Wednesday
Beth took Jack's hand as they walked into the doctor's office. He was looking quite handsome in his uniform and she was proud to be with him.
The nurse at the front desk smiled as they walked up. "Good morning. What can I do for you?"
"Elizabeth Thornton. I have a nine o'clock appointment."
"Nice to meet you. Who is with you today?"
"Jack Thornton, my husband."
"Very good. If you would like to have a seat, the doctor will be right with you."
A few moments later, a different nurse opened the door. "Elizabeth?" She stood and looked at Jack.
"Can my husband come too?"
"Yes, of course."
Jack stood and placed his hand on her back as they walked.
"Elizabeth, the first thing we will do is a blood test to confirm pregnancy. So have a seat here," she told her, pointing to a chair. Beth sat down and rolled up her sleeve.
After the blood test, she took them to an examination room to wait. "Have a seat up on the table and the doctor will be right in."
Jack sat in a chair by the table. "Nervous, Beth?"
"No, mostly excited. I have some questions and I can't wait for everything."
About five minutes later, a nice looking middle aged woman in a white coat and stethoscope walked in.
"Good morning folks. My name is Dr. Molly Sullivan. How are you both doing?"
"Good," Beth told her.
"So we took some blood to confirm pregnancy but I'd like to ask some questions too. First, Elizabeth?"
"You can call me Beth."
"Ok, Beth. When was your last period?"
"It started January 16th."
"Ok, and was it normal or did it seem short or less painful than normal?"
"It seemed pretty normal."
"Do you have an history of preeclampsia or hypertension in previous pregnancies or in your family history?"
"My sister had hypertension and they put her on bedrest."
"How early?"
"The last six weeks. She delivered two weeks early though."
Dr. Sullivan asked more questions and did a few examinations. "The blood test did confirm pregnancy and based on your last period, I'd say you are about 11 weeks along."
Beth squeezed Jack's hand and looked in his eyes. He was happy.
"How long have you been married?"
"It was a year in December."
"Ah, newlyweds. Congratulations."
"Thank you."
"I have a few more things to go over with you and then we will get you set up in our ultrasound room."
….
"So here is your baby." The tech pointed at a peanut shaped thing on the screen. And that little blip is the heartbeat."
"How big is it?"
"Mm. At eleven weeks, it's about the size of a lime."
Jack wiped his eyes. Seeing the baby on the screen was amazing. That life that he and Beth had created was moving around and living inside there.
He stood and kissed Beth. "I love you so much." She was crying too.
"I love you too."
They could stare at the screen all day but they knew they really couldn't. "Would you like a picture of your baby to take with you?"
"Yes," they said in unison.
After setting up their next appointment, they walked out to the parking lot. As they stood next to the Jeep, Jack put his hands on her hips and kissed her forehead. "You gonna be ok today?"
"Yes. I will. I'm going to go relieve your parents and then I'm going to take a nap."
"Sounds good. Text me if you need anything."
"I will." She touched her lips to his and smiled. "Thank you for coming with me today."
"There's no place else I'd rather be."
….
A few days later, Beth surprised Jack at lunch. She walked in the station and stopped at the desk.
"Can I help you?" the middle aged secretary asked.
"Yes. I came to see my husband. I think he's about to go on lunch."
"Is your husband Deputy Thornton?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Ok. He's in his office. I'll take you to him."
"Thank you."
A moment later, the secretary knocked on a door. "Deputy? You have a visitor."
Jack looked up from his computer. "Honey? What a nice surprise. Are you ok?"
"Yes. I just thought we could eat lunch together. I made us dessert too."
"Of course. Carol, this is my wife, Beth. Beth this is Carol."
"Its nice to meet you, Beth. Have a great lunch."
On their way outside, Jack introduced her to his boss and then let them know he would be at lunch.
They walked to the picnic table under the big oak. "This is beautiful, Jack. So relaxing."
"Yeah. I try to get out here every day."
Jack watched her take a container of brownies out of the bag she carried along with her fruit and a sandwich.
