End of September

"Twins?!" Mike said as the ultrasound tech was rubbing the wand over Julie's rounded tummy. "Oh my goodness."

Julie was entranced. She could see the two heartbeats. It was amazing to see the lives moving and growing inside of her that she and Mike had created. She couldn't wait to feel them move and kick. She looked over at Mike and saw his tears. "Oh, babe. Come here." She raised her arm for him to come closer. "Are you ok?"

"I can't believe it. Two babies." He kissed her and then buried his face in her neck. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

He had no idea how they would afford two babies, but he was so happy about it he couldn't believe it.

The rest of the day his mind was racing. They needed two of everything and there was never enough money. Then it hit him. "Babe, I have an idea."

"About what?"

"I think I should stay home with the babies. I mean, I'll still work night shifts but I can be with them during the day. We will save so much money not having them in day care. Plus, since you are the one with insurance, you kind of have to keep your job, right?"

"Yes. I think that is a great idea. Yes, I need to work for sure."

"You know, we are going to need two of everything."

"We will. I have a plan."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I had a hope that we would end up pregnant right away so I began setting aside money before we got married. Every paycheck I would put money into a savings. We have two thousand dollars. It's a start and we can buy things at the thrift store in Bozeman. You can find stuff that's like new. This will work, Mike. You don't need to worry."

…..

Fin decided she didn't want to nurse anymore. She drank the stored milk that Elizabeth had pumped just fine out of a bottle though. She also loved her sweet potatoes and carrots and cereal so Elizabeth was ok with the whole thing.

Elizabeth came downstairs one morning and Jack was making breakfast. "Eggs, sweetheart?"

"Only if it comes with toast and some of that bacon too," she said as she bent down to kiss the top of Fin's light brown curls. "Morning, Finny."

"Mama!" she said, grinning and showing her dimples and her six teeth. She picked up a piece of egg with her index finger and thumb to show her.

"Oh! Daddy made you eggs?" Fin nodded and tried to feed herself but she wasn't quite coordinated enough. Elizabeth picked up the piece and held it up to her mouth. She opened her mouth like a little bird causing Elizabeth to smile. "How did we get blessed with such an adorable child?"

"Well, she looks just like you, babe, so that explains it perfectly." He set her plate full of eggs, toast, fruit, and bacon down in front of her and kissed her smiling lips. "Eat up. Baby Thornton number 2 needs some extra nourishment."

"Yes, dear."

Halfway through Elizabeth's breakfast, Fin decided she was done with her eggs and started throwing them on the floor and watching them drop. "Fin, no, no, " Jack gently told her as he cleaned the rest of her tray and wiped up the floor.

Elizabeth wiped her face and then made her a bottle. She drank half and fell asleep in her arms.

"Well, hon. I need to get to work. Pete and I will be in the back pasture fixing fences most of the day."

"Oh, does that mean you're going to wear my favorite jeans?" she asked, a twinkle in her eye.

"Which ones are your favorites?"

"The dark ones that hug you….mmm. Perfectly." He chuckled at her description and the hand gesture that accompanied it.

"I think that's doable."

"Great. I'm going to put Fin in her crib and start laundry. Make sure you come see me before you leave, cowboy."

"It's been awhile since you called me that." He kissed her cheek and smiled and then watched as she walked up the stairs. Definitely one hot mama.

Ten minutes later, Jack found her in the laundry room. "Ok, I'm going. I have my phone but if you need me and can't get me, I'll have my radio too."

"Ok." She shut the lid to the washer and walked over to him, as close as her tummy allowed. "Nice jeans." She slipped her fingers in his back pockets and smiled.

"Nice t-shirt," he said as he kissed her neck. His Hunter Creek Emergency t-shirt never looked as good on anyone else, that was for sure. His fingers toyed with the edge as his phone beeped.

"Duty calls?"

"Mmm. Yeah." He kissed her a few more times and then forced himself to leave. "See you at supper?"

She patted his rear and smiled. "See you then."

That interaction kept a smile on her face the rest of the morning.

…..

"How's Zane doing?" Jack asked Pete.

"Good. Took his first steps just yesterday."

"Wow, I can't believe he's a year old already."

"Just over and me either. The doctor says he's doing well. His height and weight are good too."

"Good to hear, bro."

"How's Fin? We need to get together for dinner. One last barbecue or something."

"Fin is great too and I think that's a great idea. How about tonight? I'll run it past Elizabeth."

"And I'll run it past Clara."

What the husbands didn't know was Elizabeth had the same idea. She picked up her phone and called Clara.

"Hey, Beth."

"Hey, Clara. How are you and Zane this beautiful day?"

"Ok."

"Just ok?"

"Yeah. Just lonely I guess. Staying home with a rambunctious one year old gets tiring. Sometimes I just need adult conversation, you know?"

"Yes. I absolutely know that. Which is why I called. Why don't you and Zane come over for lunch? I bet he and Fin would have fun and you and I can catch up. It's been a long time."

"Oh, that's a wonderful idea," Clara told her. Elizabeth heard a sniffle.

"Clara, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Can we come now?"

"Of course you can."

Elizabeth fed Fin her bottle and dressed and then went to the porch swing to wait for Clara. "Finny! Zane and Aunt Clara are coming to visit. Isn't that exciting?" Elizabeth moved the swing with her foot and smiled at Fin. "Well, I think it is."

"Mmmumum."

"Really?"

