Chapter 15: Table for Three?
Liz pulled her car up into the driveway and turned the key off in the ignition. She gave out a long breath just sitting in the car. She was worn out. As soon as she got inside she was going to take a nap. She pushed herself out of the car grabbing her briefcase. She walked through the front door and plopped on the couch without even checking to see if Todd was home. She instantly closed her eyes. She didn't even bother to take off her suit and skirt.
Todd had been in the garage when he thought he had heard the front door open. Was Liz home already? He looked at his watch. He had expected her home at normal time today, since she hadn't said otherwise. Todd gave up looking for their old card table, which had been stashed somewhere among the rubble and went back into the house. He peeked in the bedroom- no Liz there. Then the bathroom- nope. Maybe he had heard wrong. Then he saw her bright golden hair against the dark blue of the couch and smiled. He walked into the living room, and wiped his hands on his blue jeans, since they were dirty from rummaging around in the garage. Todd squatted in front of the couch, his face hear hers. "Happy Valentines Day!" He said to her sweetly. He had also said it this morning, right before leaving the house for work. Liz hadn't had to go in until later. Todd had left a Valentine's Day card for Elizabeth on their bathroom sink, hoping she would when she got up and got ready. "Did you get my card?" He asked her.
Liz fluttered her eyes open to see Todd's face right in front of her. She cringed. He smelled like the dirty garage and dust. For some reason lately she had had many aversions to smell. Anything she ate could not have much smell, and she could barely even go to the bathroom without gagging. Her sense of smell was very kin for some reason. One example was that she could not eat a banana unless it was in the refrigerator. If it wasn't cold it had that banana smell and was just not as good as it used to be. Now with Todd so close to her, she could smell that musty moldy smell of their garage. "Yes." Liz said turning her head to the side trying to escape that god awful smell.
Todd laughed slightly and leaned down and kissed her forehead. "So, did you like what I wrote?" He prompted her. In Todd's opinion it had been the most romantic and gushy card he had ever written. Usually he just wrote a simple, 'I love you. Love Todd' or something like that. But not in the one he had left for her this morning. "What about the roses, did they get delivered to you at work?" He asked, stroking her hair.
Liz simply nodded mouthing a thank you and closing her eyes again. She hoped Todd would get the hint. But it seemed he wasn't, as his dirty dusty hands continued to stoke her hair and even touch her stomach. What was it about men? She thought to herself. Did she really have to spell it out to Todd to leave her alone until she had her late afternoon nap that she always had right after work?
"You're sure you don't want to go out and do anything tonight?" Todd asked, figuring if she said she did then that would be ok, he'd just change his plans.
Liz groaned, "No Todd. Here's fine, just let me take a nap!" She spit out.
Todd stopped stroking her forehead but leaned down to kiss her again, this time on the tip of the nose. "Ok, we'll stay in. That's more than fine with me." Todd said, standing up, so that she could take her nap. But then he thought of something. If he was going to be preparing and setting up his plans for tonight, Liz couldn't just be sprawled out on the couch in the living room. After all, that was in the middle of it all. Then she'd see what he was doing and it wouldn't be a surprise. "Uh Liz, wouldn't you be more comfortable on the bed?"
Liz shook her head no. The prospect of getting up again seemed even more uncomfortable then just laying on this nice leather couch. She turned around so she was on her side facing the back of the couch.
Todd bit his lip. This wouldn't work. He needed Liz out of his way so that it would be a surprise. "Aw, come on Liz, you know whenever you take naps on the couch you complain about your neck being stiff." He reminded her. "Our bed will be much more comfortable, and you'll have your pillow....."
Liz was tempted to take the couch pillow and stuff it in his face. But she didn't budge. She just brought her hands up to ears and tried blocking out her husband's annoying voice.
Todd sighed. He just wanted to make tonight perfect for her. He walked back up to the couch and began to gather Liz's body in his arms, so that he could just carry her to the bedroom. He doubted that once he had her there, lying on the bed, that she'd jump up and run back out to the couch. "I know you're tired, so I'll just carry you." He said, as he started to lift her.
Liz's balance had been extremely off every since she had become pregnant. It seemed she couldn't walk anywhere without either tripping or almost falling over. She did not want to be in Todd's arms that far off the ground. She finally just gave up. She pushed Todd's arms away and walked like a zombie to the room. She then slammed the door and flounced on the bed.
Making a face about their interaction, he hoped that after her nap she wouldn't even remember it. At least he had Liz stored away in the bedroom now, and he could start. Todd walked into the kitchen and washed his hands. Then he started taking out all of the food he'd need for tonight. The shopping had been finished about an hour ago. He had decided he was going to cook tonight. Todd really wasn't a great cook, and he really couldn't make al that much. But he remembered his mom always making a dish that he had loved, chicken cordon blue. She used to make it often when Liz would have dinner at his house back in high school. He always remembered Liz praising Mrs. Wilkins about it, saying how she loved it and it tasted wonderful. Well tonight, Todd thought, he was going to be the one she was praising for it. Sure he had never made it before, but that didn't stop him. He started riffling through a cookbook which he new contained the recipe. That was where he'd! found the ingredient list before heading to the market. Todd started making the meal carefully following the recipe. But after struggling with a certain step for about 25 minutes, he groaned and sighed, picked up the phone, calling his mother.
Mrs. Wilkins was right in the middle of stirring a dish on the stove when she heard the phone ring and quick grabbed it, "Hello?" she asked.
Todd exhaled into the mouthpiece, breathing a sigh of relief. "Oh good! You're there. I wasn't sure if you and dad had plans tonight" Todd said.
"Hi Todd, I was wondering when you were going to call. I haven't talked to you in forever. How's Elizabeth?" She asked.
Todd rolled his eyes. His mom acted like she and his father hadn't seen them in a year. It had actually only been a couple of weeks. "Hi Mom." Todd said finally deciding on an appropriate greeting. "Liz is fine. Listen. I could really use some help, see I'm trying to make this chicken dish, and I'm following the recipe-" But he was suddenly cut short by his mother's laughter.
"You're trying to cook? Why don't you let Liz help you out? You don't want to poison the poor girl," Mrs. Wilkins smiled.
"Moooooooom" Todd said, his jaw clenching, not appreciative of her patronizing tone. "I can cook!" He defended himself, not really caring if it was true or not. "I'm trying to surprise Liz, by cooking dinner for us tonight, since we're staying in and not going out."
With one last laugh Mrs. Wilkins became serious, "Okay, what recipe do you need?" she said switching the phone to her other ear so she could continue stirring the food.
