One year later
Jonah graduated high school June 4th and then hopped in his car and headed south to see Raylinn graduate by the 8th. It was their last summer before starting college in September and they were going to make it count.
He was staying down there for a month and then when he got back, he would begin preparing himself for going to Hidden Lake Community College to study digital arts while Ray went to Bowling Green to study Marine Biology as planned.
Isaac had just finished his sophomore year and had gotten his license. Also, he and Mandie were set to go on their first official date as a couple. He also had started working at the diner, taking the place of Jonah so he could save up for his own car.
Hope started walking the day she turned one and never stopped moving since. Now she was sixteen months and jabbering as she played while Jack watched her during the day.
His phone rang so he pulled it out of his pocket. "Hey, Bee."
"Jack. I need you to come get me."
"What? Why?"
"Jack, I'm so sick. I can't keep anything down and I'm so dizzy." As bad as it was to hear she was sick, he wondered if the last four months of trying to get pregnant had worked.
"Ok. I'll get Isaac to watch Hope and I'll come get you."
"Thank you."
"Of course. Love you."
Jack left Hope with her brother and hurried to Elizabeth's office. As he walked in, he passed William's office, but he wasn't in there. He found him with Elizabeth. "Bee?"
She looked up at him, tears in her bloodshot eyes. "Can you take me to the ER?"
"Yeah." He reached down and picked her up while William grabbed her purse and followed them.
He was worried. She looked awful and he just needed to know what was wrong.
She was dehydrated from the constant vomiting that had come on suddenly. According to the blood test, she was indeed pregnant. According to the ultrasound, about eight weeks.
"I think we will keep you a few more hours and let the IV get you hydrated," the doctor told them.
Jack called Isaac and made sure Hope was fine. She was so Jack settled in the chair next to Elizabeth's bed.
"Is she okay?" Elizabeth asked, reaching for his hand.
"She's asleep. Which is what you need to do, love."
"Jack, please lay with me," she said from the hospital bed, her voice breaking.
"Sure." He sat down and laid against the pillow, pulling her over next to him. "You okay, Bee?"
"Yeah." She sniffled. "I'm happy I'm pregnant but…I wish I wasn't so sick."
"Me too. On both accounts."
"I think…I think I want to stay home with Hope and the new baby. I don't want to work right now. Would that be okay with you?"
"Yeah. It's just fine."
"Do you think we can make it on one income?"
"I wanted to talk with you about that. The dean spoke with me today. He let me know there's a full professor position open in the arts department. Full time, benefits, all that. I think it's perfect timing."
"When does that start?"
"Fall semester. I'll be teaching sculpting. I'll finally be able to put in to practice the things I learned in Paris."
"That's so great." She kissed his cheek. "I'm so proud of you, Jack."
A few hours later, the doctor's released her, telling her to keep hydrated and eat periodically to ward off stomach issues. She let him know she would try.
When they got home, Elizabeth headed upstairs to lay down.
"Is she okay, Dad?"
"Yeah. She's okay. She needs to rest and drink water and eat regularly."
"Okay." Isaac appeared to be thinking. "I…well, tonight is my date with Mandie…."
"You can still go, son. We will be just fine here."
"You have a night class though…."
Jack had forgotten. "I'll call Rosie and see if she can come over."
"I can cancel, Dad…."
"I appreciate that Isaac, but you have waited so long for tonight. You are not going to cancel."
"Thank goodness!"
They both laughed and Isaac headed upstairs to shower and get ready.
It was almost dinner time and Jack was thankful that dinner was in the crockpot. He still wasn't near as good a cook as any of his family. He grabbed a bottle of water, pulled out two plates, added the roast chicken and sweet potatoes, grabbed some sweet potato for Hope and headed upstairs.
When she walked in, he found Elizabeth and Hope laying in the bed awake but resting.
"Hey, my beauties, dinner is served."
"Dada."
"Hi, Hopie. I brought you some sweet potato too."
She sat up and grinned at him, her wild curls all over. "Yum."
"So Isaac is still going out?"
"Yeah. I'm going to have Rosie come over."
"I'll be fine."
"What if you aren't? Hope might need you and if you're too sick…"
"I'm feeling better, babe. I promise."
She watched his face closely. "You already called her?"
"Yep. She wants to see you. She said it's been a while."
"It has." She didn't feel like she'd been a very good best friend lately.
Jack dressed and got ready for class and then took their plates downstairs to wash.
"Hello?" Rosie called, walking in the door. "Anyone here?"
"In the kitchen," Jack called back.
"Hey, Jack. Guess what?"
"What?" She held up her hand and grinned. "He finally proposed?"
"Yep. Last night. I'm so excited to tell Beth all about it."
"You can head on up. She's just hanging out in bed with Hope."
"Okay. And congrats by the way."
"Thanks, Rosie. Wait…how did you know?"
