Elizabeth smiled down at the baby in her arms, lightly touching his cheek with the tip of her finger. "He's beautiful, Rosemary."
"Thank you."
"How's he doing?" She gently bounced him up and down.
"Remarkably well, all things considered. They didn't have to keep him on the machines and oxygen for very long, so they don't think he'll have any long-term effects from the whole ordeal."
"Good." She looked back at the baby, thinking about the not-too-distant future when her own baby would be in her arms. "How's James doing now that he isn't an only child anymore?"
"He's adjusting pretty well. He's just been a little jealous that Michael is taking some of the attention away from him." She took Michael from Elizabeth when he started to fuss. "Is Harrison feeling any better about having a sister?"
"Thankfully, yes." She laughed softly. "He'd still prefer a brother, but he doesn't get upset at the mention of his sister anymore."
"I'm sure he'll forget all about how much he wants a brother once he sees that baby girl."
"I hope so."
"Beth?" Jack peered into the room. "We need to get going if we want to get to your parents' house on time."
"Okay." She sighed. "Thank you for letting me get in some baby snuggles."
Rosemary smiled. "It won't be long before you won't need to borrow Michael to get in those baby snuggles."
"That's right." She put a hand on her stomach. "Well, I'll see you soon. You, too, Michael. It was good to meet you, sweet boy." She touched his cheek.
"Mommy, c'mon!" Harrison joined Jack in the doorway, motioning for Elizabeth to come their way.
"Okay, okay. I'm coming." She ruffled his hair as she walked past him.
He caught up with her and took her hand. "Is Aaron gonna be there?"
"I think so. Willa, too."
"And we'll eat cake?"
"I assume so. Grandma Grace loves cake, so I'd be surprised if she didn't have any for her birthday."
"Yay!" He put his free hand in the air as he cheered. "Mommy, I'm really glad you married daddy."
"Why?"
"'Cause now we got more birthdays to go to and that means more cake."
Jack laughed. "I hope you're happy about it for other reasons, too."
"And 'cause I get to see the meerkats more, and 'cause mommy said maybe I can get a brother when my sister is bigger."
He looked over at Elizabeth and smiled. "All very good reasons."
...
"Hi, mom." Elizabeth hugged Grace. "Happy birthday."
"Thank you, dear. I'm so glad you could all come."
"Happy birthday, Grace." Jack hugged his mother-in-law. "Thank you for having us over."
"Hi, grandma Grace." Harrison wrapped his arms around her legs. "What kind of birthday cake do you have?"
She chuckled. "Lemon, but we also have a chocolate cake for anyone who doesn't like lemon. And just between you and me," she bent down to whisper in his ear, "there might be some chocolate ice cream, too."
His eyes lit up. "With extra sprinkles?"
"Of course. What's chocolate ice cream without extra sprinkles? Why don't we go inside? Aaron's been waiting for you." She nudged him into the house.
Jack took Elizabeth's hand as they followed them inside. "I guess we should be prepared to leave here with a very sugared-up little boy," he whispered.
"I guess so." She chuckled. "My mom just loves being a grandma so much. She lives to spoil those kids."
"Well then it's a good thing we're giving her another one to spoil." He put a hand on her stomach and kissed the side of her neck.
"Hey, lovebirds!" Julie called out from the living room. "The party's in here."
Jack laughed softly, kissing her one more time on the lips. "I guess we'll just have to continue this later."
"I'll hold you to that." She lightly pinched his side.
They made their way into the living room, where Elizabeth's family was gathered. Viola and Luke were seated on the loveseat; Julie was in the recliner as Owen stood nearby, Willa in his arms. William was with Grace on the sofa, and Aaron and Harrison had found places on the floor where they could play with the bucket of toy cars that the Thatchers kept for them.
"Nice of you to finally join us," Julie teased.
"Ha ha."
"It's good to see you all," Jack said.
"You look wonderful, Elizabeth," Viola observed. "Over halfway now, right?"
"Just barely." She touched her stomach. "I hit twenty weeks yesterday, and I have no idea how I'm supposed to keep getting bigger for twenty more weeks." She chuckled, looking down at her bump that already blocked her view of her feet. "I'm already pretty uncomfortable when she sits certain ways."
"I promise, it's all worth it in the end."
"I know it will be." She took a seat on the sofa with her parents, turning toward Grace and giving her a smile. "Anyway, enough about me and the baby. Today is about mom."
"Oh, feel free to talk about my grandbabies all you want. They're the greatest gifts you girls could ever give me." She put a hand on Elizabeth's knee. "Have you two thought about names yet?"
"We have some ideas, but nothing set in stone yet. Jack's mom wants us to call her Charlie." She chuckled.
"Charlotte Grace would be a good name," she suggested, a hint of teasing in her voice.
"Excuse me," Julie said. "You already have a grandbaby with your name, mom. Or have you forgotten about Willa Grace?"
"I didn't forget, Jules. I was just thinking it could be a thing that all the Thatcher granddaughters have Grace as their middle name. After all, it flows well with a lot of names."
William placed a hand on her shoulder. "Dear, you're going to scare them off from having any more children."
"They know I'm kidding." She smirked. "Mostly. Now, who's ready for some cake and ice cream?"
...
