To post
The picnic
It's
a beautiful day. Josh got down to the park early and secured a good
spot with a barbie and shade. Lawson has come early to help him set
up and someone has to mind the spot while Josh goes back for
supplies. Josh is delivering chairs, rugs, cushions, etc from the
apartment and leaves Lawson minding what is already set up with a
beer in his hand. When Josh gets back to the apartment Lisa has
arrived early with some food she made and a present for them - a baby
bouncer.
Lisa; "Not exactly an engagement present, I know,
but you'll need it"
Josh: "You're early Lisa"
Lisa;
"Thought I might help out, was just sitting alone at home
anyway. Can't deliver this present to the park without a baby
!"
Sophie; "Yeah, and Josh's friends don't know about
the baby either !"
Lisa: "Oh, really ?"
Josh
busies himself elsewhere in the apartment, not wanting to answer
awkward questions.
Sophie; "Wait till they see me
!"
Josh
comes back. "Ready to go to the park Lisa ? You can help Lawson
mind the stuff."
Lisa; "Oh, Lawson's there is he
?"
Josh; "Yeah, he's a good mate, happy to lend a hand
." ( Josh has, of course completely forgotten that someone likes
Lawson )
Josh notices the girls smiling to each other.
Josh:
"Oh right … I see ! Lawson's completely in the dark on this
you know..."
Sophie; "Fantastic ! You look good
Lisa"
Lisa; "Do I ?"
Josh; "Of course, why
do chicks always ask that ? Come on, lets go now"
Back at the park
Lawson is bored, another weekend to fill in with footy and
tele. He looks up and sees Josh coming over. He thinks to himself;
thank god, but, hang on, who's that with him ?
Josh is walking
with an attractive blonde ( in Lawson's opinion ), chatting happily
to her, she laughs as they walk up to Lawson, and he's completely
smitten.
Josh introduces; "Lawson, Lisa one of Sophie's
friends."
Lisa smiles sweetly at him, they shake hands.
Lisa
puts down the stuff she was carrying and stands, looking at the view
and surroundings. Lawson admires her slim waist and fitted t-shirt.
He offers her a beer.
Lisa; "Thanks"
Josh; "So,
you two right here, if I go back for more supplies ?"
Lawson
; "Huh ?" Turns and looks at Josh, who he had forgotten
about. "Oh, yeah, go for it, we're good ...."
Josh
smiles to himself as he walks back to the car.
Lawson and Lisa sit
down on the chairs and have a getting-to-know-you conversation.
Lawson manages a few witty remarks.
A few more people have arrived by the time Josh and Sophie turn up. Dom and his wife and daughter, Michael, Stella, but not Leon. ( Josh reluctantly invited him ) and Kerry might "pop in " later on but no-one really expects it.
Josh parks the old 4Wd and opens the door for Sophie. As they walk towards the picnic, he has his arm around her protectively and she's taken his tongue-in-cheek advice and worn a tight tshirt that shows off her growing belly. At this stage she could still be mistaken for a "has she just put on extra weight or is she ..." but given the timing of the engagement it should be pretty obvious. Someone will say something.
As they approach;
Dom; ( in delight ) "No
way ! Josh is going to have a kid ?"
Michael; "What
?"
Stella; "oh, why didn't I see that coming ?"
Dom:
Well Josh ?"
Josh beams; "Yes, its true, we're having a
baby AND getting married !"
Everyone congratulates
them.
Once things settle down a bit and they start cooking and
chatting, Stella finds an opportunity to make a comment to Josh ( she
can't help herself ). Josh really doesn't want her here, but he had
to invite her out of courtesy, half expecting that she wouldn't show
up, but here she is.
Stella; "So josh......you've been
through a few girls in your time, bet this
is a first !"
Josh isn't sure if she means the pregnancy or
the engagement, but it doesn't matter.
Josh; "True, so how
many have you
had Stella ?" and he walks off leaving her thinking, what does
he mean ? how many girls ? how many engagements ? how many
pregnancies ? She's stumped and silent.
The picnic goes well, everyone relaxes ( except perhaps Stella ) and eats well. They start a game of footy, some of Sophie's friends even join in with the boys. Lisa actually knows what she's doing with the ball. Lawson is beside himself, this girl mesmerises him. Where's she been hiding ?
Sophie
is sitting in the chair happily watching Josh's fine athletic form.
She remembers when she mistook him for an AFL player ! Sandrine is
sitting next to her, with her baby asleep on the rug.
Sandrine to
Sophie; "Lawson is having a good time today. I've never seen him
this relaxed and happy !"
Sophie; "Yes, it's great isn't
it ! But he'd better not lose his serious side too ! Lisa might be
disappointed."
