Chapter 105
Jack and Elizabeth slowly made their way back home. They were in no hurry. Both of them were a little tired from the intense intimate time together. The discussion was an intimate moment for them as well. After their discussion, they just sat on the fallen log and enjoyed the weather, the sun, and the environment. The held hands the entire walk down the path to the house. Once they broke the tree line, they smiled at their house.
They walked around the front when they heard a car pull in and a car door close. They were a little surprised when they saw Grace walking toward the house. She looked up and offered Elizabeth a knowing smile when their eyes met. Elizabeth's face blushed a little.
"Mom, where did you go?"
"Oh, Elizabeth. I had to make a quick trip."
"Did you forget something?" Asked Jack.
"No, I just wanted to pick something up?"
Jack and Elizabeth both stared at her.
"Fine, I went to the electronics store and picked up a pair of earphones."
"Oh." Jack blushed.
Elizabeth just shook her head. There was nothing she could say.
…
On her way home from the electronic store, she called Abagail and asked if the family could come to the café for a family celebration dinner for James and Viola. Abagail was excited for Viola. She was ecstatic about having the dinner. Abagail tried to tell Grace that she would supply all the food, but Grace wouldn't hear of it.
"Abagail, there will be fourteen people there. There is no way you are suppling food for this."
"But Grace…"
"Abagail…It's not happening."
"Did you just use your grandma voice on me?"
"Absolutely."
"Wait, you said fourteen? You don't have that many family members here, do you?"
"Well, there's my daughters and their husbands and fiancé. Then you, Frank, and Henry. Please let Henry know Emily is invited too, then Beth too. Plus, Charlette and Adam. And I make fourteen."
Abagail was shocked to be included in the family total. "Grace, you don't have to invited us."
"Abagail, you are family. Now, make sure Emily can come and we will all be there by six with James and Viola arriving at 6:15."
…
When the family arrived at six, they were amazed at the decorations Abagail was able to put up. Everyone hugged Abagail and thanked her for her efforts. Abagail had closed off an entire corner and pulled tables together so the large group could all join in conversation.
James and Viola arrived to a loud choir of cheers. Even the other patrons joined in the cheers. The couple hugged everyone and was grateful for family. At first, the women grouped together to look at Vi's ring and discuss what the couple was thinking for a wedding. Emily was excited to be included to the women's group.
The men joined together along with Henry to discuss sports and current affairs. The men simply enjoyed themselves. Their friendship was only growing closer to each other. They made plans to have a guy fishing trip at Jack's pond.
"Fine." Jack stated. "Only if you will help me carry out some chairs, the fire pit, and a picnic table."
"Perfect." They all stated together.
Emily and Henry sat together and enjoyed their conversation. Everyone thought the little couple was cute. Abagail was beginning to soften up over her son dating. The young couple laughed. On a couple of occasions, Emily would hold Henry's hand under the table. No one noticed. Henry wasn't sure what that meant, but Emily smiled and that was enough for him.
The evening was loud, joyful, and a perfect evening by everyone's standard. Everyone laughed with each other, and the group was there until almost eleven.
Many times, throughout the evening, Jack and Elizabeth would just look at each other and rub the other's hand. Even in the large group, their connection and closeness were unmistakable. Along with them, Tom and Julie were the same way. Their love was palpable and grew each day.
Grace smiled at her daughters. She could see the love each child had in their lives. She was grateful her oldest found that type of love. Her mother's heart was full with the love of her daughters. She only wished her husband wasn't a fool. He was missing out on so much. She snuck a picture to show him later.
…
Sunday was a perfect last day before Elizabeth was to report to teacher Inservice for work. Frank did an excellent job on his sermon and church was terrific. Lunch was simple at her home. Elizabeth and Grace took a nap while Jack had to go into the office for a couple of hours. Lee called him in with new evidence. Jack and Lee went to the house of a suspect and ended up arresting the two teenagers for stealing Lawrence's car. Like Jack thought, nothing led to Miranda. He wasn't surprised, but he was a little frustrated. Lee took it upon himself to fill out the paperwork so Jack could enjoy his day off.
