The next couple of weeks' things tended to go a lot better for new family. Emily and Elizabeth were both learning their way around the villa and town. They were also learning Italian and between the staff and their teacher, they were doing quite well. Elizabeth was able to start sketching Jake and she loved how her son just loved life. He was so peaceful and quiet for most of the time like his father.
The next two months, Jake changed from being a quiet baby to a smiling laughing baby. He was always talking to anyone who went by him. He was just like his mother and Elizabeth had to laugh because she first thought he was like his father but once he hit a certain stage there was no going back from it. He loved attention and he loved to babble. He smiled at all the women and made his father very proud.
Jake took learning very seriously. He was learning both Italian and English. Elizabeth was learning more Italian and she started using it almost daily. Emily and Elizabeth had so much fun speaking the language, especially since their husbands didn't learn it too. "Mama, do you think it is mean for me to speak Italian in front of Jason so he doesn't know what I am talking about to Emily. We are learning the language and we are having so much fun driving our husbands crazy."
"Bella, he will get to know our language when he is ready too. I think that the reason you have wanted to come to Italy and learn the language is because you somehow remember it. It was a long time ago but look at Jake. He has been here now longer than he was in the US and he seems to know both languages. I love you but you need to be kinder to your husband and to Johnny. They love both you and Emily so much and you have to treat them as such. There are some things that we can do to make their lives easier and in doing so, makes our lives easier."
"Mama, I love you and Papa so much. I just wish that I had been here the whole time but then I would never have met Jason so I guess I should be happy about that. He is my world. You need to come to the gate house and see what I have done. I have made another masterpiece of my brilliant and adorable son. This is part of my "Jake" series. I have taken pictures of them and sent them to his grandparents on the other side of the pond."
"I love your "Jake" series. I want to show you something first. I have my own paintings that I have done of your brothers and you."
Margaretta took Elizabeth to her studio and showed her the sketch books that she had of Max, Milo and Elizabeth. They were all sketches of them when they were babies. Elizabeth knew who each one was by their smile. She was amazed but now she knew where she got her talent.
"Mama, why didn't you tell me about this before now? I love your work. I thought that you wanted to have the gallery to have other painters in it but you should have your own showing."
"I was thinking that maybe we could have a mother and daughter showing. It would be a great way for everyone to see your talent and they could also see my love of my children. I want you to know that I am very proud of you and I love the fact that we have so much in common. Now, let me see the sketches of my beautiful grandson."
The two of them went to see Elizabeth's portraits and have some more girl talk. Margaretta showed pictures of the gallery that she had built in town. They were almost finished with it and would be around the same time that the winery would be open. A few months after that, the villa would be ready for the new family to move in. There was also a good size guest house where Emily and Johnny would be living. It was going to take a couple extra months for that so they would be living with Elizabeth and Jason for a few months.
The opening of the winery and the gallery were happening in two weeks. The gallery would be opened first on the first Friday night of May. The winery would be open the very next day. They wanted to open it in April but there were a few little tweaks that needed to be done.
Jake was four months old when the gallery opened. His parents were very proud of him and his adjustment to everything going on around him. He was a very happy baby and was he loved all the attention. Alan, Monica, Edward and Lila were traveling over from Port Charles to see the opening of the winery and also the art gallery.
Lila was very impressed with the art gallery. She loved talking to Margaretta about art and then when Lila looked at the paintings, she could see how much talent both mother and daughter had. "I love your work. Elizabeth has the same style as you. She knew that she got her talent from somewhere but now she knows exactly where that talent came from."
Elizabeth had her own section of the gallery with her work. She had sketches from before she got married, when they were stranded on the island and then with their son. Elizabeth had shown a lot of growth and everyone loved her work.
The celebrities that were in Italy had heard about the gallery opening and helped make it a great success. The paintings that both Margaretta and Elizabeth painted were bought up in just the first hour of the opening. There were a few paintings that were not for sale but were staying in the gallery as a reminder for them to always try their best.
The one painting that was sold that Elizabeth wished she had kept was the waterfall on the island that she and Jason were marooned on. She feels that she conceived their son there and she always had fond moments of the waterfall. She did miss the island but she was happy that she found her way back home to Italy.
Lila and Edward were the ones that bought the waterfall. They wanted to be sure to have a painting of where their grandson and granddaughter had truly fallen in love. It was also the island where their great grandson was conceived. It meant a lot to Elizabeth and Jason and so they wanted a piece of that.
When Elizabeth and her mother found out how much they sold everything for, they were truly shocked. They had made over fifty thousand dollars in one night. The next day was the day for winery opening. The same men and women who had gone to the gallery the night before were going to be there for the opening of the winery.
Jason was able to show his family the work on their new home. They also showed the family where Emily and Johnny were going to be living. Alan and Monica loved the villa and when Elizabeth saw Lila's tears, it made her tear up too.
