Author's Note:
I can't believe this is chapter 35. When I began this journey, I would have never thought it would make it this far. I hope you are enjoying the story. Have a great day.
Chapter 35
The rest of Saturday was a long day for Elizabeth. She tried to stay busy by deep cleaning her apartment. She washed windows and mopped the floors. She cleaned the screens and washed the base boards. The only thing she accomplished other than a clean apartment was to make herself tired. She decided to take a nap and then she would tackle the bedroom closet and the big dresser. She needed to make room for Jack's clothes.
She grabbed Jack's shirt and changed. She wanted to feel him beside her. She laid in her bed on top of the blankets. She had her favorite throw blanket pulled up to her waist and was quickly asleep.
In her sleep she had a dream. She dreamed of Jack, herself, and...
…
Julie and Tom spend the day helping each other pack and wrap up some loose ends. Their excitement was growing with the new life they were embarking on.
"I can't believe we are heading back to Hope Valley in a few days."
"I know. I am looking forward to it. Hey, Julie, do you want to pick out some furniture for the house we are buying?"
"I find it hard to believe we are buying a house." She shook her head. They have come a long way in a few months. She would have never thought of settling down. "That may be nice. I have some pictures of the house on my phone we could use to help us pick everything out. Plus, we can pick out colors for the house."
"You're wanting to paint?"
"Yes."
"Sweetheart, the paint was good. Why would we want to change it?"
"Tom, we need to make the house ours. Someone else picked out the colors of the house now."
"Oh. That matters?"
"Yes, dear. That matters. The house is ours and we need to decorate it our way."
"Our way?" Sassed Tom. "Or your way?"
She glared at him with a little smirk on the corner of her mouth. "You don't like my tastes, dear?"
"I love your taste." Tom stated and he stepped closer to hold her. He looked into her eyes for a few moments and then captured her lips with his.
Julie struggled for a moment wanting to continue the game between them, but the kiss quickly took that thought out of her mind. She wrapped her arms around him as Tom deepened the kiss.
Tom pulled back and smiled victoriously at Julie. She smacked his arm, "Proud of yourself, aren't you?"
Tom smiled and kissed her again. "I love you, Julie. Let's go and have dinner."
…
Abagail, Henry, and Frank were walking home from an early movie. They enjoyed the new Spider Man movie and a large popcorn. Henry reached and took both Frank and Abagail's hand.
"Thank you for the popcorn and the movie. I loved it."
"You're welcome young man." Frank stated. "Let's get some ice cream on the way home."
Henry smiled and shook his head. His life was greatly improved, and he was enjoying the new peace he was experiencing.
After sitting down with the ice cream, Abagail shared a look with Frank, and he nodded his head slightly.
"Henry, Frank and I would like to talk to you about something."
Henry stopped eating his ice cream and looked up at both the adults. A little bit of fear came over him. He knew things were going too good to be true. He was afraid he was being sent somewhere else.
Frank began. "We have enjoyed having you with us the last few days. You have become part of our family. We were told by the social worker that we would be able to adopt you if you wanted us too."
"I knew this was too good to be…What?" asked a confused Henry.
"If you would like, we can adopt you."
"What does adopt mean?"
Abagail took over. "It means in the court of law you become our son. You will always live with us, and no one would be able to take you away." She tried to simplify it so his little mind could understand the situation.
Henry thought for a minute. "Would I have to go back to my dad?"
"No. No one will be able to take you away from us. You will be with us."
Frank took over. "When you are older and you want to see your father, you certainly can. We will not stop you when you are older, but he will not be able to take you away from us. We will always be a family."
Henry smiled and jumped from his seat to hug both Frank and Abagail. "Let's do it!" He exclaimed.
…
Elizabeth was walking down the sidewalk holding Jack's hand. It was a beautiful sunny day with a light breeze keeping the heat of the day at bay. With her left hand, she was holding her large belly and laughing at something Jack had said when she felt a kick. She reached for Jack's hand and placed it on her belly so he could feel it too.
In front of them were two little children running ahead a few yards and then running back. The little boy looked like Jack. The same hair and dimples. He was holding his sister's hand who looked like Elizabeth. The same long, auburn hair and beautiful blue eyes. Her smile was just like her mother's, mischievous and beautiful. They were twins and looked to be about three years old or so. They were wearing shorts and a simple, light blue t-shirt. The little boy's shirt was a little dirty and the little girl had a flower in one hand extending it to Elizabeth. A long haired golden lab was following the little boy and girl with his tongue sticking out and barking making the children laugh.
