Chapter 53: Mountain Pictures
POV: Gabby
Word Count: 2901
November 7, 2009
Marello had fixed the doors and the wall Wednesday for us and while I knew I’d be safe now to be at home, I didn’t want to be there alone and I really was sick of everyone else at the moment. Jack had felt so bad about leaving and then this guy attacking that he agreed to take the days off to stay there but I told Zac not to let him, they had rearranged their lives enough for me. Everyone had rearranged their lives and I was done.
Instead, I came to Denver with him. I couldn’t fly, so we left Thursday and drove up, I however did not participate in the walk, I did sit at the table and take signatures but I was waddling and didn’t want to do that. Today though was a down day and Taylor had agreed to take some maternity pictures for us. He was choosing the location with Stella’s help. She’s used Zac’s plane ticket to fly up. She and I had gone shopping for the right outfit while they did sound check and stuff yesterday.
I’d woken up before Zac because my back was not being kind and I’d felt pains, so I just got up and moved around the room, which eased the pain but did nothing for the back. The room was a suite so I was just sitting on the sofa, which was comfortable.
I was trying to remember if I’d really been with Marcus before. I honestly didn’t remember ever dating him, let along choosing some owl to tattoo on him. Zac had told me every word he said the next day, giving me time to process the information.
Reality was I didn’t even believe it was Marcus. I didn’t remember him ever saying anything cross about us being together and he didn’t seem capable of murder either, but then again I had cracked his head open because he was trying to choke Zac. Lucas was my guess and I wondered if Marcus had just come in and said all that to confuse Zac. I eventually sent Sierra a message.
Sierra…you said you followed me after you left, right?
Yes. I kept up when I could. Why?
Do you remember any other names of the guys I dated/had sex with?
If you’re asking do I know of or remember Marcus, no. I don’t remember you dating him and I didn’t recognize him anywhere. But, Kitten you need to not dwell on this. It’s possible that Marcus made it all up because he knows you have trouble remembering and it could be his stupid way of justify his actions.
But…what if he’s not making it up?
If he’s not…then the police will be able to verify his story. Until then do not dwell. You don’t need any additional stress right now. So, enjoy Denver and you better take at least 1 exposed belly picture. I want that one.
Ugh. No belly pics!
She and Zac had both said it could be hogwash, I don’t remember anything he said to Zac. So, maybe it was. Zac finally woke up at nine-thirty and we both got showered and changed for the day. Knowing Taylor was probably choosing a park Stella and I chose a pair of black leggings with a purple dress, it had lines running through it waving around the dress and had short sleeves. I brought my brown boots with me that were flat to wear, they came almost to my knees. She’d also gotten a grey scarf because the top was rather low cut and I had a lot of breast to deal with. The dress fit perfectly and Zac didn’t mind helping with the shoes.
“Love that color on you.”
“It’s the only one I own and it’ll probably be okay to wear after she arrives.”
“It’ll be a good outfit for Christmas.”
“It would be really.”
“What are you wearing? I know it’s not black boxers.”
“Stella told me to wear light khaki’s and some light colored shirt. I’m glad I had some packed on the bus. I have a white t-shirt and then a light bluish grey long sleeve shirt.”
“What about your neck? It’s still kind of bruised.”
“The blue shirt is a turtle neck, I hate them but I don’t want these pictures marred by bruises.”
He had several on his side and ribs but they were easily covered, it was the ones around his neck that weren’t so easy to hide. But, once he got dressed the shirt was perfect, add in leaving his hair down and it was better.
“So, Sierra has sent me four messages telling me I have to get the belly picture she wants, that I absolutely must convince you to do this. Exactly what is she wanting?”
“She wants one of me standing with basically my entire pregnancy belly showing.”
He sat down beside me. “Why do you not want them?”
“I wouldn’t mind them but I don’t want Taylor taking those and I don’t even want a lot of people to have those.”
He leaned in and kissed my neck, but I felt the teeth drag across my skin too. “I wouldn’t mind some totally nude ones.”
“Zac!”
“What? I think you look beautiful this way.”
“Pregnancy porn, really?”
“That is not what I said! I said nude, I didn’t say porn.”
“Same thing.”
“If she really wants one and you don’t mind, then I’ll take one for her. Mom just wants one really good one of us and it’s what Taylor said he would do. I told him we didn’t want fifty zillion, just a few good ones.”
“It’s all we need. Hey, can we go to the Zoo here? I haven’t been.”
“Um…can you hold out to walk the Zoo?”
