2 days after pizza night, Nathan and Gabe were still looking for the thief who had been breaking into cars around town. The guys had to work one Saturday each month. It was just a normal part of the department schedule. Allie usually spent the day with one of her friends, Lillian and Spencer, or Nathan's parents. Today she was with her friends Opal and Emily following a sleepover at Opal's house.
The 2 detectives sat in their unmarked vehicle in a remote corner of the gym parking lot. They were doing some early morning surveillance hoping to catch the car thief in the act. There had been 3 more incidents since Elizabeth's car was broken into almost 2 weeks prior bringing the total number to 10. And the suspect that had been brought in the prior week turned out to be a dead end. So Nathan and Gabe were still looking for the robber. They had stopped to pick up coffee and bagels on their way to the parking lot.
"How was dinner at Elizabeth's house on Thursday night?" asked Gabe.
"It was great."
"Always a man of few words. That's all you're going to give me? How long have we known each other?"
"Too long it would seem."
"Come on Nathan. I know you too well. It's been a long time since you've had feelings for a woman and I can tell you're smitten with Elizabeth. Maybe even more than that judging by the barbeque last week. You 2 seem like you'd be very good together."
Nathan sighed and looked at his long time partner and best friend. "Am I that transparent?"
"Yes! But so was Elizabeth. It seemed pretty mutual to me and Lil agrees with me. We talked about it on the drive home."
"Well I may have screwed things up before they even have a chance to get started." Nathan gave Gabe a pensive look, took a big gulp of coffee, and sighed again. "I asked her out to dinner at the end of the night. Everything was going really well. The kids were getting along as were Elizabeth and I and the conversation just flowed so naturally the entire time I was there. I didn't want the night to end and I honestly didn't even think first. I just told her I wanted to take her out without the kids to thank her for her kindness."
"Well done Nathan. That's awesome. I'm proud of you buddy." Gabe patted Nathan on the back.
"Don't be too proud. She didn't say yes. She also didn't say no. I told her to think about it and let me know. But I'd think if she were interested, she'd have said yes. It's been almost 2 years since her husband died and I'm guessing that me being in law enforcement isn't exactly a selling point in my favor. And maybe she's not even ready to date."
"Well from what we saw last weekend, you and Elizabeth looked pretty comfortable together. I'm no expert but I'd say she felt something for you as well, even if she can't admit it yet. You were very respectful to give her some time to think. Don't lose hope my friend. I have a feeling she will come around once she realizes she is ready."
"Thanks Gabe."
"Nathan, anytime you need to talk, you know I'm here. And I'll tell you who is not here: this robber. It's almost 10am now and he or she always strikes between 6:30-8:30. I say we go back to the shop and review all the police reports again. Maybe there is a clue we are missing."
"I think you're right." And with that, Nathan started the car and drove them back to the station.
About an hour later, Elizabeth, Rosemary, and Faith met for brunch at Gustav's, a local French patisserie. Since Rosemary was in rehearsals for 10-12 hours a day, weekend brunch was how they'd meet up for the foreseeable future. Lee was home with Little Jack and Abby. The ladies ordered their food and mimosas before they got into more serious discussion.
"Rosie, how are rehearsals going? I can't believe we saw you just last weekend. It feels like forever." said Faith.
"Oh it has been wonderful so far. The cast is fully in sync and the show is already starting to come together. I think we really have something special here. It's exhausting and rewarding at the same time. Elizabeth, you remember what it's like. But once we get to that first preview in the theater and have a live audience there, it will all be worth it. There's just nothing like the adrenaline of a live performance. I'm so excited!"
"I remember all right and all I can say is, better you than me Rosie! This is truly your calling and I'm so happy that it's going well so far. I cannot wait to see the show." Elizabeth said as she reached over and squeezed Rosemary's arm.
"Same here! Carson and I are so excited for opening night." added Faith as she gave Rosemary a knowing glance.
"Maybe you'd like to invite a guest to opening night Elizabeth? You know you're welcome to."
"Good idea Rosie. Maybe I'll ask Julie as a thank you for all the support she's given me."
"Elizabeth…"
"Rosemary"
Faith finally interjected. "You and Nathan Grant seemed awfully comfortable with one another at the barbeque last week. Maybe you'd consider inviting him? He told Carson that he and Allie go to the theater a lot so it seems like something he'd enjoy."
Elizabeth was speechless as she shifted her gaze between her 2 friends.
"Are you both ganging up on me now?! 2 weeks ago I'd never even heard of Nathan Grant and now he suddenly seems to be everywhere I turn. What is happening to me?"
"Elizabeth, what are you talking about? There was our barbeque and then you just see him at your class. That's not everywhere."
Elizabeth sighed and felt the tears behind her eyes. She sipped her mimosa as Faith and Rosemary did the same. Faith passed around the bread basket and each lady grabbed a mini chocolate croissant. Rosemary put her hand on Elizabeth's arm.
"Sweetie, what's wrong? Please tell us."
