The next morning, Lisa was waiting for her tea to finish brewing and heard a knock at her door. She frowned, not wanting to deal with business in what she'd describe as leisure clothing. She'd put one her most comfortable clothing after getting up and with a chill in the air, had a long cardigan over her clothing too. Her staff had probably been working for hours as she realized, looking at her watch.
"Jack," she said, very surprised to find him at the door. He gave a nod, and her eyes moved quickly, nothing he had things in his hand.
"Morning," he told her and frowned. "Did I wake you?"
"No, I was up," she paused, "not by much, but I'm making tea now." She crossed her arms, the chill in the air going right through her, "what can I do for you?"
"Ahh," he looked down to what he was holding, "I had that appointment, early this morning, and I thought you might like something from Maggie's," he said, holding up the bag. "There's the oatmeal you like, fruit, a piece of that pie you always enjoy not ordering for yourself but eating mine, just a few things," he said, gesturing to her.
"Oh," she said, her eyes widening at the surprise. "Well, ahh, come in. Thank you, but you didn't have to do that."
He stepped around her and kept talking, "Well, the way I see it, yes I do, I mean, I want to help, Lisa. I know you've been carrying a lot on your shoulders, have been traveling a lot, and this was the very least I could do."
Lisa closed the door, crossed her arms because of the chill she still had and followed Jack down the hall to the kitchen where he was unpacking the food and putting it on her counter for her.
"I'm not sure where you want everything," he told her.
"Thanks again, Jack," she nodded. "I'll get everything put away. Ahh," she gestured at him, "how was your appointment?"
"Oh," he said, now finished with the food and turning to face her, "holding pattern for the moment. Doc wants to see how my new meds do before making any other adjustments. Whatever scans they did were okay, not awful, but not the best either," he explained, tilting his head around as he did so. She listened and nodded.
"Okay, well, it could be worse, I suppose," she said with raised eyebrows, confirming that. He nodded in agreement.
"I'll take the pills. I have been, so yes, it could be worse," he agreed.
"I'm betting that the pancake and bacon breakfast you like at Maggie's isn't helping or really in the diet plan?" Lisa said in an almost teasing tone.
He chuckled and wiped his hand over his mustache, "No, it's not, and you will be happy to know I have been making some meal adjustments, nothing too crazy. I'm not going to eliminate my favorites all together, but even this morning for example," he gestured to the containers of food, "you will be pleased to know I had oatmeal at Maggie's."
Lisa's eyes widened, and she looked at him shocked, "You hate oatmeal! You've always told me it looks like a pile of, well," she shook her head and looked down chuckling lightly, "nothing edible. We both know the things you've called it."
"I'm trying," he shrugged. "Seems after yesterday I have even more incentive to stick around awhile longer."
"Yeah, about yesterday," she said tilting her head at him. She paused, and he nodded to her.
"I was up a lot last night processing it all, okay, maybe most of the night sitting out on the porch, and I am here to tell you I'll in this with you, at least as much as you will let me," Jack said meeting her gaze.
"Umm, I appreciate that," she told him with a nod. The two were walking on eggshells trying to navigate the situation, and she continued, "I'm not sure how to navigate all of this myself. It's not like there is some guide. I'm taking things day by day right now."
"Okay, yeah, that is probably the best," he said, letting out his breath. "A baby, just wow."
"Just wow," she said with a pursed lips. "Well, my goal in all of this, besides delivering a healthy baby is for the two of us to get along, Jack, because in spite of everything, I have no ill will, and I don't think you do either. We just have an impasse about our futures, and we just need to figure out how we can manage this together, but apart."
"Lise," he sighed and shook his head, trying to decide if he should say what was really on his mind. He thought for a moment and then looked at her with a sad smile, "I wish we could talk about this move of yours. Granted, I've only been in the know now for less than a day, but can we talk about all of this living here, there, and everywhere? It's going to be my baby too, and well, I think I've done a pretty good job with all of the kids who have passed through my house."
