THE NEXT DAY
Elizabeth got up early, took a shower, and made breakfast all before Jack joined her.
"Morning, Elizabeth."
"Morning, babe. Don't forget you need to take me to work. Julie will bring me home."
"Yep. I'm ready."
"Aren't you hungry? I made you French toast and bacon."
"Well, I need to get to dispatch. I'll take it with me."
She put it in a Tupperware container and slipped it in his lunch box. Then she poured his coffee into his thermos and handed it to him.
"Hey, where's your smile?" he wondered.
"I don't know. I'm working on it."
He put his lunchbox down and stepped close to her. "I love you."
"I love you too."
He cupped her face in his hands and smiled. "I hope you have a good day." He kissed her slowly and pulled back when he felt tears on her face. "Sweetie, what is it?"
"Hormones? PMS I guess and I'm just not ready to be apart from you."
He nodded. "Me either, but we need to just do it. It will get easier eventually. In the mean time, I'll try to get up earlier so we can have breakfast together."
"Sounds good."
About fifteen minutes later, he pulled the new car up next to the school. "Bye, sweetie. Love you." She leaned over and kissed him.
"I love you too. See you tonight."
EMT DISPATCH, HUNTER CREEK
Jack sat in the break room and ate his French toast and drank his coffee. "Hey, Jack! Welcome back."
"Thanks Mike. It's good to be here."
"Is that your MDX out there? Nice!"
"Yeah, well, it's Elizabeth's."
"Congratulations, man. How's married life?"
"Good. Sometimes confusing, but good."
"What do you mean?"
"Just learning about her, what makes her happy or sad."
"Well, with Renee, certain times she would be overly emotional or distant. It only lasted a few days but she sometimes just needed a hug. Other times, she would need to talk. You'll figure it out."
"Thanks Mike." Jack knew it took a lot for Mike to talk about his late wife. She had died the year before of breast cancer and times had been hard.
"Oh, and flowers or chocolate were a godsend."
"Double fudge ice cream."
"Yeah, that'll do it."
AT LUNCHTIME
Jack picked up his phone at noon, knowing she would be at lunch. He touched her name and hit call.
"Hi, Jack."
"Hi, sweetheart. How is your day so far?"
"Ok. Getting back in the swing of things. We started a new project and the kids seem to like it."
"Oh? What is it?"
"They are writing their own book. It could be about their family or pets but it has to have words on every page and the words need to explain the pictures that they draw."
"That sounds fun."
"Yeah."
"Did you have plans for dinner tonight?"
"No. We need to grocery shop."
"I'll pick up dinner. You just set the table and light some candles."
"Ok."
"I'll see you tonight."
"Love you, Jack."
"Love you too."
THAT EVENING
Elizabeth put a few candles for the table and set the dishes and silverware. Then she went upstairs and slipped on a floral patterned sundress she bought in Aruba. She rubbed some coconut lotion on her arms and shoulders and smiled at her reflection. Her mood was better than earlier. Now she just missed Jack.
Her phone chimed. "Leaving 2 P/U food. Will b home soon."
"B careful, please."
"I will."
An hour later, he pulled into the driveway. She opened the door when she saw how many bags he had in his hands.
"Hi," she greeted.
"Hi. You said we needed groceries so I went there first." He kissed her as he walked past. "Mmm. You smell good."
"Thanks. Do you need help?"
"Nope, got it." He walked into the kitchen and set the bags down. "It looks nice in here." He picked up the bouquet of roses and handed them to her. "These are for you."
"They're beautiful. Thank you." He pulled things out of the bags and she began to notice a theme.
"Sweetie, there is a lot of chocolate here. Chocolate pie, kisses, double fudge ice cream, even chocolate bunnies."
"I thought…well.. You mentioned hormones and PMS…so I thought this might help."
She walked over to him and kissed him. "I'm so lucky. You are a wonderful husband." She kissed him again and then hugged him tight. "I love you, Jack. Thank you for trying to make me feel better."