Elizabeth glanced in the rearview mirror at Harrison. "Hey, bud. Are you excited to meet your teacher?"
He shrugged. "I guess."
"Are you nervous to be at a new school?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "I don't know anybody."
"A lot of your friends from preschool will be there. They might not be in your class, but you'll see them at lunch and recess."
"Maybe."
"I promise. You'll be just fine." She pulled into the parking lot and found a spot. She unbuckled and turned around in her seat. "You might even make some new friends. I'm sure there will be someone in your class who likes Legos or dinosaurs."
"Or meerkats," he added.
"Or meerkats." She chuckled. "Are you ready to go?"
"I wish daddy was here."
She got out of the car, opening his door and helping him out of his carseat. "I know you do, bud. I know your daddy wishes he could've come, too, but he couldn't get out of work today. We can tell him all about it when he gets home."
He sighed. "Okay."
"Come on." She offered him her hand, leading him into the school.
He stayed close to her side, never dropping her hand as they walked down a hallway toward the kindergarten classrooms. Finding his class, they stepped through the door and were immediately greeted by the teacher.
"Hi, there! Welcome to kindergarten! I'm Miss Reynolds. What's your name?"
Harrison tucked himself halfway behind Elizabeth's legs, smiling shyly at the teacher.
Elizabeth chuckled, reaching down to ruffle the little boy's hair. "This is Harrison Thornton. He isn't usually this shy, but he's a little nervous about being at a new school."
"Well, Harrison, I'll let you in on a little secret." She bent down to be closer to his level. "This was a brand new school for me just last year, and I was nervous, too. But it's a great place, and I have a feeling you're going to love it here. I have a lot of fun things planned for you and your classmates this year." She straightened back up, offering him her hand. "But for now, why don't we go find your locker, and then I'll show you where you'll be sitting."
He slipped his hand in hers and nodded.
Elizabeth watched as Harrison followed his teacher around the classroom, looking at the art supplies, games, and activities he would get to enjoy throughout the school year.
"Can you find the desk with your name on it?" Miss Reynolds asked him.
"Uh huh." He wandered between the desks, looking for his own. "Right here!" he exclaimed. "H-A-R-R-I-S-O-N spells 'Harrison.'"
"That's right! And you'll be sitting with Katelyn, Farryn, and James."
"My best friend is James."
"Is it James Coulter?" Elizabeth questioned, joining Harrison at the clump of desks.
"It is," Miss Reynolds confirmed, smiling at Harrison. "So now you know you already have a friend in here."
"James has a new baby brother. I wanted a baby brother, but I'm getting a baby sister."
"Well," the teacher crouched down in front of him, "you'll have to tell me all about your baby sister when she gets here. Okay?"
He nodded. "She's gonna be born after Christmas. She's still in mommy's belly." He turned toward Elizabeth, putting his hands on her stomach. "Mommy says she moves when I talk."
"Very cool, Harrison."
"Hey, bud." Elizabeth put a hand on his shoulder, tilting her head toward the door where another family was waiting. "It looks like there's someone else here now, so why don't we say 'bye' to Miss Reynolds so she can show them the classroom."
"Okay." He turned back around, giving his new teacher a little wave. "Bye, Miss Reynolds."
"Bye, Harrison. It was great to meet you. I'll see you in a couple of days!"
Stepping out of the classroom, Elizabeth took Harrison's hand once more. "Should we go look around the rest of the school? We can go look at the playground and the cafeteria."
"Are there swings on the playground?"
"I don't know." She shrugged. "Let's go find out."
...
"Daddy!" Harrison jumped up when the front door opened, running over to his dad.
"Hey, bud." Jack scooped Harrison up. "How was meet the teacher?"
"Good. I get a locker for my backpack! It has my name on it. And guess what!"
"What?"
"James is in my class, and his seat is next to mine!"
"Is that right? See." Jack poked him in the side. "I told you you'd be just fine in kindergarten."
"Mommy and I saw the cafeteria, but I don't know where my seat is in there. And the playground is HUGE and there are a hundred swings!"
"A hundred? Did you count them all?"
"No." He shook his head. "But there are SO MANY."
"So are you excited for kindergarten now?"
"Uh huh." He squirmed until Jack put him down. "Daddy, can we have cheeseburgers for dinner?"
"Did mommy say that's okay?"
"I told him he had to ask you," Elizabeth said from her place on the couch.
He crossed the room, leaning down to kiss her. "Hi."
"Hi. So, cheeseburgers?"
"Sounds good to me. Thank you for taking him today."
"Of course."
"I'm going to go get changed, and then you can tell me more about your new school, Harrison."
"Okay, daddy." He sat back down on the floor, returning to the Lego creation he had been working on.
"What are you making, Harrison?" Elizabeth asked while they waited for Jack to come back.
"A truck." He held up the portion that he had already put together.
"Oh, cool. I can't wait to see it when you get finished."
"The dinosaur is gonna ride in it, so I gotta make it real big." He pulled another handful of bricks from the tub.
"I'm sure you'll figure out how to make it just right."
"Mommy?"
"Yeah, bud?"
"I love you."
She smiled, her heart warming. "I love you, too."
Jack leaned over the back of the sofa, kissing Elizabeth again. "And I love the both of you."