Sandrine; "So do you think Lisa might
like him ?"
Sophie; "Of course, she already did before
today, he just doesn't know it". She looks at Sandrine and puts
her finger to her lips. "Don't tell anyone, but Lawson's been
set up !"
Sandrine; "Oooh ! Nice bit of gossip that is !
Good one. I won't say a thing to Dom though, he's hopeless, can't
keep that big mouth of his shut."
Sophie; "Somehow, I
don't think that Lawson will care anymore"
By the end of
the picnic, Lawson and Lisa are obviously completely smitten with
each other and Lawson gives her a lift home. Josh and Sophie wave
goodbye as they get in the car together.
Josh; "Well, that
was a stunning success."
Sophie; "yes, good stuff"
Josh;
"Do you think she'll invite him in for a coffee ?"
Sophie;
"For sure, Lisa's a great host !"
Josh chuckles; "Lucky
bugger"
Sophie is blissfully happy, 20 weeks pregnant and glowing. Her baby bump is showing. Josh loves running his hand over her belly when they are in bed……..and at any other opportunity he gets ! It astounds him still that there is a mini Josh or Sophie growing away. They've been back home to see their parents again and they had a successful joint lunch with both families on the farm. Josh's mum has been busy knitting baby clothes and booties. Luckily for her it will be a winter baby ! She loves her knitting.
Josh and Sophie went for an ultrasound recently and all is well, they don't want to know if it is a boy or girl. Sophie likes surprises. She's finishing off her semester at Uni before she takes a long break with no firm ideas about what she will do next. ( Well, apart from the obvious all-consuming mum duties that she hasn't really thought through !). She'd only just started this course and so she's not too upset about abandoning it all.
She comes home from Uni with her phone in her hand. She's just taken yet another call from Josh who is having a quiet day, driving around in the TR car with Lawson. Sophie is standing in front of the apartment building intercom pressing the security buttons when she hears a noise from behind.
"Sophie" She turns around in horror. It's Luke ! Her worst nightmare. Her heart is racing as she presses a call return button on her phone which is fortunately still in her hand;
Josh gets a frantic call.
Sophie; "Josh ! Come quick, home ! Now ! He's here ! "
Then Luke knocks the phone out of her hand and pushes her up against the door.
Luke;
"Who are you calling babe ?"
Sophie starts screaming; "Let
go of me ! No ! No ! Help !"
Josh can hear all this from her phone which is on the ground.
Luke; "Shut up"
Sophie; "No ! Don't hurt the baby !"
Luke;
"The what ?"
He notices her belly now.
Luke; "What the …….." and he slaps her across the face, not enough to knock her out but she still falls to the ground in distress. She's frantic and terrified, all of her stress and anxiety from the previous attack revisiting her.
Some passers-by have come over now.
In the meantime, Josh and Lawson are of course rushing to the scene. Josh is completely beside himself with worry, and they're ignoring Leon's chatter that it's not a TR job and that Kerry will have them for this and to leave it to the regular cops who have already been called.
The passers-by push Luke away from Sophie before he can hit her again.
Man; "What's going on ? She's pregnant, how could you…….."
Luke starts to freak out, people are watching him, he still has an AVO against him ( how long do these things last for ? I couldn't ask this before I posted because it gives away the plot ! ) and so he runs off.
Lawson and Josh arrive just before the local cops.
Josh jumps out of the car even as Lawson applies the brake. He can see Sophie slumped on the ground at the front entrance. He's devastated. What has Luke done to her, to their baby ? He runs over.
Meanwhile the local cops have arrived and the passers-by are giving them a description of Luke. After checking on Sophie, Lawson fills in the local cops on Luke's details and the history with Sophie.
When Josh gets to Sophie, there is also a woman there who is trying to help. Josh kneels down and gently pulls Sophie's shoulder so he can see her face. He is relieved to see that she doesn't have bruises or cuts on her face this time and that she's conscious. Next he's trying to work out if she has any injuries, what happened ? He knows that an ambulance is on the way.
Josh; "Sophie………Sophie"
He holds her in his arms.
Josh; "Are you ok ? Are you hurt anywhere ?"
Sophie is now hysterical, sobbing and breathing rapidly but she hasn't been physically hurt apart from the slap in the face. One side of her face is red.
Woman; "She has to calm down, breathe slower…"
Josh; "Look at me Sophie………take slow deep breaths….."
The ambulance arrives and they calm her down. She is still taken to the hospital for observation and to check the baby but she seems fine. Josh goes with her in the ambulance, he feels like they had a lucky escape. He feared that this might happen and in his bad dream he imagined Luke killing his child.
Now they have another incident and enough witnesses to do something about Luke.
