Chapter 98. Before We Become Three

At the end of August, Gabriel brought home flowers that weren't for an occasion.

Diana stood in the kitchen with a packet of crackers in her hand.

“What have you done?”

“Bought flowers.”

“A suspiciously literal answer.”

He kissed her before handing them over.

She put the crackers down and found a vase. The stems were uneven, the colors slightly extravagant. She liked them more than the carefully matched arrangements she had inspected for the wedding.

“Why?” she asked while filling the vase.

“I wanted to bring you something that didn't require assembling.”

Diana laughed.

The baby's room was ready enough now. Not perfect, not waiting for one final expensive thing that would make them qualified. They had opened the boxes, checked the things they needed to check, and left a shelf empty for objects they didn't know they would want yet.

Her leave from Hans had begun. The handover was complete. The articl