"Well see I found this cookbook, and it had a recipe for chicken cordon blue in it. I figured I'd try that. I think now it would have been a lot smarter just to ask you for your recipe for it. I don't think I'm following this one too well." Todd said as he looked down at the
mess he'd already made.
"Well yes, you probably should have. A bunch of those recipes turn out bad anyways. Did you get the chicken pre-stuffed or did you plan on doing it your self?" Mrs. Wilkins asked
"Umm, I didn't know you could get it pre-stuffed." Todd said sheepishly, realizing that that had actually been his first mistake. He realized now how much easier it would have been if he had. "I'm trying to stuff it but-" Todd looked down, a little grossed out by the chicken he was trying to stuff. "But how do you get the stupid ham and cheese inside of it without having the whole piece fall apart?" He tossed it in the sink, along with about 6 others. Good thing there was extra chicken.
Mrs. Wilkins sighed. She could just about imagine the mess Todd was making. "I think you to stop right now and go to the grocery store and get them stuffed. You can use the stuff you have now as the topper. That's how I always did it. It brings out the flavor more, and is less likely to cause contamination." She cringed just thinking of Todd's hands going over the raw chicken breast trying to stuff the mushy stuff in like a pillow.
"You're kidding me!" Todd said, washing his hands. "You mean that chicken cordon blue you always made wasn't like, from scratch? It was store bought?" He asked incredulous, like he had just been told that Santa wasn't real.
Mrs. Wilkins laughed, "What did you expect? I was a busy mom, I didn't have time to manually stuff them, but listen Stouffer's has really good juicy chicken breasts, all you have to do is set them in a dish
and bake them for about 30 minutes. Just put the stuff you have around the breasts and it will be instantly like I used to make it. If you have any other questions just call honey." She offered.
For the first time in a half in hour Todd's spirits brightened. "Ok! Thanks!" He said happily into the phone. That's exactly what he was going to do. "Thanks for the help mom, Love ya. Oh- and Happy Valentine's Day" He remembered to add.
"Happy Valentine's Day and good luck for the surprise. Tell Elizabeth I said hi, I'm sure she must be exhausted having to go to work then put up with you when she gets home," She joked.
"Ha ha." Todd said dryly. What was it with woman liking to poke fun at him? "Ok well I had better run to the store. Thanks again, mom, bye." Todd said before hanging up. He cleaned the kitchen up, put everything back into the refrigerator, and ran to the market. He was back 15 minutes later, sliding the pre-stuffed chicken breasts into the stove with his own garnish on top of them like his mom had suggested. Then Todd took the unhelpful cookbook and threw it back into the drawer. Heading back to the garage, he continued the search for the card table. Able to find in only a couple of minutes, he dusted it off and brought it into the house, setting it in the living room right in front of the brick fireplace. He found a fancy tablecloth and set it on top before searching the house for candles. Finding a bunch of them, he strategically placed them all around the living room on various tabletops, before setting two of the longer red candles on top of the card tab! le. Placing the fresh bouquet of roses that he'd bought at the florist inside a vase, he quickly set them in the center of the table. For the next half an hour Todd busied himself with setting the card table with their fanciest china, and finished getting the rest of the meal ready. Dimming the lights in the living room, he turned on the stereo to a station that was playing soft romantic music all night for Valentine's Day. Figuring that everything was pretty much ready, he crept down the hallway and opened he door to his bedroom quietly, making his way inside without so much as a sound.
Liz rolled over yawning when she heard the door open. Noticing it was only Todd she closed her eyes again and tried to get back to her dream. She was imagining she was accepting the Pulitzer Prize for one of her brilliant articles. She had just stood to give her acceptance speech.
Todd took a quick glance at Liz deciding she was still asleep. Unable to resist, Todd crept up to the bed and pulled an afghan up and over her, figuring she was cold in her skirt and short sleeved blouse. Todd smiled at her sleeping form and went over to the dresser and closet grabbing the clothes he was going to change into for the night. Finding everything he needed, shoes and all, he crept back to the door, shutting softly behind him.
He decided to get ready in the guest bathroom, so that he wouldn't wake Liz. Stepping into the shower he wanted just to get the musty garage smell off. He changed into clothes that he would have worn if they had decided to go out to a restaurant. His hopes had been to make his wife feel special. Even putting on his nicest dress shoes, Todd left the bathroom looking like he was leaving for a hot date out on the town. Checking on the chicken only to discover it was almost done, he went ahead and lit all of the candles.
He smiled, pleased with his efforts. Todd pulled the presents he had bought for Liz for Valentine's Day out of their hiding spot in the guest bedroom closet and set them on the fireplace before starting the fire on low heat, just enough to warm the room.
Liz threw the afghan off, suddenly realizing how stuffy the house seemed. As she sat up she could instantly smell something cooking. She decided since she was up, she might as well stay up. She stripped out of her work clothes and put on some comfortable sweatpants and one of Todd's coach t-shirts. She then walked out to the kitchen to see what the smell was.
Todd was busy peering into the oven when he heard Elizabeth walk out. He shut it. "Hey!" Greeting her with a smile, he threw the hot pad down. "You're up. Surprise!" He said with a smile.
"What's the surprise?" Liz said looking over to her husband. Noticing the musty smell was gone, she inhaled the scent of his aftershave as she noticed he had changed into some nice khaki pants and a sweater. He even had his dress shoes on. Todd hated dress shoes. His big feet were always hard to fit and he always complained. Unless they were going out she didn't see what was so big.
"That?" He said, pointing at the oven. "Me?" He offered to her, pointing at himself. He walked in front of Liz and grabbed her hand, walking her towards the living room. In the doorway before he got there, he moved behind her covering her eyes with his hands. Moving forward one more step, they were at the perfect angle to take in the ambiance. "And this." He said in a low voice, as he removed his hands.
Liz had almost tripped when Todd had covered her eyes but he guided her to the living room and held on to her. He uncovered her eyes revealing a perfectly set dinner for two with candles flowers and roses. "Todd it's beautiful," She said turning around and pecking him on the cheek.
"I figured since you didn't feel much like going out, I'd make it feel like you were." He told her sweetly, before bending his head and kissing her just as sweetly on the lips. "Dinner is served." He whispered against her lips before kissing her again.
Liz smiled. "It smells yummy." She said sitting down in the chair Todd had pulled out for her. She quickly put her long blonde hair in a pony tail to prevent it from getting into the food. She waited patiently as he pulled the chicken from the oven.
He returned with a plate of chicken cordon blue, a dish of steamed asparagus, some seasoned rice and a bottle of sparkling cider since Liz couldn't have wine. He didn't want to be the only one drinking, so he'd join her in the sparkling cider.
