Ok. For some reason I've been challenged again in updating but at last, I think I got it right. Lo siento to all of my readers. I know I've been horribly delayed but I'm back. Enjoy!
Lizzy's eyes scanned the room. It was probably the fourth or fifth time she'd distracted herself in such a way but who's counting. The reality was she'd finished most of her work and should really pack up and head home. But what was she heading home to?
What had become of her? Last semester Lizzy had been buzzing from class, to the Crimson, to the library and then back to class. She'd lamented never having time for her friends let alone a boyfriend. Now? Nothing held her interest. She continually felt the pull towards home but then stopped, realizing home was an empty condo with a cat who may or may not actually be glad to see her. At home she'd feel her loneliness profoundly. It was best avoided. Lizzy laughed at herself. She used to hide in the stacks of Widener in search of privacy, time to simply be by herself. Now she had more than she knew what to do with.
But Lizzy was busy. She was working on a piece for the Crimson about the university's environmental policies. Her classes were in full swing and she'd met up with quite a few friends. This semester felt different and her days felt lackluster. For the past two months, William had simply consumed her. Now he was on the other side of the world. They'd managed two conversations since he departed Tuesday morning but they were short and left her wanting more. There was nothing urgent to communicate but she missed him... more then she had ever realized she would. It was as if knowing she couldn't see him or touch him at the end of each day made her crave his voice, his touch, even the grumpy face he wore when something displeased him.
Slowly Lizzy finally began to pack her books into her backpack. Thankfully plans were already set for tonight with Maria. Nothing fancy, just dinner and a movie. Her level of exhaustion had not abated and Maria wouldn't mind if she crashed on the couch in the middle of the video. They'd been texting all afternoon and had already decided on a replay of their favorite Adam Sandler movie - a relief given her tendency to succumb to tears. This morning Lizzy had spied a picture of a young William holding Georgie as a baby. The picture, propped on William's desk, was not new but never had she thought of what her William would look like holding their baby. Even in his twelve-year-old state, there was a enough resemblance to the man he is today to set her off to a puddle of tears.
As she began her walk back home Lizzy reflected on her new state of being. The past week had given her a lot of time to think and, she'd resolved to generate only positive thoughts to direct to the new life she carried. Thus far she'd identified two excellent features of being pregnant. The first being a wonderful feeling of fullness: full of love. She was carrying a part of William in her. This thought alone made her love him more. In the week since she first learned of the baby growing within her, she'd gone through a range of emotions. In the beginning, surprise, fear and maybe even a little anger had been strongly felt. Lizzy was now at peace with those emotions. They hadn't been directed at the baby within her but rather, at the state of continual chaos in which her life had been since that fateful conversation with her father last year. Just as life began to feel a bit more settled, she was forced to deal with another obstacle on the path to achieving her goals. The challenges she faced kept springing up, one after another, and for once she'd wanted an easy path. But it was different now. William had shown her she wasn't on this journey alone and that realization had made all the difference. A baby wouldn't prevent her from pursuing her dreams. William had made that absolutely clear. It seemed he was more determined than she that she graduate from Harvard and become a journalist. In the days leading up to his departure on Tuesday morning they'd discussed myriad ways they could organize their lives while ensuring that any baby of theirs would be loved and cared for. They hadn't settled on anything firm and Lizzy had planned to speak with Professor Gardiner when she visited his family tomorrow about her options. All that said, being united on making it work, hearing William's determination, gave her the confidence she needed to feel confident about the future.
Lizzy held in a chuckle as she thought about the second excellent feature of being pregnant: her larger chest. Yes, she had to admit that despite the tenderness she was experiencing, for once she could really fill out a sweater. Oh she wasn't tiny but now she was eye-catching and it caused her a bit of a laugh. It was good to find some physical perk when the rest of her felt so lousy. She hadn't actually gotten ill over the past few days but the nausea would stay with her until lunchtime and she was incredibly tired all the time. A frequent need to pee made anything longer than a 50 minute class impossible to sit through without breaks. She actually thought to have a conversation with the professor of her one three-hour class to explain the three bathroom breaks she found necessary. Spying the clock she realized her sister would be meeting her shortly with dinner from the restaurant. Best to try and get a call into him now before Maria arrived. It was likely time for him to wake up anyway.
