don't want to turn this into some sort of home birth experience, do you?”
“Well, if you want to, that can certainly be arranged,” Iris said, her smile not dropping for a second.
“I think I'm good,” Brenna said.
“She's here to aid with the pregnancy proces
s,” I said.
“Aid in what exactly?” Brenna asked.
“Week by week, I'm going to be examining the growth and health of the baby, as well as yours,” Iris said.
“Every week?” Brenna asked.
“Yes, every week,” she said. “The closer we get to the birth, you will have 24-hour attention.”
“It's just a baby, I think I can handle it.”
“Nonsense,” Iris said. “Pregnancy and birth can be very difficult and delicate times for both mother and baby. It's in my best interest that both of you arrive on the other side healthy and safe.”
“I guess I can't really say no, huh?” said Brenna. Iris laughed.
“I'm honored for the opportunity to be part of your journey,” she said. Brenna smiled and thanked her, but I could tell from the look in her face that she was a little shaken. It was a lot. I just wanted the household to be as comfortable for her as possible. Hell, maybe the additional people in the house would make her feel more at ease so it wasn’t just her and me. I thanked Iris and told her she was free to go. While we finished up the tour, the housekeeper took Brenna's luggage up to her room. I showed her up when we were done.