Liz watched as Todd set the food in front of her and she smiled. For once the food smelled delicious and she couldn't complain. She waited for Todd to sit down.
Todd poured each of them some cider into the champagne flutes. Then he walked over and turned the volume of the stereo up just a little higher. He finally sat down, feeling the warmth of the fire on his right side. The presents caught his eye. "Presents before or after we eat?" He asked, looking across the short table at her, her eyes and hair twinkling among the candle glow.
"After. I'm starved." She said grabbing a fork and cutting off a little piece of the chicken to taste it. She didn't want to hurt Todd's feelings but she was a bit hesitant. The last time Todd had tried to cook it turned out to be a disaster. And that was just macaroni and cheese. She was still trying to figure how that turned purple. But the chicken was delicious, "Yummmm." Liz said admiring the food.
Todd watched her carefully as she sampled the food. After he had seen her take a bite, he cut himself a piece of his, and popped it in his mouth. "Ooh. It is good!" Todd said. It really did taste good. Not quite like how it had tasted when his mom made it, but it still wasn't bad. Just a little chewy- and that was probably because he had kept it in the oven a little too long. Todd took a forkful of rice, shoveling it into his mouth. "How was your nap?"
"It was good." She said sampling the rice. "I'm still tired though, if that makes sense." She said shrugging.
"Sure it does." Todd said, taking another bite of chicken. "You're sleeping for two now, so you have my permission to complain about being tired for the next 6 months." Todd said, his eyes twinkling. "So was it a good or bad day at work?" Todd asked then shifted to that a different part of his leg was being exposed to the hottest part of the fire.
"Good and bad." She said, "My new editor is turning out to be a jerk and everyone else thinks so too. It's almost Friday too, so for some reason people keep coming to me to help them with their stories. "How about you, isn't the boy's state game coming up soon?" She asked.
"No. Not for another couple of weeks." Todd told her. "We've got a few more games before that." Todd put down his fork, then reached over and put the fire on the lowest possible heat setting. "Do you want to make a toast?" He asked her, picking up his champagne flute.
"Sure," Liz said picking up her own flute and raising it to Todd's.
Todd thought for a second. "To our fourth Valentine's Day together as husband and wife." He said, then thought some more, not yet moving his glass, "And to making it through the first trimester." He said,
smiling at Liz, "So that our fifth Valentine's Day together as a married couple can be interrupted by a crying baby."
Liz smiled clinking Todd's glass with hers. She then brought it to her lips taking a sip. Liz was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable in the chair as they ate. It had been awhile since they had been together for dinner. Most of the time they grabbed something quick and left. But they were actually taking their time and talking through dinner. She finally spoke up, "Can we move to the couch?" Liz said, looking at it longingly.
Todd looked up at her. "Why?" He asked, not quite to sure what was wrong. Then he realized something. Reminding himself that Liz was pregnant and most likely just uncomfortable, he responded quickly. "Sure."
"These chairs are really uncomfortable." She said standing up.
Todd shifted in his little folding chair. "Yeah. And it is kind of hot this close to the fire." He stated, getting up and pulling Liz's chair out. "I'll bring your plate over." He told her.
Liz nodded, agreeing. She sank easily into the couch. When Todd brought her plate over she finished off the last of her chicken and the rice. She then handed the plate back to Todd to take to the kitchen.
Todd had a couple of more bites to go, but he figured who cared, bringing both his and Liz's plate to the kitchen. The dinner had gone well, he thought. It hadn't tasted bad either. Todd stopped by and picked up the two presents on the way back to the couch. He sat on one end of the couch, Liz at the other side, her feet and legs spread out on the couch, her feet resting in Todd's lap.
Liz leaned back resting her head on the arm of the couch. She put her foot up on Todd's lap, "Could you give me a foot massage?" Liz asked. "They really hurt from standing all day."
Todd picked up one foot and look at it. She had pink polish on her toenails- she must have gone with Jessica. Todd started rubbing gently at first, like he always did, before it got deeper and harder. "How come you were on your feet all day?" He questioned her, as he continued to rub. "I thought you were going to try and stay off of your feet at work- when it's unnecessary." He felt himself totally relaxed right now. The soft, mellow music, mixed with the candlelight, and his full stomach, resulted in the content feeling. It was a pretty good Valentine's Day, he thought to himself.
Liz moaned closing her eyes. There was something about how Todd did a foot massage. It always felt so good. "There was a press release that I had to go to and try to get questions in, it ended up lasting about 3 hours, and some guy stepped on my toes." She told him. Although the damage she did to him probably hurt him more. She had on heels when she stepped on his foot to get back at him. She laughed to herself thinking of the 250 pound man jumping around holding his foot.
Todd looked at her, "What's so funny?" He asked, as he switched feet.
Liz smiled at him. "Nothing, just something I was thinking about." She put her hand over her stomach. It was still very tender but there was growth. It wasn't very noticeable but Liz could feel it. She had always been really thin through the waist and hips. Now she could feel a slight hump. She did not have to buy any new clothes yet but they were becoming uncomfortable.
Todd smiled back at her, and increased the pressure on her foot. "Is there any way that you can, I don't know, request not to be assigned press conferences?" Todd asked, thinking only of Liz's well being. He glanced at her hand which was resting on her stomach. "What?" He asked eying her hand.
"I like doing it Todd, but I'm sure I'll let some other journalist take it when I can't stand the sardine crowd and trying to balance on two feet." She looked at Todd. "You stopped massaging," she said referring to his hands.
Todd nodded, backing off of the subject. He didn't feel like getting into a 'difference of opinion' with Liz tonight about her work habits while pregnant. But he had a pretty good feeling that this was an argument that wasn't going to just go away during the next 6 months. Todd rolled his eyes, and started massaging her first foot, hard. "Well excuse me, your highness." He teased.
Liz smiled once again enjoying Todd's strong hands. "After this you can draw my bath." she said in mock seriousness.
"Better be careful what you request." Todd warned with quick wit. "Why are you holding your stomach?" He finally had to ask. She'd had her hand on it for like 3 minutes and it was driving him crazy. "Oh no- was it the food? You know, I called my mom and I did exactly what the package told me to!"
Liz laughed, "So that's why the food was so good, your MOM helped you!" Liz slapped him playfully. "I was just feeling my stomach to see if there was any growth." she said, matter of factly.
"No!" Todd tried to defend himself. "It wasn't my mom. It was really more like Chef Stouffer who helped me out." Todd gave each foot a last, final hard rub, then let go of her feet. "Can I feel?" He found himself asking her vulnerably.