…
Jack walked into the house with the only sound being the snoring of Elizabeth. Grace was sitting at the kitchen island looking at her cell phone with her earphones in. He laughed knowing why. He waved at her trying to get her attention without scaring her. Grace smile grew when she noticed Jack. The more she was around him, the more like a son he was becoming.
"Did everything go ok?"
"Yes, we arrested the two who stole the car yesterday. They were teenagers wanting to go for a joy ride."
"I do believe her snoring is getting louder." She laughed.
"It is. She is also starting to hog the bed now. She just stretches out and throws the covers everywhere."
"She was always cold."
"She used to be that way, but now she is becoming a heater. I kind of miss her cuddling up to me. I still think she was just cold and wanted to get warm, but now I wake up with her on her side of the bed." He frowned.
"I was the same way with my three pregnancies. Don't worry, she'll return to normal after delivery."
Jack walked toward the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of water. He gave one to Grace and then he grabbed a plate of Elizabeth's chocolate chip cookies. Jack sat down beside her and pushed the plate in between the two of them. As they munched on Elizabeth's cookies, they chatted. Nothing in particular, just discussing various topics.
"Oh, Jack. I'll be right back." She immediately jumped from the stool and went upstairs to her room. After a few seconds, she descended the stairs carrying the same bag Jack was bringing down the stairs when he was called into work.
"Here, I meant to give this to you yesterday, but you were called out. Now, Elizabeth is going to kill me, but I wanted you to have it. Do with it whatever you think."
Jack opened the bag and pulled out a couple of pieces of tissue. His smile grew when he noticed what was in the bottom of the bag. He slowly reached in and pulled out a frilly pink tutu.
"Oh…my…" Jack couldn't speak due to his smile. He was holding it up and slowly turning it to take a better look at it. Grace was chuckling at his expressions.
"What are you two doing…wait! What's that?" Elizabeth gasped the last part of her question.
"Well, I thought since you have Jack's blankie, he needed your tutu." Said a laughing Grace.
"Mother! Did you tell him!"
"Weeks ago."
"Weeks!" She gasped.
"Oh, this is just perfect." Jack smiled. "Our little princess will love this as she gets older, but I don't believe I will let her dance in the rain while only wearing a pink tutu." He was barely able to say the statement through his laughter.
"Thomas Jack Thorton!" She reached for the tutu, but Jack pulled it away too quickly. She glared at Jack for a moment then turned her eyes to her mother. Grace had the biggest smirk Elizabeth has ever seen outside of Jack's. Then she turned her attention back to Jack. He had the tutu up taking a closer look at it. Elizabeth shook her head.
"Well, I guess she can dance in the rain as her brother runs around in the rain." Elizabeth joined in the laughter.
"Maybe we should put this along with the blankie in a shadow box or something." He said thoughtfully.
"Maybe. I guess we will have to figure it out. I do love how the nursery turned out."
"It's gorgeous." Grace added. "The furniture is beautiful, but my favorite piece is the sketch of you Elizabeth. That is beautiful beyond words."
"It is."
They spend the next thirty minutes just talking about the nursery and Elizabeth's work beginning on Monday with the students arriving on Wednesday.
"Are you sure you don't mind me staying until the game on Friday?"
"It's fine mother. You are more than welcome to stay as long as you would like."
"I will stay until Saturday or maybe Monday."
"No one, and I mean no one paints or shows their bellies." Jack tried to duplicate Elizabeth's scary teacher face and tone.
Elizabeth and Grace gave Jack a pouty face as he stood and walked to get Elizabeth a bottled water. He also picked up the blood pressure cuff to take her BP.
"Oh, that reminds me. Look at these examples, Elizabeth."
Grace pulled out her phone to show the four examples of the shirts that Norman has sent her. They decided to go with the second example. Norman promised the shirts will be sent out Tuesday and be delivered on Wednesday.
"Jack." Elizabeth began. "Before school starts, there are three rules you need to follow in my classroom."
This caught Jack's attention. "Wait, I have rules to visit your classroom?" He asked.
"Yes, Rule number one: You may visit whenever you want. Rule number two: You can only come a couple of minutes before lunch or any other activity. My kids love you so much I lose control and it takes them forever to calm down after you leave."
"I guess I can live with that. So, what's the last rule?"
