Chapter 10 – Dealing with Things
After they were done eating, Nathan helped Carol upstairs and to bed, while Bill and Allie cleaned up. Once Carol was settled with a book, Nathan came back downstairs.
"Allie." Nathan said.
"Yes, Dad." Allie said.
"Please come here." Nathan said.
Allie went over and sat with her dad.
"Now I know that you are excited." Nathan said. "But some of the things we talked about are family business and don't get repeated to others."
"Okay." Allie said. "But I can tell my friends that Mum is going to have a baby in the spring."
"Yes." Nathan said. "But we don't want you to talk about the twins or Mum having problems. We will tell people that she is just having a hard time. We are not going to talk about the twins because of the risks. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Allie said. "Will I be able to tell people later?"
"Yes." Nathan said. "Let's get through this next part first."
"Okay." Allie said.
She gave her dad a hug and then asked to be excused to her room. Nathan nodded and sat back on the settee after Allie left. Bill came and sat down in the armchair and looked at Nathan.
"Are you really okay?" Bill asked. "Carol isn't here and I want an honest answer. You don't need to be strong for her at the moment."
"Honestly." Nathan said. "I don't know. All I can think about is all the things that Carson and Dr Wilson said could go wrong. I am afraid of losing Carol. I have no idea how I will deal if something happens and then you add in this stress that Dylan is creating, I just need a break."
"I am going to assume that you spoke to Patrick." Bill said.
"Yes." Nathan said. "He said he would do whatever he can to help me as he doesn't want to lose me as a Mountie."
"Would you really quit?" Bill asked.
"I can't answer that right now." Nathan said. "I have thought about it."
"I have faith that things will work out." Bill said. "I might not always show it, but I believe in you and I know that you will do what is best for you. I just hope that you stick around Hope Valley. I don't think I could handle losing all of you. Not seeing all of you everyday wouldn't not be my choice."
"Thank you Bill." Nathan said. "Also thank you for supper. I think I should get some sleep and hopefully things will feel better in the morning. It has been a crazy thirty-six hours."
"Get some sleep." Bill said. "Come into the office when you can tomorrow. Jack and I can handle things. There is nothing pressing at the office right now, so if Carol needs you, take care of her. We know where to find you."
"Thank you again." Nathan said.
Nathan saw Bill out and then closed up the downstairs before heading up. Nathan first checked on Allie and said his goodnights to her. She wanted to stay up and read a bit. Nathan reminded her not to stay up too late. Nathan then went to his room and found Carol sleeping. He quietly changed for bed and crawled in. The moment he was under the covers, she turned and looked at him.
"Are you okay?" Carol asked.
"I will be." Nathan said. "I should be asking you that question."
"I am fine." Carol said. "I mean I am scared and don't want to think about everything that could go wrong. I am also happy to be carrying your children. I can't wait to meet these children. I had a dream last night. I am pretty sure it will be triplets and they will all be fine. It is going to be two boys and a girl. She will be small, but mighty. I also think the boys are going to look like you."
"I wouldn't mind that." Nathan said with a smile. "As long as they are happy and healthy, I honestly don't care who they look like. Granted, I wouldn't mind a little girl with her mother's red hair."
"That sounds nice." Carol said.
Carol took Nathan's hand and laid it on her stomach. Even though he couldn't feel them moving quite yet, he loved them.
"I love you." Nathan said. "I think Sarah was right, you are going to need new clothes soon."
"I figured that." Carol said. "I was hoping to talk to Rosemary tomorrow. I thought my weight gain was just because I was eating so much better since marrying you. Here, it was, I was growing your children."
"I still don't know how you didn't know." Nathan said. "It seemed like Colleen knew right away with Allie. When she sent me the wire that she was expecting, she was only about two months along."
"I guess some women are like that." Carol said. "I have never been that regular."
"I guess I am going to have to make a couple more cradles." Nathan said.
"And a large crib." Carol said.
"I will get on those tomorrow." Nathan said.
After some kisses, the couple snuggled down together and went to sleep. As Nathan drifted off to sleep, he had a vision of children dancing in his head. Before he gave into the call of sleep, he whispered a prayer of protection for his children. He had barely said amen when he crossed over into that restful, deep sleep with his wife securely wrapped in his arms. Carol had barely heard the prayer that had been whispered by Nathan, but as she felt him relax, she added her own. She then joined Nathan in that restful sleep with visions of three little ones running around their new house.
…..
When Jack left the train station, he took a few extra moments before heading home. He had the feeling that Elizabeth would demand to know what was going on and he had no answers for her. He drove the car to Lee's office as he knew that Lee was working late, waiting for him.
"Hey Lee." Jack said, walking in the office.
"Get Nathan back safely?" Lee asked.