"Yeah. It's called reading the recipe Todd, you should do it more often." Liz joked. "Sure, but there's really nothing to feel." She said, taking his hand and putting it on her stomach where her hand was.
Todd felt with his flat palm against her stomach where she had directed his hand to. She was right, he really couldn't feel anything. Lifting the bottom of her large t-shirt up so that he could actually see the skin that he was touching, he realized that it was growing a little bit. He looked at it, studying it, then started feeling it again.
Liz leaned back in Todd's arms, her back to his chest. She put her hands over his. "The baby is already moving, it's just that its not big enough that we can feel anything."
Todd continued to feel around with his fingers and palm, making sure to be gentle. "So what's it like? What does it feel like?" He asked inquisitively as his head was near the side of her head.
"Well I still feel like total crap," She said resting her head on his chest. "It's really nothing more than just feeling tired and bit nauseas now and then."
Todd chuckled. "No that's not what I meant. I mean besides constant peeing and puking, like what does it FEEL like, to have a baby in you? Does it feel any different? Or do you sometimes even forget?"
"I guess I can't say I feel anything. Right now if it weren't for the fact I don't have my period, I wouldn't know the difference. But I could never forget. I always remember that there is a growing baby inside of me," she added quietly.
"Yeah?" Todd said sweetly, it was a mixture of question and approval. He continued rubbing his hand lovingly over Elizabeth's stomach.
"I never forget either. It's almost eerie just how much I'm thinking of the baby- and you." And it was true. Ever since Liz had told him of that wonderful news- given him that wonderful present on Christmas Eve, Todd's mind had been filled with nothing but thoughts of the baby, of Liz being pregnant, and of himself becoming a father.
Liz sighed contently. This was the perfect Valentine's Day. Todd had made a great dinner and had made her feel very loved and special. She started to feel tired again, closing her eyes. She was just about ready to fall asleep in Todd's arms when she remembered the presents. She turned and looked at Todd, "What about those presents?" She asked excitedly.
"Hmm. What presents?" Todd teased, kissing the back of her head, and finally removing his hand from her stomach. He liked doing that.
He wanted to it more often. And he couldn't wait until it was even more pronounced that Elizabeth was pregnant.
She pointed to the ones on the fireplace that Todd had set out. "What are those just empty boxes?"
"Maybe...." Todd teased, as he handed them to her. He handed her the bigger one first, then sat back against the couch, comfortable.
Liz took the present out of Todd's hand and quickly opened it. She pulled out the contents and gasped. "Todd you shouldn't have!"
Todd was a little surprised by her reaction. She was acting like it was diamonds or something. Unless she had just rehearsed that response. Nah, Liz wouldn't do that to him. Se was always 100 percent honest with him about everything- right? Of course she was! "It's a baby book." Todd explained, not sure if he needed to. He opened it up to the first page, which was a section for "the real first 9 months", and the sonogram picture which he had Liz had gotten and had previously been displayed proudly on their dresser was now the first picture in the book. "Jessica helped me with it." He explained, as Liz turned the pages. It had a page for everything. First word, first tooth first lock of hair. Everything, even a place for himself and Liz to a put a baby picture of themselves, and then their baby's picture went under it, to see who the baby resembled. Todd hadn't found those pictures yet. He'd need Liz's help with it.
Liz pecked him on the cheek. "It's great. Thanks Todd," She said. "So what now?" Liz laughed.
Todd relented. "Ok fine, so that really wasn't a present for you, it was kind of for all of us." He admitted. Then he handed her a smaller box which held in it an envelope.
Liz slid her finger through the envelope seal and opened it. It looked to be a brochure. She opened it and saw it was a spa package; there was a note attached. "Happy Valentine's Day Liz. This is a week vacation to relax and NOT work. You can bring your sister! Love Todd"
"I figured you'd have more fun with you sister than with me." He said, nuzzling her neck. "Well- at least different kinds of fun."
Liz laughed, "I have fun with you and you know it, but I agree, Jess and I barely ever see each other. She just got a promotion about 3 weeks ago and she is absolutely impossible to get a hold of."
"So drag yourself away from your job, and then go and drag her away from her job, and then you two should hit this spa. It's supposed to be a 4 Star Resort- whatever that means. But anything and everything's been paid for, so you two can just go and do whatever you want. Get a wrap or a bath or a rub or a whatever, and most of all relax and enjoy yourself. The vouchers can be used at any time, so if I come home one day and see your bags packed and you gone, then I'll know what happened" He said laughing softly as he kissed her cheek.
"Or if we get into a fight and I storm off again, I have a place to go," Liz said referring to her walk out 2 months ago.
Todd groaned, even though he knew she was joking. "Don't even go there" He warned teasingly, but acting very pained.
Liz laughed, "I feel bad though I didn't get you a gift; I didn't get a chance to get to the mall. She yawned, feeling tired again. Even with her naps after work she was always tired again, and was usually in bed no later than 10 pm.
"You've got my present right here." Todd said softly, as he moved both of his hands simultaneously down and around to Elizabeth's stomach.
Liz shook her head, "That was your Christmas present. I can't recycle that."
"Oh, yes you can" Todd said very softly as he closed his eyes and started kissing Elizabeth's neck, while one of his hands slipped up and under her t-shirt to her stomach.
"Well then if you are that easy to please I won't worry about it!" Liz kissed him softly on the lips. "I should probably get to bed, sorry to be a party pooper but I'm getting tired again."
"That's okay." Todd told her, enjoying her body molded into his. He kissed her a few times on the neck, and on the cheek, before he opened up his eyes. "Go to bed and get some sleep, I'll take care of everything out here." He promised her.
"You're the greatest and you spoil me." Liz said attempting to get up. Her foot had fallen asleep and she stumbled a bit going to the room.
Todd was a little worried when he saw her stumble. He wondered if that was normal- her balance being off. Elizabeth Wakefield-Wilkins usually epitomized the perfect picture of balance in every aspect. "I'm going to spoil you and I'm going to spoil our children rotten." He told her, as she made her way to the edge of the room. Todd shifted on the couch to be able to look at her easier. "So get used to it." Liz was almost at the door. "Hey Liz-" He called out.
Liz turned around to look at Todd. She held on to the wall for balance as she tried to get the tingling feeling out of her foot, "Yes?"
"Happy Valentines day- and, I love you."
"I love you too Todd." Liz said turning back around and heading for the bedroom. She pulled back the covers and climbed in. Her head hit the pillow and that was the last thing she remembered.
