“In a cardigan and stretchy yoga pants that don’t match, I look lovely.” She eyed him dubiously, mildly teasing. By not announcing to the compound that they were expecting and thus having no excuse for her sudden weight gain, Leah had moments where she felt self-conscious. She wasn’t even showing yet and already her normal clothes fit too snuggly for comfort. “You must’ve had one hell of a day.”
Leah nodded, understanding. “It’s hard not to immediately point fingers when we only have gut feelings to go on. I think it was a mistake letting that new guy on the Security team, but I suppose I can trust that Mike has a handle on things as far as that’s concerned.”
“It’s your birthday; you can talk about whatever you want,” she replied with a shrug. “Tired and sore, as usual. I only had enough energy to help David out today, and the rest of the time I spent getting things ready for you. It isn’t much, but I hope you like it anyway.” Finding gifts was a lot harder when you were advised against leaving the compound.
“Speaking of which,” she paused to grab a camp light from the shelf next to the door, then raised her eyes to the ceiling and nodded up, “like last year, it only feels appropriate that we celebrate on the roof. The nights aren’t too cold yet that we can’t sit outside for a little while.” She looked at him an arched an eyebrow, in case he had any objections to that part of the plan.