"I can't seem to get Nathan out of my head. Ever since I've met him, I've felt this weird sensation around him and then when I'm not around him, I can't stop thinking about him. I know it has only been a couple weeks but, it feels like there is a connection there. It's hard to describe." Elizabeth took another deep breath as a single tear fell down her cheek and then continued.
"On Thursday after class, Nathan got stuck at the station with Gabe and couldn't pick up Allie on time. She was a bit distraught so I ended up inviting her home with me for pizza night. Nathan picked up the pizza and the 4 of us had a lovely evening together."
"Well I think that's wonderful and that calls for a toast." said Rosemary.
"I agree!" added Faith.
Rosemary and Faith held up their glasses until Elizabeth reluctantly did the same. The 3 friends toasted and drank some more.
"Elizabeth, this is great news. Isn't it?" asked Faith.
"I don't know. I'm so confused. I'm pretty sure the weird sensation I feel around him is the feeling of butterflies in my stomach. It's not even a crush. I feel some type of emotional connection to Nathan as if we've known each other for much longer than a couple weeks. I don't even recall feeling this way when I first started dating Jack and it's scaring me. I'm pretty sure it's somewhat mutual because he asked me out to dinner at the end of the night."
Rosemary cackled and clapped her hands together. "Elizabeth! This is wonderful news! You said yes, right?"
"I didn't answer him. So, he told me to take my time thinking about it."
"Such a gentleman. That's so sweet of him." said Faith.
"Well, what do you want to do?" asked Rosemary.
"I'd like to get to know him better. I know that much."
"Well then go!" squealed Rosemary.
Now Elizabeth had tears in her eyes.
"Jack hasn't even been gone 2 years. How could I feel this way about someone else so soon?"
The ladies ate their omelettes in silence for a few minutes. Faith and Rosemary were following Elizabeth's lead waiting to see if she wanted to add anything else. She didn't.
Faith spoke first. "Elizabeth, Jack wanted you to move on and be happy. You know that from his letter. I don't think there is a timeline for love. It just happens when the time is right so maybe the time is now right for you and Nathan. Look at Carson and I. It took us 3 years to start dating but I don't think we were ready before that. In your case, maybe you are just ready sooner than you might think. I know you just met but, Lee and Rosie know you both really well and I trust them when they say you'd make a great match. I think you trust them as well."
"Elizabeth, you owe it to yourself to explore these feelings and find out what this is. You know you'll regret it if you don't. And it could be just an infatuation but you won't know for sure unless you get to know Nathan a little better." added Rosemary.
They continued to eat while giving Elizabeth more time to process. Both Faith and Rosemary knew how hard this was for Elizabeth but they also didn't want her to lose out on potential happiness.
"He's a detective. What if I fall for him and something happens to him too? I don't want to go through that again."
Now Elizabeth was fully crying. Faith stood up and walked over behind Elizabeth's chair and hugged her from behind. At the same time, Rosemary reached over and hugged her from the side. They stayed that way silently for a few minutes until Elizabeth stopped. Faith went back to her seat and Rosemary straightened up in her seat.
"Thank you both. I love you so much. I don't know what I would do without you."
"We won't ever let you find out." said Rosemary. "Elizabeth, don't borrow trouble from tomorrow. Most police officers live long lives and have families. What happened to Jack was a terrible tragedy but, it's not the norm. Look at Gabe and Lillian. They're happy and have been for a long time. That can happen for you and Nathan too if he's the right one for you."
"You know Lillian and I talked about setting up a playdate for Jack and Spencer. Maybe I should do that."
"I think that's a wonderful idea! The boys can play and you can talk to Lillian about how she deals with Gabe being out on dangerous cases." said Faith.
Rosemary nodded in agreement. Elizabeth sighed again.
"I guess I do like Nathan somewhat and I don't want to hurt him. But I also don't know if I'm ready to fully commit to a date. I know my rings are off but I really started that because of Little Jack. The engagement ring was so big it was always in the way. And before I went back to teaching, I guess I saw it as time for a new chapter so I removed the wedding band as well. It didn't really hurt as much as I expected so I just kept it off."
"Maybe you could have another pizza night together with the kids or something like that? This way you're not rejecting him but also not moving forward just yet." suggested Faith.
"Hmmm. I kind of like that idea. I really do want to get to know Nathan better. I'll think about that."
"Fair enough Elizabeth. I think that's a good solution for now. And hopefully Nathan will be understanding about it too. Now Faith, how is Abby's favorite pediatrician?"
Elizabeth smiled as Faith talked about her pediatrics practice at the hospital. She was also Little Jack's doctor so Elizabeth enjoyed hearing about what was going on at the office. The 3 friends stayed a while longer and then headed home in the early afternoon.
Once Elizabeth got home, she smiled as she thought about Faith and Rosemary. She was truly grateful for both of them. Lee had texted Rosemary as they drove home and let Elizabeth know that Little Jack was still comfortably napping at the Coulter home. So she took some time for herself and thought back to the conversation at the restaurant. Then in a true lightbulb moment, it hit Elizabeth. She wasn't crying because of the pain of losing Jack. She was crying because of the thought of losing Nathan.