"Actually." Jack said. "He came back with the car that he had ordered, so Bill stayed to ride back with them. And yes, Carol is back as well, but I have no idea what happened."
"Well at least she is back." Lee said.
"Thank you for the use of the car, even if it wasn't needed." Jack said.
"You are welcome." Lee said. "I thought Rosie said something about Nathan and Carol getting a car, especially with the new house being further away. Speaking of, have you thought about getting a car?"
"I have." Jack said. "I need to talk to Elizabeth. Before we had agreed to live off our salaries and not touch her family's money with the exception of the new house. But now circumstances are different. I wouldn't mind a car and I know that it would make things easier. I also know that there is talk in the Mounties that each post, minus the remote ones up North, could be getting a car in the next couple of years."
"It would still be nice to have your own." Lee said. "Rosie and I have even talked about getting a second one once we are out of the row house. Especially with us also talking about adopting a child or two from Brookfield. It would allow me to leave for work and not have to worry about how Rosie and the kids would get into town. I doubt that we will have a second car before we move into the new house, but it will be nice, especially with two little ones. Rosie is so excited to bring Andrew home. She is already getting his room set up and we will just keep Goldie in our room until we get into the new house."
"It makes sense." Jack said. "Especially if you can afford it. I just don't know what Elizabeth wants to do about just using our salaries or if she is willing to now touch the money that I have saved. We have enough that we wouldn't need to touch her trust fund. It won't even make a difference to her taking a few months off when she has the baby. Also, I am so excited for you and Rosie. I can't wait to meet the little guy. I know that you haven't made it public, but I was going to ask you about it."
"We are waiting to hear how Carol is." Lee said. "We are also hoping to have him here before Christmas. It is just waiting now. All the paperwork has been submitted."
"That is good to hear." Jack said. "You are wonderful parents and that little boy is going to be loved by everyone."
Lee just smiled and nodded.
"My suggestion." Lee said. "Would be to get the information about how much the car is. I can recommend a dealership in Union City, just like I did to Nathan. Once you have the information and show Elizabeth that it would easily be affordable with your saved money and you could still live off your salaries."
"That sounds good." Jack said. "She has just been so indecisive as of late. But I also have a feeling that once she finds out that Nathan and Carol have a car, she is going to want one as well. It seems like she can't let Nathan have or do anything without also having or doing it."
"I have noticed." Lee said. "I also know that Rosie is so done with it. She has called Elizabeth out on it a couple of times and told her that if she doesn't stop, she is going to lose friends over the constant jealousy."
"I know." Jack said. "I have tried to talk to her, but she just shuts down and says I have no idea what she went through. I hate that she had to go through it, but at that time, there was no other way around it. We also never thought it would take five years to bring the case together."
"I hear you." Lee said. "I also know that you can't let her use what happened in the past as an excuse for her current behavior. Rosie and I have been through things and we have not been jealous, cruel and down right mean to others. What do you think it was like to see everyone fawning over Elizabeth when she was pregnant and Rosie lost two babies in that time. We couldn't even share because by the time we learned it was too late. While you were gone and Elizabeth was raising JT alone, there were many times that Rosie and I took him so she could go running off to have some fun with Bouchard or whatever. She never even showed concern when Rosie tried to express that she was struggling."
Lee had to stop because he was getting upset and emotional. He had told himself he wasn't going to let Elizabeth affect him anymore. He knew that Elizabeth only thought of herself first and he couldn't change the past.
"I am sorry." Jack said. "As much as I love Elizabeth, she has changed and it is like getting to know her all over again. I also know that I have changed, but I am trying. I want to be with her and I did give her the option to leave."
"I know." Lee said. "I hope things get better. I wish I had better advice for you."
"It is fine." Jack said. "Sometimes just talking helps lately. I feel like I have missed so much and I am still trying to catch up. I want to be there for everything with this new baby. I still don't know what JT's first word was or when he started walking."
"Baba." Lee said. "And just before his first birthday."
"What?" Jack said.
"JT's first word was baba." Lee said. "We think he wanted that stuffed dog of his, because he would just repeat baba and wave the dog around. He started walking when Bill and I were watching him a few days before his first birthday. Elizabeth said he had tried to take a few steps before, but he hadn't walked without holding on to someone or something. I set him down to see if he would stand. He let go of my hands and took two steps toward the tree and then plopped down on his butt and giggled."
"Thank you for sharing." Jack said. "I can see him doing that."
"Anytime time." Lee said. "Elizabeth probably doesn't want to admit that she missed a lot of those moments herself since JT was always with Laura or Robert or us. Early on it was Florence and Molly, but then she hired Laura as a full-time nanny."
"You are probably right." Jack said. "As much as I would like to sit and talk, I should let you get your work done and I should go home and face Elizabeth."
"Anytime." Lee said.