With her best teacher voice and tone. "You are not allowed to teach them not to fear my scary teacher face and tone. It's the best tool I have."
Jack laughed. "I don't think they would believe me anyways. I'm the only one who thinks your adorable when you do that." He smirked at his wife. He leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose. "I love your scary teacher face." He whispered.
The rest of the afternoon and evening was restful and a quiet day. Grace and Elizabeth made a light dinner, and the conversation was light and easy going. They enjoyed each other's company. Elizabeth and Grace did make Jack sit down with them for about an hour to watch a football game. They wanted to learn about it. Jack just couldn't believe his wife and her mother wanted to learn about the game.
…
Wednesday morning came quickly. This was Elizabeth's first day with students. She always loved the first day of school. She has even from her first day as a kindergartener. The newness of the day held so much hope and promise for a great year. She always tried her best for the first day to begin with a great start for her students.
She was slightly annoyed when Jack checked her blood pressure three times before they left for work. On the fourth time he asked, she simply stared at him with annoyance.
"Enough Jack. You have taken it three times in the last hour, and it has been fine each time. You really need to back off on this a little bit." Her wife's voice was in full force.
"But…"
"Jack…I am not an invalid. Now, give me that silly thing and I will check it at lunch."
"Sweetheart, you can't use that phrase anymore."
"That's been weeks ago. I think I can use it now, especially when you do this."
Jack began to say something until he noticed her facial expression.
"Thank you for caring for us, but Jack, this is going to the extreme and has for a while now. I love you, but you are loving me to death. Now, please come here and give me a kiss before you leave." She teased him with a smile.
Jack huffed at his wife. Yes, she was absolutely correct. He has been pushing this. The doctor told them to check it four to five times a day. To be honest, Jack has more than doubled that number each day.
"Fine, but…"
"No buts, Jack. You love me and I love you. Don't stop asking, but please slow it down some."
"I will. I'm sorry."
"Where's my kiss?" She pouted.
He kissed her tenderly on the lips. While still holding her, he reminded her that he will be at the high school first and then he will be at her school. SRO Henry and the SRO at the high school agreed that Jack should be at the high school first to greet the students coming into school and their assembly. Their school assembly will begin at 8:15 while Elizabeth's school's assembly didn't begin until ten.
Mrs. Blakely, Mrs. Farley, SRO Henry, SRO Franks determined the literacy program would be better served to be done at the high school. Mrs. Farley knew some of the high school students would love to help in that program. They would also receive volunteer hours in helping. The drug awareness will be at both schools with age appropriate materials for each school. The big brother/big sister programs and the mentor program will be done hand in hand with each other and at both schools as well. Jack was ecstatic over that program. He could already see improvements with the football players in their short time.
"I'm sorry het mamma. I will try my best to back off some." He stated with a dimpled smile. He hoped that would calm her a little. While it did calm her frustration toward him, it also made her melt. This was the first time she wanted to miss the first day of school.
"Now, I love you and I'll see you soon."
…
Jack stood at the front door of the high school with SRO Franks. He smiled at every student who walked into the school. Some of the guys just stared at him wondering why a cop was there. Other guys were impressed because he was a cop and smiled at him. Many of the young ladies smiled at him thinking he was cute. When the football players and the four young ladies who was at his house after the game this past Friday walked in, they each gave him a fist pump and a half hug.
The SRO Franks was impressed at Jack's interaction with the students. It didn't take long before Mrs. Farley stepped out on the sidewalk with the two and welcomed the students.
Jack stepped to the podium with a large smile on his face. He still didn't like public speaking, but knew he had to bring a little excitement, or the programs may not take off as fast as he hoped. He knew the drug awareness was an important program, but it wouldn't bring the excitement he wanted to begin with. So, he decided to go with the big brother/big sister program first followed by the literacy program.
As he stepped behind the podium, his smile grew bigger. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I would say welcome back to high school, but let's be honest, this isn't as an exciting day as saying welcome to the last day of school." Many of the students, and teachers, laughed at this comment. While he didn't have everyone's attention, he did have a good portion of the student's attention.
