The next week and a half flew by. Elizabeth and Isaac continued to heal and now it was time for Jonah's birthday dinner.
Fiona's parents, David and Carol Coulter, came along with Charlotte and Tom, Jack's brother Tom, and Elizabeth's parents. Then of course Raylinn was invited too.
It was a full house but it was informal.
Jonah preferred no balloons or streamers and he wanted chocolate mousse instead of a cake. For his dinner, he requested a Taco Bar so Elizabeth, Charlotte, and Grace worked on that while everyone else visited in the living room.
As the women were chopping and dicing and cooking, they were chatting about the wedding that was coming up. No one noticed that Carol had come in the room.
"I'm sorry. I was wondering if I could get something to drink."
"Of course." Elizabeth put her knife down and offered her a bottle of water. "Unless you would like coffee instead?"
"No, thank you. Water is fine."
"Okay. I don't think we've met yet. I'm Elizabeth Thatcher."
"Jack's fiancé."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Its lovely to meet you. I'm Carol Coulter. The boys told me about the accident. I'm glad everyone was alright."
"Yes. It was pretty scary but we are doing fine."
"Would you like some help? I can cook a bit."
"Sure. I'd love some. Would you like to cook the ground beef for me?"
"Alright."
"Carol, this is my mom, Grace Thatcher. Mom, this is the boy's grandmother, Carol."
The women exchanged pleasantries and everyone started cooking again.
"Hey, Mom, is dinner almost ready?" Jonah asked walking in and stealing a few pieces of tomatoes.
"Yeah. But if you keep coming in here and eating it, I'll just have to make more and then it will take longer."
Jonah gave all three of his grandmothers kisses on the cheek and then left the room.
"He calls you Mom?" Carol said, a strange look on her face.
"Yes. He and Isaac both do. I'm sorry if that's difficult to hear, Carol."
"It just surprised me, that's all. I think it's good that they have you now. Fiona would want them to have a mother again."
"Thank you for your kindness."
Jack walked in next. "Hey, Bee, dinner ready?"
She shook her head and gently slapped his hand away from the bowl of tomatoes. "Get. I just told Jonah that it would be ready soon. Now go let everyone, including Isaac, know that we will be done in ten minutes."
"Yes, dear." He winked at the other ladies and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Troublemaker," she told him, making him smirk.
Dinner was fun. As they ate, the grandparents that had known Jonah since birth told stories about when he was a toddler on up. It was interesting to hear for Elizabeth since she hadn't heard many of the stories yet.
"He used to love to do dishes," David told. "He was probably eighteen months and he would take the silverware out of the dishwasher and put it in the correct drawer. He could barely reach, but he wanted to help."
"Wait, we had a dishwasher?"
"Yeah, in our other house," Jack told him.
"When we had to move, it didn't seem like a necessity."
"I remember he was such a monkey," Charlotte said next. "I'd walk in a room and he would be standing on top of the table or the counter like it was the most natural place to stand. It was actually pretty funny but it scared me to death."
Raylinn squeezed his hand and chuckled. "That's so cute," she whispered. He smiled and blushed a little.
"Why don't we stop talking about me for now," he suggested. "I'm ready for some chocolate mousse."
"And then gifts," Jack said.
The dessert was delicious and the gifts were so fun. Elizabeth got him a game called Go which was Chinese Chess. She said they would learn together and he looked forward to that. She also got him a 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle of Paris landmarks. He couldn't wait to start working on it.
Jack got him a nice watch and Isaac bought him an X-box.
The grandparents all gave him money which he promised he would save for the future. Then, after the grandparents went home, just before Raylinn was supposed to leave, she asked if they could talk on the couch.
"Not too long, Jonah," Jack mentioned, not quite sure how he felt about the official relationship that had now started.
Jonah and Raylinn sat on the couch and she handed him a small box.
"You got me something?"
"Of course I did."
"You didn't have to."
She smiled that beautiful smile that he loved. "Open it."
He took the lid off and looked back at her. "Bracelets?"
"One for me and one for you," she told him. "They have our initials on them."
That's pretty cool."
"I guess they are called "crossing paths bracelets". Now that we have crossed paths, no matter where we go or what we do, when we look down at our bracelets, it will remind us that we have someone waiting at home for us."
He took one out and gently slipped it on her wrist. She did the same for him. "Thanks, Ray. I love them."
"You're welcome."
He leaned toward her and gently kissed her lips. "I'm glad you came tonight."
"Me too."
He walked her to the door and gave her a hug and then she left. It had been a good day and any day with Raylinn Stanton was an even better one.
On Monday, Jack returned to work too which meant Elizabeth was alone with the dogs for the whole afternoon.
So she stayed in her pajamas, made coffee, and laid on the couch watching Gilmore Girls which was a huge favorite. She hoped one day she would have a daughter that would watch it with her and love it as much as she did.
The pup came over and hopped up next to her. It was funny. She wasn't very old but she was definitely gaining in size and weight and resembled a dog twice as old as she actually was. "What should I name you, baby girl?"
The dog laid down next to her and licked her chin.
"Maybe Rory?"
"Or Paris?" The pooch looked up and cocked her head at that one. "It does kinda fit, even though you aren't a meanie like the Paris on the show."
She hit play, stroking the fluffy black fur as she watched. "Yeah. Your name is Paris."
Paris woofed, making Elizabeth laugh. Well, she got one thing accomplished out of the hundred other things she actually needed to be doing, like planning their wedding.
Before long, she fell asleep.
"Elizabeth?"
"Hm."
"Elizabeth, are you okay?"
She opened her eyes to find Charlotte leaning over her. "Charlotte?"
"Hi, dear. You were dreaming, I think."