“Well, they have seating and it might take all day to get through it, but I think I can. The doctor did say not to be lazy.”
“Sure.”
Taylor called at 11:30 and turns out they wanted to meet us at the city park, which was right next to the Zoo because they had the exact same idea. Isaac was actually on his way home with the bus and Taylor and Stella were heading back with us tomorrow. We got lunch with them first and then headed to the city park.
“Okay, I looked up a dozen sites and found some pretty popular ones. Sierra has texted me but I’m not even going to ask because there are just too many people for that.”
“Right, wouldn’t take those here even if no one was here.”
Taylor smiled and Stella giggled and he lead us around to the first location. Which was a pavilion in a golden color, he first used the steps heading up to get a few sitting one’s, Zac could sit behind me there. We then moved into the pavilion where we got several standing there, Taylor also got some singles because it was overlooking the lake in the park. I wondered why Stella had a sheet with her until we walked around more, he put us in the grass and did some laying, which turned out quite good. The ground felt warm against my back too. The sheet kept the clothes clean. His next stop was behind a little statues, a lone bench sat under a tree and in front of a little island in the lake. I really liked the few he took here because I was sitting and comfortable and he got singles too. The fall leaves were perfect too. He stuck to not taking a lot and we were going to the Zoo but Stella stopped us.
“You guys are going to the Zoo this coming week right?”
“Yeah, in the city though.”
“Let’s do something else then.”
“Like?” I asked.
“Well, what about mini golf? It’s low impact, you can rest when needed and I saw this adventure place so the guys can do bumper cars and go karts, you and I can chill.”
It sounded like a good plan so with everyone agreeing we headed there. It was a bit of a drive but once we arrived we got paid and got our little golf clubs and the ball. We then headed to the one farther away, Adventure Cove. There was a lot of waterfalls here and of course, Taylor had to grab pictures.
“Really honey?” Stella asked.
“What? It’s a gorgeous background.”
I didn’t really mind it was pretty and I was taking pictures too, even got some of them. We started playing and I didn’t find it too hard, it was a bit difficult to see the ball when I could barely see the anything looking down but baby belly. I actually got lucky on the first two and got them under par by one. Stella was rocking hers too but Taylor and Zac both were over by three. We moved around kind of slow, not totally because of me but shutterbug Taylor wanted pictures in some areas and of course Zac had to act goofy at times, it also was taking me more time because I had to carefully step over barriers and stuff.
By the time we got to the end of the first set, it was Stella leading by being below par by 3, the rest of us were above by at least 1 with Zac leading at five. We started the next set and I was beginning to feel the pain again, so I moved slower.
“Gabby? I saw that grimace. Are you okay?” Stella asked.
“Yeah, back is hurting some.”
“You want to stop?” She asked.
“No. I’m fine.”
The castle with the dragon was amazing and again, Taylor had us stop for some pictures. But we did break there briefly and then continued on to finish the course.
“That isn’t fair.” Taylor said.
“You lost dude, get over it.” Zac said.
“I never lose and I lost to Gabby, who is pregnant!”
“Hey, she helped me in that last one, kicked me right at the right moment to score a hole in one. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have lost to me, just your wife.”
“Ugh.” He said.
I’d beaten Zac too but he was pretty use to it and knew better than to comment on it. We took a bathroom break and lunch break here and then Stella and I moved to the side to watch them in the bumper cars. I think Taylor paid for like unlimited rides or something. It was entertaining to see him try to run Zac over though.
“Dodge Zac! Dodge!”
“I’m trying!”
“Clearly not hard enough.” Stella said.
He finally got some separate but she nudged me. “Is he still thinking you’re having a boy?”
“No. He’s come to terms that he was wrong. He actually bought a take home suit but he won’t let me show anyone.”
She smiled and we watched them for a few moments.”Stella, would you ever do nude maternity pictures? Not to like display but just for you and Taylor?”
She looked at him for a moment. “I would. But it would just be for him and I. I wouldn’t like share with anyone.”
“Sierra wants the no clothes over the belly and Zac mentioned nude. I’m not sure I’d want either.”
She giggled. “Zac finds you insanely beautiful right now, he’d stare at the pictures he took of you before leaving for hours at a time. I think he wants them so he has a permanent memory.”
“I considered it but I don’t know.”
She looked at me. “I think you should do them. Let Zac take them and for god sake let’s not make them public. I don’t think Nicole and I can compete with that.”
“Bullshit, you could.”
“Have you seen anything lately?”
