A/N: I'm really glad these email things are working out... however... they are
quite time consuming to put together and get on the web... so, because of
that, I'm going to switch things up a little and do maybe... 2 emails per
update with character interaction as part of the update too! It should
make things more interesting for both, you to read and me to write!
From: To: nscott23usmc.us.gov Subject: Haley News! Sent: September 25, 2006 2:18pm
Hello ex!
How's it going over there? Haven't heard from you in quite some time now and since Jenny's not home from pre-k yet I decided I'd take a few minutes to write... she really loves her class... she's got a lot of new friends. Her favorite part about school is the field trips. They went to a farm yesterday. Anyways... enough about her. Jake and I are doing well. I'm so proud of him. He's pulling off great grades in all his classes and working full time too. I don't know how he does it. I have a hard enough time keeping up with just Jenny and my classes without any kind of job.
Haley and I went out yesterday. We grabbed lunch together on campus... believe it or not, the cafeteria food isn't half bad here at Surry. She seemed pretty well, although she was a little quiet. She seemed exhausted though... it's probably a combination of everything...
The mustang finally died on me a couple days ago... blew the head gasket. Keith took a look at it but it's not worth wasting the money on fixing it. Jake took out a loan and we got a Honda CR-V together... it's a little more practical with a kid and all...
I'm going to go spend a little time with Jake before heads to work for the night... I'll keep in touch!
Peyt
From: nscott23usmc.us.gov To: hscott23usmc.us.gov Subject: What's wrong? Sent: September 28, 2006 3:48pm
Hey Sweetie...
Haven't heard from you in quite some time now... is something going on? The last time I did hear from you, you weren't even your perky little self... is something going on?
I heard from Peyton a few days ago... she was telling me about your lunch. I'm glad you're getting to keep in touch with everyone. She was telling me about the new car her and Jake got. Did you see it? She said it's the perfect family car... maybe we ought to get one of those when I come home! Just kidding sweetie, I know you're not ready for that yet and I completely understand.
It's not too brutal here actually... we haven't seen a whole lot of action but what we have seen has been an eye-opening experience.
How are Brooke, Luke and Alex doing? I haven't heard from them in a while now. Is Lucas holding up okay on the team? Tell them both I said hi and give Alex a kiss for me the next time you see them!
Love you sweetie!
September 29, 2006
As the doorbell chimes a second time I move closer to the door, swinging it open. Already I know who's there. Brooke, Lucas and Alex. "Hey guys." I follow them in to the apartment, excited for someone to visit with. Lucas hugs me first, stepping back cautiously as if to take note of any changes that are taking place. Not much of anything. Yet. As he moves backwards, Brooke steps forward, Alex in her arms, enveloping me in a hug. Alex reaches for me, his little arms outstretched.
"Hey bug!" I take him in my arms, enthusiastic to hold my nephew. "So what's on the agenda today?" I ask eagerly. Luke speaks up from behind, trying to take Alex from my arms.
"C'mon Hales. Hand him over. He's getting too heavy for you to hold right now." I chuckle in amusement at his protectiveness. He was the same way when Brooke was pregnant. "And Bug and I are going to visit Mom at the café while you two go about your womanly shopping." He teases, pulling Alex from my arms, smothering him with kisses.
We settle on to the couch, opting to put the plans on hold for a while longer. "How you feeling?" Naturally, the conversation turns to my being pregnant.
I shrug my shoulders, not exactly wanting to have to admit the truth. I feel awful. The morning sickness is a constant reminder of my condition. The tiredness I feel at the halfway point of the day is enough to put me on a downward spiral, making me wonder if I'm even doing the right thing by keeping the baby. And the thought of trying to hide this from Nathan makes me want to explode. I plant the firm look on my face, not wanting to get into this with him. "Fine."
As the room fills with silence I already know what question is coming next. "Did you tell him yet." I shake my head back and forth, not willing to admit in words that my husband doesn't know we're having a baby. "Did you tell anyone? Besides us?" He almost spits, as though he's upset by my not telling his brother about his impending fatherhood.
"Peyton." I speak up quietly from my position in the recliner.
"What about my mom? Does she know?" He watches intently as I offer the same nod as before.