Liz pulled her car up into the driveway and turned the key off in the ignition. She gave out a long breath just sitting in the car. She was worn out. As soon as she got inside she was going to take a nap. She pushed herself out of the car grabbing her briefcase. She walked through the front door and plopped on the couch without even checking to see if Todd was home. She instantly closed her eyes. She didn't even bother to take off her suit and skirt.
Todd had been in the garage when he thought he had heard the front door open. Was Liz home already? He looked at his watch. He had expected her home at normal time today, since she hadn't said otherwise. Todd gave up looking for their old card table, which had been stashed somewhere among the rubble and went back into the house. He peeked in the bedroom- no Liz there. Then the bathroom- nope. Maybe he had heard wrong. Then he saw her bright golden hair against the dark blue of the couch and smiled. He walked into the living room, and wiped his hands on his blue jeans, since they were dirty from rummaging around in the garage. Todd squatted in front of the couch, his face hear hers. "Happy Valentines Day!" He said to her sweetly. He had also said it this morning, right before leaving the house for work. Liz hadn't had to go in until later. Todd had left a Valentine's Day card for Elizabeth on their bathroom sink, hoping she would when she got up and got ready. "Did you get my card?" He asked her.
Liz fluttered her eyes open to see Todd's face right in front of her. She cringed. He smelled like the dirty garage and dust. For some reason lately she had had many aversions to smell. Anything she ate could not have much smell, and she could barely even go to the bathroom without gagging. Her sense of smell was very kin for some reason. One example was that she could not eat a banana unless it was in the refrigerator. If it wasn't cold it had that banana smell and was just not as good as it used to be. Now with Todd so close to her, she could smell that musty moldy smell of their garage. "Yes." Liz said turning her head to the side trying to escape that god awful smell.
Todd laughed slightly and leaned down and kissed her forehead. "So, did you like what I wrote?" He prompted her. In Todd's opinion it had been the most romantic and gushy card he had ever written. Usually he just wrote a simple, 'I love you. Love Todd' or something like that. But not in the one he had left for her this morning. "What about the roses, did they get delivered to you at work?" He asked, stroking her hair.
Liz simply nodded mouthing a thank you and closing her eyes again. She hoped Todd would get the hint. But it seemed he wasn't, as his dirty dusty hands continued to stoke her hair and even touch her stomach. What was it about men? She thought to herself. Did she really have to spell it out to Todd to leave her alone until she had her late afternoon nap that she always had right after work?
"You're sure you don't want to go out and do anything tonight?" Todd asked, figuring if she said she did then that would be ok, he'd just change his plans.
Liz groaned, "No Todd. Here's fine, just let me take a nap!" She spit out.
Todd stopped stroking her forehead but leaned down to kiss her again, this time on the tip of the nose. "Ok, we'll stay in. That's more than fine with me." Todd said, standing up, so that she could take her nap. But then he thought of something. If he was going to be preparing and setting up his plans for tonight, Liz couldn't just be sprawled out on the couch in the living room. After all, that was in the middle of it all. Then she'd see what he was doing and it wouldn't be a surprise. "Uh Liz, wouldn't you be more comfortable on the bed?"
Liz shook her head no. The prospect of getting up again seemed even more uncomfortable then just laying on this nice leather couch. She turned around so she was on her side facing the back of the couch.
Todd bit his lip. This wouldn't work. He needed Liz out of his way so that it would be a surprise. "Aw, come on Liz, you know whenever you take naps on the couch you complain about your neck being stiff." He reminded her. "Our bed will be much more comfortable, and you'll have your pillow....."
Liz was tempted to take the couch pillow and stuff it in his face. But she didn't budge. She just brought her hands up to ears and tried blocking out her husband's annoying voice.
Todd sighed. He just wanted to make tonight perfect for her. He walked back up to the couch and began to gather Liz's body in his arms, so that he could just carry her to the bedroom. He doubted that once he had her there, lying on the bed, that she'd jump up and run back out to the couch. "I know you're tired, so I'll just carry you." He said, as he started to lift her.
Liz's balance had been extremely off every since she had become pregnant. It seemed she couldn't walk anywhere without either tripping or almost falling over. She did not want to be in Todd's arms that far off the ground. She finally just gave up. She pushed Todd's arms away and walked like a zombie to the room. She then slammed the door and flounced on the bed.
Making a face about their interaction, he hoped that after her nap she wouldn't even remember it. At least he had Liz stored away in the bedroom now, and he could start. Todd walked into the kitchen and washed his hands. Then he started taking out all of the food he'd need for tonight. The shopping had been finished about an hour ago. He had decided he was going to cook tonight. Todd really wasn't a great cook, and he really couldn't make al that much. But he remembered his mom always making a dish that he had loved, chicken cordon blue. She used to make it often when Liz would have dinner at his house back in high school. He always remembered Liz praising Mrs. Wilkins about it, saying how she loved it and it tasted wonderful. Well tonight, Todd thought, he was going to be the one she was praising for it. Sure he had never made it before, but that didn't stop him. He started riffling through a cookbook which he new contained the recipe. That was where he'd! found the ingredient list before heading to the market. Todd started making the meal carefully following the recipe. But after struggling with a certain step for about 25 minutes, he groaned and sighed, picked up the phone, calling his mother.
Mrs. Wilkins was right in the middle of stirring a dish on the stove when she heard the phone ring and quick grabbed it, "Hello?" she asked.
Todd exhaled into the mouthpiece, breathing a sigh of relief. "Oh good! You're there. I wasn't sure if you and dad had plans tonight" Todd said.
"Hi Todd, I was wondering when you were going to call. I haven't talked to you in forever. How's Elizabeth?" She asked.
Todd rolled his eyes. His mom acted like she and his father hadn't seen them in a year. It had actually only been a couple of weeks. "Hi Mom." Todd said finally deciding on an appropriate greeting. "Liz is fine. Listen. I could really use some help, see I'm trying to make this chicken dish, and I'm following the recipe-" But he was suddenly cut short by his mother's laughter.
"You're trying to cook? Why don't you let Liz help you out? You don't want to poison the poor girl," Mrs. Wilkins smiled.
"Moooooooom" Todd said, his jaw clenching, not appreciative of her patronizing tone. "I can cook!" He defended himself, not really caring if it was true or not. "I'm trying to surprise Liz, by cooking dinner for us tonight, since we're staying in and not going out."
With one last laugh Mrs. Wilkins became serious, "Okay, what recipe do you need?" she said switching the phone to her other ear so she could continue stirring the food.