Jack grabbed her hand. "I'm glad you're here. I missed you."
"I missed you too." He bent down slightly and kissed her, ignoring the fact that they were completely visible to Main St. and those inside the lunchroom. "Do you work tomorrow, Jack?"
"No. I have tomorrow off." They sat down and unwrapped their lunches.
"I thought we could go to Hope Valley and the lake. I really miss our summers there."
"Sure. That would be fun."
"Oh, and Tom needs you to go find a suit for the wedding and get fitted in the next few weeks.
"I can wear my suit from our wedding. That way we don't have to buy a new one."
"I think that would work but you'll need to ask him. Julie asked me to be her Matron of Honor. By the end of June I'll be showing quite a bit so I may need a new dress."
Beth was showing now, but it was still hidden by a t-shirt or looser top.
She could see he was worrying about money, even though they were perfectly fine. "I'm going to check with the elementary school here to see if they need anyone to tutor this summer. That might bring a bit of income for us."
"Honey, we'll be ok. You don't need to work, especially pregnant."
"Jack, I would love to put my degree to use in some way. I won't work too much."
He met her eyes and eventually nodded. "If you want to."
"I do. Maybe you'll be a little less stressed."
"Maybe."
She grabbed his hand. "I love you." She was trying to coax a smile from him. She missed his dimples.
His expression softened and he smiled briefly. "I love you too."
By the end of the lunch hour, he was back to his usual self and that made Beth happy too. She stood and packed everything. "I'll leave the brownies with you."
"Ok."
"Otherwise I'll eat them all myself." He walked around the table and pulled her into his arms. He tucked a curl behind her ear.
"Thank you for coming, sweetie."
"You're welcome."
He kissed her briefly and then watched her walk around the side of the building, immediately missing her.
He pulled out his phone and texted. "I miss u already."
"Miss u 2. C U soon, babe."
….
Later that evening…
Beth changed into a black nightie she had bought a few months before for their Jamaica trip. He liked it then, but he didn't seem to notice it now. She looked down, noticing her small baby bump and smiled.
"Jack?" He stared at his phone and didn't look up. "Earth to husband."
"Hm?"
"Will you at least put your phone down and stop ignoring me? I know I don't look as good as I did a few months back but I'm trying here."
He put his phone face down on the table next to the bed and looked up. She saw a look of appreciation in his eye before he looked at his hands.
"Does it look that bad?" The nightie was short and he had mentioned how long her legs looked in it.
"Of course not. You look amazing."
"Why won't you look at me?"
"I'm trying not to be tempted."
"I'm trying to tempt you. It doesn't usually take much." She sat on the bed next to him. "Babe, I know it's been awhile because I was sick and then moving, and your job. I'm sorry if you felt neglected."
"Its fine, I understand. I've been distracted too."
"Can you maybe let me distract you now?"
"I don't know if that's a good idea."
"Why not?"
"I mean, the doctor didn't say we could….what if we aren't supposed to?"
"Two things. One, the doc was well aware that we are newly married. Two, remember when I pulled her aside when you stepped out of the room?"
"Yeah."
"I asked her if it was safe. She told me yes. So there is no reason to be nervous or scared or to try to not be tempted."
"Oh, thank goodness!" He grabbed her gently and rolled her over him so she ended up on her side of the bed which made her laugh.
"Maybe throwing me over on the bed isn't the best idea though."
"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't mean…" She touched his lips with her fingers.
"Babe, I was kidding. Relax a bit." He just stared for a moment and then smiled.
"Just in case I didn't make it clear, this nightgown thingy is perfect and you are so gorgeous in it." She loved that he called it a nightgown thingy.
"You're adorable. Now are you going to kiss me anytime soon or do I need to convince you a bit more?"
….
The next day, they left around nine after taking their time getting ready, and drove the hour to Hope Valley to spend time with his parents and the beach.
They knocked on the lake house door. "Jack, Beth! It's great to see you. Come in," Charlotte told them.
"Hi, Ma. It's good to see you." After hugs for everyone, Jack and Beth headed to the basement to change for the beach. Beth was already wearing her bikini but she felt pretty self-conscious about wearing it now that she was showing.