"Yeah. That seems to be all I do lately. They say to rest but how restful can it be when I just keep reliving everything over and over?"
"The accident?"
"Yeah." Elizabeth tried to sit up but Charlotte stopped her.
"Don't get up on my account. I'm just here to make you all supper."
"That's so nice of you. I was going to suggest take out tonight."
"Now you don't have to."
Paris ran over to the sliding door along with Duke. Charlotte let them out, watching as they did their business and then let them back in. Next, she filled up both water bowls and let the dogs have their fill.
"Thanks, Charlotte."
"You're welcome."
Elizabeth got up and wandered into the kitchen to take her antibiotics. "May I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"Do you think Carol and David are okay with the boys calling me mom?"
"Well, I'm not sure. The one thing to remember about the Coulters is that for them, it's been just as long since Fi died as it has been for everyone else. It will take a bit of time for them to get used to things but they will eventually see what we all see."
"What's that?"
"That you are what Jack and the boys need. It's as simple as that."
"Thank you, Charlotte."
"Of course, now how does pasta sound?"
"Add some alfredo to it and it sounds like heaven."
"Chicken alfredo it is."
"Yum. Of course after a eight or nine days of hospital food, I'd eat anything. Oooo like a big, fat, juicy burger or a BLT. Mmm."
"Yep, you fit right in with the Thornton's."
That night at dinner….
"Dad, I'd like to go to the movies on Saturday night. Would you be able to drive me and Ray?"
"Who else is going?"
"Ray's sister, Becky and her husband, Ryan."
"I guess that would be fine. But your curfew is still ten."
"Thanks, Dad. The movie is at seven so I'll be home in time."
"Maybe we can go to a movie. You, me, and Isaac," Jack suggested to Elizabeth.
"No, please, Dad. It's our first official date. I really don't want you there too."
"Why not?"
"Would you have wanted Gramps hanging around when you and Mom had your first date?"
"Good point."
"We can think of something else to do," Elizabeth told Jack. "We can order takeout and watch a movie here."
"That's boring," Isaac said.
"What do you want to do, Isaac?"
"I don't know. I can't really do much in this thing," he said hitting the tire on his wheelchair with his good hand.
"Alright, you can go to the movies," Jonah said. "But not the same one we are going to. We are seeing Spiderman. See anything else."
"What about the Avengers, Dad?"
"I'm good with it. Bee?"
"Sure."
"Cool! Thanks Jonah."
"You're welcome, Isaac."
So a few days later everyone was getting ready to get out of the house and go to the movies.
Elizabeth walked past the boy's bathroom and found Jonah muttering.
"What's wrong?" she asked from the doorway.
"I can't get my hair right."
"Want me to try?"
"Sure."
He turned and she reached up to finger comb his hair. "Are you nervous?"
"Yeah."
"Everything will be fine. Its Ray."
"What if she decides she doesn't like me?"
"You've been to the movies before with her, right?"
"Yeah but not as her boyfriend. Now, it's kinda scary."
"Just pretend it's the same as it always was, with a few perks." She smiled. "It looks good, and you smell good too. I bet she will like that."
"She says she does."
"I'm proud of you, you know?"
"Why?"
"You're kind like your dad and just the fact that you're nervous about this date tells me we can trust you without us there."
"You can."
"I know." She kissed his cheek. "Now I'm going to go get ready. Can you make sure Isaac doesn't need help?"
"Sure, Mom."
"Thank you."
Elizabeth knocked on the door of the master. "Come in."
"Hey, I just need to get ready." Jack wandered out of the bathroom. "Wow, don't you look handsome?"
He was wearing a gray button down with dark pants and it made her heart skip a beat or two.
"Thank you. I'm going to go check on the boys."
As he walked past, she grabbed his arm and pulled him close. "You smell really good."
"Aftershave."
"Mm." She blushed and gave him a quick kiss. "I'll be out soon."
Elizabeth still couldn't be entirely comfortable in a pair of jeans because of her incision so she pulled on some super stretchy black leggings, a black tank, and a loose gray sweater.
"Mom?"
"Come in, Jonah."
"Hey, are you ready? We need to pick up Ray soon."
"Yep."
They drove to the movie theater and Ray and Jonah hopped out first, hurrying inside to meet up with Becky and Ryan.
Jack took his time getting out the wheelchair and helping Isaac into it so that Jonah wouldn't feel rushed or embarrassed. As hard as it was for Jack to watch his son growing up, he understood how he must be feeling knowing his dad was close by.
"You're a good dad, Jack," Elizabeth told him.
"Why's that?"
"Lots of reasons." She put her hand in the crook of his elbow as he pushed Isaac's wheelchair through the parking lot.
About twenty minutes later, they were seated comfortably in the section toward the front where Isaac's wheel chair fit.
"Hey, Isaac!" a cute girl about Isaac's age said, waving from a few rows back.
He blushed and waved back. "Hi."
She got up and walked over to them. "Hi, I'm Mandie Larson," she said to Jack and Elizabeth.
"Hi, Mandie. I'm Elizabeth and this is Isaac's dad, Jack."
"Nice to meet you."
"Are you in one of Isaac's classes?" Elizabeth wondered.
"Pretty much all of them."
"Are you by yourself, Mandie? You can sit with us if you like."
"You don't mind?"
"Nope. Isaac?"
"Sure."
Jack and Elizabeth moved down a seat and Mandie sat just as the lights went down.
Mandie glanced at Isaac and smiled. He couldn't believe he was watching a movie with Mandie Larson. She was adorable. Long brown hair, glasses, and a really great smile. Even dimples. And he was pretty sure she loved math and science more than him.
She offered him some of her twizzlers and he accepted. "Thanks."
"Sure. Your parents seem cool."
"Yeah. They're pretty great."