"One program the Hope Valley Police Department, along with the high school, will be beginning this year is a big brother/big sister mentoring program. It will begin next week with several volunteers from the school, the police department, and the community. If you desire to be part of this, there will be an adult that will be there for you, visit your games or other activities you are involved in, and help you to become a man or woman. The sign up sheet is in the office. This program will help you in any way you need, but there are rules for you and the volunteers must follow to participate." He went on to discuss the literacy program and the drug awareness program. He was happy with the excitement level and the feed back he received form their facial expressions.
As he finished, he caught the eyes of several of the football players and a couple of their girlfriends who were at his house. He shyly waved at them, and the football guys began to chant "Chief! Chief!" until they received the look of the principle.
After the school assembly, he stood at the double doors smiling at each teenager as they left. A few shook his hand a more smiled back.
"Chief, I would say that's a sounding success."
"I sure hope so, Mrs. Farley. I wasn't sure if it was or not."
"Trust me, it was. These are teenagers, some won't ever care while others do and will let you know it. However, there are many who care but don't want to show it."
Jack nodded his head.
"We'll announce it for a few days and see who signs up for the programs. I believe you may be pleasantly surprised."
"Thank you for opening the school to us."
"Chief, anything for the kids."
…
Jack walked into Elizabeth's grade school with a ridiculously huge smile on his face. "There you are Ms. Florence. I have missed you!"
Ms. Florence smiled an equally large smile at him. "Chief Thorton. I thought you have went missing or something." She blushed.
"I knew I was going to see you today, where else do you think I would be?"
"Chief, you say the silliest things."
"Did you have a good summer?"
"I did, Chief."
"Ms. Florence, please don't do that again. It's Jack."
"I did, Jack. Did you."
"For the most part." He answered honestly.
"I am grateful Mrs. Thorton, and those babies are ok. We were all concerned when we heard. I promise you I will keep an eye on her. If she does anything too strenuous, I will tape her to a chair and give you a call." She sassed.
"Ms. Florence, that's why you are my favorite." He teased.
"Go ahead and go back, Jack. The assembly is set to begin in ten minutes."
"Thank you, Ms. Florence. Also, thank you for stepping up and helping in decorating Elizabeth's classroom. That was a major help. I know it relieved a lot of stress off of Elizabeth."
"You are welcome, Jack. Now, you don't have to sign in, please just let me know when you are here."
"Thank you. I appreciate it. Now, I have something for you that I hope makes your first day back with students great."
He handed her a small bouquet of wild flowers and a bag from Abagail's.
"Jack, wild flowers are my favorite and is that what I think it is in the bag?"
"Absolutely."
He gave her a smile and she just sighed. When he left, she opened the bag so she could get a smell of the chocolate cake. She was a little surprised when she noticed a small post it on top of the container. The noted stated, "Thank you! Have a great year!"
That was the first note she has received from Jack. She took the note off the container and placed it on the side of her computer screen.
"Who was that?" Asked the new office worker.
"That is Chief Jack Thorton. He is married to Mrs. Thorton. The fifth grade teacher."
"Wow! He's handsome!"
"He is and a great guy."
"Does he always bring you something?"
"He does. He is the sweetest." She gushed.
…
Jack stopped at the closed door of his wife's classroom. He peaked into the classroom and his eyes quickly focused on his beautiful wife. "Oh my…" He whispered. For Jack, she is a beautiful woman and watching her teacher her classroom with one hand on her belly made him fall in love with her all over again. She was truly in her element standing in front of the classroom. Every child was focused on her. He also loved that she was holding her stomach. He knew more than anything she was going to be a great mother.
Jack wanted to walk into her classroom, but he was just so lost in watching her. He was mesmerized by his wife. She was everything to him. He remembered this was the first place he saw her. He smiled thinking how mean and rude she was. He was grateful he was completely wrong with his first assessment of her. Then his thoughts went back almost five weeks ago and seeing her lying on the floor of the deck unconscious. The fear of that moment was still strong in him. He knew they had to talk about her father. They haven't spoken about him for weeks, and he was ok with it.