They looked like happy little children. They were both laughing and enjoying the walk. They turned to a beautiful two story house. It was a brick house with white trim and the house had a large front porch. There were different colored daisies in the flowerbeds in front of the porch. A bird bath was in a circular flower bed to the right of the walkway. The flowers were in full bloom and looked beautiful. To the left of the walkway, sat a large wooden swing with a perfect view of the little mountains in the background.
Eliabeth and Jack sat on the swing watching the two kids and the dog run around the spacious yard. She sighed and placed her head on Jack's shoulder as he wrapped his right arm around her and placed his left one on her belly again, hoping to feel the baby kick again. When he laughed at feeling the kick, Elizabeth woke up.
She quickly sat up in bed looking around. After catching her breath, she reached down to her flat stomach and was sad that it wasn't big. She sighed thinking it was a dream. It felt so real, and she loved it. It took her a couple of minutes to realize she wasn't pregnant, there were no kids, and there wasn't a house. Instantly she felt sad.
Elziabeth reached for her phone and realized she had a missed call and three texts from Jack. Before replying, she stood in front of her mirror. Again, she was sad that her stomach was flat. She pulled her shirt out to see what she would look like if she was pregnant.
First, she listened to the voice mail.
Hey Bele, I'm sorry I missed you. I hope you are well. People from the department wanted to take me out to celebrate. I'm going to eat with them but I am not going drinking with them after. I will text you later. Love you.
Hearing his voice and remembering the dream, she was missing him. She read the first text, "I miss you, Bella. Heading out to dinner" The second text came along with a picture of the group. It was a large group of about twelve people. Jack was in the middle with some gentleman on one side and a blonde on the other. "Here is the group. I am heading home in a couple of minutes. I don't want to hang with them or Frances." Elizabeth guessed the blonde woman was Frances. The third text was a simple, yet meaningful text, "831"
She smiled. She also noticed the text was sent forty five minutes ago. She figured he was heading home or was already home. She sent him a text. "Hey hon. You home?"
Her phone buzzed seconds later.
"Hello"
"Oh beautiful. It is great to hear your voice." Jack said excitedly. "I have missed you!"
"I missed you too. Did you have fun?"
"Dinner was good, but I didn't want to be there with the whole group. I was hoping they wouldn't do that. They wanted to have dinner and then go out to a bar and drink. I just went for dinner and bowed out before the trip to the bar."
"Why didn't you want to go out to the bar?"
"Well, a couple of reasons." He said quietly.
"Ok?" She replied.
"First, I don't drink, and I didn't want to be around them because I knew they were going to drink too much. Secondly, I didn't want to deal with Frances."
"The blonde?"
"Yes." Jack sighed. He was hoping she wasn't going to get mad.
"It seems like you failed."
"What do you mean?"
"In the picture there was a blonde sitting beside you."
"Only in the picture. I didn't sit with her while we ate. She jumped in the seat when the waiter was getting people together for the picture. Allen was in the restroom when she took his seat."
"Oh."
"Yeah. She is my Darren, but we were never friends like you two. We are mostly acquaintances who happen to work on the same floor. She always wanted more from me, but she was never the one nor was she ever going to be the one."
After a few moments of silence. He continued, "When I was in the department, we rarely spoke because we were on different cases. Our work never overlapped."
Again, he was meet with silence. "Elizabeth, are you mad at me?"
"No, Jack. I am not. I was just surprised by the photo."
"Sweetheart" His voice was soft, "If I wanted to date her, I would have years ago. I was never interested. She was not the one I was waiting on."
"Why not Jack?"
"She wanted a relationship I wasn't interested in. She is kind of a player and dated several men. I wasn't into that type of relationship."
Again, he was met with silence.
"May I ask you a question?" He asked.
"Sure."
"Why didn't you date Darren?"
"Touche Jack, touché."
"Beautiful, I am not going to go behind your back. I have been waiting for you my whole adult life. I wouldn't throw our relationship away on someone I was not remotely interested in."
