***Willow Pond***
Jonathan and Jennifer pulled up to the Willow Pond house, and parked. They got out and walked up to the door.
Jonathan had received the code to the key box from the bank when he inquired about it, so he put that in and unlocked the house.
They walked inside.
Jennifer was underwhelmed, to say the least.
Paint was peeling, floors were rotten, there wasn't a room that didn't need work of some kind.
She started making lists and jotting down ideas for each room.
He came up behind her and kissed her head as he placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Darling, you can sell this place if you want. We don't have to live here".
"I want to, Jonathan. It might take forever, but I want to fix it up and make it our home".
She turned to face him.
"I really want to do this".
"Then that's what we'll do."
"I just don't know where to start".
"Well, first we get the base appraisal. Then we get someone in here to restore the floors. After that, painters, electricians, plumbers. You need to decide if you want to add walls or knock any down, because if so, then we will have to hire a general contractor. And we will take it one step at a time".
He kissed her forehead.
She took his hand and led him from room to room, and they talked about what they wanted in each room.
The appraiser arrived, and gave them their base appraisal.
"We are going to fix this place up and then call you back out when that's completed".
"I look forward to it".
Jonathan paid him and then he left them alone in the house.
Jennifer walked around, carefully, examining each part of every room.
After about an hour, she was ready to go.
"Thanks for bringing me here, darling".
She leaned up and kissed him.
They headed home, and she told him what she wanted to do with each room.
"I'm thinking cream colored walls in all the rooms except the kitchen. I think I want a soft green in there. And maybe a soft creamy blue in our bedroom. And I want to redo the kitchen-all new appliances, new cabinets. And you mentioned that we could tear down walls if we wanted-what do you think about taking the small study upstairs that backs up to our bathroom and knocking down the wall between the two and expanding our bathroom and closets into that space?"
"I like that idea".
"As far as the baby's room, I'm thinking we need to make the room across from ours the baby's room. I'll pick out colors later".
"We could always design Mergatroid's room when he's born".
"That we could. Baby Hazel will probably bunk with us for several months anyways".
"Yes, but if Baby Norman stays with us too long, he will keep himself from getting a sibling".
They were at a stop light when Jonathan turned towards her.
"Ice cream?"
She nodded.
He turned and drove them to an ice cream place.
One bowl of chocolate vanilla swirl and one bowl of chocolate chip and strawberry later, they were headed home.
They put on their pajamas and then ate their ice cream on the couch. Jonathan turned on a baseball game and Jennifer was looking at a bridal magazine.
"Darling, do you want a sit down dinner, or a buffet for the reception?"
"I think a sit down dinner would be nice. But then again buffets are nice too".
She got up and got the policy manual that Bill had brought her.
She read through it a couple of times.
"Oh dear, this changes everything".
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I was thinking we could do more than one buffet line-everyone could go on both sides of the table, and there could be one on each end of the room. But this manual says that buffet tables have to be against the wall. Flowers can't be more than 8 inches tall from the vase to the top of the bloom, have to use their vases, have to use a DJ and not a band…"
"Do you want to find somewhere else?"
"No, I really love that room. I'll make it work".
"We could hire a wedding planner if you want, darling".
"Oh, that's ok. I might need to hire an errand girl before it's all over with, but I can take care of the other stuff".
Before they went to bed, she changed her bridesmaids dresses from royal blue to light blue, and added sparkly silver as the accent color.
"Ok darling, hear me out. Outside ceremony, inside reception. Buffet style food tables, one at each end, plus a smaller dessert table. Open bar, or cash bar, whichever we decide. Write our own vows, non-traditional music, non-traditional everything, really. And you get to pick- Gray suits with dark gray shirts and light blue ties, or gray suits with light blue shirts and gray ties".
"I like everything you said, and I think we should go with gray suits, light blue shirts and gray ties."
"Perfect. I will see if I can find the perfect ties, darling".
"Our wedding toast will have to be sparkling cider, at least in my glass".
"Mine too, darling. You aren't in this pregnancy alone, we are in it together".
"How sweet!"
She leaned over and kissed him.