"This is more that I could ever want for both you and my grandson. I can see how peaceful things are here and how much everyone around here loves and cherishes you both. Your parents have helped you so much and I am so proud that you are a part of my family. There is something that I want to give you but I will wait till you move into your new home. Edward is going back with Monica and Alan but I am going to stay here for a little while. I want to see you both move in to your new place and see you settled. Your parents have graciously opened up their hearts and home to me so I could stay. Elizabeth, you and Emily are both important parts of our family. We might not be the traditional family but we loved you all so very much."
Elizabeth had tears in her eyes and she hugged Lila. "I want you to know that if I have a daughter, I want to name her Lila Rose. I love you and I want my family to know the kind of love that you have given us. Your love is so pure and I can feel it even when you are not around. I know that Jason and Emily feel it too. You will warm up to Johnny and love him like the rest of us do."
"I do love Johnny. He is a character and that is what is so special about him. He lets you know how he feels and he doesn't take any punches. I try to keep him on his toes but he knows that I love him. Just don't tell Edward. He is a bit jealous of the Irishman."
"That sounds doable. Let's go look around some more and then I will be taking you to the winery."
The rest of the day, it was a lot of fun for both Elizabeth's family and Jason's family. The villa was going to be finished the first week of July. Emily and Johnny's place were going to be ready for the first week of September. Lila was going to be staying in Italy until after the holidays and going back to the states in January. She wanted to be there for her grandchildren and also because she realized that she didn't have much time left. It was easier being there and just living life to the fullest instead of having a husband always checking over your shoulder making sure that you are doing everything right. It was impossible to get away with anything with a son and daughter-in-law who were both doctors.
Jason had a talk with his grandfather and parents about Lila. He promised them if anything happened to call and also to keep an eye on her. Little did they know that Lila had already talked to Jason and he agreed to let Lila live her life the way she chose.
The winery was a big hit and Jason was very proud of what he had accomplished so far. Francis was having an easier time in Port Charles with the help of Max. Milo stayed behind with his sister and his family. There was a young lady that worked at the gallery that Elizabeth was trying to set Milo up with.
Milo was happy with the way his life was going and he was very proud of everything that the family had been accomplishing. He just didn't know where he fit in. He wanted to help his father expand the winery and he knew that the mob business was something that he didn't really want to be involved with like his older brother, Max. Elizabeth and their mother were doing great things at the gallery and he saw how much Jason was doing with his winery.
Milo had decided that he needed to go to college so that he could find out where his passions lie and then do whatever it was that made him happy. The summer semester was about to start and so Milo went with Elizabeth and Emily to register for summer school classes.
Milo had decided that he wanted to know about art and history. He took those two classes and also one on photography. Photography was something that he fell into but realized that he was born to do it. Milo took his camera with him wherever he went. He loved taking photos of the area that they lived in. He learned to use the light in such a way that he made even the darkest pictures beautiful.
Jason had made the final checks on the villa and knew that he was ready to move in. Emily, Johnny, Lila, Jake and Elizabeth moved in the first week of July. They were having their own independence from living under everyone's watchful eyes. Jason felt it more than anyone but Elizabeth loved that the fact that her family was close by but not too close.
Milo had taken pictures of their move into their new place. He also took pictures of their Independence Day celebration. There was food, drink and fireworks. Elizabeth's parents were there and Francis and Max had come back to check it out too. Monica, Alan and Edward wanted to go but things were too busy back home for them to leave. They did plan on taking off the last part of November until New Years. This way they could be there for all the celebrations.
Georgie was a friend of both Elizabeth and Emily. She was coming to Italy for a year to study abroad. She was going to the same university as Elizabeth, Emily and Milo. She wanted to learn about international politics and go into either broadcasting or public relations. She wasn't sure exactly what she wanted but she did know where she wanted to go. Elizabeth and Georgie had been writing to each other and Elizabeth had opened up her home for Ms. Jones. She knew that she would make a great girlfriend for her brother, Milo. She just needed to give them a chance at knowing each other.
The summer went by fast and soon it was September. Jake was now nine months old. He was starting to walk and get into everything. Georgie had been living at the villa for the past month and started school taking classes in marketing and public relations. She also was taking Italian. This was her third year of Italian so she was able to adjust a lot faster than Emily or Elizabeth did.
Milo was very intrigued with Georgie and he flirted with her constantly. Georgie enjoyed the flirting but she didn't want to mess her chances for doing well in school. She did help Milo though because he seemed a little rough around the edges and he needed to know the signals better if he were going to try to find someone.
The grapes were ready for harvesting the first week of October. The men in the village were busy with the harvest. Jason was making sure that everything was going right and so was Maximus. There was a festival at the end of the harvest and they hoped that there would be a lot of tourists coming in to see the wineries. Maximus and Jason worked well together and their styles complimented each other.
