A Fresh Start
Chapter Two Hundred Seventy One
Shortly before noon, Billy sticks his head into Josh's office. "Hey, you busy tonight?"
"No, why?" Josh asks, looking up from his work.
"I thought we could go look for the ring."
"Sure, what time do you want to meet?"
"Umm, I was going to make the reservation for Towers at six thirty. Is that okay?"
"That's fine. How are things going?"
"Everything's fine, how are things here?"
"So far everything is okay, but I might have to replace a few personal."
"Okay. I've got to get to a job site, but I'll see you at Towers."
"I'll be there." Josh says, as Billy nods and then turns to go.
Josh went on working, finishing up on meeting with key heads for Lewis Oil. He was right that some of the personal would have to be switched out. A few of the executives were reluctant to follow his instructions, simply because they were still loyal to Spaulding and the way Spaulding did business. Packing up for the afternoon, he walks out of his office. He was so used to telling Wanda he was living that he opens his mouth to tell and then realizes that he doesn't have a personal assistant yet. As he's leaving he places a call to HR to request that they fill the position as soon as possible. It's not that he minds answering the phone but he was interrupted a lot today with requests that could've been handled by an assistant. Leaving, he locks up the office.
Reva is waiting for him when he gets home. Getting out of the car, he smiles when he sees her standing in the doorway. "I wasn't expecting you home." He says, as he walks up the front walk.
"I wanted to see how things went today." Reva asks, holding the door open.
"Everything went fine." Josh says, walking into the house. He gives her a quick kiss before she closes the door and he puts his briefcase down. Shrugging out of his coat, he hangs it up and then walks into the kitchen.
"There was no resistance to you being there."
"Maybe a little from some of the hard core Spaulding executives. And I will likely have to replace them." Josh says, opening the refrigerator. He normally would reach for a beer but this time he takes a soda instead.
"What do you want for dinner?"
"Actually Billy stopped by today, he wants to go look at rings after we have dinner at Towers."
"Oh okay, when is the reservation?"
"Umm, six thirty." Josh says, after popping the top on his soda and taking a drink.
Reva glances at the clock. "Then you need to get changed."
"Yeah." Josh replies, headed for the stairs.
When Josh comes back downstairs, Reva asks. "Do you know what your going to do about the executives loyal to Spaulding?"
"I was thinking I would approach the guys that were working in their divisions before we let Spaulding take control."
"What departments?"
"Legal, Research and Development and Project control." Josh says, walking into the bathroom.
"So you're talking about Luke, Robert and Eric."
"Yes, why?"
"It's just that I don't think Eric is going to be available."
"Why do you say that?"
"I meant to mention this before but we've been busy. Eric's wife sent us a Christmas card and she happened to mention that Eric's cancer is back."
"It's back! What are they doing for health insurance?"
"She didn't say."
"Did she say anything about what the doctors are saying?"
"No, she just mentioned that he's out of remission and asked for our prayers."
"What about the kids?"
"She didn't say anything about that either."
"Okay, so he won't be up to coming back to head the Legal department." Josh says, going into the living room.
"I doubt it. But there's someone else you could asks, if you're open to it." Reva says, as Josh looks at her. "I was thinking about Jeffrey."
"Jeffrey. He's a criminal attorney."
"I'm sure he knows something about contracts and really he wouldn't actually be negotiating the contract."
"I don't know. I can ask him but he's still Mayor and I really need someone to take the department over now."
"He's only going to be in office for a few more months. You can wait on making the changes for the Legal department until after the election. And in the mean time you can talk to him about it."
"I suppose." Josh says, looking at the clock. "I need to go. Are you okay to…?"
"I'm fine. I'll fix me something to eat and then catch up on my recorded shows. Go help Billy find that girl the perfect ring." Reva says, as Josh walks over to her, leaning in he gives her a quick kiss.
"I love you and I'll be home before ten most likely."