Jack left and walked home. He had the memory of Jack in front of the tree in his head and knew what he was going to draw that night. It might not have been the way it happened, but he was going to draw it as he saw it in his head.
Jack was right, he had barely gotten in the door when Elizabeth started peppering him with questions. Jack just held up his hand and Elizabeth stopped, almost stunned.
"I don't know anything." Jack said. "Nathan and Carol are at their house and Nathan said he would talk to me tomorrow. I am sure whatever is going on, they want to talk to Allie first."
"I will just ask her tomorrow." Elizabeth said, turning and going back to the kitchen.
"No, you won't." Jack said.
Elizabeth turned and looked at Jack.
"You will leave Allie alone." Jack said. "Nathan and Carol will share whatever their news is in their time and in their way. So you will leave Allie alone. She is a child and you will not use your students to spy on their parents. You don't have to know everything. You can wait to find out when you are told by the people involved. You have all been acting like your obsession with Nathan is normal. It is not. You are not married to him and you don't have to know everything that he does. So I repeat, leave … Allie … alone."
Elizabeth opened and closed her mouth a few times, but didn't say anything. She was upset and couldn't believe that Jack had spoken to her like that. Finally, she straightened her spine and put her hands on her hips and glared at Jack.
"But it is Nathan." Elizabeth huffed. "I am sure he would want me to know what is going on."
"And if that is true." Jack said. "He will tell you in his time. I have had enough of this inserting yourself into other people's lives. You have turned into a nosy busy body. You used to complain about Florence and Molly and how they were always gossiping. You have gotten worse than them in my opinion."
"How dare you?" Elizabeth said.
Jack didn't say anything else. He just walked over to the kitchen and got his supper that was left to stay warm on the stove. He poured some juice and then sat down. Elizabeth turned and looked at him. She stomped her foot and Jack didn't look at her, but kept eating. After he had taken a couple of bites, he looked up at her.
"If you can act like an adult and calmly talk to me." Jack said. "Feel free to join me. But if you are going to act like a petulant child, I will not deal with it. You are a wife and mother. Not to mention a teacher. I would suggest that you start acting like it. I have had enough of his routine. I love you, but I don't love how you are acting right now and I will not tolerate it. I gave you a chance to leave and start over with someone else, you chose to stay with me, but still want to know every detail of what Nathan is doing. You can't have it both ways. Either you are with me or you are not."
Jack finished his meal without saying anything else. Elizabeth didn't join him, but went to her writing desk and pounding on the typewriter. Jack felt better that he had said his peace, but he wished that Elizabeth would just stop. He was trying to understand, but he couldn't. He also had his limit. Once he finished, he cleaned up his dishes, grabbed his messenger bag and headed upstairs. He stopped at his son's room and watched him for a few minutes. JT was quietly playing with his Mounties. Jack decided to join his son and play on the floor.
…..
Over the next few days, the word spread fast that Carol was expecting. There were many offers of help and while Nathan and Carol were grateful, they turned them down at the moment, but informed people if things changed, they would ask for help. People mostly understood, they knew that Nathan was independent and liked to do things for others and not be fussed over. They also understood that if Carol was having a hard time, they might not want a lot of people in and out of the house.
It took two days before Elizabeth was questioning Allie about her parents. Allie wouldn't tell her anything more than what was known in town and that upset Elizabeth. She wanted details and a more specific due date other than early spring. Elizabeth had even tried talking to Nathan twice and he excused himself saying he had things he needed to take care of. Jack and Elizabeth had also been fighting since that night he put his foot down.
In Elizabeth's head, she hadn't done anything wrong. She thought Nathan was a friend and was concerned. She couldn't see that she signaled Nathan out and wanted to know every detail of what he was doing. She didn't do that with Lee or Bill. She didn't do that with any other parents of other students, but Elizabeth couldn't see what she was doing. And if she did, she was just stubborn enough that she would never admit it. Jack wasn't sure how he was going to fix things with Elizabeth, but he had left her a note saying that he loved her and he would be there for her, but she needed to choose what she wanted in life. He was done feeling like a third wheel in his own marriage.
Once Rosemary had been told that Carol was expecting, she shared that she and Lee were adopting and hoping to have their son home in Hope Valley by Christmas. Nathan and Carol were excited for Lee and Rosemary. Of course, Nathan offered to help if there was anything. Lee just laughed and told him that he was going to have his hands full as it was. Allie offered to babysit and Rosemary said she might just take her up on that. The two couples talked about getting together more, especially if Carol was going to be resting as they got further into the pregnancy. Rosemary agreed that they needed to find a time to get together on a regular basis. She knew that she had not been as involved with things since Goldie's birth and adding a second child would make things worse in that regard. They agreed that they needed to maintain adult friendships as well. It was decided once they got settled a bit, they would try for supper at least a couple times a month.