The next six weeks went by fast. Cole saw the eye doctor and got a new pair of glasses with a stronger prescription. The doctor was pretty sure the headaches were because he had to strain to see things. Sure enough, after he got those, he said he could see a little better and he rarely had a headache.
He loved Kindergarten. He made a best friend named Jeremiah in his class. They both wore glasses so they hit it off from the start.
As Thanksgiving approached, plans were made for everyone to travel up north to Hope Hills so that Liv didn't have to travel.
One morning, the day before Ava and Ben were supposed to head up to her parents, she felt like something was off. She had been feeling that way for a while. "Ben?"
"Yeah, babe?"
"Um, I need to run to the store. Can you watch Kinsey for a bit?"
"I can go for you if you want."
"I need a pregnancy test. You want to get that for me?"
"A preg….are you serious?"
"Yeah. If I am, I'm about nine weeks."
"I thought we were careful," he said, sitting down on the bed.
"We were but nothing is one hundred percent, babe."
"I'll watch Kinze."
"Thanks. I might not be, but I'm pretty sure."
He stood and gave her a kiss. "Love you."
"I love you too."
The nausea had started the week before but she thought it was something she had eaten. But it had continued and her period was late.
She prayed for the strength and courage she would need to have a second child and also that Ben would be okay with it.
When she got home, she headed to the master and opened the box. "Here goes nothing," she muttered as she walked into the bathroom.
The next morning, Ben secured Kinsey's carseat in the car and gave her a kiss. "Love you, baby girl. Ready for a road trip?" She gave him a smile and kicked her legs. "Me too."
Ava got in the front seat and sighed. "I think we have everything. Diaper bag, clothes, breast pump, baby food, money, cell phones, bottles."
"Sounds like it." Ben got in and buckled his seatbelt. He leaned over and gave Ava a kiss. "Love you."
"Love you."
"You know, it's been almost a year since we went on a road trip. This should be fun." He saw the concern on her face, mixed with a little apprehension. He held out his hand. "It's going to be fine," he assured her.
"How do you know?"
"Because things are better between you and your mom and it's Thanksgiving. Things are always great at Thanksgiving."
"That's because you get to stuff that hollow leg of yours and no one will say anything."
"Aw, babe. Mom's turkey and dressing. There is nothing like it. And the sweet potato pie and cranberries. Not from a can. Fresh. Yum!"
Ava giggled and squeezed his hand. "I love you, Ben Thornton."
"I love you too."
About eight hours later, with an hour break in the middle to eat and feed Kinsey, they pulled up to the Coulter mansion.
"Home sweet home?" Ben teased.
"Something like that."
"Hey, maybe your parents can watch Kinsey while we go downstairs to the theater one night."
"That sounds fun. Sure."
Rosemary came running out of the house. "Where's my beautiful Kinsey? Mimi missed you!"
"Mimi?" Ava asked with a smile.
"Yes. Mimi. Its another word for Grandma."
"Hi, Mom." Rosie gave her a hug.
"Hi, sweetie. You look pale. Are you okay?"
"Right as rain." And nauseated, but she kept that to herself.
Ben kissed Rosie's cheek and handed Kinsey to her. "I'll grab the bags if you ladies want to head inside. It's freezing out here."
As Ava and Rosie headed inside, Ben's phone rang. "Hey, Mom."
"Hey, sweetheart. Did you make it to town?"
"We did about five minutes ago."
"That's good." The phone line stayed silent for a minute. "Mom? Anything else?"
"No...well, yes. Livy and Matt would like to have dinner here tomorrow instead of at the Coulters. Think you can run that by Rosie and Lee?"
"Are you serious? I don't think we can all fit in their cabin."
"Livy needs to have her feet up as much as possible and she feels more comfortable here."
"Alright. I'll let Rosie know."
"Thanks, Benny. Love you."
"Love you too."
He found Ava in a bedroom upstairs. "Hey, is this our room?"
"Yeah. My old bedroom. Surprised she didn't change it at all. Well, besides that fancy crib."
"This was yours? Holy smokes." He walked through a door. "Ava! This closet is bigger than our bedroom at home."
"Yeah I know. Crazy. Check out the bathroom."
"You could fit my whole family in that shower!" he told her as he explored.
She smiled and finished putting everyone's clothes away. She felt Ben's arms slip around her middle. "You're so sexy," he whispered, his lips caressing her neck.
"If you say so."
"I do." He slipped his fingers under her t-shirt, making her gasp.
"Babe, I need to feed Kinsey."
"When I walked past the living room, your mom was feeding her a bottle."
"Then I need to pump." He turned her around and gave her a long deep kiss. "Ben…"
"What?"
"My mom or dad could walk in here," she mumbled as he gave her another kiss.
"Are you telling me there isn't a lock on this fancy bedroom door?" He walked over and flipped the lock and then led her over to the bed. "Ava, I'm pretty sure you were the one who told me a couple of months ago that when we have time alone, we should use it."