"I love you too, now go." She says, following him to the door. They kiss quickly again and then he leaves.
Billy is already at Towers when Josh arrives. "May I help you?" The host asks, as Josh walks up.
"I'm meeting my brother here, Billy Lewis."
"Ah yes, Mr. Lewis has already arrived. If you will follow me I'll take you to his table." The host says, turning away from the stand.
Josh walks around and follows the man to Billy's table. "Thank you." Josh says, pulling out the chair that's across from Billy. The host nods before he turns to go. "Sorry, I'm a little late."
"I just got here." Billy says, as their waiter walks up.
"Welcome to Towers, I will be your server tonight." The young man says, handing each of them a menu. "Do you need a moment for your drink order?"
"Umm, I'll have ice tea." Billy says, as the young man nods.
"I'll have the same." Josh says and the young man nods
"I'll have those drinks out to you immediately." Their waiter says as both of them nod. The waiter leaves.
"So, how did it go?" Billy asks, as Josh settles back.
"Fairly good, As I told you earlier I'm going to have to release a few of the executives."
"What departments?" Billy asks, as their waiter approaches with their tea.
Sitting it down in front of them, he asks. "Are you both ready to order or do you need a few more moments.
"We'll both have the steaks." Billy says, as Josh nods. "Both medium rare, the house salad and bake potato." Billy says, as Josh nods again.
"Very good sir, I'll give this to the kitchen and we will have your meals out shortly.
"Thank you." Billy says, as he and Josh both give him their menus and he leaves.
"I'll need to replace the executives in Legal, Research and Development and Project Control." Josh says, after their waiter is gone.
"Any ideas on how you're going to do that?"
"Well, I was thinking about offering it to the guys that worked those departments before and I can do that for R&D and Project Control, but Reva told me that Eric's cancer is back."
"Seriously."
"Yes, apparently Lacey sent us a Christmas card this year and Reva meant to mention it but she forgot because we've been so busy."
"Did Lacey say what the doctor's have said?"
"No, she only said that he was out of remission and she asked for our prayers. Reva mentioned offering the position to Jeffrey." Josh says, as Billy looks at him.
"Are you comfortable with that?"
"Of course, he's a brilliant attorney. He kept Marah from being charged with the Caruthers's…."
"He recused himself from that case."
"Still he helped Marah when he could, along with Jonathan and Tammy."
"I'm not sure if contractual and criminal law are the same. He may not be qualified to be head of that department."
"Reva said that she thought he would know something about contracts but that he wouldn't actually be negotiating the contracts. And I think that Marah had him go over the contract that was offered to her for that deal in Paris."
"You could approach him. But about the Mayor's office."
"He'll only be the mayor for a few more months and until the election I'll have to deal with the Spaulding executives." Josh says, as their waiter comes back with their meals and they settle in to eat.
After finishing their meal, Billy pays for their dinner and they leave. "So, where do you want to try first?" Josh asks.
"I'm not really sure. I suppose we can try the jewelry stores in the mall and then go from there."
"That's fine, but I think we should drop my car off first." Josh says, as Billy nods.
They leave, and Billy follows Josh over to Cross Creek. Reva comes to the door when they pull up and waves when she sees Josh getting out of his car and walking over to Billy's truck. A few moments later, they leave for the mall.
Richard is in his office when Amelia buzzes him. "Sir, you have a call on line one."
"Thank you Amelia." Richard says, picking up the phone and pushing the button to connect the calls. "This is Richard Winslow, how may I help you?"
"Richard, it's Noah. I know it's been a while since you asked me to look into that account you set up for Cassie and the kids."
"I was expecting that it might take a bit of time. Have you found out anything?"
"I spoke with the agent heading the inquiry just a few moments ago, that's why I'm calling. He reviewed all of the information and it looks like the money was transferred into that account from Danny Santo's private account. It has no connection to the Santos business account or his mob ties."
