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Chapter 5

"Natalie? You OK?"

She eyed him oddly. "Why wouldn't I be, John?"

"Well, lately I feel like I keep walking in on you in the middle of something. You seem to be a million miles away."

They were in the kitchen eating breakfast. John hadn't been hungry, but Natalie had talked him into eating a bowl of Cheerios with her and Victoria.

"I've just been thinking a lot. You know, about the past and stuff like that. I don't know, I guess being pregnant makes me nostalgic or something."

"What about the past?" he asked, his mouth full of cereal. It was too cute and Natalie couldn't help but smile.

"The good, the bad, when we met, going to med school, some of the friends I used to have, you know, like Sonia and Anita and Chase."

His spoon clinked against the side of the bowl. "Chase? You still think of him?"

Natalie smiled, but tried to hide it. He was jealous. She could see it. He was still jealous. She was married to him. She was the mother of his kid. Now, she was pregnant with another one of his kids and yet he was still jealous of Chase!

"Not often, just recently." She didn't want him to read too much into it, but she did like getting some emotion out of him.

"Oh. I suppose he's probably a professor at some prestigious university or the head of a hospital somewhere by now," John poked at his cereal.

"He's working for his father's practice in San Francisco," she corrected.

John looked up from his bowl. How did she know that? Why did she know that? Natalie sensed his surprise. "I read it in the alumni newsletter they send." He nodded. Innocent enough. She ducked her head down, unable to hide her grin. He was still jealous.

"Natalie! This is starting to become a trend. You've come to every study group for the past two months!" Sonia stated, moving her purse off a chair for Natalie to sit down at the table with them.

"I was in home sick, I guess, at the start of the semester. But now, I'm focused on school. I came here to forget about home and get an education. So, that's what I'm doing." She cleared a spot on the table for her notebook. "Ok, what page are we on?" She pulled the heavy book out of her bag. The damn thing weighed nearly 5 pounds. How much could there be to learn about the human body? Apparently, a hell of a lot.

"841, we were talking about the heart and blood flow."

Natalie turned to the page and was skimming to the section they were talking about. "Right here," he pointed out.

"Thanks," she smiled.

"I'm Chase, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Chase. I'm Natalie." They smiled at each other before Sonia started talking about corroded arteries and blood flow restrictions. Sonia was, by far, the smartest one in the class. She knew everything. Usually by the time the professor explained something and then Sonia re-explained it, Natalie was starting to understand it. She probably wouldn't be in the top of the class, but at least she wasn't going to be at the bottom.

"Are you going home for Thanksgiving?" Sonia asked, putting her books back into her bag and digging for her car keys. They'd finished studying about an hour ago, but a couple people hung around drinking coffee and eating some pastries. The food bar had great blueberry muffins.

"No, I don't think I can really get away. We have those two exams when we get back and I know that if I go home, I'll get no studying done. I'm just going to stay here. What about you?"

"I'm from Modesto. I don't have to leave the state to go home. I can go for two days and be back here after my mother stuffs me with food."

Natalie nodded. "Well, have a good trip." Picking up her bag, she tossed it over her shoulder and was heading for the door. Before she knew it, Chase had caught up with her as she was walking to her car.

"I couldn't help overhearing what you were saying to Sonia…"

"Eavesdropping." He looked shocked. "That's the term for it," she clarified. Chase would have felt bad, but she was smiling too big to be upset with him.

"Uh, there are a few of us who aren't going home. You know, our families are far away or whatever. We're having a makeshift family dinner. You're welcome to come. It's at a friend of mine's place, but the more the merrier. I'm sure everyone would love you to join us."

"That sounds nice," she said. "Thanks." Taking her bag from her hand, he walked her the rest of the way to her car.

It was nice. It was a great Thanksgiving, actually. She was finally starting to make friends here. When she got to the apartment, she was surprised to see that most of the people there were familiar. She knew them from classes or just seeing them around campus. Finally, she was moving on with her life. She hadn't made it through a whole day without thinking of him, but she was getting better. Usually, she didn't think of him until nighttime. When she was alone in bed, her mind would drift. She couldn't help but think about him. It was easier now, though. It didn't hurt as bad as it used to. Sometimes it did, but not always.

Natalie snapped back to reality when a barrage of Cheerio's was pelted at her face. "Hey!" Ready to scold Victoria for playing with her food, Natalie was surprised to see they weren't coming from her daughter.

Natalie laughed when Victoria reached out and picked up a handful of John's cereal. She didn't quite succeed in throwing them very far, but her giggle was contagious.

"You are not setting a good example, John." He smiled, suddenly leaning over the table to kiss her.

"What was that for?" she asked.

"No reason." Picking up his bowl, he pushed his chair away from the table and dumped it into the sink.

She smirked, leaning back in her chair. He was definitely still jealous.