Fin's babble as the swing moved, mixed with the birds and other outside noises relaxed Elizabeth. This was a perfect moment, especially when the babe inside her fluttered too. "Oh…I felt the baby, Finny." She touched her tummy and waited for it again.

"Beth?"

Elizabeth looked up. She hadn't even heard Clara drive up. She'd been paying attention to her baby's movement. "Clara, hi!" Clara burst into tears the moment Elizabeth greeted her. "Oh! Come inside, we can talk."

Elizabeth got the kids settled in the living room play area and then she and Clara sat on the couch. "Clara, what's going on? Is it Zane? Did the doctor say something was wrong?"

"No. He's healthy." She wiped her eyes and sniffed.

"What is then?"

"I don't know. I am so emotional lately. I'm not sure why and I think Pete is freaked out. He doesn't know what to do with me. I don't know what to do with myself."

"Mama?" Zane crawled over and used the couch to stand on his chubby little legs.

"Hi, Z."

He grinned up at her and then patted her knee. Clara couldn't help but smile back. He filled her heart with love.

"Clara, have you had much of an appetite lately?"

"Yeah, I've been eating like a horse."

Elizabeth chuckled. "Me too. When was your last period?"

Clara stared at her. Then she thought back….and back….and back. "Oh. I think it's been…oh." She covered her mouth and cried. "Do you think?"

"It's possible. Happened to me," Elizabeth said, her hand on her tummy.

"You're pregnant?"

"Yeah. And Julie."

"Wow, what's in the water around here?"

…..

Back in the fields…

"I don't know, man. She cries all the time. Over everything. I don't know what to do," Pete told him.

"Has she seen a doctor?"

"No, I mean, she seems healthy."

"Just be there for her. Have you guys been out lately? Just the two of you?"

"No. With Zane and everything…we just don't go out."

"Tell you what, maybe she needs that. Elizabeth and I have date night, almost every week. We sometimes stay in and just make dinner, but we do it alone. Someone watches Fin for a few hours and we just enjoy being by ourselves. It's so necessary to stay connected. Why don't you plan something and let us know so we can watch Zane for the night."

"Oh, I couldn't ask…"

"You're not. I'm offering. Seriously, Pete. This could make all the difference."

The more Pete thought about it, he realized Jack was right. They hadn't made themselves a priority. As they worked, he planned the night in his head. They were definitely going out. Clara was stuck in the house a lot. She used to love getting dressed up and going to dinner.

…..

As the babies slept in Fin's crib, Elizabeth gave Clara one of her extra pregnancy tests.

"Just take it, to be sure. I'll wait out here," she assured her. Ten minutes later, Clara emerged, the test in her hand. "So?"

"It's positive." Elizabeth hurried over and hugged her.

"Congratulations," she said quietly. She couldn't tell if Clara was happy so she didn't want to get too excited. "Now you know. Now you can tell Pete."

Clara's phone beeped. "It's him. He wants us to go out tomorrow night. He says Jack offered to watch Zane here."

"That sounds nice."

"We never go out. I honestly can't remember the last time we were out alone."

"This will be fun then!"

"I don't have anything to wear. I've been gaining weight and I never go anywhere so I just wear t-shirts and sweatpants. I can't go out in t-shirts and sweatpants."

"I have an idea." She pulled Clara gently by the hand to her closet. She had a stretchy wrap dress that would fit her perfectly. It was her favorite as she moved along in Fin's pregnancy and as she lost weight from it.

"Oh, I cant."

"You absolutely can. Try it on." She handed her the dress and nudged her to the bathroom.

About five minutes later, Elizabeth knocked on the door. "You ok?"

"Come in." Clara stood looking at herself in the mirror. "I hardly recognize myself."

"You look great."

Clara turned to the side, trying to smooth out her body. "I'm…"

"Pregnant, sweetie. You look beautiful and Pete is going to think so too."

After Clara changed, Elizabeth grabbed the baby monitor, took her back out to the porch swing, and they painted their nails, enjoying the breezes. "I can't believe this is happening."

"I had the same reaction. I mean, at first, I didn't want to be pregnant yet. My plans were to teach at least another year before getting pregnant again. Then I was overwhelmed because Fin is young and two babies in diapers is a lot. After the doc confirmed though, I let myself think about it. I've always wanted a bunch of kids and Jack too. And he was excited so I let myself feel the same way."

"We wanted a brother or sister for Zane too. Neither of us had siblings, so we know how lonely it can be. I just didn't think it would happen yet."

"When will you tell him?"

"On our date, I guess. Maybe I'll let Charlotte watch Zane tomorrow and I'll go get my hair done."

"That will be nice for you. You deserve a little pampering."

"Thank you, Beth!" The women hugged and laughed and cried the rest of the day. They played with the babies and drank tea and enjoyed themselves.

…..

The couples barbecued that night and enjoyed a movie once the kids were asleep. It had been fun and they agreed that they should do it more often.

On his drive home alone, Pete thought about his and Clara's date the next night. He was really looking forward to it. Jack even gave him the afternoon off. Pete planned on heading out about mid afternoon to buy her white roses, her favorite.

Clara also thought about their date on her drive. She was a bit nervous but excited too. Getting her hair done was not something she had done since before Zane was born. She smiled at his deep sigh from the back seat. The little guy loved rides in cars and he always fell asleep.

All of the sudden, Clara saw Pete slam on his brakes in front of her and fight not to swerve and then she saw his truck roll into the ditch.

"Oh my God!" she screamed as she stopped her own car and dialed 911.

"911, what's your emergency?"