There was no denying her disappointment to get his voicemail. She forced her voice into a cheery tone. "Hi Will. It's me. I just wanted to say good morning. Call me back. Love you." Lizzy tucked the phone into her pocket so it was close at hand in case he called back. Directing her mind back to the night ahead, Lizzy began setting up the movie and place settings on the coffee table for night at home with Maria.
William's eyes rolled over towards the clock. It was that disoriented blur that often accompanies a deep sleep preventing his brain from processing the information conveyed by the numbers in plain view. As the seconds clicked by it finally registered. 10:00. 10:00? In the morning? Stumbling towards the bathroom he pulled the shade up to verify the sun had already risen a good deal. It was the confirmation of daylight that finally jolted him awake. Was it really 10? He'd seriously overslept and needed to rush through a shower if he was to make it to his meeting with Marc at 10:30.
Hopping out of the shower he noticed a missed call from Lizzy. The call had come in over two hours ago. He knew she had plans with Maria for tonight and hoped he could catch her before they went out. The time apart seemed to stretch interminably. It amazed him how interdependent they'd become in the span of only a few months. He sorely missed her and their short phone calls only made him want to fly home even more. One more week and he'd be home again, holding her in his arms, kissing those soft perfect lips. A spot of blood jolted him from this line of thinking. He needed to pay some attention to his shaving if he didn't want to wind up with repeated cuts along his face.
Grabbing his jacket he eyed the clock again. 10:17. Dashing to the elevator he tried to focus his thoughts on the meeting ahead but his mind would not obey. 'I'll just quickly call her while I'm in the taxi to make sure she's feeling ok,' he thought.
"Hello?"
William looked at his phone to make sure he dialed the right number. Sure enough her name was printed on the top of the screen. "Hi. This is William Darcy. I'm trying to reach Elizabeth Darcy. Who is this?"
"Hi William. It's Maria. Sorry, I heard Lizzy's phone ringing and thought I'd answer it."
Knowing Lizzy's plans he should have recognized the voice. Clearly he wasn't fully awake yet. "Of course. Hi Maria. How are you?"
"I'm good. Where are you?"
"Tokyo although I'm flying out this afternoon to Singapore. Umm, Maria? I'm sorry to be rude but I don't have much time. Can I speak with Lizzy?"
"Unfortunately she's completely sacked out. She must not be sleeping well with you away because twenty minutes into the movie and she was snoring loudly. Even the ringing of her cell didn't wake her." Maria's voice was a mixture of mild concern and amusement.
"I can relate. I completely overslept this morning and am racing to a meeting before I head to the airport. How did Lizzy seem before she fell asleep?"
"Fine I guess. I can tell you her appetite doesn't seem to be depressed with you away," Maria giggled a bit at her own joke. "Do you want me to wake her?"
"No. It's important she sleeps and I can't talk for long so it won't be worthwhile. Are you sleeping over tonight?"
"Yea. Lizzy asked me to and there's no sense traipsing to the other side of Boston at this point. I'll let her know you called. She'll be bummed she missed you."
"I'm disappointed too but I'm glad you're there. Take care of her for me alright?"
"Will do. Hey before you go, is everything ok with Lizzy? Are you worried about her for some reason? Should I be worried?"
"There's no reason for you to worry. I just miss her. Tell her I love her."
"I'm sure she knows," Maria thought it was sweet how devoted William was to her big sister. It made her happy to know that even in the chaos of the past few months, Lizzy had found someone to love.
William turned off the ringer on his phone, secure in the knowledge that he wouldn't hear from Lizzy for several hours. He was so glad Maria was with her sister. That knowledge finally allowed him to focus on his upcoming meeting with Marc. He'd learned an incredible amount about their Japanese market presence and was beginning to understand the on-the-ground reasons driving the numbers he was seeing on his reports. He and Marc needed to have a heart-to-heart about William's expectations if Marc was to remain a part of PE. Not everything Marc was doing was bad, but the lack of communication and complete disregard for PE's policies could not continue. Some of the "contract flexibility" Marc had allowed would absolutely need to be stopped. Before coming down too hard on Marc, William wanted to see the Singapore and Shanghai operations. That would inform exactly what his message would be. This morning would serve as a warning before they boarded a plane to Singapore together.