"Haley..." He starts to lecture me but Brooke cuts him off.
"Luke, just let her be right now, okay?" He nods his head silently in agreement to what his girlfriend is saying.
He glances at the clock that's on the wall in front of us. "We should probably get going if we're going to meet for dinner later."
"Oooh... sounds like a plan!" I raise my eyebrows happily at the thought of spending the afternoon with Brooke. Shopping. Ever since we started hanging out she's turned me in to a big shopper.
As we drive towards the nearest mall, the talk remains minimal but serious none-the-less. "When are you going to tell him Hales?" She asks calmly, as though she expects me to go off on her.
"I'm not." I state flatly. "He's got enough going on right now. He needs to stay focused on worry on bringing himself home safely. He doesn't need to know about a baby. That would just cause extra worrying that he shouldn't be going through right now."
"You can't do this on your own Haley. You need his support behind you." She tries to buck me on this one, but I already know what I've got to do. And I'm not about to give in.
"Brooke." I want her to understand why I'm doing this. I want her know my reasoning and understand it. "He can't support me on this right now. Not when he's not here. Besides, I've got you guys. You're helping me." I try to point that out to her, to make her realize that I do have support behind me.
She chuckles at me, almost worrying me. "Fine. I know what it's like to be pregnant. We have our own way of doing things. And I guess if that's what has to happen, it has to happen." She smirks at me from the drivers side seat but turns quickly back to the road. "At least we're going through it together." She states casually, causing me to do a double take.
"No we're not. I'm the pregnant one. Not you. There's nothing we're going through together." I don't want her to pretend to understand what I'm going through. Sure, she's been pregnant before. But she wasn't alone when she was pregnant. Lucas was there the entire time for her. Nathan's gone. He's going to miss it all.
"Actually, tutor-girl, we are going through it together." She raises her eyebrows at me, willing me to see what she's getting at. "We found out last week."
I try to be excited for her, but I just can't muster it up inside of me. She's got it all right now. A boyfriend. A son. A baby on the way. And what do I have? A husband in Iraq and a baby on the way. The two just don't compare to each other very well.
It's near two o'clock when we finally arrive at the mall she's dragged us to. "So, where shall we start? She asks excitedly. "Motherhood Maternity? BabyDepot? Gap? Old Navy?" The thought of already preparing for a baby is slightly overwhelming but I go along with it eagerly. This baby is going to come, ready or not. She whips a credit card out of her purse, handing it over to me. "Here. It's yours for today." I shoot her a questioning glance, waiting for some sort of answer. "It's mom and dad's way of saying congratulations on the baby. They sent me another new card... $90,000 limit- prepaid."
"Wow. I don't know what to say..." I'm still trying to grasp on to the idea that I was just given a credit card with a prepaid limit.
"Just tell me where you want to start." I tell her and we head off in the direction, eager to begin our shopping spree. "We're going to use most of Alex's stuff for the new baby. It's still in good shape. So all we really need to buy is one of those toddler beds. I walk beside her in amazement. In a matter of two years she's gone from being head cheerleader to being the most involved mother I've ever seen in my life. She knows everything there is to know- the cries, the whimpers, the sicknesses. It's amazing.
"What are you going to do about school?" It's something I'm sure we've both been thinking about lately. I've decided to keep going with my degree. The monthly salary checks we have been getting are enough to cover the rent and the car insurance. And even after that, there's still enough to cover the costs of a daycare for the baby.
"Drop out." She states simply. "I don't want to have to leave the kids with a babysitter. Already I hate leaving Alex in day care for a few hours at a time. There's no way I could to that with the baby too. Besides, mom and dad keep sending the money so we'll be good to pay Luke's tuition."
"Hey baby!" She claims excitedly into her cell phone. "Um... yeah. We'll meet you there in fifteen minutes. Oh is she? Okay, that's cool. See you then. What? You did? Luke..." She sighs noticeably loud and clicks to end the call.
She turns to me. "Okay. We've got to go meet them." She reaches for the shopping bags she placed on the floor and speaks up again. "Hales? Karen knows now. Luke told her so she wouldn't work you so hard." I just nod my head in response. I knew it was going to come from him sooner or later.