"I suppose I did."
A half hour later, they heard a knock on the door.
"Yes?"
"Ava, it's your Dad. I don't have any diapers down here and Kinsey needs a new diaper."
"Oh. Um, just give me a few minutes."
"Can I come in?"
"No!" Ben and Ava told him.
Ben got up and got dressed and grabbed a diaper. Then he reached out the door. "Thanks, Lee." Lee handed Kinsey to him and chuckled when Ben shut the door quickly and locked it.
Ava laughed as Ben changed Kinsey's diaper. "When you're done, let me see if she'll eat," Ava told him.
"Okay."
He sat Kinsey up on the bed with a clean diaper on and he headed to the bathroom to wash his hands.
Kinsey sat there all cute and smiled at Ava. "Hi, baby. Are you hungry? Mama needs to feed you." Ava held out her hands and Kinsey reached.
As Kinsey ate, Ava talked to her. "So, it looks like you're going to be a big sister. What do you think about that?" Ava kissed her chubby fingers and smiled. "I love you. And Daddy loves you so much."
Ben sat down and watched. "So are we still going to keep it a secret until Christmas?"
"Yeah. I'll be about three months by then."
A few miles away, Liv waddled to the bathroom, her hips and back hurting from the weight of the babies.
"Sweetheart, do you need help?" Matt asked her.
"No, dear. I've been going to the bathroom on my own for a long time." She cringed at her snappy tone.
"Alright. Just asking."
Her hormones were out of whack and she ached. One of the babies was apparently sitting on her bladder because she had to pee every fifteen minutes. Another baby liked to kick her in the ribs and it felt like one of them was laying sideways.
She wasn't looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner because she had very little room in her stomach these days even though she was hungry. And the thought of sitting in a recliner while the rest of her family ate together at the table made her grumpy.
Then there was the inability to sleep for more than an hour or two at a time. It was hard to take a deep breath normally but laying down was even worse.
As Livy stood up to wash her hands, tears filled her eyes. "Crazy hormones," she muttered.
"What did you say, babe?"
"Nothing," she told him waddling back to the bed. "Just that I'm miserable."
He moved next to her and kissed her cheek. "Eighteen more days and we get to meet our babies. You can do this."
She leaned against his shoulder and sighed. "How do you know?"
"Because you, Olivia Charlotte Flynn, are the strongest woman I know and the babies and I are extremely lucky to have you."
"I'm so scared," she admitted. "What if they come early and there is something wrong with them? What if…"
"Please don't think like that," he told her, drying her tears. "You need to stay positive."
She nodded. "Will you hold me?"
He turned and she leaned into his arms and let the tears fall. He let her cry as he ran his fingers through her hair. "I love you, babe."
"I love you too."
The next day, Ava and Rosie headed over to the cabin early, leaving Kinsey with Lee and Ben.
Rosie had been a good sport about moving the dinner and for that, everyone was thankful.
About mid-morning, Drew and Kayla and their kids showed up after checking in at the Inn just outside of town.
The cabin was bustling with people and Livy was upstairs feeling left out. She put on one of the only shirts she owned that fit and stopped at the top of the stairs.
"Hello?" she yelled. "Can anyone hear me?"
"Liv?" Jack said, appearing at the bottom.
"Dad, can you help me come downstairs, please? I don't know where Matt is."
Jack climbed up and held on to her arm as they carefully descended. He smiled at her as they reached the bottom.
"What?"
"You're beautiful, Livy."
"That's a good one, Dad."
"No, you are. You look so much like your mother when she was pregnant. Just glowing with the life inside you." He kissed her cheek. "Beautiful."
"Thanks, Dad," she told him, stepping into his arms. "I needed to hear that. I definitely feel less than beautiful these days."
"I'm so excited to meet them," he said, briefly putting his hand on her large tummy. He laughed when he received a few kicks in return.
"Me too."
"Babe, you need to be off your feet," Matt told her, taking her arm.
"I'm sick of being in bed, Matt."
"Well, then the recliner is a good substitute."
"In whose opinion?" She stared him down, her hands on her ample hips.
"Mine. The father of these babies. The ones that need a few more weeks inside you. Your husband."
She sighed. "I can't wait until I actually have a say again." Once she was seated with her feet up, she decided she was hungry. "Can you get me a snack, please, Matt?"
"You got it."
He brought back a bottle of water and a bowl of cottage cheese with peaches on the side, one of her favorite snacks.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Later, when everyone had assembled for dinner, Jack suggested moving the table into the living room so that Livy was near everyone and included in the conversation.
When it was time for the blessing, Matt took Livy's hand and closed his eyes.
"Dear, Father. We come before you today as a large, loving family, thankful for everything you provide. Thank you for this wonderful food and for the love you show to us daily. Please help us to always show patience and kindness to each other and please help our children to arrive safe and healthy in a few weeks. Through Jesus' name we pray, Amen."