Harvey and Lori Ferguson Ch. 7 More Decisions Pt. 2

Lori was still quiet the rest of the evening after her husband Harvey had talked to her about the job options open to him and he presumed she was doing just as he asked; considering which option would make her the most happy. Harvey couldn’t be happy if Lori was not.

In the middle of the night, though, she woke him--her voice soft and a little anxious,
 
"Harvey? I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?” he rubbed his eyes and turned over to face her.

“I’m…I’m pregnant, Harvey.”


This, of course, was what they had wanted, but these two new career ventures had not been in sight when they made their decision. Now Lori was worried that Harvey would think a baby would complicate things immeasurably and he would regret that a child was now on the way. But his face lit up,

“Honey, that’s great!”

Sighing with relief, she said,

“Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried.”

“You shouldn’t have worried, Brat. This is what we both wanted, remember?”
 
She nodded. Harvey wrapped his arms around her and they both fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The holidays were fast approaching and Lori decided to practice up on her cookie making skills. She loved Christmas so much that she usually starting putting up decorations a week after Halloween. It had taken a while, but now Harvey was used to this. In fact, she always made him watch Christmas DVD’s with her as soon as fall began.

“I think I know every line from A Christmas Story by heart now,” he had told his friend Gareth Caswell, “And I could probably sing every song from Holiday Inn and White Christmas. I don’t mind The Santa Clause movies, but she makes me watch all those really old movies too; some in black and white. And we have to watch both versions of The Grinch, the one with Jim Carrey and the cartoon one from fifty years ago. Oh, and don't let me forget to mention A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Gareth had only laughed,

“Man, I know what you mean; Melanie is nuts about old movies, too. I have to put up with Christmas in Connecticut, Miracle on 34th Street and about four versions of A Christmas Carol, including a musical. You know how I hate musicals everyone talking and then suddenly prancing around or singing to each other.”

“Yeah, Lori has all of those ones, too. Well, I guess I don’t really mind,” Harvey admitted, “She always makes crazy-good snacks and desserts when we watch that stuff. And she’s really in a romantic mood afterward. I’m not sure why, but I’m definitely not complaining.”

Now that he knew a baby or babies were in the near future, Harvey put off a decision on the on St. Marisa Island job vs. the gym at least until after Christmas. Of course, he could lose the architectural job by delaying, but he saw no way around it. He didn’t really want to move Lori so far away from her family while she was pregnant and he just could not seem to concentrate on it right now. Lori was in a very high spirits lately even though morning sickness plagued her for a while. Once her pregnancy was evident she blathered on about names every single night before they went to sleep. Harvey just smiled indulgently.  

Lori was worried she would put so much weight on during her pregnancy she would  never get it off and so she worked out faithfully every day. Her mother fought her own weight constantly and had all her life and Lori was built just like her. To add to that, Lori loved her own cooking too well.  Harvey said he didn’t care at all if she did gain weight. He thought she was a knockout either way, but Lori knew how dedicated he was to fitness and she just didn’t want to disappoint him. Besides she was a bit vain and as a bipolar really did have a stronger than usual need to be desired and thought beautiful. By nearly everyone. That was a plain fact and Harvey accepted that about her.

Although she was watching her weight, Lori indulged her sweet tooth with cherry cheesecake quite often. Of course she tended to eat it on the sly—waiting until Harvey was out of the house or at least taking one of his naps.

To her surprise he had begun a new painting and it was of Lori—one where she was sleeping quietly in their bed.

“What in the world?” she smiled when it began to take shape and she recognized herself.

“Yeah, one night I woke up and you looked so sweet and peaceful I was sure you were dreaming about babies, so I took a photo of you with my phone. You were really tired that night and never even woke up when I did it,” he admitted, "I've been working off that photo."

 

The doctor had said Lori would probably have her baby a couple of weeks after Christmas. This meant their holiday would be relatively quiet. But babies often surprised even doctors…

Next update: The Lomax Family - is Chelsea Lomax Lassiter Missing?

Harvey and Lori Ferguson Ch. 8 Lori's Parents John and Melora

Harvey and Lori Ferguson Ch. 7 More Decisions Pt. 1

Harvey Ferguson had a decision to make and he had thought about it for weeks before he planned to talk with Lori about it. He knew he should have told her right away since it would definitely affect her too, but he was one to mull things over a long time. Although Lori had high intelligence—she’d always aced her studies with time to spare in school--she tended to be emotional and would push for quick action. Harvey wanted to figure out what the pros and cons were before bringing it up for discussion. Logic and caution were his hallmarks.

He was now a city planner and had been approached by another company with big plans and they wanted him for the project. It was early morning as he sat at his drawing board. The prospect of this project was exciting and challenging. But it meant moving out of the U.S. and away from Pleasantview. It was a Saturday and Lori was getting ready to go clothes shopping in Bluewater. Harvey decided to go to the gym in the hope that it would fine-tune his brain as well as the rest of his body. 