"So the money is clean?'
"Yes, from what he could tell is that Danny had some investments that he made with his own personal cash. He took those investments and transferred them to Cassie shortly after she repaid the money she owed to him and his other associates."
"Alright, I'm glad to know it's safe to use that account."
"Do you have plans for this money?" Noah asks, sitting back in his chair.
"Actually I do, I decided to invest in Marah's new fashion house."
"Marah's opening a fashion house. But you know nothing about fashion and designing clothes."
"That's why I'm a silent partner. I'm providing the financial backing for the house and Marah has control of the design and day to day working of the house."
"Why didn't she just apply for a loan?"
"She did, but was turned down by Springfield National."
"Ah, Alan, okay. How is everyone in Springfield?"
"If you mean Reva, she's fine. So are Cassie and the boys."
"I wasn't asking about…."
"I know I've been in a coma for five years, but I know how much you cared about her. I know you bowed out because you knew that she would always be in love with Josh. I commend you for that. But you still love her." Richard says, Noah doesn't reply.
Sighing, Noah replies. "I suppose I'm happy that she's happy. And I'm glad that Cassie and the boys are okay as well. How are Jeffrey and Sam?"
"They're doing quite well. Sam had a tough time after Christmas but I think she's doing better now?"
"What happened?"
"She had a run in with her brother. He attempted to kidnap her. He actually attempted a couple times but then he was arrested on separate charges."
"Jeffrey called me and asked me to arrange for an agent to be her body guard. I thought things were going okay with that."
"I'm sure the agent did everything he could to protect Sam. It's just that Sam's brother escaped police custody by faking an illness and then he went to their house while Sam wasn't there. And somehow, I'm not sure how Sam came back and she confronted him in there house with Jeffrey there. Apparently her brother had a gun on Jeffrey and I'm not sure of all the details but in the course of everything, Sam ended up shooting and killing her brother."
"Oh, is she okay?"
"Like I said, she was messed for a bit after Christmas, but I think Jeffrey was able to get her help and she's doing a lot better now. She looked really happy just the other night when I saw them at my fundraiser."
"How is the campaign going?"
"It's progressing. I need to find a campaign manager."
"I thought you had one?"
"I fired him after I found out that he was digging into Cassie's background. I'm not going to put her through that again."
"Richard I think that standard procedure to investigate the candidate's pasts."
"I know it is for the opposition but not the candidate you're working for. I'm not putting her through that again."
"You know…."
"I know that could bring it up, but I'll quit the election before I let the press hound her about something she's already explain and in a very public way."
"I remember. Alright, so what are you going to do about a campaign manager?"
"I don't know. But right now I have to earn the salary the City of Springfield is paying me."
"I've got things I need to be working on as well. We should get together again."
"We should but for the next few months, I'm not going to be able to leave here."
"I understand, we'll work something out. It was good talking to you."
"You too, take care and thank you for looking into this matter with the money."
"You're welcome. I'll talk to you soon."
"Yeah, we'll talk soon." They hang up and Richard gets up to meet his next appointment.
Shortly after five thirty, William comes in. He puts his briefcase on the table by the door. Shrugging out of his coat, he hangs it in the closet by the door. Closing the door, he calls out. "Ava, I'm home." Glancing into the kitchen, he realizes that she's not in there and that Emma isn't in the living room watching TV. He walks over to Emma's room and glances inside. She's not in her room either. Turning around, he look back across the loft and realizes that neither of them are in the small sitting area behind the dining room table. Pulling on his tie, he heads upstairs. As he walks into their room, he calls again "Ava, are you here?" He still doesn't get a reply. He glances into the closet but he doesn't find her there. So he continues into the bathroom. As soon as he walks in, he finds her in the bathtub and he stops. Watching her, he smiles when he realizes that's she's fallen asleep in the tub.