"Well see I found this cookbook, and it had a recipe for chicken cordon blue in it. I figured I'd try that. I think now it would have been a lot smarter just to ask you for your recipe for it. I don't think I'm following this one too well." Todd said as he looked down at the
mess he'd already made.
"Well yes, you probably should have. A bunch of those recipes turn out bad anyways. Did you get the chicken pre-stuffed or did you plan on doing it your self?" Mrs. Wilkins asked
"Umm, I didn't know you could get it pre-stuffed." Todd said sheepishly, realizing that that had actually been his first mistake. He realized now how much easier it would have been if he had. "I'm trying to stuff it but-" Todd looked down, a little grossed out by the chicken he was trying to stuff. "But how do you get the stupid ham and cheese inside of it without having the whole piece fall apart?" He tossed it in the sink, along with about 6 others. Good thing there was extra chicken.
Mrs. Wilkins sighed. She could just about imagine the mess Todd was making. "I think you to stop right now and go to the grocery store and get them stuffed. You can use the stuff you have now as the topper. That's how I always did it. It brings out the flavor more, and is less likely to cause contamination." She cringed just thinking of Todd's hands going over the raw chicken breast trying to stuff the mushy stuff in like a pillow.
"You're kidding me!" Todd said, washing his hands. "You mean that chicken cordon blue you always made wasn't like, from scratch? It was store bought?" He asked incredulous, like he had just been told that Santa wasn't real.
Mrs. Wilkins laughed, "What did you expect? I was a busy mom, I didn't have time to manually stuff them, but listen Stouffer's has really good juicy chicken breasts, all you have to do is set them in a dish
and bake them for about 30 minutes. Just put the stuff you have around the breasts and it will be instantly like I used to make it. If you have any other questions just call honey." She offered.
For the first time in a half in hour Todd's spirits brightened. "Ok! Thanks!" He said happily into the phone. That's exactly what he was going to do. "Thanks for the help mom, Love ya. Oh- and Happy Valentine's Day" He remembered to add.
"Happy Valentine's Day and good luck for the surprise. Tell Elizabeth I said hi, I'm sure she must be exhausted having to go to work then put up with you when she gets home," She joked.
"Ha ha." Todd said dryly. What was it with woman liking to poke fun at him? "Ok well I had better run to the store. Thanks again, mom, bye." Todd said before hanging up. He cleaned the kitchen up, put everything back into the refrigerator, and ran to the market. He was back 15 minutes later, sliding the pre-stuffed chicken breasts into the stove with his own garnish on top of them like his mom had suggested. Then Todd took the unhelpful cookbook and threw it back into the drawer. Heading back to the garage, he continued the search for the card table. Able to find in only a couple of minutes, he dusted it off and brought it into the house, setting it in the living room right in front of the brick fireplace. He found a fancy tablecloth and set it on top before searching the house for candles. Finding a bunch of them, he strategically placed them all around the living room on various tabletops, before setting two of the longer red candles on top of the card tab! le. Placing the fresh bouquet of roses that he'd bought at the florist inside a vase, he quickly set them in the center of the table. For the next half an hour Todd busied himself with setting the card table with their fanciest china, and finished getting the rest of the meal ready. Dimming the lights in the living room, he turned on the stereo to a station that was playing soft romantic music all night for Valentine's Day. Figuring that everything was pretty much ready, he crept down the hallway and opened he door to his bedroom quietly, making his way inside without so much as a sound.
Liz rolled over yawning when she heard the door open. Noticing it was only Todd she closed her eyes again and tried to get back to her dream. She was imagining she was accepting the Pulitzer Prize for one of her brilliant articles. She had just stood to give her acceptance speech.
Todd took a quick glance at Liz deciding she was still asleep. Unable to resist, Todd crept up to the bed and pulled an afghan up and over her, figuring she was cold in her skirt and short sleeved blouse. Todd smiled at her sleeping form and went over to the dresser and closet grabbing the clothes he was going to change into for the night. Finding everything he needed, shoes and all, he crept back to the door, shutting softly behind him.
He decided to get ready in the guest bathroom, so that he wouldn't wake Liz. Stepping into the shower he wanted just to get the musty garage smell off. He changed into clothes that he would have worn if they had decided to go out to a restaurant. His hopes had been to make his wife feel special. Even putting on his nicest dress shoes, Todd left the bathroom looking like he was leaving for a hot date out on the town. Checking on the chicken only to discover it was almost done, he went ahead and lit all of the candles.
He smiled, pleased with his efforts. Todd pulled the presents he had bought for Liz for Valentine's Day out of their hiding spot in the guest bedroom closet and set them on the fireplace before starting the fire on low heat, just enough to warm the room.
Liz threw the afghan off, suddenly realizing how stuffy the house seemed. As she sat up she could instantly smell something cooking. She decided since she was up, she might as well stay up. She stripped out of her work clothes and put on some comfortable sweatpants and one of Todd's coach t-shirts. She then walked out to the kitchen to see what the smell was.
Todd was busy peering into the oven when he heard Elizabeth walk out. He shut it. "Hey!" Greeting her with a smile, he threw the hot pad down. "You're up. Surprise!" He said with a smile.
"What's the surprise?" Liz said looking over to her husband. Noticing the musty smell was gone, she inhaled the scent of his aftershave as she noticed he had changed into some nice khaki pants and a sweater. He even had his dress shoes on. Todd hated dress shoes. His big feet were always hard to fit and he always complained. Unless they were going out she didn't see what was so big.
"That?" He said, pointing at the oven. "Me?" He offered to her, pointing at himself. He walked in front of Liz and grabbed her hand, walking her towards the living room. In the doorway before he got there, he moved behind her covering her eyes with his hands. Moving forward one more step, they were at the perfect angle to take in the ambiance. "And this." He said in a low voice, as he removed his hands.
Liz had almost tripped when Todd had covered her eyes but he guided her to the living room and held on to her. He uncovered her eyes revealing a perfectly set dinner for two with candles flowers and roses. "Todd it's beautiful," She said turning around and pecking him on the cheek.
"I figured since you didn't feel much like going out, I'd make it feel like you were." He told her sweetly, before bending his head and kissing her just as sweetly on the lips. "Dinner is served." He whispered against her lips before kissing her again.
Liz smiled. "It smells yummy." She said sitting down in the chair Todd had pulled out for her. She quickly put her long blonde hair in a pony tail to prevent it from getting into the food. She waited patiently as he pulled the chicken from the oven.
He returned with a plate of chicken cordon blue, a dish of steamed asparagus, some seasoned rice and a bottle of sparkling cider since Liz couldn't have wine. He didn't want to be the only one drinking, so he'd join her in the sparkling cider.