"I also got General's Chicken and Sweet and Sour soup."
"Oh! Did you get egg rolls?"
"Of course I did!"
She helped him take the rest of the non-chocolate items out of the bag and chuckled. "You remembered the brand of tampons I use?"
"Well, no, I put it in my phone from last time."
"Did I mention that I love you?"
"Yes, you did. But I don't mind hearing it."
Dinner was perfect. Nothing like comfort food to make you feel better.
He put the leftovers away and suggested they go sit by the fire. They went upstairs and changed and then snuggled under a blanket on the couch. "Did I tell you Clara's having a boy?"
"No, that's great."
"It is but the doctor said that he has a hole in his heart so he'll have to have surgery after he's born."
"Oh, wow. That's scary."
"Yeah. Clara's taking it hard." She laid her head on Jack's shoulder.
"Did you call about physical therapy?"
"Yeah, I need to see the doctor on Friday to see when he wants me to start. It's been about 12 weeks so I probably will start next week."
"Honey, let's go take a bath."
"A bubble bath with candles and music?"
"Is there another kind?"
"Nope, just checking."
A WEEK LATER
Elizabeth stood in the bathroom staring at her birth control pills. She should have had a period in the past week but she didn't. Now she was nauseated. She hadn't missed a pill but she did take a few later than normal while in Aruba.
She pulled out her phone and texted Julie. "Hey."
"Hey, Beth."
"Um, can you run 2 the store 4 me?"
"Sure, what do u need?"
"A few pregnancy tests."
Her phone rang a second later. "Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"I thought you were on the pill."
"I am."
"Did you miss one?"
"No, there was a few days where I took it later than normal but I never missed one."
"Did you have a period?"
"No. I should have last week but…and now I'm nauseated."
"Ok, I'll get you some tests and I'll be right over."
"Thanks Jules."
She took her pill just in case she wasn't and got dressed. She was glad it was Saturday. She didn't want to have to wait all day at school to find out.
Jack was at work so Elizabeth felt more at ease with the situation.
Thirty minutes later, Julie walked in. "Ok, sis. Let's take one of these."
"I'm scared."
"I would be too."
"Thanks Jules. So helpful."
She read the instructions and opened the box, heading for the bathroom.
After she peed on the stick, she put the cap on and set her phone timer for ten minutes.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure."
Julie sat next to Elizabeth on the tub, waiting. "Don't you and Jack want kids?"
"Yeah, but we were going to wait for six months. This wasn't supposed to happen yet. It messes up our plans."
"What plans?"
"We were going to the Grand Canyon this summer for one. But we also want to make sure we are stable and settled before bringing a child into the house."
"First, you can go to the Grand Canyon if you're pregnant."
"Yeah." She leaned forward and covered her face with her hands.
"It's going to be fine. If you are pregnant, you and Jack will be the best parents. I've seen him with Elisa and you are a teacher to little kids. You both know what you're doing."
"I guess."
Her phone chimed, signaling the ten minute mark. "Want me to look?"
"Yes, please."
Julie walked out and compared the test with the box. "It has two lines. Beth, you're going to be a Mama."
"Oh gosh!" She burst into tears. Whether they were happy tears or frightened tears or what, she wasn't sure. She just knew she couldn't control them.
Julie put the test on the sink and wrapped her arms around her sister. "Shhh. It's ok. You are going to be such a great Mom."
"How am I going to tell Jack?"
"Just tell him. Maybe make him dinner and put on some lingerie."
"Julie, lingerie does not fix everything!"
"No, but it apparently has some magical powers in your case."
"Julie, this is not helping."
"Beth, just tell him. He will be happy after he passes out."
She hugged her sister and then made her leave, swearing her to secrecy.
Elizabeth took the other three tests that Julie brought over. All of them showing a positive result.
She stood up, gathered the tests, and went upstairs to the bedroom.
DINNERTIME
Jack walked in the house and smelled something good. "Babe! I'm home."
"Ok, I'm in the kitchen." She wore the ruffled pink ribbon, but she was not in only her underwear, much to Jack's dismay.