After the game was over, she went and got a glass of water while he locked up before they headed to bed.
They climbed into bed and Jonathan immediately rolled over and stared at her stomach.
"What are you doing?"
"Hey there baby Waldo, whatcha' doing in there? Having fun?"
"Jonathan! This is so silly".
"Jennifer, it's a scientific fact that talking to your baby makes them smarter. Just imagine, in 19 years from now, we could be watching little Jermaine accept his diploma from Princeton, and it's all because I talked to him every night while you were pregnant".
"Princeton, huh? Why not Yale? Or Brown? Or what if baby Gertrude wants to go to Vassar and Smith, like her mother did?"
"Wherever little Winston wants to go is fine with me".
"Darling, I was thinking-what if announce at the wedding that we are having a baby? Like during the reception".
"Not a bad idea."
He moved up to lay next to her again, and she snuggled onto his chest.
They chatted about the week ahead, and a few minutes later, she fell asleep on his chest.
***The next day***
Jennifer ran some errands while Jonathan was at work. She picked up a couple pregnancy books, and a few infancy books.
She ran by Susan's office to make the appointment for her and Jonathan to come in.
While she was standing there, Susan popped her head in.
"Hi! How are you feeling?"
"Fine. I'm glad to see you-I was going to ask you, should I be eating anything special or taking anything special?"
"As many leafy greens as you can, ideally. Protein will give you energy. And prenatal vitamins will also help".
"Perfect, I'll pick some up".
"Did you make your appointment yet?"
"Yes, for tomorrow at 2. Jonathan is coming too".
"How did he take the news?"
"I thought he was going to be mad, but he was thrilled. It was so cute. And last night he insisted on talking to the baby while we were laying in bed. He told me doing so would be the reason our kid goes to Princeton".
"It's so fun to see an involved father".
"Yeah, it is, isn't it? Well, I guess we will see you tomorrow".
"Sounds great. See you then".
She headed out and stopped at the pharmacy on her way home and picked up some prenatal vitamins.
When she got home, she changed into her workout clothes and found a workout channel on the tv. She did yoga and Pilates till Jonathan got home.
He came in and found her doing leg thrusts.
"Hi darling".
"He….llo. Al….most…done".
He went and changed clothes while she finished her Pilates.
As soon as she finished, she headed to the bedroom for a shower.
She turned on the shower and then turned and kissed him.
"Hi".
"Hi. Tell Max I won't be long".
He leaned down and kissed her and then left her to her shower.
She came to the kitchen about 20 minutes later, and they all had a nice dinner.
She read the book about what to expect during pregnancy while Jonathan and Max watched a baseball game.
The game went into extra innings, so Jennifer left them to it and then headed to the bedroom.
When the game ended, Jonathan came in and found her doing squats.
"93….94….95…."
Jonathan was in awe that she was able to do 100 squats.
"99….100. All done".
She went and got a glass of water and then came back and climbed into bed.
"Darling, are you feeling ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
"Just wondering. Never seen you work out so hard before".
"Well, I noticed today that one of my favorite outfits was getting a little snug, so I decided to up my activity level so that hopefully I won't gain a bunch of weight during this pregnancy".
He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"No matter how big you get or don't get, you will always be the most beautiful woman in the world to me".
She kissed him and settled onto his chest.
"Darling, we have an appointment tomorrow with Susan at 2. And we need to decide if we want to know ahead of time the gender or if we want to wait to find out when the baby is born".
"Well, darling, I will absolutely do whatever you want to. But I kind of like the idea of waiting. It makes the pregnancy more fun".
"Yeah? Me too".
"You know what is more fun than waiting to find out what kind of baby you're having?"
"No, what?"
"Making the baby".
She chuckled as she kissed him.
They spent the next few hours making love and then they fell asleep together.
***The next day***
Jennifer woke up around 5, and couldn't go back to sleep. She was starving so she quietly slipped out of bed and headed to the kitchen and grabbed a banana.
She came back and quietly put on some running shorts and a tank top and headed down to the beach. She ran 4 miles and then came back. Jonathan was sitting at the table drinking coffee when she came in.
"There you are, I was worried about you".