When she turned her back to look at the whiteboard, he took notice of her outfit. The maternity dress pants she was wearing fit her perfectly. He loved every aspect of his wife. She was kind, fierce, compassionate, loving and so much more. Her smile was everything and when she fluttered her eyes at him, he knew he could never tell her no. He didn't care that she knew it. He was defenseless against her, and he was perfectly fine with it. He did like her backside. It was perfect in his opinion. She was perfect in his eyes. He let out a deep breath hoping that would release the desire he had to walk into her room and kiss her with every ounce of passion he had for his bride. After the second unsuccessful deep breath, he knocked on the door.
…
"Hey, Jules, are you free from lunch?"
"I can be. Would you like to meet me for lunch at subway?"
"I would love to. In thirty minutes?"
"Perfect."
Tom and Julie have been enjoying their time together as a married couple. While they have matured greatly as individuals and as a couple, they still had their carefree life they lived. They had deep conversations when needed and wasn't afraid to share their thoughts with each other. However, they were still Tom and Julie.
"So, what's up, hubby?"
"Can you possibly take two days off from work this weekend?"
"Sure. I'm only scheduled for four hours on Saturday. Steven has given me the rest of it off to get ready for college on Monday."
"Perfect. We'll leave Friday night and come back Sunday afternoon."
"I'm in. What do I need to pack?"
"I don't know yet?"
"Why not?"
"I'm not sure where we are going." Tom laughed.
"Perfect. I'll tell Steven and I need to get a couple of things accomplished before we leave on Friday."
"I love you, Julie."
"I love you, hubby. Now, buy me lunch and then you need to figure out our destination."
"On it!"
…
Viola was sitting at her desk lost in thought. The last few days of being engaged to be married hasn't lessen her excitement. She was still flying high on the emotions of her time with James and the future they were walking into together.
Viola's heart was a little torn. With Lionel, they went to the courthouse and was married. They didn't even have one friend present. The justice of the peace and his clerk was the only one present. She remembered all the dreams as a child of her wedding day. The wedding was at a huge church with countless flowers. Her beautiful wedding dress was perfect. Everything was perfect. To be honest, she missed that. However, she is not that teenager any longer. She didn't have that same dream. Now she wanted a good man standing alongside her with love in his eyes. She desired for her family and a few friends to be present. The problem is that she wanted that today. She didn't want to wait for months to make that happen. She knew she needed to discuss with James and see where he stood on this.
…
Frank was sitting at his desk in his church office. As he looked up from his computer screen, he noticed a two sided picture frame. On the left side was a picture of him and Abagail. The smile on Abagail's face was contagious. He couldn't remember why she was smiling so big. He was holding her in a hug, and she was leaned back with her head tilted backwards. He always smiled at the picture. It was his favorite. On the right side was a picture of his family, Abagail, Henry, and himself. Henry has only been part of their family for a few months, but he had a difficult time remembering a time he wasn't.
Henry enjoyed baseball and he was better than he thought. For Henry, he just loved playing and being with his friends. Henry's baseball coach has pushed Frank into getting more training for Henry, but Frank was a little hesitant. He wanted his son to have fun. He didn't want to suck the joy out of it. Henry had a hard couple of years, Frank wanted his son to enjoy being a kid playing a sport.
Frank was drawn out of his daydreaming when his church phone rang. "Good afternoon, this is Pastor Hogan."
"Pastor Hogan, my name is John Adams."
"Mr. Adams. How may I assist you today?"
"Pastor, I'm the coach of a competitive travel AAU baseball team. Henry's rec coach is an old high school friend of mine. He has passed along some game videos of Henry playing baseball."
"Oh, I didn't know he did that."
"Yes, I hope you don't mind."
"It's ok, I just didn't know."
"He passed it along because he thinks Henry is a special talent on the baseball field and wanted to get him more training. He said that Henry isn't being challenged enough."
"Well, that's very nice of him to say that about Henry."
"Pastor Hogan, I would like to come and meet you, Abagail, and Henry. I would also like to work him out in a session, if you don't mind."
"For what reason, Mr. Adams?"
"Please call me John. We always work out a kid before we ask them to join our team. We are a competitive team, and we are a very good team. Everyone comes to us to try out, but I wanted to come to you."
"May I ask why you want to come to us instead of us to coming to you instead?"
"Honestly, I think Henry is a very special baseball player. He would be a great addition to our team. And with the growth in his game, he could easily earn a college scholarship and maybe even further than that."