As he unbuttons the top button on his shirt, he walks over to the tub. He kneels down beside the tub before he reaches out and gently touches her shoulder. She jumps when she comes awake. Sitting up, she looks around. Spotting him, he sees the panic in her eyes for a split second before she realizes who is beside her. "What are you doing?" She asks, after taking a deep breath.
"I just go home." He says, moving to get up.
She looks around and then realizes that the water that was quite warm when she got in the tub has cooled quite a bit. She sits up and tries to reach the plug. Getting up, he reaching into the water and pulls it for her. "Thank you." She says, as he turns to help her get out of the tub.
"You're welcome. Where is Emma?"
"She's at Richard and Cassie's. I ran into them at school. And they both wanted to go to Cassie's. And Cassie thought that we would probably like to have a few hours by ourselves. She said she would bring Emma back when she and Richard come into town for dinner."
"So, we've got a few hours to ourselves." He says with a smile as he slowly moves his eyes over her body.
"As much as I would really liked to do that, it's become a little hard to find a position that works." Ava says, walking into his embrace.
"I know." He says, wrapping his arms around her. "But that doesn't mean that I don't want you any less, okay."
"I know." She says, leaning up to kiss him. When she pulls back a few moments later, she asks. "Are you hungry?"
"Yes, but why don't we order in."
"What were you thinking?"
"Umm, a couple dinners from Company and then we could snuggle on the couch until Emma comes home."
"That sounds wonderful. Why don't you get a shower and I'll get dressed and then call Company and place our orders."
"That's fine." She leaves the bathroom as he finishes getting undressed and gets into the shower.
In a booth in the back of Company, Megan is sitting alone. "I didn't expect to find you here." Frank says, walking up to her table."
"Sam is watching the boys for me while I do some studying for a test I have coming up."
"Did you need something to eat or drink?"
"I'm fine." Megan says, glancing up. "Can I ask what you're doing here?"
"I'm filling in."
"For whom?"
"One of my dad's employee's called off tonight. And he didn't have anyone to cover the shift so I volunteered to help him out."
"Do you always do that?"
"Yeah, we sort of all cover shifts occasionally, why?"
"I was just curious. So, who all covers shifts occasionally?"
"So, there's me and then sometimes my sister Harley will cover and so will my daughter Marina if Harley or I can't cover because of something going on at the station."
"So, it's sort of a family business."
"Yes. Dad owns it but we all run it."
"Okay." Megan says, turning back to her books.
"I'll be back." He says. She nods and he turns to take care of a new table.
It's twenty minutes before he comes back to her. This time he's caring a plate of fries. "I'm fine." She says, as he puts the plate down beside her.
"Food makes it easier to concentrate when you're studying." He says, as she looks at him. 'At least that's what Marina would tell me when she was studying for a test. And besides I'm hungry." He says, sitting down beside her.
"What are you studying?"
"Umm, it's for my History of Civilization class." She says, glancing up.
"What does music history have to do with law?"
"I'm not exactly sure. But it's a required class and since it's been awhile since I've been in school, I couldn't test out of it."
"Alright, so what are you studying?"
"These four questions." Megan says, showing him the piece of paper with four questions circled.
He takes the paper and looks at it. "So you have to answer all these questions?"
"No, the teacher gave us this paper at the start of the semester. All the questions for each test in on that piece of paper. When we finish the section, she tells which questions will likely be giving on the test, it will only be one question but we have to study all four questions."
"So, I'm guessing this isn't a multiple choice test."
"No, it's an essay test."
"I was never good at essay tests."
"I don't know if I will be or not. I didn't have many essay tests when I was in high school, but I'm good at history so that makes it easier." She says, as he gets up.
"I'll be right back." He says, as she nods. She takes another fry as he walks away.
Thirty minutes later, he comes back with a soda for both of them. "I'm sorry." He says, as he sits the glasses down.
"It's okay. It's getting busy." She says, looking around the restaurant.