Don't know if these links will show up or not! pg pg ge/0900631b808d5796L.jpg
From: To: nscott23usmc.us.gov Subject: Haley News! Sent: September 25, 2006 2:18pm
Hello ex!
How's it going over there? Haven't heard from you in quite some time now and since Jenny's not home from pre-k yet I decided I'd take a few minutes to write... she really loves her class... she's got a lot of new friends. Her favorite part about school is the field trips. They went to a farm yesterday. Anyways... enough about her. Jake and I are doing well. I'm so proud of him. He's pulling off great grades in all his classes and working full time too. I don't know how he does it. I have a hard enough time keeping up with just Jenny and my classes without any kind of job.
Haley and I went out yesterday. We grabbed lunch together on campus... believe it or not, the cafeteria food isn't half bad here at Surry. She seemed pretty well, although she was a little quiet. She seemed exhausted though... it's probably a combination of everything...
The mustang finally died on me a couple days ago... blew the head gasket. Keith took a look at it but it's not worth wasting the money on fixing it. Jake took out a loan and we got a Honda CR-V together... it's a little more practical with a kid and all...
I'm going to go spend a little time with Jake before heads to work for the night... I'll keep in touch!
Peyt
From: nscott23usmc.us.gov To: hscott23usmc.us.gov Subject: What's wrong? Sent: September 28, 2006 3:48pm
Hey Sweetie...
Haven't heard from you in quite some time now... is something going on? The last time I did hear from you, you weren't even your perky little self... is something going on?
I heard from Peyton a few days ago... she was telling me about your lunch. I'm glad you're getting to keep in touch with everyone. She was telling me about the new car her and Jake got. Did you see it? She said it's the perfect family car... maybe we ought to get one of those when I come home! Just kidding sweetie, I know you're not ready for that yet and I completely understand.
It's not too brutal here actually... we haven't seen a whole lot of action but what we have seen has been an eye-opening experience.
How are Brooke, Luke and Alex doing? I haven't heard from them in a while now. Is Lucas holding up okay on the team? Tell them both I said hi and give Alex a kiss for me the next time you see them!
Love you sweetie!
September 29, 2006
As the doorbell chimes a second time I move closer to the door, swinging it open. Already I know who's there. Brooke, Lucas and Alex. "Hey guys." I follow them in to the apartment, excited for someone to visit with. Lucas hugs me first, stepping back cautiously as if to take note of any changes that are taking place. Not much of anything. Yet. As he moves backwards, Brooke steps forward, Alex in her arms, enveloping me in a hug. Alex reaches for me, his little arms outstretched.
"Hey bug!" I take him in my arms, enthusiastic to hold my nephew. "So what's on the agenda today?" I ask eagerly. Luke speaks up from behind, trying to take Alex from my arms.
"C'mon Hales. Hand him over. He's getting too heavy for you to hold right now." I chuckle in amusement at his protectiveness. He was the same way when Brooke was pregnant. "And Bug and I are going to visit Mom at the café while you two go about your womanly shopping." He teases, pulling Alex from my arms, smothering him with kisses.
We settle on to the couch, opting to put the plans on hold for a while longer. "How you feeling?" Naturally, the conversation turns to my being pregnant.
I shrug my shoulders, not exactly wanting to have to admit the truth. I feel awful. The morning sickness is a constant reminder of my condition. The tiredness I feel at the halfway point of the day is enough to put me on a downward spiral, making me wonder if I'm even doing the right thing by keeping the baby. And the thought of trying to hide this from Nathan makes me want to explode. I plant the firm look on my face, not wanting to get into this with him. "Fine."
As the room fills with silence I already know what question is coming next. "Did you tell him yet." I shake my head back and forth, not willing to admit in words that my husband doesn't know we're having a baby. "Did you tell anyone? Besides us?" He almost spits, as though he's upset by my not telling his brother about his impending fatherhood.
"Peyton." I speak up quietly from my position in the recliner.
"What about my mom? Does she know?" He watches intently as I offer the same nod as before.
"Haley..." He starts to lecture me but Brooke cuts him off.
