A week later….
"That blip? That's the heart," Lucas told Elizabeth, taking the tech's job away from her.
"Let me guess, babe. You read it on the website?"
"Yep." He was so excited and she loved seeing that love and excitement in his beautiful eyes.
The tech chuckled. "Well, Mr. Bouchard, can you tell me what this is?" she asked, testing him a bit.
"Spine."
"Good."
He reached and pointed. That's the head, which just looks large now, love," he reassured Elizabeth. "It will grow into it, don't worry."
"I won't."
"Does everything look healthy?" Lucas asked.
"As far as I can tell, yes. I will have your OB check things out and he will be in to talk to you in a few minutes."
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome. Congratulations."
Dr. Albertson knocked and then walked in about ten minutes later after letting her get dressed. Lucas sat up on the exam table with her, holding her hand.
"Hey, Elizabeth, I hear congratulations are in order," he said, shaking her hand. Then he held his hand out to Lucas. "You must be the Daddy?"
"Yep! I'm Lucas."
"Nice to meet you. So how have you been feeling? Any nausea?"
"Nope, I'm fine."
"Actually, I was asking Elizabeth."
Elizabeth giggled and squeezed his hand. "He's excited."
"Aren't you?" Lucas asked. She looked up at him and nodded.
"Of course I am. Very excited, especially after seeing the heartbeat. And yes, Dr. Albertson, I've been nauseated. A lot."
They chatted about due dates next and as they figured it out, it looked like she was due mid-May. The doctor also confirmed she was pregnant with just one baby, much to Elizabeth's relief.
"We are supposed to be going to Venice this month. Is it alright to travel?" Lucas asked. He didn't want to cancel their trip, but if it wasn't safe, he would in a heartbeat.
"Yes, its safe. Just make sure to move around the plane every couple hours to keep your circulation going. Don't want any problems with blood clots."
As they left the office with a subscription for pre-natal vitamins and some pamphlets, they made an ultrasound appointment for twelve weeks out to find out the sex of the baby. She couldn't wait to make new Pinterest boards for a boy nursery and a girl nursery.
"I know that we should wait about three more weeks to tell people, but its going to be so hard to wait. I want to tell Rosie so much!"
"Well, you could, just swear her to secrecy." They both knew how much Rosie loved to talk.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, if I can tell Gran and Grandpa."
"But our parents will be mad if we tell other people before them. Maybe we should wait."
They decided to only tell Rosie and Lee and to not tell the family until they got back from Venice. She'd be about twelve weeks then and it should be safe.
That evening, they video chatted with them.
"Hi, Beth! Lucas! Its so good to see you!" Rosie squealed and then clapped her hand over her mouth when she realized that the baby was asleep.
"How's Zane?" Elizabeth asked.
"He's great. So big. He's sitting up now. I can't believe how old he is getting."
"Where is he?"
"Sleeping. Finally."
"Is Lee there?" Lucas asked.
"Yeah. Honey Bunny? Lucas and Beth are on the video chat."
Lee wandered over and waved at them. "Hey, guys. What's new?"
"Well, my rental opens tomorrow! I'm so excited!"
"That's awesome, Beth," Lee said. "Congratulations."
"Thanks. Maybe you three come visit soon and see it. We miss you."
Lee and Rosie looked at each other. "Actually, we were thinking about that. Around Christmas? I have a week off and we are really wanting to see some snow."
"Our guest rooms in our part of the duplex will be ready by then! We would love to have you."
"Great. Count us in then."
Elizabeth felt a wave of nausea roll through her and that reminded her of the real reason she contacted them. "We also wanted you and Lee to know that we are going to have a baby in May."
The squealing that occurred at this point also was accompanied by Zane crying so Lee walked away to get him, annoyed with his wife, but happy for his friends.
"Oh my goodness! That's amazing. I'm so excited!" Rosie said loudly.
A few moments later, Rosie had to hang up to go feed Zane so they ended the call, but not after swearing her and Lee to secrecy.
"Well, that was fun!" Elizabeth told Lucas. "I'm so glad they are coming next month."
"Me too."
"Let's go do one final walk thru next door. I want to make sure it's perfect."
"Love, it is perfect. But, okay, let's make sure. Then, we are going to have dessert, take a warm bubble bath and go to bed."
Elizabeth smiled and got up off his lap. "Deal."
Elizabeth watched for a text from her very first renters so she could make sure the heat was at a perfect level. She had a cool app that controlled the thermostat and if they were too cold, they could text her and she could either give them control of it or change it for them.
She sipped some tea and ate her dry toast, wanting so much not to get nauseated. So far so good.