"Hey, beautiful."
"Hi." She turned and smiled, turning back around quickly so he didn't see her red puffy eyes from crying all afternoon.
"What's for dinner?"
"Chicken cordon bleu, cheesy mashed potatoes, asparagus with cream sauce, and Apple pie a la mode for dessert."
"Whoa. That sounds awesome. I'm going to go change."
"Ok." He walked away and she sighed, forcing her tears away.
When he came back down she had placed the food on the table, ready to be dished out. She poured them each a glass of water and then sat down.
"This looks so good. Thank you. You must have cooked all afternoon."
"In between all the crying," she thought to herself.
"Elizabeth? Why are your eyes all red and swollen? What's wrong?"
She shook her head, trying so hard not to cry anymore. She had a pounding headache. "I got some news…" she began.
"Is it your parents? Is one of them sick?"
"No. They're fine." The tears rolled down her face even at her insistence that they not. She stood up and dampened a clean towel, placing the cool rag on her face. It felt so good.
"Elizabeth, you're scaring me."
"I'm sorry." She took his hand and led him up the stairs to their room. She pulled out the tests from her drawer and looked down at them.
"What are those?"
She sniffed and held her hand out. "I took four of them thinking one of them must be wrong…but they all say the same thing."
"Elizabeth! Are these…are you saying that you're pregnant? How is that possible?"
"I looked it up and if I take a pill late or miss one, my body could start ovulating and then I could get pregnant. I only took two late. I didn't know. I didn't know." By the end of her sentence, the sobbing continued, more out of uncertainty of what he felt. He still hadn't said much.
He put the tests on the bed and held her against his chest, her crying hurting him more than anything. "Why are you upset, honey? I thought you wanted a baby."
"I did….I do want one…just this soon…I'm not sure…I was afraid you would be angry."
"It is soon, but the thought of you carrying my baby is wonderful. We made that little person inside of you." He pulled back and touched her flat tummy. "It's so amazing. I'm not angry at all. I'm very, very happy."
"Are you sure?" He dried her tears and kissed her deeply, wiping away all doubt.
"I guess you're sure," she said with a giggle.
"I am."
"What a relief." She wrapped her arms around him, her forehead buried in his neck. "I'm so tired." Jack bent down, removing her boot and then scooped her up and laid her on the bed, gently covering her with the comforter.
"Go to sleep, babe. We will eat later."
"You don't have to wait for me." He sat next to her, running his fingers through her hair and rubbing her back.
"I'll eat with you." He kissed her softly and smiled. "I love you, both of you, so much."
After about two minutes, she was asleep. He stayed for a few more minutes and then went downstairs to put the food away, sneaking a bite every now and then.
THE NEXT MORNING
Jack woke up to the sound of Elizabeth getting sick in the bathroom.
"Sweetheart?" he said through the door.
He cringed as she heaved again. He walked in, ran a washcloth under cold water, and sat on the floor, touching her face with the cloth. She laid down, her head in his lap. "Thank you."
"Do you need anything?"
"No." He ran his fingers through her hair and continued gently wiping her face with the cloth.
Jack pulled out his phone and googled morning sickness. "Babe, I'm going to make you some ginger tea."
"Why?"
"Because it says ginger will settle your stomach."
"What says?"
"Google. Well, WebMd. It also says it may be helpful to keep crackers by the bed so you can eat a few before you get out of bed."
She smiled and squeezed his hand. "I'll keep that in mind."
After a while, she sat up and leaned against his shoulder. "Honey, I'm on call starting tomorrow."
"Ok."
"I'm going to see if Julie will come stay with you for the week." Elizabeth sighed. "Is that ok?"
"Of course. I'll be ok though. She doesn't have to come."
"She needs to drive you to work, right?"
Her intention was to work and her first physical therapy appointment was the next day as well. She also needed to call Dr. Brocker for her first prenatal appointment. The more she made lists, the more she got overwhelmed. "Yes, Julie is a good idea."