"Luke, just let her be right now, okay?" He nods his head silently in agreement to what his girlfriend is saying.
He glances at the clock that's on the wall in front of us. "We should probably get going if we're going to meet for dinner later."
"Oooh... sounds like a plan!" I raise my eyebrows happily at the thought of spending the afternoon with Brooke. Shopping. Ever since we started hanging out she's turned me in to a big shopper.
As we drive towards the nearest mall, the talk remains minimal but serious none-the-less. "When are you going to tell him Hales?" She asks calmly, as though she expects me to go off on her.
"I'm not." I state flatly. "He's got enough going on right now. He needs to stay focused on worry on bringing himself home safely. He doesn't need to know about a baby. That would just cause extra worrying that he shouldn't be going through right now."
"You can't do this on your own Haley. You need his support behind you." She tries to buck me on this one, but I already know what I've got to do. And I'm not about to give in.
"Brooke." I want her to understand why I'm doing this. I want her know my reasoning and understand it. "He can't support me on this right now. Not when he's not here. Besides, I've got you guys. You're helping me." I try to point that out to her, to make her realize that I do have support behind me.
She chuckles at me, almost worrying me. "Fine. I know what it's like to be pregnant. We have our own way of doing things. And I guess if that's what has to happen, it has to happen." She smirks at me from the drivers side seat but turns quickly back to the road. "At least we're going through it together." She states casually, causing me to do a double take.
"No we're not. I'm the pregnant one. Not you. There's nothing we're going through together." I don't want her to pretend to understand what I'm going through. Sure, she's been pregnant before. But she wasn't alone when she was pregnant. Lucas was there the entire time for her. Nathan's gone. He's going to miss it all.
"Actually, tutor-girl, we are going through it together." She raises her eyebrows at me, willing me to see what she's getting at. "We found out last week."
I try to be excited for her, but I just can't muster it up inside of me. She's got it all right now. A boyfriend. A son. A baby on the way. And what do I have? A husband in Iraq and a baby on the way. The two just don't compare to each other very well.
It's near two o'clock when we finally arrive at the mall she's dragged us to. "So, where shall we start? She asks excitedly. "Motherhood Maternity? BabyDepot? Gap? Old Navy?" The thought of already preparing for a baby is slightly overwhelming but I go along with it eagerly. This baby is going to come, ready or not. She whips a credit card out of her purse, handing it over to me. "Here. It's yours for today." I shoot her a questioning glance, waiting for some sort of answer. "It's mom and dad's way of saying congratulations on the baby. They sent me another new card... $90,000 limit- prepaid."
"Wow. I don't know what to say..." I'm still trying to grasp on to the idea that I was just given a credit card with a prepaid limit.
"Just tell me where you want to start." I tell her and we head off in the direction, eager to begin our shopping spree. "We're going to use most of Alex's stuff for the new baby. It's still in good shape. So all we really need to buy is one of those toddler beds. I walk beside her in amazement. In a matter of two years she's gone from being head cheerleader to being the most involved mother I've ever seen in my life. She knows everything there is to know- the cries, the whimpers, the sicknesses. It's amazing.
"What are you going to do about school?" It's something I'm sure we've both been thinking about lately. I've decided to keep going with my degree. The monthly salary checks we have been getting are enough to cover the rent and the car insurance. And even after that, there's still enough to cover the costs of a daycare for the baby.
"Drop out." She states simply. "I don't want to have to leave the kids with a babysitter. Already I hate leaving Alex in day care for a few hours at a time. There's no way I could to that with the baby too. Besides, mom and dad keep sending the money so we'll be good to pay Luke's tuition."
"Hey baby!" She claims excitedly into her cell phone. "Um... yeah. We'll meet you there in fifteen minutes. Oh is she? Okay, that's cool. See you then. What? You did? Luke..." She sighs noticeably loud and clicks to end the call.
She turns to me. "Okay. We've got to go meet them." She reaches for the shopping bags she placed on the floor and speaks up again. "Hales? Karen knows now. Luke told her so she wouldn't work you so hard." I just nod my head in response. I knew it was going to come from him sooner or later.
Don't know if these links will show up or not! pg pg ge/0900631b808d5796L.jpg