"Babe, why the t-shirt?"
"Because I don't feel comfortable without it."
"Its just me, Beth. I think you look beautiful." He lifted the hem of her shirt and stroked her soft skin with his thumbs. "This is amazing, right? Our little boy or girl is in there. I love seeing you change."
She hugged him and held on tight. "Thank you, Jack."
"I mean it. You'll always be beautiful to me."
She kissed him and grabbed his hand, leaving the shirt. "Let's get the tubes."
….
They laid back, linked at the fingers, letting the sun warm their skin. "Oh, I missed this," she said quietly.
"Me too. Hey, we should go to the lookout later."
It had been almost two years since they went there last, when he proposed. "Sounds good. We should take lunch up there."
Jack let go of her hand and jumped into the water, disappearing from her sight. Then he popped up next to her, splashing her. "Hey!" She splashed him back.
"Join me." His tone caught her attention.
"What if I don't want to?"
"Please? You don't want to get too hot."
He was right. She slipped off the tube and went under, cooling herself off.
"There, happy?"
He grabbed her and pulled her legs around his waist. "Now I am."
….
Charlotte watched them from the sliding door. "Char? What are you doing?" Tom asked.
"Watching them. Wishing."
"Wishing what?"
"Well, I guess I was remembering when I was that age."
"And wishing you were again?"
"I don't know. To be 22 and in love, hardly a care in the world."
"Char," he said, grabbing her hand. "Give them some privacy and come talk to me." They sat on the couch. "What's going on?"
"Nothing really."
"You know I love you, right? Do I need to tell you that more? I'm sorry if I made you doubt it."
"Tom, of course I know you love me. I love you too."
"Maybe we should go on a date. Its been a while."
"I would love that."
"Good. Just so you know, you are just as beautiful after 25 years of marriage as you were when I met you."
…..
27 years before, Hope Valley
Charlotte was twenty two years old and just finishing her senior year at Hope Valley Community college when she met Tom. He was a year older, and a police officer for the county and the most handsome man she had ever seen.
She was a tall young woman, always taller than her classmates. So the thing that caught her attention about Tom first was how tall he was. A good three inches taller than her. She saw him across the street in his uniform, which was the second thing she noticed.
She almost decided to commit some sort of minor infraction so he would notice her, but she decided not to.
What she didn't know was he had noticed her. He had noticed her for weeks around town with her girlfriends and he never got up enough guts to approach her.
Until one day, he saw her walk into the grocery store from his desk at the station. He told his boss he was taking lunch, even though it was only ten am and he ran across the street and into the store. He found her in the vegetable aisle, sniffing and touching all the mangos. He found it funny and yet fascinating.
He walked over and picked one up. "If you don't mind me asking," he began. "How do you know what you're looking for?"
She turned and looked up at him and instantly loved his eyes. Green, almost hazel, with tiny gold flecks. She held up one of the ripe ones from her cart. "Smell this."
"It smells sweet."
"Yeah, now what about this one?" she held up one of the ones still in the pile.
"Not as sweet."
"Right. And if you squeeze them gently, the ripe ones are softer."
He gave the two a gentle squeeze and smiled.
"Good heavens, his dimples, his eyes, he's tall, and wears a uniform. How can this man possibly be single?" she thought to herself.
"Your wife never taught you how to pick out fruit?" she asked, trying to sound innocent.
He chuckled. "I'm not married. My mom didn't teach me either." Their eyes met and their gazes held for a long moment. "I'm Tom Thornton."
"Charlotte Alber."
"Well, Charlotte Alber, would you join me for breakfast tomorrow or do I need to worry about what your husband might think?"
She smiled at him. "No husband. Yes, breakfast sounds good."
…..
Present day….
"Have I ever told you that I fell in love with you that day?" she wondered as he slipped his arm around her shoulders.
"Yeah. The feeling was mutual and I've felt that rush every single day since."
She touched his cheek and smiled when she was rewarded with his dimples. So had she.