Lizzy was bound and determined to wake up at a timely hour in order to make her sister breakfast. It was the least she could do after crashing on the couch before 9 last night and leaving her sister alone to clean up from dinner. Having secured some tea and toast for herself, Lizzy turned on the oven to bake cinnamon rolls. They'd always been Maria's favorite and with four girls in the house, actually getting to eat more than one was a luxury rarely achieved. The extended night's sleep did seem to give Elizabeth a bit more energy. Even more, she'd received the sweetest text from William during the night once he'd safely arrived in Singapore. Putting one leg of the trip behind them brought him one step closer to home. At least that was the optimistic spin he had put on it and it was a welcome thought. After twenty minutes of baking and musing over random thoughts about William and their activities on his return, the aroma of freshly baked cinnamon roles pulled Maria from her sleep and into the kitchen.
"You didn't," Maria exclaimed as she drooled over the round baking tin.
"I most certainly did. The Pillsbury dough boy has paid us a visit and these delectable treats are freshly baked for our singular delight. I know I'll have no difficulty devouring two or three of these myself."
"My mouth was watering before I pushed the covers off. If you treat me like this every Saturday morning, I'll stay over every weekend."
"And leave you to fend for yourself every Friday night when I fall asleep on you?" Lizzy asked, a bit abashed that she'd abandoned her sister.
"I wanted to ask. Are you feeling ok? You were into some serious zzzz's before 9:00 hit. I don't think I've seen you so tired."
Lizzy bit her lower lip. They hadn't discussed sharing their news with Maria and yet, having shared the news with Georgie it only seemed fair to treat Maria with equal consideration. In her gut, Lizzy knew she wanted to share this with her sister, the only remaining family she had nearby or could easily contact. If something went wrong, she'd want Maria's support. Without much debate Lizzy decided to spill the beans. "I wanted to tell you. It's still very, very early. But... it turns out I'm pregnant. A little over seven weeks. We're not telling people in general but I wanted you to know."
Maria's mouth dropped open and hung there for a few minutes. "Aye, Papa will kill you." Maria's hand flew to her mouth realizing what she had just said. "Oh, no. Sorry. I just remember all those lectures from the nuns about fornication and from Papa about getting our education before having babies. He was always so adamant anytime he heard about one of our classmates dropping out because she was pregnant." Maria looked in horror at her sister and, trying to make it better, continued. "You're married so I'm sure it's different. I uh, I'm sure he'd be very happy for you." Maria decided to stop babbling realizing her comments weren't improving her perilous position.
Suppressing a laugh, Lizzy squeezed Maria's hand. "You know Papa's lectures were my first thought too. After I left the doctor's office I headed straight into a church. Do you think Lilia and Kat got the same message drilled into them as we did from Papa and our parish priest?"
Maria, relieved to see her sister took her outburst in good humor, shook her head. "I don't know. I certainly know we are expected to have our degrees and be self-sufficient before we start a family. I think papa may gave up by the time they were old enough to hear the message. Seriously though, are you ok?"
"Aside from the nausea and exhaustion, I think I'm fine. I was worried about school and everything but William is adamant that I finish my degree and do my internship. We just haven't worked out the details yet. You can depend on the fact that I'll be walking across that podium even if I'm pushing a stroller at the same time."
"You're amazing Lizzy. I don't know how you do it all. I'm drowning with the restaurant and school and here you are dealing with your immigration issues, a baby, a marriage and Harvard. All at the same time. I don't know how I can help but please let me know what I can do." Maria paused for a few minutes before exclaiming, "OMG, I can't believe I'm going to be an aunt!?"
"All I keep saying is, it's a good thing pregnancy takes nine months because I'm going to need that long to get used to the idea that I'm going to be a mom!"
The girls hugged tightly before sitting down to devour their cinnamon rolls, the vanilla frosting dripping from the warm confections. Lizzy was happy she'd shared the news with Maria. Her sister had always been into music and began recalling some of the lullabies and children's songs they'd learned. Having younger siblings they'd certainly heard them often enough. It was comforting to think they'd have this part of their childhood to share with her child.
Lizzy hadn't seen her advisor since early January. Despite Maddy's warm invitation to spend Saturday with the Gardiner family, Lizzy felt some trepidation as she approached the house. Professor Gardiner had served as a surrogate father figure for her, especially over these past few months. Seeing him was almost akin to facing her papa and thus, discussing her pregnancy with the professor was fraught with anxiety. So it was that she left the warm embrace of her sister's acceptance to face the man who had already jumped through many hoops to help her stay in the country in order to earn her degree. Would he condemn her for being stupid and careless?
