Bouchard estate
Elizabeth tried not to cry at her reflection in the mirror but that was hard. Lucas didn't know yet but she was pregnant and emotional about everything. She planned to tell him at Christmas. When she took the test about two weeks before, she was ready to tell him then but then they lost Gran.
Today was her memorial service and somehow she would have to hold it together.
Emma Bouchard had lived a long and wonderful life and for the last two years, Lucas, Elizabeth and the kids had lived with her at her big house. They had sold the duplex and had concentrated on their interior design business.
"Beth?"
Lucas walked in to the master and her tears won. "Yeah?" He kissed her temple and walked into the closet to get his dark suit and his black dress shoes.
"I just fed the twins and Mattie. I made a sandwich for you and left it on the counter."
"I'm not hungry, babe, but thank you."
"We need to leave in an hour."
"I'll get the kids dressed."
"Beth?"
"Yeah."
"Today's going to be really hard." He sat on the bed and hung his head. She joined him and wrapped her arms around him. He was really struggling emotionally since losing Gran and rightly so. It was hard to see her normally strong and happy Lucas be the opposite.
"Yes, it is but we need to do this so we can have closure."
"Mommy?" Mattie said, sobbing as she ran in the room, the twins following behind and climbing up on the bed.
"Hi, babies," Elizabeth said, pulling them closer to her and Lucas.
"Mama," Lilly and Ethan said in unison. At three they were chatterboxes and had so much energy but even they with their limited knowledge of what death meant, picked up on the need to be lower key.
"Did you all eat your lunch?"
"Yep," Ethan confirmed. "Where Gan Gan?" he asked, missing Gran too.
"I miss her," Mattie said, leaning against Elizabeth's shoulder. "I didn't want her to die."
"I know. We didn't either, but she lived a very long time and was a very good Gran, wasn't she?"
"Yeah." Mattie saw Lucas wipe his eyes and decided to climb onto his lap, even though at seven, she was getting quite big to be doing so. "Daddy? I'm sad too."
Lucas hugged his daughter tight and everyone on the bed had a good cry.
"Alright, kiddos, let's go get ready. We need to leave soon."
The kids ran out of the room to the nursery and Mattie's room. Elizabeth got up and stood in front of Lucas who was still sitting on the bed. He looked up at her, resting his hands on her hips.
"I love you so much, Luke." She used her thumbs to dry his tears and gave him a smile.
"I love you too."
She bent down and gave him a kiss and then another. He seemed to hold on to that affection for a long moment, drinking it in, using it for the energy he needed to get through the service.
He watched Elizabeth walk away and then got up to get dressed too. Thirty five minutes and they needed to leave.
…..
Martin was also struggling. Both of his parents were now gone and it felt wrong. It wasn't as if he was a child, but knowing he could go see his mother and talk to her, get her advice, had always comforted him. Now, who would he go to?
"Dear, we need to go soon," Helen told him, adjusting his tie.
"I know. I don't know if I'm ready, Helen."
"I'm here, my love. Lean on me."
If he were in a joking mood, he'd say something about making her fall over because she was so small compared to his tall, sturdy frame. But he wasn't in a joking mood.
"Marty," she whispered. "Look at me."
He did as she asked, tears escaping his eyes.
"Let's go say goodbye. If I know Emma Bouchard, and I do, she would say that we don't want to have any regrets. Don't be afraid to do what you need to do."
"She would say that."
"We need to do this."
He nodded, dried his tears and took his wife's hand. He was so thankful for Helen and her strength.
….
A week later, Christmas Eve
The tree was providing the light in the large sitting room at the Bouchard Estate. Lucas and Elizabeth snuggled on the couch while Mattie, Lilly and Ethan slept on the floor by the fire.
"I have a present for you, Beth," Lucas whispered.
"Tonight? Shouldn't we wait until morning?"
"If you want to."
She saw disappointment in his gorgeous eyes and needed that to go away. She didn't like Lucas to ever feel that way.
"Let's open one tonight. We won't tell Mattie."
His eyes lit up and she giggled, excited now. He handed her a wrapped flat package that felt like cardboard. "Is it a sweater?" she teased.
"Nope."
"A car."
"Open it, babe."
She smiled and carefully ripped the paper, not making a mess. Knowing he wanted her to go faster but needing to tease. She couldn't help it. She missed his smile and if she could bring it back for just a little bit, she would be grateful.
"Babe…seriously," he chuckled. There were those dimples.
"Oh, I missed your smile, Lucas."
"I'm sorry, hon."
"No, no, no. Please don't be sorry. I'm sad too and Gran was amazing and wonderful. I was just saying that I missed it. That's all."
He nodded, kissing her temple. "Now rip it open, Beth. Seriously."
She did as he asked and gasped. "Luke?"
"So I've had our realtor looking at properties on the beach at Paisley Island."
"Luke! Are you serious?"
"It was your dream, right?"
"Yes but you know what? Dreams change. You and the kids and owning Bouchard Interiors and working with you became my dream."
"We could have both, plus, I talked to Lee awhile back and he's looking at jobs around that area so we would be close to them."
"Oh wow."