Liz watched as Todd set the food in front of her and she smiled. For once the food smelled delicious and she couldn't complain. She waited for Todd to sit down.
Todd poured each of them some cider into the champagne flutes. Then he walked over and turned the volume of the stereo up just a little higher. He finally sat down, feeling the warmth of the fire on his right side. The presents caught his eye. "Presents before or after we eat?" He asked, looking across the short table at her, her eyes and hair twinkling among the candle glow.
"After. I'm starved." She said grabbing a fork and cutting off a little piece of the chicken to taste it. She didn't want to hurt Todd's feelings but she was a bit hesitant. The last time Todd had tried to cook it turned out to be a disaster. And that was just macaroni and cheese. She was still trying to figure how that turned purple. But the chicken was delicious, "Yummmm." Liz said admiring the food.
Todd watched her carefully as she sampled the food. After he had seen her take a bite, he cut himself a piece of his, and popped it in his mouth. "Ooh. It is good!" Todd said. It really did taste good. Not quite like how it had tasted when his mom made it, but it still wasn't bad. Just a little chewy- and that was probably because he had kept it in the oven a little too long. Todd took a forkful of rice, shoveling it into his mouth. "How was your nap?"
"It was good." She said sampling the rice. "I'm still tired though, if that makes sense." She said shrugging.
"Sure it does." Todd said, taking another bite of chicken. "You're sleeping for two now, so you have my permission to complain about being tired for the next 6 months." Todd said, his eyes twinkling. "So was it a good or bad day at work?" Todd asked then shifted to that a different part of his leg was being exposed to the hottest part of the fire.
"Good and bad." She said, "My new editor is turning out to be a jerk and everyone else thinks so too. It's almost Friday too, so for some reason people keep coming to me to help them with their stories. "How about you, isn't the boy's state game coming up soon?" She asked.
"No. Not for another couple of weeks." Todd told her. "We've got a few more games before that." Todd put down his fork, then reached over and put the fire on the lowest possible heat setting. "Do you want to make a toast?" He asked her, picking up his champagne flute.
"Sure," Liz said picking up her own flute and raising it to Todd's.
Todd thought for a second. "To our fourth Valentine's Day together as husband and wife." He said, then thought some more, not yet moving his glass, "And to making it through the first trimester." He said,
smiling at Liz, "So that our fifth Valentine's Day together as a married couple can be interrupted by a crying baby."
Liz smiled clinking Todd's glass with hers. She then brought it to her lips taking a sip. Liz was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable in the chair as they ate. It had been awhile since they had been together for dinner. Most of the time they grabbed something quick and left. But they were actually taking their time and talking through dinner. She finally spoke up, "Can we move to the couch?" Liz said, looking at it longingly.
Todd looked up at her. "Why?" He asked, not quite to sure what was wrong. Then he realized something. Reminding himself that Liz was pregnant and most likely just uncomfortable, he responded quickly. "Sure."
"These chairs are really uncomfortable." She said standing up.
Todd shifted in his little folding chair. "Yeah. And it is kind of hot this close to the fire." He stated, getting up and pulling Liz's chair out. "I'll bring your plate over." He told her.
Liz nodded, agreeing. She sank easily into the couch. When Todd brought her plate over she finished off the last of her chicken and the rice. She then handed the plate back to Todd to take to the kitchen.
Todd had a couple of more bites to go, but he figured who cared, bringing both his and Liz's plate to the kitchen. The dinner had gone well, he thought. It hadn't tasted bad either. Todd stopped by and picked up the two presents on the way back to the couch. He sat on one end of the couch, Liz at the other side, her feet and legs spread out on the couch, her feet resting in Todd's lap.
Liz leaned back resting her head on the arm of the couch. She put her foot up on Todd's lap, "Could you give me a foot massage?" Liz asked. "They really hurt from standing all day."
Todd picked up one foot and look at it. She had pink polish on her toenails- she must have gone with Jessica. Todd started rubbing gently at first, like he always did, before it got deeper and harder. "How come you were on your feet all day?" He questioned her, as he continued to rub. "I thought you were going to try and stay off of your feet at work- when it's unnecessary." He felt himself totally relaxed right now. The soft, mellow music, mixed with the candlelight, and his full stomach, resulted in the content feeling. It was a pretty good Valentine's Day, he thought to himself.
Liz moaned closing her eyes. There was something about how Todd did a foot massage. It always felt so good. "There was a press release that I had to go to and try to get questions in, it ended up lasting about 3 hours, and some guy stepped on my toes." She told him. Although the damage she did to him probably hurt him more. She had on heels when she stepped on his foot to get back at him. She laughed to herself thinking of the 250 pound man jumping around holding his foot.
Todd looked at her, "What's so funny?" He asked, as he switched feet.
Liz smiled at him. "Nothing, just something I was thinking about." She put her hand over her stomach. It was still very tender but there was growth. It wasn't very noticeable but Liz could feel it. She had always been really thin through the waist and hips. Now she could feel a slight hump. She did not have to buy any new clothes yet but they were becoming uncomfortable.
Todd smiled back at her, and increased the pressure on her foot. "Is there any way that you can, I don't know, request not to be assigned press conferences?" Todd asked, thinking only of Liz's well being. He glanced at her hand which was resting on her stomach. "What?" He asked eying her hand.
"I like doing it Todd, but I'm sure I'll let some other journalist take it when I can't stand the sardine crowd and trying to balance on two feet." She looked at Todd. "You stopped massaging," she said referring to his hands.
Todd nodded, backing off of the subject. He didn't feel like getting into a 'difference of opinion' with Liz tonight about her work habits while pregnant. But he had a pretty good feeling that this was an argument that wasn't going to just go away during the next 6 months. Todd rolled his eyes, and started massaging her first foot, hard. "Well excuse me, your highness." He teased.
Liz smiled once again enjoying Todd's strong hands. "After this you can draw my bath." she said in mock seriousness.
"Better be careful what you request." Todd warned with quick wit. "Why are you holding your stomach?" He finally had to ask. She'd had her hand on it for like 3 minutes and it was driving him crazy. "Oh no- was it the food? You know, I called my mom and I did exactly what the package told me to!"
Liz laughed, "So that's why the food was so good, your MOM helped you!" Liz slapped him playfully. "I was just feeling my stomach to see if there was any growth." she said, matter of factly.
"No!" Todd tried to defend himself. "It wasn't my mom. It was really more like Chef Stouffer who helped me out." Todd gave each foot a last, final hard rub, then let go of her feet. "Can I feel?" He found himself asking her vulnerably.