She needn't have worried. Before Elizabeth pressed the bell she found herself engulfed in Edward Gardiner's hug. "How are you feeling Lizzy? Are you ok?" The professor's concern for her general wellbeing brought tears to her eyes. Not that crying was a unique or unprecedented state for her but the sentiment was still strongly felt.
"I'm fine. Anxious to be honest and tired but generally fine. Thanks. I hope we can find some time to talk about school."
"Of course but the girls have been giddy all morning with the prospect of seeing you so we might need to satisfy them first. Hopefully they won't wear you out too much."
"I can't wait to see them either. Where are they?"
"They must not realize you've arrived or I'm sure they'd be dragging you up to their room already. I'll warn you, Isabelle has recently gotten turned onto Barbie dolls and can spend hours dressing those dolls."
"Duly noted. Fortunately my fine motor skills are still in good working order." By this time Lizzy was divested of her coat, hat, mittens and boots. Stepping into the family room she found the three younger Gardiners attention fully absorbed by a video, the eldest off at a friend's house for the afternoon.
"Theo we need to get you ready for hockey. Let's get you changed." The sound of their father's voice got all of children's attention. Squeals pierced the room as the girls spotted Lizzy.
"You're finally here. We've been waitin' and waitin'. We got new Barbie dolls and you have to see em." Both girls grabbed a hand and began pulling Lizzy out of the room and towards the stairs.
"I'm happy to see you too. Let's see these new dolls. It's been years since I've gotten to play with Barbies."
Edward watched Lizzy and his daughters depart with a smile. He'd been shocked when Maddy had shared the news that Lizzy was pregnant. As if she didn't already have enough on her plate. He knew she'd be a wonderful mother. Her patience and willingness to play, read, sing and entertain his own children gave him plenty of evidence. Hands down Lizzy was the best babysitter they'd ever had earning her a beloved space in their family. His children loved her and it was clear she loved them in return. Edward had already brainstormed a series of options for Lizzy to finish her degree over varying timetables and configurations. He and Maddy had talked them through in advance of today's visit to ensure he hadn't missed anything.
Maddy returned home with a carful of groceries. The house was remarkably quiet but having spied Lizzy's things in the front hall, she figured the girls had her well occupied in their bedroom. After putting away the week's supply of food, Maddy began to warm some milk for Ovaltine. The afternoon treat would distract her girls enough to give Maddy a chance to check on how Lizzy was fairing now that she'd had a week to process her news. After pouring four mugs of the chocolatey treat, Maddy made her way up to her daughters' bedroom. Upon arrival she found all three, Lizzy, Avery and Isabelle, all on the floor, their hair in matching braids to the hairstyles of the various dolls in their midst.
"I see you've been busy."
"Mama look. Me and Barbie have the same hair. We all do. Lizzy did it. We've been havin' so much fun." Avery's excitement knew no bounds and she was literally bouncing as she spoke. It was impossible not to smile in her presence.
"And you all look lovely too. I thought you might all want some Ovaltine so I have four mugs of it cooling on the table." Barbie dolls were quickly abandoned in lieu of hot chocolate. Lizzy and Maddy soon found themselves alone in the girls room. Helping Lizzy up from the floor, they followed the girls down the stairs and towards the kitchen. Isabelle and Avery were completely engaged in a deep discussion about the merits of evening wear vs. beach wear for their dolls so Lizzy and Maddy took themselves off to the dining room where they could sip their hot cocoa in relative privacy.
"How are you doing?" Maddy didn't waste any time in opening the conversation with her young friend.
Lizzy was a bit embarrassed. She'd shown up on Maddy's doorstep a little over a week ago in quite a state. Lizzy wasn't one to maintain a perpetual state of hysteria and wanted to put her prior anxiety behind her. "I'm good. I think it took me all week but I'm feeling far more...acceptance about everything. William was amazing. So supportive and determined that we'd handle this together. Thank you for helping me last Friday. I was a mess and it took me awhile to get my thoughts ordered."
Reaching out to squeeze Lizzy's hand, Maddy smiled, "You had a shock and I'm so glad you came here. You're going to be a wonderful mother and Edward has developed all kinds of options for you to finish your degree. This might be a detour but all in all, you're still going to arrive at your destination."