"Jack, this isn't about how good of a job you will do. It's more about us," she gestured at him. She took a deep breath and looked down, "Jack, living here is just too hard, seeing you, everyone all the time. That's where I'm coming from right now, and I just don't want to discuss it this second." She looked up at him, "Can we table that for now?"
"Course," he said quietly, looking down at the floor too. "Have you eaten?"
"No," she said with a nod and a gesture to her tea kettle. "I was just making tea. I can put some coffee on if you like. We have plenty we can discuss. I'll have that oatmeal."
"I can do that," he told her, "and if it's not too much trouble, a cup of coffee sounds really good."
"No trouble," she said, shaking her head and walking around to the coffee pot. "I've been limiting my coffee since I found out," she explained. "I have cut it out completely," she said with a warm smile and wink. He chuckled.
"Well, in that case, tea is fine. You are making a lot of sacrifices I would never ask you to do so, and I know how much you like your coffee," he told her.
"You sure?" Lisa asked, about ready to fill the coffee pot. "I don't mind. Now, I do mind cutting out my wine because that is definitely a sacrifice."
"Tea is just fine, and maybe while you have that oatmeal, you can fill me in on how the last few months have been, I mean with the pregnancy so far and everything. I do want to know."
She studied him a moment and gave a single nod, "Alright, I haven't had anyone to really talk about this with, and there's no reason you shouldn't know what has been going on with the pregnancy so far."
"I'll make my tea," he said, walking toward her. "You prepare your oatmeal. I have decided the generous portions of brown sugar you put on your oatmeal make it edible."
"I appreciate the oatmeal," she said, as she walked around the counter. The two basically traded spots where he was now working with the tea, and she was in front of the food. She looked up at him and gestured to the food, "No eggs in here, right? I mean, like prepared eggs-scrambled, over easy, right?"
"No, eggs, why?" Jack asked, giving her a quizzical look.
"Can't do eggs," she shook her head with a look on her face like she'd swallowed poison. "Even the smell of eggs makes me lose anything I've eaten. Actually," she laughed slightly, almost like the two had fallen back into old conversation, "it was one of my first clues something was up. Now, I didn't immediately jump to pregnancy, but eggs started making me sick. The smell did me in."
"Really, eggs?" Jack looked to her, and she nodded as she doctored the oatmeal. "Thank you for sharing. There will be no eggs."
She smiled and carried her oatmeal to the table by the window. She looked back to him as he finished with the tea, "Jack," she called, and he looked over at her. "Thank you again for trying to process this."
"Lisa, I care about you too much to walk away, and I also realized you could have done that, walked away and not told me anything. That's not you either, but I know you could have done that. I'm trying to do as you suggested, taking things day by day, a step at a time," he explained as he carried his mug to the table.
She nodded as she looked at her food and then out the window. She glanced back when he was seated, "Well, right now, appointments are every four weeks, unless there is an issue. I was seen in France just about three weeks ago."
He listened and nodded, "What are your plans here? Are you going into town?"
"Absolutely not, I mean, not for medical care. I'll have to be in town for other things, but the last thing I need is town gossip as I come and go from the clinic. I'm setup to see someone in Calgary in a few days. This is a specialist with well," she rolled her eyes, "older mothers."
"Okay," he said with a nod and a chuckle. He met her gaze, "I'd really like to go with you to your next appointment, I mean, to at least drive you. I'll stay in the truck or do whatever you need, but I'm not backing away."
Lisa thought about offer for a moment. She took a bite of her oatmeal and could tell Jack was patiently waiting for a response, "Okay," she said, putting down her spoon and giving him a nod. "You can go to my appointment on one condition."
He tried not to make a face, but he gave away his expressions easily, "I'll try-" he said in a questioning tone.
Lisa picked up her spoon and pointed it at him, "We take my car, no argument. I'm not about to embark on anther outing with you where your truck breaks down."
He started to protest, even opened his mouth, but he quickly closed it and nodded.
"You've got yourself a deal."