Chapter One

Elizabeth is now 8 months pregnant, and Rosemary and Florence are taking turns teaching each day.


"How are you doing, Elizabeth?" Abigail asked out of concern for her dear friend.

"I'm alright."

"How are you – getting on these days?"

"Well, as well as can be expected, I guess," she sighed heavily. "I'm – oh, I don't know. I'm trying to stay calm for the baby."

"How's that going?" She was referring to the baby, not staying calm.

"Good, I have check-ups every week now."

Elizabeth's mind wandered. I so wish Jack could be here to see our baby when he's born, even to see him one last time. I never got to say goodbye. I wish I could give him one last kiss. A tear slid down her cheek.

"Elizabeth, are you alright?" her friend asked compassionately.

"Oh," she realized she has been caught as she wiped her tears from her cheek. "Yes, I'm fine, Abigail. I was just thinking," she stated as another unwanted tear slipped by. "I'm sorry. I'm just – uh, Abigail. It's just so hard to have our baby without him."

"I know it is, Elizabeth. But you'll get through this," her friend comforted her.

Elizabeth thought of the famous saying: "This too shall pass".

The words were of little comfort to her.

She thought of Jack's last words to her: "I love you, Elizabeth. I'll be back before you know it. Wait for me sweetheart?" Then he held her tight and kissed her goodbye, saying a final "I love you."

Who knew it would be a final goodbye?

She sipped her last bit of tea and left for home. Maybe the cool air could help her collect her thoughts and keep herself in check.


It was a harsh night for Elizabeth. She could not fall asleep, as hard as she tried. Her mind was racing. Please, leave me alone! You can run your marathon tomorrow.


Weeks passed, and Christmas neared. It was a week until Christmas, and Elizabeth was due anytime.

Elizabeth missed the children so much, so she decided to relieve Rosemary. Her friend would stay, of course. She just missed the kids.


One day, Robert's parents came by to pick up their son from school. They slowly approached the teacher as she let class out. Robert saw his parents and asked if he could play outside for a while before heading home, and they quickly agreed. They wanted to talk to the teacher alone anyways.

"Mrs. Thornton," the woman began.

Elizabeth turned around. "Hello, Mrs. Wolf. It's good to see you again. How's your little girl? She asked when she did not see the tiny lass holding her mother's hand.

"Oh, she's fine. We got a sitter for the afternoon. We wanted to spend some time alone with Robert today. And we wanted to come together to talk to you about something very important."

"Oh," the word almost sounded like a question. She was concerned it may have to do with Robert, so the next words caught her by surprise.

"We wanted to ask – to tell you – that we are giving you the crib that your husband built for us," Mr. Wolf spoke up.

A tear slid down Elizabeth's cheek. "Are you sure?" she asked before another tear followed.

"Yes, we're sure. Samantha is far too big for it now, and we don't plan on having another baby anytime soon," Mrs. Wolf explained.

"Thank you so much," she whispered through her tears.

"Well, if it's alright with you, Mrs. Thornton, we will deliver it tomorrow after school."

"Yes, that's perfect. Thank you."

The man nodded, took his wife's arm, and headed outside as Elizabeth returned to grading papers.

How thoughtful. Jack's beautiful baby crib will be mine! With that final thought, she turned her full attention back to her work.