Outskirts of LA

Elizabeth slid down to the floor with her back to the wall of her bathroom. She looked at the test again. Pregnant. No. She couldn't be. This was her last summer before she started her teaching job. The job she had worked so hard for. She didn't want to be a mom yet. She was only twenty-two.

"Elizabeth? Dinner is ready," Faith said through the door, ever cheerful and a good cook. Elizabeth couldn't have a better roommate.

"I'm not hungry. Thank you though."

"Are you sure? I made Spinach ravioli. Your favorite."

"I'm sorry, Faith. I think I'm just going to sleep."

"In the bathroom? Are you ill?"

She stood and threw away the test, hiding it in the trash in case Faith decided to get curious.

She opened the door and pasted on a smile. "No, I'm not going to sleep in the bathroom. Thank you for dinner. I'll eat it later."

Faith studied her best friend. She looked pale and exhausted. She could blame it on jet lag from her semester in England, but she'd been back a month.

"Do you want some tea?"

Elizabeth hugged her friend and smiled. "I'm fine, Faith. Thank you."

She wasn't fine. Elizabeth wouldn't be fine until she bought ten more tests and they showed Not Pregnant on them.

She crawled under the comforter and covered her head, resisting the urge to cry. Maybe the test was incorrect. Maybe this was a dream. She pinched her arm and yelped.

"Not a dream. Crap."

This was not how her life was supposed to be. She wasn't going to have children until she was married and at least thirty.

She wanted to settle in her life as a teacher. She wanted to make a difference in her student's lives. Then she would become a mom.

She closed her eyes and sighed. Then the tears that she was trying to fight, started.

"Elizabeth?" Faith whispered as she opened her bedroom door.

"Faith, can you please give me some time alone?"

"I'll put your tea here on the side table."

"I don't want tea!" she yelled. "I want my life back!"

She pulled her comforter down and grabbed a kleenex.

"Elizabeth, what's going on?"

"Nothing!"

"You are not a yeller, Elizabeth. This is not you talking. Something obviously is upsetting you."

Elizabeth moved over to make room for her best friend to lay down and then she held out her hand.

Faith took it and laid down next to her. "You can tell me anything."

"I met someone in Cambridge."

"Oooo. Is he cute?"

Elizabeth couldn't help the smile that formed on her face. "Very."

"Tell me more."

"He's amazing and smart and sexy and we fell in love."

"Elizabeth! That's wonderful!"

"No. It's not. I'm supposed to meet him in about three weeks in Chicago." She blew her nose and coughed a bit.

"Chicago sounds great."

"I can't go now."

"Why? Fill in the details here, Elizabeth. I don't understand what's going on."

"I can't go because I'm pregnant, Faith. Pregnant and this SUCKS!"

"And you can't travel when you're pregnant?"

"Of course I can but he doesn't want children yet, Faith. Neither do I. How can I go there and ruin any plans he had for himself?"

"Because he is the father of this child. He has every right to know that you are pregnant."

"I know. I just can't believe this is happening."

"When are you due?"

"I don't know! I just took a test thirty minutes ago!"

"We can figure it out. I'm sure there's an app."

…..

New York City, three weeks later

Lucas opened his eyes to the incessant beeping of the heart monitor that was right next to him. He couldn't believe this was happening. A broken shoulder, three broken ribs. Two days before, the cab he was in had been struck by another car that ran a red light. Now, he was stuck here. The worst part was, he couldn't let anyone know because his phone had been stolen out of the car. That's New York City for you. Get in a serious accident and your phone gets stolen.

He was supposed to go to Chicago yesterday. Obviously that didn't happen. He missed Elizabeth terribly. She had been texting him regularly up until about a month ago. Then she went silent. He was a bit worried.

"Well, Mr. Bouchard," Nurse Nancy said, walking in the room. "You should be able to leave tomorrow."

"Great," he groaned, trying to move but it wasn't easy with his injuries.

…..

O'Hare Airport, Chicago

Elizabeth sighed as she sat at the airport waiting to fly back to LA. He hadn't shown up. She had gotten up her nerve to fly out here and tell him about the baby and he hadn't even shown up. He didn't answer her phone calls or texts either. She was worried. It wasn't like him at all.

She tried to remember the name of his mother. He had mentioned that they live in a small town in Nebraska but she couldn't remember the name of the town either.

"Flight 917 to Los Angeles is now boarding," she heard the woman say over the speaker.

Halfway through her plane ride it came to her. "Helen!"

People across the aisle and next to her looked at her. Apparently she had said that way louder than she intended.

Helen Bouchard. Now she just had to remember the name of the town. It wasn't like she could just google "small town Nebraska" and find it. It would take a long time. If he was ghosting her, fine. She would survive without him. He hadn't seemed like that kind of man. Not at all. He was so wonderful and now, she was alone.