"Yeah. It's called reading the recipe Todd, you should do it more often." Liz joked. "Sure, but there's really nothing to feel." She said, taking his hand and putting it on her stomach where her hand was.
Todd felt with his flat palm against her stomach where she had directed his hand to. She was right, he really couldn't feel anything. Lifting the bottom of her large t-shirt up so that he could actually see the skin that he was touching, he realized that it was growing a little bit. He looked at it, studying it, then started feeling it again.
Liz leaned back in Todd's arms, her back to his chest. She put her hands over his. "The baby is already moving, it's just that its not big enough that we can feel anything."
Todd continued to feel around with his fingers and palm, making sure to be gentle. "So what's it like? What does it feel like?" He asked inquisitively as his head was near the side of her head.
"Well I still feel like total crap," She said resting her head on his chest. "It's really nothing more than just feeling tired and bit nauseas now and then."
Todd chuckled. "No that's not what I meant. I mean besides constant peeing and puking, like what does it FEEL like, to have a baby in you? Does it feel any different? Or do you sometimes even forget?"
"I guess I can't say I feel anything. Right now if it weren't for the fact I don't have my period, I wouldn't know the difference. But I could never forget. I always remember that there is a growing baby inside of me," she added quietly.
"Yeah?" Todd said sweetly, it was a mixture of question and approval. He continued rubbing his hand lovingly over Elizabeth's stomach.
"I never forget either. It's almost eerie just how much I'm thinking of the baby- and you." And it was true. Ever since Liz had told him of that wonderful news- given him that wonderful present on Christmas Eve, Todd's mind had been filled with nothing but thoughts of the baby, of Liz being pregnant, and of himself becoming a father.
Liz sighed contently. This was the perfect Valentine's Day. Todd had made a great dinner and had made her feel very loved and special. She started to feel tired again, closing her eyes. She was just about ready to fall asleep in Todd's arms when she remembered the presents. She turned and looked at Todd, "What about those presents?" She asked excitedly.
"Hmm. What presents?" Todd teased, kissing the back of her head, and finally removing his hand from her stomach. He liked doing that.
He wanted to it more often. And he couldn't wait until it was even more pronounced that Elizabeth was pregnant.
She pointed to the ones on the fireplace that Todd had set out. "What are those just empty boxes?"
"Maybe...." Todd teased, as he handed them to her. He handed her the bigger one first, then sat back against the couch, comfortable.
Liz took the present out of Todd's hand and quickly opened it. She pulled out the contents and gasped. "Todd you shouldn't have!"
Todd was a little surprised by her reaction. She was acting like it was diamonds or something. Unless she had just rehearsed that response. Nah, Liz wouldn't do that to him. Se was always 100 percent honest with him about everything- right? Of course she was! "It's a baby book." Todd explained, not sure if he needed to. He opened it up to the first page, which was a section for "the real first 9 months", and the sonogram picture which he had Liz had gotten and had previously been displayed proudly on their dresser was now the first picture in the book. "Jessica helped me with it." He explained, as Liz turned the pages. It had a page for everything. First word, first tooth first lock of hair. Everything, even a place for himself and Liz to a put a baby picture of themselves, and then their baby's picture went under it, to see who the baby resembled. Todd hadn't found those pictures yet. He'd need Liz's help with it.
Liz pecked him on the cheek. "It's great. Thanks Todd," She said. "So what now?" Liz laughed.
Todd relented. "Ok fine, so that really wasn't a present for you, it was kind of for all of us." He admitted. Then he handed her a smaller box which held in it an envelope.
Liz slid her finger through the envelope seal and opened it. It looked to be a brochure. She opened it and saw it was a spa package; there was a note attached. "Happy Valentine's Day Liz. This is a week vacation to relax and NOT work. You can bring your sister! Love Todd"
"I figured you'd have more fun with you sister than with me." He said, nuzzling her neck. "Well- at least different kinds of fun."
Liz laughed, "I have fun with you and you know it, but I agree, Jess and I barely ever see each other. She just got a promotion about 3 weeks ago and she is absolutely impossible to get a hold of."
"So drag yourself away from your job, and then go and drag her away from her job, and then you two should hit this spa. It's supposed to be a 4 Star Resort- whatever that means. But anything and everything's been paid for, so you two can just go and do whatever you want. Get a wrap or a bath or a rub or a whatever, and most of all relax and enjoy yourself. The vouchers can be used at any time, so if I come home one day and see your bags packed and you gone, then I'll know what happened" He said laughing softly as he kissed her cheek.
"Or if we get into a fight and I storm off again, I have a place to go," Liz said referring to her walk out 2 months ago.
Todd groaned, even though he knew she was joking. "Don't even go there" He warned teasingly, but acting very pained.
Liz laughed, "I feel bad though I didn't get you a gift; I didn't get a chance to get to the mall. She yawned, feeling tired again. Even with her naps after work she was always tired again, and was usually in bed no later than 10 pm.
"You've got my present right here." Todd said softly, as he moved both of his hands simultaneously down and around to Elizabeth's stomach.
Liz shook her head, "That was your Christmas present. I can't recycle that."
"Oh, yes you can" Todd said very softly as he closed his eyes and started kissing Elizabeth's neck, while one of his hands slipped up and under her t-shirt to her stomach.
"Well then if you are that easy to please I won't worry about it!" Liz kissed him softly on the lips. "I should probably get to bed, sorry to be a party pooper but I'm getting tired again."
"That's okay." Todd told her, enjoying her body molded into his. He kissed her a few times on the neck, and on the cheek, before he opened up his eyes. "Go to bed and get some sleep, I'll take care of everything out here." He promised her.
"You're the greatest and you spoil me." Liz said attempting to get up. Her foot had fallen asleep and she stumbled a bit going to the room.
Todd was a little worried when he saw her stumble. He wondered if that was normal- her balance being off. Elizabeth Wakefield-Wilkins usually epitomized the perfect picture of balance in every aspect. "I'm going to spoil you and I'm going to spoil our children rotten." He told her, as she made her way to the edge of the room. Todd shifted on the couch to be able to look at her easier. "So get used to it." Liz was almost at the door. "Hey Liz-" He called out.
Liz turned around to look at Todd. She held on to the wall for balance as she tried to get the tingling feeling out of her foot, "Yes?"
"Happy Valentines day- and, I love you."
"I love you too Todd." Liz said turning back around and heading for the bedroom. She pulled back the covers and climbed in. Her head hit the pillow and that was the last thing she remembered.