She cut him off. "I know Jack. I'm sorry. I just woke up from a nap and a perfect dream. Then, I saw the picture. I am sorry. I know you would never do anything like that to me."
"Thank you. Now, what about this perfect dream you mentioned."
Elizabeth took a few minutes to share with him the dream. She told him about the house and children and the pregnancy. She smiled telling him the dream hoping it wouldn't scare him too much.
"That sounds perfect."
She smiled at his excitement. "I think so too. I don't know the kid's names. I never heard them or have a sense of what they were." She sighed thinking again about the dream. "So, when will be your last day?"
"I finish out everything tomorrow afternoon. Ma has been a great help in finishing packing up my apartment. It's completed except for a few things we are using. Monday, the landlord will let the charities in the apartment to pick up the items I left for them. Ma and I will leave out in the moving truck sometime Sunday afternoon or evening. She will help me drive and keep me company. We will stop sometime Sunday night to find a hotel to sleep and then finish driving to Hope Valley on Monday."
"I can't wait. I'm going to clean out the closet so you will have room for your clothes." She blushed at that statement.
"You're blushing aren't you?" He sassed a little.
"Jack!" She stated as he was laughing. They agreed he would place most of his stuff in storage until they found a house or built a house. Her apartment wasn't big enough for all of Jack's things. He would only bring the items he needed to her place, and he would stay at Abagail's apartment until the wedding in a few days.
"Can you believe we are getting married in only six days?"
He laughed at the tone of her statement. "I know. It's only been a few weeks since I meet you and here we are getting married in less than a week."
"It's hard to believe."
"Bella, are you having second thoughts?"
"Not at all! I can't wait."
"Me either. I look forward to beginning our life together."
They talked for a few minutes about little things. Just catching up on everyday life and enjoying the sound of each other's voice. Jack told her about the dinner and his day while she talked about cleaning the apartment and breakfast with Abagail.
"Elizabeth, how long do you want to wait to have children?"
She blushed at his statement.
"Sweetheart, why are you embarrassed?"
"What?" She forgot they have switched to Facetime.
"Elizabeth, are you worried about our…um…" Now Jack's face was turning red. "our intimate life?"
"A little. Jack, I've never…"
"I haven't either, Elizabeth."
"Jack, how are we going to do this?" She sounded anxious.
"By doing what we are doing now."
She looked into the phone very confused. She didn't say anything.
"By talking. I talked to ma and…"
"Wait…What? You talked to your mother about this?"
Jack shook his head. This was not going the way he wanted it too. He didn't know how to talk about this but knew there was tension arising between them.
"Elizabeth, I am scared to death that our intimate life will not be what it should be since I have no idea what to do. My ma noticed I was struggling with something. I could never hide anything from her. We talked on the plane, and she helped me understand that our intimate life is just that…OUR intimate life. I want that part of our life to be as great as every other part of us. I want you to be happy with that area of us and I'm worried you will be disappointed."
He continued to share with Elizabeth everything his mother and him talked about on the plane ride. He didn't hold anything back. He knew his inexperience of relationships was causing this fear, but he couldn't stop it. He wanted her happy in all areas of their married life together.
"I want you happy, Elizabeth. I want our intimate life to be incredible for both of us. I'm just nervous it's not going to be good for you. I'm nervous! So, what do we do?"
"Jack, I'm nervous too, but I know and trust us. We will talk it through like we do everything else. Do you want to know what the best part will be?" She asked blushing.
"What is that?" He asked with his face turning red but very eager to hear her response. He leaned in toward the phone like she was sharing a secret.
She leaned in and whispered. "We get to experiment to see what each of us likes and don't like. Jack, we just love each other. That has worked for us, and I believe it will always work for us. We are in this together. This is part of us, and we will figure it out."
"I'm sorry. I don't discuss what's in my heart very well and…"
"Jack! You do very well. I love you and our intimacy will be great. I just know it."
She saw the questioning look on his face.
"Our kisses are great, and our cuddling makes me feel so safe and special. I can only imagine what the next step will be like."
He smiled a shy smile at her. They lightened the conversation and spoke for a few more minutes until they were tired. Like the other times, they laid down in bed with their phones still on Facetime. They talked until one fell asleep and the other would disconnect the call.