Lucas was at work and she was cleaning a bit, because there always seemed to be unending dust around a construction zone. Thankfully the kitchen was finished and the plumbers were putting their finishing touches on the downstairs bathroom.
Her phone buzzed with a text from her renters so she turned on the heat to 71 degrees and took over a bouquet of flowers to welcome them to the house. It was so exciting!
Once she saw them arrive, she took her phone upstairs in case they needed her and she began to pack for her and Lucas' anniversary trip. What did someone pack to go to Venice? She looked up the November weather in Venice to get a better idea. It was cool, a bit cooler than Charlotte and according to the extended forecast, the first few days of their trip was going to be dry and the last few days showed rain.
She heard her phone ding. It wasn't the renters. It was a notification from Airbnb saying she had another prospective renter for early December. She and Lucas would be back by then so it should be just fine.
Then as she was folding socks and underwear for both she and Lucas, her phone rang. "Hello?" she answered, putting the call on speaker.
"Beth? Its Lynn. How are you, dear?"
"Great, Mom. My first renters are here and I'm packing for our trip."
"You're still coming for dinner in a couple days, right? After the adoption hearing?"
"We wouldn't miss it. We will be there. Lucas is excited to have siblings too."
"Speaking of kids….did you by chance have that chat with Lucas?"
Elizabeth was silent for a moment. "Um, yes I did."
"How did that go?"
"It went fine."
"I'm sorry, sweetie. If its too personal, I won't ask any more questions."
"Well..it is, kind of. Stay tuned, though."
"Fair enough. We will see you Monday afternoon at the courthouse, alright?"
"Yes! Love you, Mom."
"Love you too."
…..
Lynn grabbed her list for the grocery store and kissed Will goodbye. "Love you. I'll be back in a while."
"Okay. Love you too. Drive safe."
Lynn called her friend Martha Kensington from church as she drove. She loved how Bluetooth helped her multitask.
"Marty! Hey, I'm heading to the store. Do you and Charles need anything?"
"Not really but is there any chance you want company? I need to get out of this house. Charles is driving me nuts," she whispered loudly. Charles Sr. had just retired and he was apparently very chatty which drove Marty nuts.
"Absolutely. I'm just getting food for the kiddos. I can't believe they are coming home Sunday and it will be official Monday. I'm going to finally be a mom!"
"Oh, sweetie. I am so happy for you. You are going to be the best mom." She really hoped so. At not quite 50, she had thought it would never happen again. But William, being the amazing husband he was, made sure her dreams could come true. She was a very blessed woman.
"Hey, I'll come pick you up. I'm almost to your street."
"Excellent. I'll wait on the porch swing."
"That's a lot of Mac and cheese and hotdogs," Marty pointed out with a laugh as they wandered down the aisles.
"Well, currently, that's the only thing that Abe will eat. Carrie eats whatever he does."
In addition, Lynn picked up some pediasure to give the kids extra vitamins. They both needed to gain a little weight so the doctors suggested giving them that once a day for the extra protein and vitamins.
For dinner for Will and her, she grabbed some ground turkey and spaghetti sauce along with pasta and then a baguette that she would toast for garlic bread.
Then she grabbed coffee, cream and other necessities, hoping to be able to make cookies with the kids. She couldn't wait to build memories and traditions that the kids would love and always remember.
"I think I might be a grandma soon," she said quietly. Marty gasped.
"Oh! That's wonderful."
"You can't tell anyone. I don't even know for sure but the signs are there. I'm so excited."
"I won't tell, don't worry. Is it Beth?"
"Yeah."
"Oh to be young and newlyweds again. It sure was a memorable time."
The tone in her voice, wistful and a bit sad…made Lynn curious. She didn't want to butt into the Kensington's marriage but Marty was her best friend.
"Everything okay at home, Marty?"
"Oh, sure. Same as always, I suppose."
"Well, Charles did just retire. That's a big thing for both of you, I'd imagine."
"It is. A learning curve, definitely. I just…I wish that…no. Nevermind. We have been married thirty years. There is no need to wish for anything different. Even though he's changed a bit, doesn't mean that he isn't the man I married underneath."
"Have you talked to him about your concerns?"
"He doesn't talk much. He watches tv and reads novels and that's about it."
"Oh, Marty. You need to make time to talk. You know that's important to a marriage. One of the most important things. If you don't, you'll lose track of each other."
"Pretty sure we have already but I will try." She wiped away a tear and gave a brave smile. "I love him, Lynnie. So much, I just feel like he isn't in this anymore."
"Talk. That's all I'm going to say." She gave her friend a hug and then they headed to the checkout. Lynn wanted to just get home to Will and hug him tight.