……

Hope Valley, California, just south of LA

Five years later

Elizabeth walked out of Hope Valley Elementary and walked around the building to the pre-school where her four-year-old daughter, Noa was waiting.

"Mommy! Look what I made!" Noa yelled, her dark curls bouncing as she jumped up and down. She showed her the artwork that she was super excited about.

"Wow, punkin! It's beautiful." She really didn't know what it was but she was still proud.

"Thank you, Mommy."

"You're welcome, love. Now, lets get your stuff together and we can go back to my classroom. I have a few more things to grade before we can go home."

"Okay, Mommy."

Noa skipped beside Elizabeth as they walked outside in the nice fall weather. She was singing a little song about a ladybug, every so often, stopping and jumping.

"I sure love you, Noa Faith Thatcher."

"Love you to the MOOOOON and back, Mommy!"

"I'm so glad."

She was glad. She was glad that she had the most loving, easy-going daughter in the world. She was glad she was healthy. She was glad that she could provide for them both and that she had friends and family nearby that she could rely on if she needed to.

Speaking of, her mom was calling. "Hi, Mom," she answered.

"Is that Nana Grace? OOOOO I want to talk to her! Please, Mommy!"

"In a minute, punkin. Hush now so I can hear."

"Beth, your Dad and I have some news."

"Good news?"

"Yes. Its good. We are going on a second honeymoon."

"Nice. Where are you going?"

"Cambridge." Elizabeth's heart did a little jump. Cambridge. Where she fell in love five years before. Where Noa was conceived. Where that wonderful man captured her heart.

"Beth?"

"I'm sorry, Mom. What did you say?"

"I'm saying we will be traveling through Thanksgiving so we won't be having dinner at our house like normally."

"Oh."

"If you want, you and your sisters can use the house."

"No, that's alright. We will figure it out. I hope you have a good trip."

"Mommy, I gotta go potty!"

Elizabeth opened the door to the school and Noa ran ahead, fully aware of where the bathroom was.

"I know that maybe us going there might bring up memories," Grace mentioned.

"Regardless, I'm not the one going. You are. I hope you enjoy it. Really, Mom."

"Thank you, honey. Do you and Noa want to come over tomorrow night for dinner?"

"Sure. We'd love to."

"Great. I will see you then."

Elizabeth hadn't thought about Lucas in about nine hours. Not since dropping Noa at pre-school. Just looking at the beautiful little girl brought back Lucas to her mind. She had his eyes, dark hair and dimples.

"You know what, punkin?" she asked a few minutes later.

"What, Mommy?"

"I don't feel like working. Let's go get pizza and ice cream and watch a movie."

"Okay!"

It was Friday and she could work on the grading she had to do after Noa went to sleep. So they packed up their things and headed to the car. Elizabeth was looking forward to spending time with Noa doing something less adult.

…….

Lucas drove down from LA to Hope Valley that afternoon. Sounded like a cute little town to go see. He had promised his boss that he would take a day out of his week to actually relax and not work.

He didn't relax often. He worked way too much according to his mom. In his opinion, he kept busy enough to make his days go by so he wouldn't think about what he was missing.

A wife. Maybe kids. A house of his own, not an apartment. That house would be out of the city but still within commuting distance.

He had enough money to purchase a home but he didn't have anyone to share it with so he'd just stay in an apartment in New York. And work.

His stomach growled as he pulled through town so he stopped at Valley Pies. The only way he knew it was pizza and not a bakery was the pizza on the door.

As he got out of his car, his eye caught on a familiar woman walking with a young child. "Elizabeth?"

She turned her head and stopped walking. "Yes? Do I know you?"

"Elizabeth, its me. Lucas."

"Oh my goodness. You have a beard. I didn't recognize you." Somehow the beard made him look ten times better than she remembered.

"Mommy? I'm so hungry! I think our pizza is ready."

Lucas' eyes traveled to the child. She looked familiar. Her eyes…

"Punkin, I need you to be patient. I'm talking right now."

"You have a daughter?" He was no expert on kids but she looked around four years old.

"I do."

"And she is how old?"

"Lucas, this is not a conversation I want to have standing on the street."

"Wait, is she….her eyes look like mine."

"Mommy?"

"Noa, please, honey. Just two more minutes."

"Elizabeth, this conversation…if you are going to tell me what I think you are….it needs to be longer than two minutes."

"Have you eaten?" she asked with a sigh. She couldn't believe that Lucas was standing in front of her right now. In Hope Valley of all places.

"No."

"We just ordered pizza."

"And ice cream," Noa told him. "The blue kind."

"Blue ice cream, huh? That sounds good."

"You're welcome to join us at our house for pizza and blue ice cream," Elizabeth offered.

"I guess that would be fine. Do you know of anywhere to stay in town?"

She didn't know what possessed her to do it but she found herself inviting him to stay in her guest room.

And he accepted.

This night was going to be anything but a relaxing one.