…
Early Monday morning, Elizabeth jumped out of her bed. She was excited that today was going to be the day Jack came home. She couldn't contain her excitement. She even woke up thirty minutes before her alarm went off. She dressed and was waiting at the café when Abagail walked in.
"Wow! Someone is here early." Abagail grinned at her friend while she walked in. "What's got you so excited this morning?"
"Abagail! Don't you know what do today is?" She said with a deep breath and smile.
Abagail was enjoying teasing her little sister. "Um…Monday?"
She swatted Abagail's arm. "Are you going to tease me all morning?"
"Yes! You are too cute not too this morning. So, today's the day Jack returns to Hope Valley."
Elizabeth huffed at her friend's teasing but couldn't keep the smile from forming on her face. "Today's the day Jack returns to me." She sassed. "Abagail, could you sit with me and have breakfast?"
"Sure. Let me get the coffee started and we'll tell Mary what we want."
"Go ahead, I'll let Mary know what we want." After placing the order, she sent Jack a text,
E – 831
Jack immediately responded.
J – 831
E – you shouldn't text and drive
J – Ma is driving
E – She didn't do everything did she?
J – someone is in a good mood.
J – Wait, you're awake? It's too early for you
E – Such sass
J – I think I'm doing something wrong
E – What would that be?
J – I wake you up early and you are not happy
E – Listen Mr. Sassy
J – I love you See you soon
E – Hurry home and be careful
"You must be texting Jack."
"How did you know that nosey?"
"You always have that goofy, silly smile when you talk to him or think about him." Sassed Abagail.
"The same one you have when you speak to Frank?" She sassed right back.
"It must be the love that shines through."
They both laughed. They were in love, and they were not ashamed of it. Elizabeth shared with Abagail about her dream. Both ladies giggled throughout the telling of the dream.
"Abagail, it seems so real. When I woke up, it took me a few minutes to realize it wasn't true. I stood in front of the mirror and was sad my tummy was flat."
"Dreams can be real. I remember waking up one morning and I dreamed Frank cheated on me. I was mad at him all day."
"What did you do?" Elizabeth laughed.
"I was glaring at him when he woke up. He immediately had a worried look on his face. He asked me what was wrong, but I wouldn't answer him, I was too mad at him. I just glared at him all day. I didn't tell him about the dream until lunch. He laughed but I didn't think it was funny." Abagail laughed at the memory.
"You know Frank would never do that."
"Oh, I know, but that dream felt real. It wasn't until evening I forgave him."
Both ladies busted out laughing. They talked a few more minutes while they ate their breakfast.
"I need to head to work."
"Have a great day, sis. Hey, when will Jack be here?"
"Not until this evening around nine or so." She said without a smile.
"Then he will be with you forever."
That brought a smile to Elizabeth's face. "Yes, I can't wait."
…
Jack took over driving for his mother. They were ahead of schedule and Jack was excited that he would get back to Hope Valley sooner then he thought. He loved the idea of surprising Elizabeth.
"How is Lizzy?" Charlette asked.
"She is fine. I think she is like me, ready to get the next season of our life started."
"I bet. You two are perfect for each other. When is William and Grace coming into town?"
"Wednesday, I think. Tom and Julie are coming in then too."
"How is the planning going?"
"Elizabeth and Abagail did most of it. We are keeping it small and simple, so that helped a lot."
Will she be happy about that? I'm sure she has had plans since she was little."
"Yes, ma. It was her idea. I asked several times to make sure she was ok with everything. She said those were dreams of a little girl. She says she isn't that little girl anymore. She wants small with just family and close friends."
"I'm sure you are happy about that."
"I am. I can't wait!"
…
Elizabeth's day at school was going well, just slow. She couldn't stop looking at the clock counting down the time Jack would be back. She was expecting him around nine. She was grateful her students were being good today. They kept her busy and she enjoyed that.
"Ms. Thatcher" Emily started. "Why do you keep looking at the clock? Do we have something planned?"
"Oh, Emily. I'm not."
"Ms. Thatcher, you have looked at it every minute." Stated John, a little boy sitting on the back roll.
"Well, Detective Thorton will be back this evening and I am excited to see him."
"Oh" giggled Emily. "He's your boyfriend." The girls giggled.
Elizabeth's face turned red. She loved these kids. They caught onto everything. They were smarter than they were given credit. Elizabeth always tried to keep her personal life personal, but these kids didn't miss a beat.
