I knew a lot of the plans she was making for the house were so she didn’t have to talk about going to Chicago and how she felt about that, but I let it slide. I was hoping that after she’d gone on a few business trips it’d get easier for her. I didn’t really know what she was going through; my parents had been distant whether they were in the same house or not, and I’d been traveling for tennis all my life, so to me it was nothing. Alice had always liked having a home base though, and I could understand her being upset.

After she left, I asked Shane to come over to look at the back garden with me. There was a little area off the main lawn that had stone slabs over the ground, and it was pretty solid. Alice had always loved writing outside, so I asked Shane if she thought it’d be feasible to build her a kind of office out there. Like, maybe a miniature sort of log cabin of sorts, walls in three sides and screen doors in the front that she could open. It’d have to be small, but I could get her a really nice old desk and bookshelves and she could sit out there and be outside all she wanted.

“Remember when she took her laptop to the park and just spent all day writing there?” Shane asked after I told her the idea. “I think you should do it. She’s not really an office person. It’s sweet.”

“Will you help me build it? I’d like to have it done by the time she comes back. She’s so worried we’re gonna be distant when she goes on trips. I want to do something nice for her.”

“I think it’s a good idea. I don’t know how to build it, but I’m sure you could get somebody here who can. Maybe some kind of stone for the walls? You won’t have to insulate it or anything like that. I have no idea, but I like the screen on the front that she can open,” Shane replied.

That afternoon, I called some contractors and managed to figure out what to do. Two of the walls would be stone slab, one would be logs, and the six screen doors would be accordianed across the front. They promised to have it completed in four days, which was just enough time for me to round up Jenny, Shane, and Helena and go antiquing.

We found a gorgeous old cherrywood desk that I thought would be perfect, and Shane promised to build some bookshelves for the little office thing. Jenny didn’t like that because of her hand, but Shane just waved her away and said I had to have some use. So, I spent the next two days following Shane’s directions and hammering and sanding stuff while Tina kept coming over and bringing us lemonade.

“So when are you having kids?” Jenny asked when Shane and I were putting the bookshelves together. That made Shane start laughing, and she would have dropped her half of the bookshelf if Jenny hadn’t awkwardly caught it. “You’re gonna hurt your hand even worse than what it already is.”

“Blah, blah, blah,” I mocked. Jenny just glared at me and went inside as soon as we’d set the bookshelf down. “I’m sorry!” I yelled after her, but all I got was her middle finger through the picture window.

“So…when are you guys having kids?” Shane asked a few minutes later.

“Shut up, Shane. We just got married.”

“Do you want kids, though?” she asked, sounding genuinely curious.

“I never really sat and thought about it. Yeah, at some point. I want a family. I just don’t want to rush her into anything,” I said, finally giving it some thought.

“I’m not trying to pressure you. I just think it’d be good for you two. You know what you want out of life now, and I think if you’re both on board with it you should do it. But only if you feel ready to.”

“What the hell, Shane? Are you in the market for some more nieces and nephews?” I asked, giving her a sideways glare. She just laughed and shrugged.

**********

“That’s when I started to think about having kids,” I told her now. “It was all Shane’s fault.” Alice had been listening without doing much of anything, but now she smiled at me. For the first time since she’d come in here, it sorta resembled a smile. Maybe it was just my prolonged exposure to her in this condition, but it made me smile anyway.