"Jason, I have heard that a couple of tours are going to be coming through when we have our festival. Elizabeth plans on having another showing which will include some of Milo's photos. Elizabeth and Margaretta are very proud of what Milo has been able to accomplish in such a short time. I think that your grandmother has also had some help in organizing the tours. I am so humbled by everything that has been going on. I thought that I was doing great but with everyone showing their talents, I realized that I need to get with the times. You have shown me a lot and I appreciate all the help that you have given me."
The last week of October, the festival started at the Giambetti Winery. The winery was fully operational and had just had a few updates to keep up with the competition. Next year will be Jason's time to shine but he needed a few more things worked out before he could do that.
Emily and Johnny were able to move into their new place. Lila was still staying with Jason and Elizabeth. She loved waking up every day to see her great grandson. "I hope you know how much this means to me that I could stay here with you all. I love Edward and your parents, Jason but they were always watching every move I made. I feel more at peace here and little Jake is just a charmer. I will be ready for when they take back home but I want you to know much I love being here with you all."
The tourists had a great time at the winery and learning about the harvesting of the grapes. They also went over to the gallery and fell in love with both Elizabeth's art work and Milo's photography. Margaretta wanted her children to shine in this exhibition and the one they were having at Christmas would be all three of them. Max was bringing Diane to meet the family. Francis was also coming for the holidays.
Emily and Elizabeth were in class when Johnny called to say that he and Jason were having to fly back for a meeting with the five families. It was long overdue and Maximus knew that all of the men had to be there.
Emily had not been feeling well for the past few days and she went to lie down shortly after the men left. Elizabeth and Georgie took one look at Emily and knew that she needed to see the doctor in town. Elizabeth suspected that Emily was pregnant but she wanted to have a doctor check her out because her symptoms were a bit harsher than hers was when she was pregnant with Jake.
Milo had stayed behind because Maximus did not want something to happen to the women like what happened last time. "I will take the three of you down to the village. I will call him up to make sure that he is there first. Just try to relax okay, Emily."
They made it to the doctors and he gave Emily a blood test. They waited for a half hour when it came back positive. "I have some very good news for you Mrs. O'Brien. You are pregnant. I can do a full exam if you would like to know how far along you are?"
"Yes. I think that my last menstruation was two months ago but I thought because of all the changes that I have been going through was the reason that I didn't have it. It was in late July I believe. I guess that would make the baby due in April."
The doctor examined Emily and said that she was fine and about 12 weeks along. She had 28 more weeks to go and so that put the baby being born in the middle of April. She was very excited about the news and so were Elizabeth and Milo. The doctor gave her some prenatal vitamins and a time to come back to see how the baby was doing. They would have an ultrasound done there in a few weeks. All the information that Emily needed to know she would ask in a few weeks.
"I think that grandmother is going to be staying a little longer than she expected. I know that she will want to stay until after the baby is born."
Elizabeth and Milo were quiet on the way back. Emily was just thrown because they were barely married and now she was pregnant. She was in school and he was helping her brother at the winery. They were all set financially but she wasn't sure about anything else.
"Emily. I know what is going on in your pretty little head but it was all work out. Jason and I were stranded on a deserted island and we did all right. Thankfully you remembered that Jason had his little life raft and that we were alive. If not, we would still be on that island and everyone would still think that we are dead. You are the best friend and sister that I could ever have. Whatever you need from me, I will help you with."
Elizabeth then started to cry and then Emily followed along. Milo just looked at the two of them and realized that he was in trouble. He got them back home and Emily ran to see her grandmother and nephew. "Grandmother, I am pregnant. The baby is due in the middle of April. Can you stay till the baby is here?"
"I would love to stay here until then. I guess you have some phone calls to make. I am very happy for you and Johnny. You will make a great mother and Johnny will be a great father. I have a lot of faith in the two of you. I love you all very much."
Emily called Johnny when they landed. When Johnny heard the news, he wanted to go right back to Italy. "Johnny, I am fine. I just want you to know I love you and that I am so happy that we are going to have a baby. I can't wait to see you but you have to go. Milo is watching over us and so is grandmother. She knows that we will make great parents. I just not sure about mom and dad. Also about telling grandfather. I want you to come home first before I tell them. You can tell Jason but make sure he doesn't tell Alan, Monica and Edward. Hurry home."
Johnny got off the phone with Emily and told Jason the news. He understood why Emily wanted to wait to tell their parents until she got a hold of the pregnancy a little better.
The guys were in Port Charles for a few days and then they were on their way back home. Their wives and girlfriend were waiting patiently for them to come home. Thanksgiving was in two weeks and the parents were on the way over to Italy.