"Is it getting too loud, because I can take you back to my Dad's office."
"No, this is fine. I tune it out anyway."
"Really, how do you do that?" He asks, as she shrugs with a smile.
"So, have there been any interesting cases at the station?"
"You mean since your brother…." He stops and looks away.
"You're not responsible for my brother's death and neither is Sam. Jeremiah made his own decisions and I would rather have Sam here then him any day."
"You don't miss…."
"My brother and I lost out on our relationship a long time ago. I chose a life he didn't approve of. We both did." Megan says, taking a sip of her drink.
"You must have had some good memories of him."
"Sam might have, but I was a baby when everything happened with my mother and father. The man that Jeremiah became was the only person I knew." Megan says, with a shrug. He looks at her for a moment. He wants to ask about what they did with his body but it's not polite and really none of his business, but he's still curious. "What?"
He pauses for a moment and then asks. "What happened with the body? I never heard of any memorial service or funeral."
"We didn't have one. In the condition that Sam was in, Jeffrey and I decided to handle it ourselves. We had his body donated to science."
"Would they do that considering what killed him?"
"None of his major organs were damaged by the shooting. He simply bled to death. And considering how much Jeremiah preached about faith and prayer and sort of denounced Sam's profession, I felt it was a bit ironic that his body was given to science to train the doctors that might saves someone else from his fate, especially since he refused to take my mother to the doctor when she was sick, professing that if she was to be healed God would see to it."
He looks at her, gauging whether she's serious or not. Deciding that she is, he gets up. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Okay." She says, with a smile.
Shortly before seven, he notices her gathering up her books. He walks over to her tables as she getting her wallet out. "You're going?"
"Yes, I need to get the boys from Sam and home for baths and bed time. How much…?" She asks, as he holds up his hand.
"It's on the house." He says with a smile.
She looks at him and then decides to tease him a little bit. "Am I to assume this is our make up date." She asks, watching him. He looks at her, trying to gauge if she would be offended if this did turn out to be their make up date. Silence drags by without him answering her. Laughing she shakes her head. "You do realize that I'm teasing you."
"I'm sorry I haven't gotten back with you about that date."
"It's okay." She says, smiling. "We've both been busy and I had to break the date in the first place." She says, taking a final sip of her drink.
"For a very good reason, but our first date shouldn't be at my Dad's restaurant while I'm filling in for one of his employee's."
"I think it's sweet that you fill in for your Dad. And I like Company and your company. So will you relax." Megan says, with a smile. He smiles at her as she walks up to him. She leans in and lightly kisses his cheek. "I'm fine if this is our make up date." She whispers before she steps back.
He looks at her for a moment before he returns her smile. "We'll make plans for a proper date, okay."
"Whenever you want to, I'm ready." She says, picking up her back pack.
"Good, I'll call you." He says, as she nods. She turns to go and he steps up beside her. Taking her back pack.
"I can…."
"I got it." He says, putting it on his shoulder while he waits for her. She looks at him for a moment and then turns to leave. He follows her. When they reach the door, he reaches around her and pulls it open and holds it. She glances back over her shoulder before she walks out of the restaurant. She shivers as she walks outside, pulling her coat around her. They walk to her car together.
When they reach her car, she pulls her car keys from her purse. Unlocking the door, she turns to get her backpack when he leans in and kisses her. She's surprised for a moment before she moves in closer to him. Reaching up, she wraps her arms around his neck as he bring her in closer to him. After several seconds, he pulls back and takes a deep breath. "You better go back?' She whispers.
"I know." He says, releasing her and taking her backpack off his shoulder and handing it to her. "I'll call you and we'll set something up for that date."
"It's our second date." She says, taking the backpack as she leans in and giving him a quick kiss. Smiling she slides into her car. He closes the door and steps back as she starts the car and then backs out. He watches and waves as she backs out and then leaves.