"That's what I'm counting on. And really, I'm much more settled about the baby. It is what it is so I've moved onto thinking about the positives. This baby will be loved. It already is. William is so excited. He's worried about me but he really is excited about having a family."
"He's older than you and has lost so much family, as have you. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that he's excited to have a baby."
"Yea, and Maria and I were reminiscing this morning about our childhood. Little songs and traditions our parents shared with us. I'm looking forward to sharing those things with my baby. It makes me feel connected to my parents in a way. I miss them and love the idea of them carrying on in this baby."
"Have you spoken to William since he left for Asia?"
"Only two quick conversations although we've texted quite a few times. I miss him so much. This trip has made me realize how much my life has changed over the past few months. All of the things which used to consume me now seem so unimportant. The one saving grace is that I'm so tired all the time, I don't have much time to actually think about his absence."
Maddy spied the dark circles under Lizzy's eyes. "I remember the exhaustion well. You're taking the pre-natal vitamins right?"
Lizzy groaned. "Yes, although I can't tolerate them in the morning. I'm too nauseous. I'm sure soon enough I'll get my energy back. I can't wait."
"You actually look pretty tired. Why don't you take a quick nap in the guest room while I help the girls clean up the tornado that swept through their rooms. I've been promising to finish reading one of the Rainbow Fairy books and those two activities should keep them occupied while you refresh yourself."
"Thanks. Ordinarily I'd resist but I think I could seriously fall asleep sitting up right now."
"You know where the guest room is. I'll wake you before dinner if you don't wake on your own."
Lizzy grabbed her backpack and made her way towards the room which had been her frequent second home over the past few years. A nap would be deliciously satisfying despite her enjoyment of the past few hours. Looking at the time, she knew it was unlikely she'd hear from William. At least she needn't worry about missing his call.
One thing Lizzy could be certain of was that she had fallen asleep. Her dreams were so vivid and wacky. This one had involved a combination of pregnant Barbie dolls and repeated efforts to get them on a plane to Hong Kong to meet up with William. When she finally got them to the gate, one of them travel because she'd gone into labor in the waiting area. Shaking her head to clear the images, she began to make her way back downstairs to find the Gardiners.
"You're awake. Did you have a good nap?" Maddy asked.
"I'm feeling refreshed and definitely have enough energy for some serious pillow and blanket fort building."
It didn't take more than a moment for the kids to move from their spots but their father quickly settled them back down. "That sounds like an excellent after dinner activity but Lizzy and I have some catching up to do. There's no time like the present."
"Alright. Forts after dinner it is," Lizzy pouted in mock disappointment.
Four year old Avery came over and gave Lizzy a hug, "It's ok Lizzy. We'll make really good forts tonight."
Holding back a laugh, Lizzy hugged the little girl in return. "Thanks Avery. I feel better already."
Lizzy and Edward left the rest of the family and headed to his home office. Once they were seated, he poured himself a glass of water. "Can I get you anything?"
"No, I'm feeling pretty good right now. This is my best time of the day. Thanks though. I'm very eager to hear your thoughts about my senior year. Maddy mentioned that you'd done some investigating on my behalf and came up with a few options."
"Given we're talking about your senior year, and given your academic standing, we have a lot of flexibility. If you want to finish on time, you could try to take a few classes over the summer, maybe add an extra one this semester and then use next year to work on your thesis and maybe take one or two classes your last semester. If you do that you'll need to forgo your summer internship. The other options involve taking some period of time off, either a semester or a year, and then finishing up later. I'm sure we can structure some independent study courses and/or have you take a few courses at Columbia or NYU if that works better with William's job. Of all the years to have to juggle this your senior year is the easiest as you'll have finished most if not all of your core requirements for graduation. You can do a lot from New York if that's where you need to be."
Lizzy was relieved that she had so much flexibility. "It's not a problem with the university that I take time off?"
Shaking his head, Edward answered, "Life happens Lizzy and you're not the first student to have something unexpected happen in the middle of pursuing their degree. It's not the norm but it's certainly not unheard of. We'll just need to work closely so that this can happen smoothly. I'm not worried."
"So what do you think I should do?" Lizzy asked. His opinion really mattered to her.