"Intuition?"
Isaac looked at himself one more time in the mirror. He didn't know why he was worried about how he looked. Mandie told him he looked good in anything he wore. But there was something about the fact that he was now able to be alone with her, on a date, not having to hide holding her hand or stealing a kiss. It made him want to look his best.
He headed downstairs, meeting his dad in the kitchen. "I'm going," he told him.
"Okay. Have a good time, Isaac."
"Thanks. We are going for a walk and taking a picnic."
"Sounds nice for a first date."
"I hope so. See ya."
"See ya. Don't forget curfew."
"Yep. 11pm."
Jack knew that Isaac was not going to miss curfew but a reminder for a couple of hormonal teenagers wasn't a bad idea.
Isaac pulled into Mandie's driveway in his mom's Tahoe. She walked out, looking cute as ever in her jeans and a form fitting t-shirt, her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. He got out and met her at the passenger side door, opening it for her. "Hey," he said, giving her a smile.
"Hey." She kissed his cheek and grinned. "I'm excited."
"Me too."
They drove to the diner and picked up their burgers and fries and then headed to Canton Hills Metropark for their picnic and walk.
They took their bag of food and walked down one path that took them by a small lake, choosing to sit under a large tree to eat.
"I wonder if we will have any classes together this fall." Mandie asked, dipping her fry in ketchup and then mayo.
"I'm not sure. I hope so. If not, maybe we will at least have the same lunch."
"Have you decided where you want to go to college yet?"
"No. I guess we still have time."
"If you still want to go to med school though, you should probably decide soon."
He wanted to be a doctor. Ever since he and Elizabeth had been in that accident, medicine fascinated him.
Now, he either wanted to go to Cornell or Northwestern. Mandie was going to Northwestern to study law but she told him under no circumstances was he to go there just because she was. At first that felt like she didn't want to be near him, but then she explained. She just wanted him to make his decisions based on what he wanted, not on where his girlfriend went. "I'm thinking Cornell. That means we won't be able to get married for at least four years from graduation and possibly eight."
"I know. I can be patient though."
Mandie leaned back against the tree and sighed, her mind wandering to their future. Isaac at med school in New York, her in the Chicago area. Could they make a long distance relationship work? It was really hard on Raylinn and Jonah. And it had been on Jack and Elizabeth too.
"Do you think we can do it, Isaac?"
"I don't know how easy it will be, but I think it's possible."
"And having a family…we need to wait on that too."
"Yeah. Maybe just until I have a good position somewhere."
Present Day
Mandie held Cece's son Leo and it felt as if her heart filled with love. And want. Lizzie was ten and she was forty five. It wasn't as if she could have another baby but her heart sure wanted one.
When she walked in the door after visiting with Leo and Cece, she had information about adoption. Cece had given her a number to call for her social worker so they could get started.
"Hey, babe," Isaac said, walking downstairs in his green scrubs, looking amazing as usual.
"Hey."
"What's on your mind?" he asked, giving her a kiss.
"I want a baby."
He raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Yeah? That's not really wise at our age, is it?"
"I know I shouldn't get pregnant but what if we adopted?"
"You're serious."
"One hundred percent."
He checked his watch and frowned. "I need to get to the hospital but let's talk tomorrow morning, before you leave for work. Alright?"
"Yeah."
"We just need to hammer out the details, babe."
"Yeah." She gave him a kiss and smiled. At least he didn't come right out and say no.
"Love you."
"Love you more. See you tomorrow."
"Mommy!" Lizzie called, running in the room. "I want to go see Gran tomorrow after school. Please? The story is getting good."
"Oh yeah, sweet pea? What's happening?"
"You and Daddy just went on your first date and Gran is pregnant with Aunt Cece."
"Ah yes. It is getting good. Okay, sweetie. Tomorrow after school, you can go to Gran's."
"Thanks!"
Back to the story
Isaac pulled up to Mandie's house and walked around to open her door. He offered his hand and she took it, giving him a smile. It had been a good date. It had turned serious with all the talk about being apart for so many years. It wasn't as if law school was so much shorter than med school. Only by a year really. And she had the option to transfer to New York after she got her bachelor's too.
"Maybe next date, we can just go to a movie or bowling or something," he suggested, pulling her into a hug.
"Yeah. Fun sounds good."
He looked down into her eyes and saw love. They didn't say it to each other, but the feelings were there.
"Night, Mandie."
"Night, Isaac." She stood on her toes and gave him a soft kiss. "Talk to you tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Tomorrow." He kissed her again and walked to the Tahoe.
Isaac was a bit overwhelmed with the way their conversation had gone. Yes, they were finally officially boyfriend and girlfriend, but they were a long way from marriage. From the way it sounded, it would be like ten years before they would marry. Ten years! How in the world could he be away from the woman he loved for that long? It didn't feel possible.