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you darling".
She leaned up and kissed him and then grabbed a glass of water.
"Where did you go?"
"Running. On the beach".
"How far did you run?"
"To the Pier and back".
"The pier? Jennifer, that's at least 5 miles from here".
"4 darling. I clocked it yesterday in the car".
Max made her a veggie omelet and some hash browns, which she scarfed down.
She ran to take a shower after she was done.
Jonathan came into the bathroom just as she was getting out.
"I'm headed to the office. What time is our appointment?"
"2".
"I'll be there. Darling, do me a favor, and take it easy, ok?"
"I'll give it my best shot. I love you".
"I love you too".
Several kisses later, he headed to the office and she got dressed.
She was working on an article around 10:30 when the doorbell rang.
"I've got it, Miss Edwards".
"Thanks, Max".
A few minutes later, he came and brought her a package.
"Package came for you, Miss Edwards".
"Thanks, Max. Can you see who it's from?"
"V. Campbell".
"Oh wonderful!"
She put her stuff down and immediately opened it.
Inside was her mom's wedding dress, plus several bags of things that were all labeled.
She took it to the bedroom and tried on her mom's wedding dress.
It was silk, cream colored, v-cut with lace cap sleeves and had a rhinestone broach in the center of the waistline. Jennifer thought it was absolutely gorgeous.
Aunt Victoria had put a note in the box with the dress.
"This dress was worn by your mom, your Aunts Emmaline and Gretchen. Grandma Jane sewed it herself".
She slipped it on and fell in love with it. It was a couple sizes too big, but she knew that this was the dress for her.
She kept digging into the box and found several linen handkerchiefs that her mom had used in the wedding, plus a box of pictures, the heels she wore, and at the very bottom of the box, the purse she carried. Jennifer opened it and found that it was empty, except for a zippered pocket. She unzipped the pocket and found a little pouch. Inside the pouch was a pair of tear shaped diamond drop earrings.
The phone rang while she was looking at the earrings and she absentmindedly reached over and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Jennifer, sweetheart, it's Pa".
"Hi! How are you?"
"I'm fine. Listen, Aunt Victoria called me and told me that she sent you a box of your mother's wedding things. I don't know what kind of wedding you are planning, but I wanted to tell you that I put $200,000 into the Citibank account that you and I used when you were in college. You can use that for wedding expenses and then baby expenses".
"Thank you Pa, that's very sweet".
"Did you get the box yet?"
"Yes, it just came this morning. I was just looking through it. She put mom's wedding dress and shoes in here, her veil, and even the purse she carried and the earrings she wore".
"You found the earrings?"
"They were in the zippered pouch, was I not supposed to?"
"Your mother thought she lost them, sweetheart. She was 8 months pregnant with you, and she was absolutely positive you were a girl. And she was putting together stuff she wanted you to have when you grew up, and she couldn't find the earrings. She cried so hard for a couple days. To this day, I sometimes wonder if that crying spell is what put her into labor, sweetheart".
"Interesting. Well, they are very beautiful earrings. And I absolutely love her dress. I hope it still fits".
"Have you two set a date?"
"August 26th. It's going to be at the country club here in Los Angeles".
"Wonderful, sweetheart."
"And we went to the house Grandmere left me and we are going to renovate it and move in, sometime probably after the baby is born, if it takes that long".
"Well, I cannot wait to see it".
"I cannot wait for you to see it".
"I'm sure I'll love it. I have to go now, sweetheart".
"Ok, I love you Pa".
"I love you too, sweetheart. See you soon, tell Jonathan I said hi".
"Will do".
They hung up and she made a quick phone call to her aunt to thank her for the box.
Afterwards, she put everything in the box and put it in her closet and then got ready to go meet Jonathan.
***Kendall Medical Group***
Jennifer came in and signed in and sat down. Jonathan showed up a few minutes later. He came and sat next to her.
"Hi gorgeous".
"Hi".
She leaned over and kissed him.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"No, I just got here. How was your meeting?"
"Good, actually. I think the Young-Myers deal will end up being very profitable".