"Yes, class. Detective Thorton is my boyfriend. Actually, he is my fiancé."
"Doesn't that mean you two are getting married?" Asked John and he groaned a little asking the question.
"Yes. We are getting married."
Emily spoke up again. "When?"
She hasn't told the class she was getting married or when. "We are getting married Friday."
"Friday!" the class said together.
"Yes, this Friday."
"Will you no longer be our teacher?" The classed gasped at Ted's question. They began talking to their neighbors.
"Class. Class! Let's calm down." Elizabeth knew the class wasn't going to calm down without talking this through with them. "We are getting married on Friday. Then we are taking a two week honeymoon. After that, I will be back as your teacher. My name will be Mrs. Thorton when I return."
"Who will we have as a teacher for those two weeks?" Emily asked.
"I will have a sub fill in for me, but I don't know who the school will get."
"Where are you going on your honeymoon?" Henry asked.
Elizabeth sighed. "I have no idea. Jack won't tell me."
"That's not very nice of him." Declared Emily.
"It's nice, Emily. He wants to surprise me. He said he will give me a packing list of what type of clothes to pack so I will be ok."
"Surprises are good, right?"
"Yes, Emily. They are."
"Then why are you upset?"
"I'm not upset."
"You have your hands on your hips. You only do that when we are being disruptive."
These kids are good. I'm not as secretive as I thought. "I'm just anxious. I like giving surprises. I don't like getting surprises."
Elizabeth spent the next five minutes answering every question her class had. This was the only way to calm them down. After their little gab session, she finished the math lesson and then took them to the cafeteria for lunch.
…
A couple of hours later, Charlette dropped Jack off at the school. They were way ahead of schedule. Instead of stopping at a hotel, they drove straight through the night. They took turns driving. Charlette's going to Jack's apartment to sleep in a comfortable bed for a couple of hours.
Jack was too excited to sleep well and just wanted to see his beautiful fiancé. He walked into the office and saw a smiling Ms. Florence. "Good afternoon, Ms. Florence. I trust you are having a good day."
"I am investigator."
"Well, it's actually detective now."
"Well, I am detective. I didn't think you were supposed to be back until late tonight?"
"That was the plan, but my ma and I decided to drive straight through. She dropped me off so I could surprise Elizabeth."
"I know she will be surprised. She shared with me that she was excited you will be back tonight."
"I hope I won't disrupt her class too much by me showing up?"
"You will be a distraction, but you would be in a lot of trouble if you would have waited for a couple of hours to see her." Ms. Florence laughed at the memory of Elizabeth's excitement about Jack's arrival.
"Ms. Florence, may I go back to her classroom?"
"Sure thing Jack. She will be happy to see you. So will her class."
"Thank you, Ms. Florence." Jack turned to leave the office but remembered what he had in his hand. "Oh, I almost forgot this." He turned back and walked to the counter. "This isn't Abagail's chocolate cake, but I hope you enjoy it."
She took the bag he offered her and looked inside of it. She found a Diet Coke, a pack of chocolate, crème filled cupcakes, a pack of swiss rolls, and a pack of zebra cakes. She let out a laugh at his thoughtfulness.
"Detective, if I was a few years younger…"
"Then Elizabeth would have competition." He smiled as he turned around to leave.
"Jack, before you leave, everything is prepared for her to leave on two weeks vacation. She also has this Thursday and Friday off. She doesn't know that yet. Would you like to tell her?"
Jack smiled at this woman. He walked up to her and gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek. "Ms. Florence, you are priceless. Thank you so much for doing this for us. I appreciate you very much."
Ms. Florence's face turned a slight color of pink at his words. "You're welcome, Jack."
…
Jack slowly entered Elizabeth's classroom. Her back was to him as she was writing on the blackboard. Her students noticed him, but he put his finger over his lips asking them to be quite. He slowly walked up the aisle and stood directly behind her. Without turning around, Elizabeth asked the class.
"Ok class, what year did the Boston Tea Party happen?"
"December 16, 1773." Stated Jack.
Elizabeth stopped writing on the blackboard and dropped her chalk. "Jack" she whispered. She turned to see his goofy little smile and the set of dimples that makes her knees grow weak each time she sees them. Without thinking, she jumped into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. "Jack, your home!"