After looking at all the shops in the mall, Josh and Billy leave without Stace's ring. "So where do you want to try next?" Josh asks, as they walk towards Billy's truck.
"I'm not sure. It's too late to look at the shops on 5th street.
"Do you know what you're looking for?"
"I'll know it when I see it. I know that she wouldn't want something that everyone else has."
"Then why don't look into having something made."
Billy looks at Josh. "I didn't think about that. Do you think that I could get something made by the time Valentine's day gets here?"
"You want to propose on Valentine's day."
"Yes, I was going to propose on Valentine's day, why?"
"If you're wanting it to be unique, why propose on a day when a lot of couples get engaged."
"I want the ring to be what she likes. The proposal I want to be traditional. Do you want to stop at Company before we go home?"
"Sure, that's fine." Josh replies.
A couple minutes later, Billy pulls into the parking lot of Company. Getting out, he and Josh walk towards the restaurant. As the are walking up, Dj is coming towards them. They both spot him, but don't expect him to speak or acknowledge them. As they pass each other, Dj nods to them. When they pass each other, Josh looks back over his shoulder, Dj is still walking towards his car. As they walk into the courtyard between the restaurant and the boarding house, Billy asks. "What was that?"
"I have no idea." Josh says, as he looks back towards the parking lot again.
"He hasn't spoke to you or contacted you."
"No, I haven't spoke to him in months. Since before the holiday's actually."
"Come on, lets go get some coffee and maybe some pie or something." Billy says, opening the door for Josh. Josh follows into the restaurant but he's still wondering about Dj and why he didn't attack him.
William and Ava are snuggling on the couch when Cassie knocks on the door. "That's probably Cassie with Emma." Ava says, pulling away from him.
She moves to get up and he reaches out to stop her. "Stay, I'll get her."
He gets up and goes to the door. Opening it, Cassie's on the other side with Emma standing beside her. "Thanks for watching her." He says, stepping back to let Emma in.
"I was happy to take her." Cassie says, smiling as she steps back.
"You look beautiful tonight."
"Thank you."
"Is it a campaign function?"
"No, it's just a date." Cassie says, as William nods.
"Well have fun and thank you again."
"Anytime." Cassie says, as Emma turns to Cassie.
"Thank you, Aunt Cassie."
"You're welcome Sweetie and I'll talk to Ava about planning a girls day for all of us, okay." Cassie says, as Emma smiles. They hug and then Cassie turns to go as William closes the door.
"Did you have fun?" William asks, as he helps her with her back pack on the table by his brief case.
"Yes."
"And you finished all your homework." He asks. She nods as they walk into the living room.
Ava is sitting up on the couch when they walk into the room. Emma sits down beside her and they hug. "I heard Cassie say something about a girl's day." Ava says, after Emma sits back.
"Yes, I was watching her get ready for her date with Uncle Richard and she promised that she would talk to you about all of us going on a girl's day."
"That sounds like fun. We'll see what we can arrange, but right now. You need to go get your night clothes and go get your bath."
"I don't…."
"Emma, it's bath time." William says, as she nods and gets up.
"You can play for a short while." Ava says.
"Okay." Emma leaves as William settles in beside her.
"A girl's day, what am I going to do with you both gone for a girl's day?"
"I'm sure you will think of something." Ava says, leaning in to kiss him softly and quickly before she moves to get up.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm sort of hungry and this little guy has decided to camp out on my bladder so I need to go to the bathroom." She says, as he moves to get up.
"I'll get you a snack while you take care of the other."
"Thank you." She says, leaning in to give him a quick kiss before she lets him go and heads for the stairs and their bathroom upstairs.
Jeffrey is downstairs when Megan knocks on the door. Walking over to it, he opens it and then lets her inside. "Where is Sam?" Megan asks, looking around the living room.
"I sent her to bed."
"Why didn't she call? I told her to call if she needed me to come for the boys."