"Babe, I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you. If you don't want to, that's fine, but I miss Lee and Rosie and I know you do too. And now, with Gran gone, we can move and not feel like we are leaving her behind."
"Let me give you your gift and then see what you think."
He raised his eyebrows and looked confused. "Okay."
She gave him a gift bag and waited. He pulled the tissue paper out and smiled. "A t-shirt? Thanks, babe."
"Read it, goof."
"Oh…'Blame me for the bump'?" He was confused. "What bump?"
"Luke, think about it." She put his hand on her tummy.
"You're…we're pregnant?"
"Yep."
"That's amazing, Beth!" he said, much too loud, waking up the kids. "Sorry, guys. Go back to sleep."
"What's going on?" Mattie asked, sitting up.
Lilly started crying after the commotion and Ethan just opened his eyes and then turned over to go back to sleep.
Elizabeth picked up Lilly and snuggled her. "Want your bed, bumble bee?"
"Yeah, Mama."
"E? Want your bed?"
He sat up, nodded and raised his arms, his eyes still closed. As a pro-mom of toddler twins, she squatted and picked him up too, walking away.
"You staying here, Mattie?"
"Mm hm. Its warm."
"Night, baby."
Lucas walked upstairs to the master just as Elizabeth was walking back in from the twins' bedroom. "So…"
"So?" she said, smiling as she took her hair out of its ponytail.
"A baby."
"Mm."
"When do we get to meet baby number four?"
"I'm going to the doctor next week for an ultrasound. We can find out then for sure, but I think it's the very end of September."
He flicked the lock on their door. "We should celebrate."
"I'm so tired, honey. Do you mind if we celebrate tomorrow?"
"Of course." He gave her a kiss or two and then they both headed to bed. She was asleep within a minute or two so he just curled up behind her, his arm over her and went to sleep too.
…..
Christmas morning
"Mommy!" all three kids yelled outside the locked master door.
Lucas got up and opened the door, shushing them. "Hi, guys! Guess what? Mommy is sleeping for a little longer. Who wants to help me make breakfast?"
"Me!!!!" they all shouted.
"Who needs to go potty first!"
Lilly raised her hand. "Okay, Lil. You too, E. Potty."
"Pullup, Daddy," Ethan told him.
"Potty, E. No pullup."
Ethan was almost fully potty trained but he had his quirks. He went back and forth constantly. Lilly was girly all the way and liked to be clean and not sit in her own filth.
They thankfully had two potty chairs in the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms so there was no need for both of them to wait.
"Big potty, Daddy?" Lilly asked, not embarrassed or scared at all.
"Absolutely, Lil. Good girl." He put the child seat on top of the normal toilet seat and helped her up there and then helped Ethan with the training seat. E would be completely trained by the time the new baby arrived, if he had anything to say about it.
"Alright. Great job everyone! Let's wash our hands and go make pancakes!"
"Yay!" Lilly yelled, hurrying down the stairs.
The morning was fun and filled with pancakes and small gifts and giggles and love, exactly what Elizabeth and Lucas had always envisioned for their family and future.
Once the kids were napping after lunch, Elizabeth decided to chat with Lucas again about moving down to Paisley Island. "Can we talk, hon?" she asked, as he finished cleaning up the wrapping paper and bows and glitter all over the living room.
"Sure. Then maybe we can take a nap too?"
"Absolutely."
They sat down on the chaise part of the sectional and covered up with a blanket. "So what do you think about moving now that you know our little secret?"
"Well, I think that moving closer to Lee and Rosie would be nice."
"Even though it means being farther away from our parents?"
"I don't know. I guess wherever we live, we are farther away from someone."
"Luke, I don't think I want to own a beach property for Airbnb purposes with four small children. I'm content staying at home with them, helping you with Bouchard Interiors and just being your wife. That's enough for me right now."
"So we just need to decide if moving to live at the beach or near Paisley is what we want or not."
She could tell he was disappointed but she had told him the truth. She was content. She was happy in the stage of life they were in.
"Are you happy, Beth? Really, truly happy? That's all I care about."
"You and our kids and our life make me happy, Luke. I'm sorry if I ever made you think otherwise."
"No, you didn't. I just wanted to make sure."
She could tell he wanted to say more. "Tell me, Luke. Are you happy here? With me and our life?"
"Of course. If I'm honest, I don't want to live in this house though. Its much too big and isn't what we need."
"We could make it how we want it. Gran and Grandpa left it to you, not Martin. So, we could sell and move south or we could stay here, remodel it, making it what we want. Babe, its wonderful to have as many bedrooms and bathrooms that we have, especially with Baby Bouchard on the way."
He looked around the sitting/living room. It was old fashioned and screamed it. The wallpaper alone did that. He'd also want to tear down the wall between this room and the dining room and kitchen. Open concept was what they needed with the kids and if they sold it, that's what buyers look for.
"I can see the wheels turning," she teased, turning on her side and snuggling into his chest.
Lucas didn't know what they'd decide but it was a big decision. One that they couldn't just decide on a whim. They were going to be a family of six within about 7 months. Did it make sense to move everyone now? Should they just remodel the estate house and stay there?
"Let's go take a nap, babe," she said, standing and holding out her hand. Yeah, a nap sounded good.