"That's wonderful. My father called. He said to tell you hi. He put some cash in an account he and I have for the wedding and for the baby".
"Well, that was very kind of him".
"And my aunt's box of my mom's wedding things came. Darling, do you know of a seamstress? I think I need to alter a dress".
"Yeah, the number is at home. What dress are you altering?"
"Well, I bought a wedding dress this week, but Aunt Vic sent mama's dress and I like it better. So, I was thinking of making the other dress into a party dress, and I can wear it to our rehearsal dinner, maybe, or to a party, I don't know. I'll put it on for you tonight, since you can see it now that I'm not walking down the aisle in it".
"Sounds great".
They were called back then and taken to an exam room.
"Ok, step on the scale….great, thank you. Now let me get your temp and blood pressure…wonderful! Now, gown open to the front, you can leave your panties on, but no bra, and Dr. Kendall will be in to speak with you shortly".
"Thank you".
Jonathan sat in the chair while she started to undress.
"Can you unzip me, darling?"
"Sure".
He stood up to unzip her and then kissed her neck a few times.
"You think the door locks?"
"Down, honey, down…. We can't do that in here".
"Why not? We can just tell them we are making a baby".
"We already did that, remember?"
"Do I ever".
She put the gown on and sat on the exam table.
"So tell me what the dress looks like".
"Jonathan, I will not! You cannot know anything about it till you see me walk down the aisle".
Susan came in then and said hello to them.
"Thanks for seeing us".
"No problem. Let's get the have-to stuff out of the way, shall we? Lay back".
Susan did a quick breast exam on Jennifer.
"Make sure you do these in the shower or in bed every day. Pregnancy can cause breast cysts, so keep that in mind if you find one".
She did the ultrasound next, and let them listen to the heartbeat.
"162 beats a minute, pretty good."
She found them the baby on the ultrasound screen, and then turned it so they could see it.
"There's your baby. You are officially 9 ½ weeks, measuring 10".
"That's baby Blade?"
"No darling, that's baby Thelma".
"Thelma? Blade? You two can't seriously be considering those names".
"That's what we've been calling it so far, because there is no way I would ever let him name our son Blade, and we aren't naming our daughter Thelma".
"Glad to hear it. Ok, so everything looks good with him or her. How are you feeling?"
"Great, actually".
"So, what questions do you two have for me?"
"How much exercise is too much?"
"Well, that's different for each person. The important thing is that you listen to your body".
"I'm just concerned because I came home and she was working out to the tv and sweating like she was in the Sahara, and then she did 100 squats last night before bed and then got up and ran 4 miles this morning on the beach".
"I'm tired just hearing all that. But if you're body is holding up well, then keep it up. If you experience any pain, or spotting, or dizziness, I want you to slow down, ok? And there's nothing wrong with working out every other day, instead of every single day".
Jennifer nodded.
"How's your appetite?"
"Good, but strange. I'm not usually hungry in the morning for a whole lot, but I woke up this morning at 5, which I never do, starving. And I'm finding that if something looks good, I can't eat anything else till I finish it".
"All totally normal."
"Ok, so unless you two have any other questions, I will see you again in 4 weeks. Call me if you need anything, though".
"Will do, thank you".
She stepped out, and Jennifer quickly got dressed again and they headed out.
He walked her to the car, and helped her inside.
"Are you headed back to the office?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I have one more meeting. I love you".
"I love you too. I'll see you tonight".
She kissed him a few times, and then headed home.
Jonathan walked to his car after she drove off and unlocked it.
Just before he opened the door, he heard someone say his name.
"Jonathan Hart?"
He turned around. There was a tall, lanky white man in a grey suit with a grey wide brimmed hat leaning against a tree in the median of the parking lot.
"Yes?"
"There's a deal that you are involved in. Word on the street is that you are close to signing it. Let me assure you that it would be in your best interest to not go through with the deal".
"And why is that?"
"Going through with the deal will put a lot of people out of work".
"It will also create jobs, that those same people are more than welcome to apply for".
"That lady you were with, she was very pretty. It would be a shame if something happened to her".
Before Jonathan could say anything, the man got in the car next to him and pulled away.