"John, you realize he is only in the sixth grade?"
"Yes, I know, but I see a special talent. I coach the seventh and eighth grade team."
"You want him to jump up to that age group?"
"I do. He is that special."
Frank's mind was busy trying to catch up to the conversation. He knew his boy was good, but this guy was making him sound like the next superstar in baseball even as a sixth grader.
"John, you make him sound like a great ball player."
"Pastor Hogan,"
"Frank please."
"Frank, if you were to ask me to preach a sermon on Hosea chapter 15, I wouldn't know where to begin to prepare the message."
"John, there is no Hosea chapter 15." He chuckled.
"Exactly my point, Pastor. I know baseball. I know what I see when I watch Henry's films."
"With this competitive team, will it suck the joy out of the sport? How competitive are you talking here? He loves baseball and I don't want that joy to be robbed from him."
"He will certainly be challenged, but not to the point of taking the joy out of the sport for him. You have seen him play, he certainly has talent beyond his young years, but it is his joy for the game that propels him beyond anyone else. If any coach takes that joy away from him, you need to run as far away as possible. Also, the push now a days is to play one sport all year. Please don't allow Henry to do that. There is a lot of work to do here, but he needs to be a kid. Allow him to be a kid. If he wants to play another sport, allow him to. This will keep his joy for baseball when he gets away from it for a while."
John took a moment to explain himself. Too many coaches push a young kid into one sport and that burns them out. John explained playing other sports will help in countless other ways too. John also stressed the importance of Henry being a kid. He needs to enjoy other areas of his life that is not related to baseball. Frank was appreciative for the open discussion.
"Also, if a coach only pushed his to play baseball, you need to get him away from that situation. When he gets into high school and he progresses, this will change some, but not now."
Frank pauses for a minute trying to figure this out. "I need to speak to Abagail."
"Yes, you do. Please talk to Henry too. If this is something he and you and your wife is interested in, I would love to come and speak with you all. I do believe he has a bright future in this sport if he continues to grow."
Frank hung up his phone and sat back in his office chair. This was all too much, especially for a sixth grader. While it was nice to hear that his son was good, Frank's father's instinct kicked in. He instantly grew worried over his son's love for the game. Henry loved to play and always looked forward to it. His and Henry's time watching baseball at home was very important, especially since Abagail has joined them. He didn't want that love to be diminished. He set his heart at that moment that if anything was going to steal his joy for baseball, he wasn't going to allow it. Now, he needed to call his wife.
…
Jack stepped into Elizabeth's classroom with complete adoration in his eyes. She saw it and it took her breath a little bit. She wondered what was going on that made him look that way.
"Good morning, Mrs. Thorton. Good morning, Mrs. Thorton's class."
The boys saw his badge and instantly liked him. They remembered him from last year when he would sit with Mrs. Thorton in the lunchroom. They remembered the laughter and the fun they had when they would join their tables with the older grade. They were excited.
The girls were smitten. They also remembered him and his smile. They enjoyed their time with him last year too, but now they had his wife as a teacher.
Elizabeth didn't take but a half a second to realize she was going to have the same problem with her students that she had last year when Jack visited. The boys were going to get excited, and the girls were going to fall in love with him. There was no way she was going to control her classroom after he left.
When Jack walked up to her, she wanted to kiss him because of his expression. She loved to see his love for her in his face. Her heart melted each time. She drew all of her strength to keep herself from kissing him.
"You look absolutely beautiful!" He whispered with complete love in his eyes.
"You're such a silly man." She tried to joke to take the desire out of her mind.
"The last time I asked to meet you outside of your classroom, you were so mean to me. Would you like to meet me outside of the classroom and make it up to me?" He wiggled his eyebrows only where she could see it.
She looked at him a little confused and then she understood what he meant by that statement. "I wasn't happy with you that day." She smirked.
"Yes, you were mean. Would you like to redeem yourself today?" He gave her a dimpled smile he was hoping would win her over.
She hesitated when she saw his dimples. She was seriously considering the invitation to step outside. She shook her head. "Officer Thorton, this is my classroom, and we have a school assembly in a couple of minutes."
"That's Chief." He smirked. "May I escort you and your class to the assembly?"
"Let's go handsome."