“Honestly, no. I’ve been stressed enough with the notes and shit that bothering to defend myself to fans wasn’t really high on my list.”
She got her phone and pulled up one from yesterday, someone had taken pictures of me at the table. Shockingly, not every comment or post was bad. Some were even excited for us.
“I think they finally accepted where his heart was, it was with you.”
“If they only knew how much.”
I thought of the tattoo he had, one that not really only his brothers knew about. I wasn’t sure if they had shared with Stella or Nicole. That had been there almost a year now, hard to believe we made it another year. I was really hoping the next year wouldn’t be filled with drama.
“So, what are you most looking forward to on your little trip to town?”
“We were going to go to California but I just don’t feel comfortable going that far. It’s not much the riding but it does create issues that long. So, I guess my goal is to do whatever it takes to not be bothered. We’re going to the zoo Thursday and then the botanical garden Friday. Both are just low key, I can sit when I need too and low impact.”
“I think it’ll be nice, nice calming events before she arrives.”
“Totally.”
“Do we have a name for this little girl?” She asked.
“He’s not letting me say that either. I think he’s afraid he’ll be right and we’ll have to scramble for a name or that when she is here, we won’t like it.”
“I think the doctor is right, you’ve been told what, twice now?”
“I’m sure they are. Yeah, the ER doctor was able to kind of confirm and I think that was his moment to realize she is not a he. I had a talk with Diana, Sarah, and Grace. Abby and I watched a bunch of TLC programs and they scared me.”
“They can do that. My sister was a little terrified by them too, she stopped watching but she was fine.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
They finally walked out of the bumper cars and we headed to the go Karts, I sent Stella out with Taylor though, I couldn’t ride this either. I sat down behind the gate and got pictures. Thought about what I’d like to do. I could feel her moving way better now, her feet were currently pressing into a lung.
“Okay baby girl, gotta tone that down some, mama can’t breathe.”
I rubbed the side and she shifted some, at least enough to move that foot. It wouldn’t be long before we did every two weeks and then she’d be here, wrapped in our love. I was watching them still when Detective Myers called.
“Hey Detective.”
“Will you and Mr. Hanson be back in Tulsa by Monday?”
“Yes. We come back tomorrow actually. Did you find anything out?”
“Yes and no. He’s been very talkative actually. He’s not claiming that anyone helped him at all.”
“Okay, we can really do this Monday then.”
“Good idea. Is there any concerns you have?” He asked.
“Is there any way to verify his story about the tattoo? I don’t remember any of that.”
“Yes. We’ll discuss that Monday. Can you message me a time that is good?”
“Anytime after noon, we’re not going anywhere.”
“Okay.”
I hung up and when they were done we headed to get dinner. It was pleasant to spend time with Taylor and Stella. Once dinner was over though we split up and went back to your rooms, we were planning to leave about nine so we can make good time home.
“Detective Myers called, we’re meeting them Monday sometime after noon.”
“Okay.”
He kicked his shoes off and kind of fell onto the sofa, I waddled over and sat down beside him.
“You mentioned nude photos, define that for me.”
“Define it? What is there to define?”
“Like do you mean nude photos like from what Sierra took or do you mean something different?”
“Different. I don’t think I really mean full nudity as in everything is showing. I think what I’d want would be more, no clothes but not really showing everything.”
“You going to take them?”
“Do you really think I’ll say no to that?”
“Well, you may this…Sierra keeps wanting one, what if I sent them one of those? Nothing she hasn’t seen.”
He was very quiet about that, thinking about it. “Wouldn’t Heather want one of me too then?”
“Heather wants a drawing of you, not a photo.”
“As long as the one you send is covered then I don’t mind. I mean, she just wants a belly showing.”
“Which is why getting one with a lot more will be more…shocking?”
“Yes, shocking. Not sure how she’ll react to getting that.”
I shifted around on the sofa, easing the pain once again. “I’m thinking I’ll be glad when she’s here because I can sit somewhere and not be uncomfortable.”
“They have a Jacuzzi tub here. Want me to run some water?”
“Why are you even asking?!”
He giggled and got up, returning about ten minutes later where he lead me to the tub. It was a Jacuzzi but he’d left the water temperature cooler. We both got in and it was a good moment to just relax. When the water got too cold he got out, helped me and after drying off we went to bed. We had to be up early so we could go home.
http://www.denver.org/listings/City-Park/6822/
Locations in the park, screen shots from Google Maps
Zac and Gabby's clothes.