I just want to thank everyone for their encouraging comments! It is very much appreciated. I was an English major and love to write. Sometimes, I have a chapter almost written in my head, and other times, I sit down and don't know how in the world I am going to get from Point A to where I want to be at Point B. This last chapter in the restaurant, I had no clue at all what I was going to write; I just started working through it, and then, it wrote faster than almost any chapter I've done. So, thanks again!

Lisa cautiously opened her airline meal to be pleasantly surprised to find lasagna. It made her laugh out loud, considering that she'd wanted to have that at her favorite Italian restaurant just yesterday, but that plan had totally backfired. She wasn't upset about that, well, irritated that Val Stanton of all people ruined a perfectly nice dinner, but the day had gone so well, it was hard to be irritated. She looked out the window, knowing they were thousands of feet above the air, heading toward her beloved France. Lisa worked at preparing her first-class meal and shifted in her seat trying to get comfortable. That was difficult for a number of reasons, the top two being that it was an airplane, and she was most definitely putting on some pregnancy weight. She thought about her return flight in a few weeks and instantly dreaded that, thinking that she'd only be bigger and thus, even less comfortable.

Her doctor had told her to make sure she stretched her legs a lot, and she was doing that. She'd even set an alarm on her watch to remind her to get up every hour, and she'd been keeping up with that well. It just seemed all the more real now knowing she was having a sweet little boy, but at the same time, that was silly; she'd been pregnant for months and knowing the gender shouldn't affect her that much, but apparently, it had.

As Lisa tried to relax and enjoy her dinner, or was it breakfast since they were close to France, she thought about Jack's reaction. He'd been genuinely happy, and that made her both happy and relieved. She thought that she'd seen a stray tear even, but being the cowboy he was, he didn't show that type of emotion easily.

The girls had been out when she'd dropped off Jack, but she was also relieved when he'd sent her a text later that evening saying that they were happy and glad to hear that Lisa and baby were both doing okay. Jack said Lou had asked him what Lisa's nursery theme was, and that wasn't something she'd allowed herself to think about just yet. It was refreshing to her that the girls she'd known and grown to love and cherish were being much more supportive than they had been initially. She wasn't sure at all how she and Jack were going to navigate this co-parenting business, but it was now something she really needed to start thinking about. She'd be with the baby most of the time initially and even through that trip to France she had scheduled for October, but she did need to put some thought into how all of this would work.

She finished eating and was able to doze off for a little while. When she woke up, she was pleasantly surprised she'd slept much longer than she'd thought and the plane was already into its final descent. She was feeling more and more relaxed, both after the good ultrasound results and just knowing she was almost back to the home she adored. Yes, it came with work too while in France, but she was definitely able to relax here and slow life down. She hoped her business ventures were successful and couldn't wait to relax at her place.

Once the plane landed and started its taxi to the gate, she pulled up her phone. She'd purposely not gotten onto it for most of the flight, even though she traveled enough to have email and texting on board. She saw that she had a few text messages waiting from Jack of all people. He'd told her he wouldn't call, which was okay; it was France, another country, and they were not a couple, but he'd also told her he didn't want her to assume that meant that he didn't want to know if she was having any issues or just needed to complain about being pregnant. Text messages were a technological milestone for him; he'd just started texting with this new phone she'd gotten him after his heart attack. He'd fought that at first, suggesting that it was always easier to call, but with their awkward situation, Jack may have found a good use for texting-sharing information without awkward phone conversations.

"Had a breakfast visit from Val this morning," Jack had texted to her. "Seems like she made a number of phone calls last night and was able to obtain all of the information about our relationship issues. Not sure who she was all talking to, but she came here to comfort me, as she said, and tell me she would be glad to setup a standing date for coffee and wine at the house."

Lisa inhaled sharply and put her hand to her mouth, both in an almost laugh and in horror at the image of Val showing up this morning. Somehow, this type of communication worked with Jack. He knew Lisa would enjoy knowing what that little witch was up to back at home. She thought a moment before replying.

"Just landed in France and feeling decently well. Finally had the lasagna I was craving, but lasagna on the plane isn't the same. Sounds like you will be busy with Val for the foreseeable future."

She put down her phone, sure that Jack was working outside somewhere, but she was surprised when her phone dinged less than a minute later.

"She asked if I would go with her to a horse auction," Jack told her.

Lisa bit her lip, trying to think of the right response. She knew Jack would absolutely hate doing anything with Val, and she started to chuckle thinking about the entire interaction. She was sure Jack was awkward and probably tried to let Val down easily. The problem was Val didn't go away easily especially when she didn't have what she wanted.

She thought another moment, nodded, and then texted, "Good think you don't have your truck. Rumor has it, that truck is unreliable and could break down. You never know what could happen with a broken down truck. You might get stuck having a picnic with her."

"Once was enough for that," he typed back right away, "and only because why try to repeat something that was perfect the first time."

Lisa read that and re-read it, shaking her head. Why were things with Jack so difficult? Why couldn't they work? It was just too hard, and before she knew it, she was wiping a few stray tears from her face. She looked out the window and took a deep breath trying to clear her mind. The plane was almost to the international arrival area, and it would be time to finish her trip. She needed to reply, but she didn't know what to say from that.

"Glad to be Val-free for awhile," she finally decided on her answer. "I think I'll stick with the annoying heartburn rather than annoying Val. If Dan is a weasel to you, Val needs her own rodent-like name."

"I'll have to think about that," Jack replied.

"Plane at gate. Off to my house," she told him, glancing out the window.

"You both be safe, Lise," Jack told her. "Talk later."

Lisa stared at the text-both. It was odd, Lisa responsible for the well-being of a baby, but yes, she and the baby were now a "both."