"I don't think she meant to fall asleep. They were watching a movie all cuddle up under a blanket." Jeffrey says, as he closes the door behind her.
"The boys didn't tire her out, did they?" Megan asks, looking over at couch.
"No, they were fine. She gets this way more and more lately." Jeffrey says, following her over to help get the boys ready to go.
"I remember getting tired so easily when I was pregnant, and I wasn't working at the time. And I certainly didn't have the type of things Sam is dealing with."
"She's slowing down more and more as the pregnancy progresses but I think it's more because she has to and less because she wants too." Jeffrey says, helping Madisen with his coat.
"I'll call her in the morning to check in with her. They really weren't any kind of trouble."
"No, they were fine. They ate their dinner and we help them with their homework. That was an eye opener." He says, as Megan smiles.
"It's fun explaining thing to them and they tell you that's not how their teacher told them to do it." Megan says, helping Madisen with his back pack.
He follows Megan to the door. "Do you need help getting them into the car?"
"No, we'll be fine." She says, as the boys turn to Jeffrey.
Jeffrey kneels down and the boys hug him. "Thanks for watching the movie with us Uncle Jeffrey."
"Anytime." He says, letting them go. Megan ushers them out the door. Jeffrey stands in the door way until their all in the car and pulling away from the house. Closing the door, he locks up the house and then goes upstairs. As he walks into their bedroom, Sam asks. "Are the boys still here?"
"Megan just came for them. She said she would call you in the morning." Jeffrey says, walking over to the bed. He sits down beside her as she moves to sit up and he lays a hand on her. "Stay there and I'll get ready for bed." She settles back down as he stands up and goes into their closet. He comes back a few moments later after changing and brushing his teeth.
He pulls the covers back on his side of the bed as Sam says. "I didn't mean to leave the boys to you."
"It's okay. We enjoyed the movie." He says, settling into bed and lifting his arm. She moves over to him and lays her head on his chest.
"Was Megan okay? It's kinda late for her to be picking them up."
"She seemed find. A little worried about the fact that you were asleep, wanted to know why you didn't call her."
"What did you tell her?" Sam says, moving her head to look up at him.
"That you didn't mean to fall asleep, that you and the boys were on the couch snuggled together. She's okay and she looked relaxed."
"I hope she got some studying done."
"She didn't say whether she did or she didn't. We most talked about you and the affects pregnancy had on her and how tired she would get. She said she didn't know how she would've handled doing all the things you do when she was pregnant."
"I'm not doing that much. I'm just into…."
"I'm not saying you're doing too much Beca." He says, lifting his head and kissing her forehead. "She just mentioned that she wouldn't've been able to do all the things you do while she was pregnant. I'm proud of all the things you do, okay."
"Okay." She says, snuggling back into him. He reaches up and turns his lamp off. "Lets get some sleep." He says, pulling her closer to him.
"We love you." She says, kissing his chest.
"I love both of you." He replies, turning his head and kissing the top of hers.
A few days later, Billy walks into Josh's office. "Hey, what are you doing here?" Josh asks, looking up from some papers he was looking over.
"I was on my way to the Lincoln street site and I stopped by to tell you that I took your advice."
"My advice?"
"About Stace's ring, I went to that little shop by the theater on 5th street and CO2 and I had them make a ring for her. I was never going to find anything that's truly unique and I know that's what she would like, so I'm having it made."
"What did you settle on?"
"It's a three stone ring, a diamond in the center with our birthstones on either side."
"I think that's perfect." Josh says with a smile. "Are they going to have it ready by Valentines?"
"He's going to try, but if it's not I suppose I can always wait till it's a date that's important to us."
"Well, it's your decision." Josh says with another smile.
"Have you seen anymore of Dj?"
"No." Josh says, as Billy nods.
"I'm sorry to drop in and then leave but I've got to get to that site."
"No, go. Let me know if the ring is finished in time."
"I will." Billy says, turning to leave.