"Honestly? I think you should take your time. You're still very young and have a long time to have a career. Another year isn't going to really matter and having been with Maddy through four pregnancies, I don't want to see you rush. Enjoy this semester on campus with your friends. Go to New York and do your internship. Have the baby and maybe in the Spring semester you can take a few courses to lighten your load on your final year. I have some very good friends who are professors in New York who I'm sure you'd love learning with. We can organize your senior year to ensure you're in Cambridge as much or as little as you want to be. This time with your first pregnancy and your first baby is very special. You should try to minimize the stress and enjoy every minute of it. Of course, if you want to graduate with your friends, I'll help you figure that out too."
"Ok, you've given me a lot to think about. Thank you. I want to talk to William and see what he thinks about it all. We've had so little time together since we learned about the pregnancy."
"Just let me know what you decide and we can put the paperwork in motion to set up how you want to do it all. And if Maddy and I can help with anything while you're here, please don't hesitate to ask. We know a thing or two about having kids. The biggest thing we learned is to lean on others. You know what they say...it takes a village to raise a child. You've certainly been a part of our village and we'd be happy to be a part of your child's."
Lizzy felt tears pricking her eyes. She didn't know what she'd possibly done to deserve such support from the Gardiner's but it was very reassuring to have it.
Edward could sense Lizzy needed a diversion. "Why don't we set the table for dinner. Maddy put something in the slow cooker this afternoon and my mouth has been watering for the past hour."
"I knew I smelled something good." The two made their way towards the kitchen to help set things up for dinner.
William was relieved to have finally had a good night's sleep under his belt. He'd managed to stay awake until 10:00 and had slept straight through to the following morning. Freshly showered and with coffee on board he eyed the clock. It was almost 9:00 Sunday morning. Lizzy should be preparing for bed and he hoped they could talk for little longer than their prior conversations. Settling himself onto the couch in his hotel suite he grabbed his phone hoping for a lengthy Face time chat.
"It's you! I'm so happy to actually see you," Lizzy gushed.
"Hi love. Where are you? I don't recognize your surroundings."
"I'm at the Gardiner's. hey had me over today and I'm staying the night. I didn't really want to spend another night at home by myself. I miss my bed warmer and I'm guessing one of the kids will come and join me at some point in the night."
Chuckling, William was relieved to see her bright smile and good mood. "I miss you." The words popped out of his mouth without a thought.
"I miss you too. More than you can imagine," Lizzy sighed.
"I bet I can. How are you feeling? Any changes? Anything you've noticed?" William wished he could touch her. Seeing Lizzy on his phone simply wasn't enough.
"I'm fine. Tired and you know, the usual symptoms, but otherwise fine. It's been nice being with the Gardiner's. They've been babying me a little and I think I needed a little TLC."
William looked chagrined. "I wish I was there to give you some tender loving care, but I promise I will as soon as I can get back home."
"Ohhh Will. I didn't say that to make you feel bad. They can't replace you but it's nice to have the Gardiner's and you. I need both I think. Anyway, tell me about Singapore."
"I don't have much to tell. I arrived last night and took a taxi right to the hotel and haven't left yet. I have some free time today. What do you want me to get you as a souvenir?"
"I don't know. Something you can only get there. Something unique, maybe for the baby so we can tell him or her the story of when you went on this trip."
"Ok. We'll see what I can find. Did you talk to the professor about next year?"
"Yea. We did. He makes it all sound so easy. I'm going to delay my graduation, I'll just finish a year later. We can talk about the details when you get back but I think it's the most sane way to deal with this all."
"Whatever you want to do love. It's your call. We can talk more next week when I'm home. I can't wait to come home."
"I can't wait for you to be back here. Focus on your work, get done what you need to do, and then come back. I don't like having you so far away. I didn't realize how hard this would be."
"Me neither. I'll see you in a week and then I'm not letting you go for a long time."
Fighting off a yawn, Lizzy reached out to touch the screen of her phone. "I love you Will."
"I love you too. Go to sleep and have wonderful dreams. I'll try to call you tomorrow at the same time."
"Ok. Be safe."
Lizzy disconnected and then, hugging the phone close to her, laid down in the bed to sleep.
Can't wait for William to return. There will be lots of progress when he does. His Uncle Henry has been hard at work on his behalf. More to come when on that topic when William gets back. And some baby news...
Thoughts, questions, comments are helpful and soooo appreciated :)