 

At Amelia’s Closet Lori ran into Chelsea’s mother, the infamous Jenny Lomax Hammond. Lori knew that Chelsea and Jenny were estranged, but the woman had always been nice to Lori and she seemed eager to talk. While there Lori noticed Dylan Ottomas, Brian's older brother, shopping nearby. She kept running into him and it unnerved her although she wasn’t sure why. The last time he’d barely noticed her but this time he was watching rather closely as she conversed with Jenny.
  
When Jenny left, Lori noticed to her relief that Dylan had gone, too. Stopping at the new restaurant Le Magnifique! she was happy to see Elle’s mother, Bobbi Jo Cooke.
 

After her meal she got up to visit the powder room and ran smack into Melanie, who had just had her baby a couple months ago. Lori had not even seen little Scarlett yet and Melanie said she and Harvey must come over.
 

“That would be great but I’ll have to check with Harvey what day we can come,” Lori told her.
 

“No problem, give me a call tonight or tomorrow after you’ve talked to him. I’ve missed you!”
 

Lori still had more errands to run, so she could not stay with Melanie while she dined, but they hugged and she promised to phone her. 

Next she went by Chelsea’s new flower shop. It was doing quite well, evidently, and she had to compliment Chelsea, the place was beautiful. She chose some fresh flowers and some silk ones to bring home.

Meanwhile, that same morning Harvey worked out at the 1-2-3 Gym and couldn’t help thinking it could be a much better place and make more money if he was the one running it. Elle Lomax was there and they spoke a few minutes after their workout. When he left there he stopped off at the Good Eats Café for lunch, still thinking about the gym and how he would change it if he owned it.

When he got back home Lori was still in Bluewater Village so he read for relaxation but pondered a bit more. Should he choose to take Lori and go to the island of St. Marisa to plan virtually a whole city there as the architectural company wanted? It was the opportunity of a lifetime, he knew. Or should he stay here with family, make less money and run the gym where he could enjoy one of the three hobbies he liked most after gaming and just above fishing? Of course, the owner might not want to sell it, but Harvey was willing to give him a very good price and he knew the man. He was not too ambitious or business savvy, that was why the gym was not doing all that well.

By the time Lori arrived she was carrying bags of new clothing and a lot of flowers he had to help her bring in so he waited until supper to tell her about the job offer. Neither of them had ever lived anywhere but Pleasantview except for their time at the University. She seemed very quiet.

“Living on the island would be wonderful—like living at Twikkii all the time,” she said, “And it would really be a feather in your cap. Besides I know you are dying to prove you can do it.”

“Well, here’s the thing…”

And he told her of his other idea regarding the gym. Again she listened silently without interrupting. This was unusual for Lori. When she did speak she sounded a little less cautious. 

“That sounds like a wonderful thing for you to try, too, Harvey. And we could stay right here in this house. Of course,” she paused, looking serious, “it would be a gamble and you would probably not make as much money as you do now. At least not for a while. But I don’t care about the money, really, you know that.”
 

Harvey smiled slightly,
 

“I know you think you don’t care about money but you are used to having money.”
 

He was referring to the fact that her father, John Lassiter, was a billionaire. He had quite a few lucrative business investments in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, plus he’d inherited land and money from his mother. The Lassiters owned a second home on Twikkii Island, and whatever they needed they could have. Their house was no mansion, but it was quite large and right on the water. Of course, Harvey’s parents were on the water, too, but the house was more modest and his father was a retired private investigator, so he was no billionaire nor even a millionaire.
 

In point of fact, neither Harvey or Lori had ever had to worry about money except when they were starting out and buying a home. Her father would be leaving all four of his children a great deal of money and, in fact, was gifting each of them quite a bit of this every year.
 

“It helps with my taxes,” he always claimed.
 

“With what investments we have and the money Daddy gives us we should be able to take a chance on the gym, don’t you think?” Lori asked.
 

“Well, I believe I’m going to talk with your father. He has owned and run several businesses.“
 

Lori laughed,
 

“That’s the thing; Mom says that he always preferred to take over a business, get it on its feet and then he would get bored and sell it—at a large profit—just so he could do the same thing with the next company. I guess  he would be the best man you could talk to about it because basically that’s how you’re thinking: I can make this gym better.”
 

She grew quiet again.
 

“What do you want to do, Harvey?”
 

“I don’t now, I’m still trying to decide. You know me, I’ll need to think about it some more. I don’t like to rush into things. I want you to think about it too, honey, I need to know your honest opinion after you’ve done that.”

Lori nodded. Harvey waited for her to say something else, but she kept her own counsel. He knew she would tell him eventually a little more of what she was thinking, but it was really unusual for her to be so reticent. More than unusual, it was almost odd...

Next update: Harvey and Lori Ferguson Ch. 7 More Decisions Pt. 2