A couple days later
Zane arrived in town the day before his date with Mattie. He texted her the second he arrived at his grandpa's house.
"Matts? I'm in town!"
"Awesome! Where are you?"
"At Grandpa's. Do you want to meet me for a movie and maybe ice cream?"
"Yes!"
He smiled big, knowing he just got another date with Mattie and he couldn't be more excited. Mattie put her phone down and went to find her parents.
"Mom? Dad?"
"Kitchen, babe," Elizabeth called.
"Hey, I have a question."
"Shoot," Lucas said, hopping up on the counter to watch Elizabeth cook. He loved having a bird's eye view of his gorgeous, pregnant wife as she cooked.
"Z is in town. Can I meet him for a movie and ice cream?"
Lucas looked at Elizabeth and raised his eyebrows. She shrugged.
"Curfew is…" he began.
"11, I know," Mattie said, keeping a smile on her face. "I'll be back before that."
"Okay. Have fun."
"Can I borrow your car, Dad?"
"Sure."
She reached up and kissed his cheek and then her Mom's too for good measure. "Thanks. I love you!"
She picked her phone back up from her bed and sent Zane a text. "What time? I can meet you."
…..
"Are you going to kiss him?" Lilly asked as she was getting ready.
"I don't know. I hope so but if not, there's always tomorrow night."
"Isn't he going into the Army?"
"Yep." She swept one more layer of mascara on and dabbed some chapstick on her lips.
"What happens when he goes? What will you do?"
"I'll be going to school. I won't graduate until the year after next." It seemed like forever but she knew that they'd have all the time in the world.
"You'll miss him?"
"Why all the questions, Lil?"
"I don't know. They just keep popping into my head."
"Well, I don't know all the answers yet. I'm not in a rush."
She turned and modeled her skinny jeans/fitted sweater combo. "How do I look?"
"Pretty. He'd be crazy not to kiss you."
Mattie felt her cheeks blush and she gave Lilly a hug. "Love you."
"Love you back."
"Um no," Lucas said, looking at her outfit when she walked into the kitchen.
"What?" she asked, looking down.
"Its too tight. You look too….no."
"Luke," Elizabeth said, taking his hand. "She looks beautiful, right?"
"Too beautiful."
"Did you tell Mom she looked too beautiful on your first date?" Mattie asked, hands on her hips. Good grief, she was like a twin of his Elizabeth.
"No, but she's not my daughter."
"Luke," Elizabeth said again. "She looks like our gorgeous seventeen year old daughter who is going on her first date. Our daughter that we trust will do the right thing and not do anything we wouldn't want her to. Right?"
"Fine," he said, crossing his arms.
"Daddy, I love you. See you later okay?"
"Mmhm."
He kissed Mattie's cheek. "I love you too, baby girl. You look so much like your mother, it just caught me off guard. It's hard for me to think of you as grown up and not my little Mattie."
"I know." She gave him a hug.
"Have fun."
"Thank you."
…..
Mattie arrived at the theater in Charlotte ten minutes before the show was set to start. She checked her appearance in the mirror of the car and then grabbed her wallet and keys and hurried inside.
He was waiting for her, near the concession line. He waived the tickets toward her so she could just come over.
"Hey," he said, opening his arms for a quick hug. Of course she was more than willing to hug him.
"Hi."
He pulled back and offered his hand, keeping his eyes fixed on hers. "I missed you, Matts."
"Me too." She slid her fingers between his, fighting the desire to jump up and down. Her first date alone with her best friend that she had known forever. She was beyond excited. He was completely adorable, wearing a black polo that showed off his nice arms and a pair of jeans that fit perfectly.
"Want popcorn?" he asked.
"What's a movie with out popcorn? Extra butter and maybe a diet coke?"
A few moments later they walked to the correct theater and sat down in the back row so they could chat if they wanted to and it wouldn't bother anyone else. Mattie hoped for a first kiss too but she would be fine if they waited.
"Do you have plans for Christmas Eve night?" she asked, taking a bite of popcorn.
"I was hoping you'd mention it. I was thinking we could go see the lights downtown. Get some hot cocoa and walk around?"
"That would be perfect. We have family dinner that night so maybe you could come to dinner and then we could go?"
He nodded and put his arm around her shoulders, his fingertips grazing her arm. She scooted just a little closer and settled in for the movie. There was nowhere else she'd rather be. He felt the same way.
…..
Ethan, Vince and Lilly went over to Lynn and William's to swim in their heated pool and spend the weekend. Lucas and Elizabeth took advantage of that to make plans for their upcoming anniversary trip and have some alone time.
She laid across his lap, leaning against the arm of the sofa as he rested his hand on her belly. They were throwing out names to see what sounded good. For this one, because it was without a doubt the last baby, they weren't going to find out the gender. It would be a surprise.
"We could go vintage names," she suggested, threading their fingers together over her belly.
"We could. Hey, are you hungry?" he asked out of the blue.
"I could eat."
"Let's go to The Bavarian Lodge and get some German food."
"Oh yes please. Give me all the spaetzle."
"And then we can watch Casablanca and take a jacuzzi bath."
She liked the idea of having a date with her husband. They tried very hard over the years to keep the romance alive in their marriage. Of course, some days were a struggle, but neither of them ever entertained the idea of giving up. Their vows represented forever.
She wasn't going to protest Casablanca anymore. They watched it every single year around this time and it was his favorite so she just let it be.
As they ate their food at the Lodge, they chatted about Christmas. They decided to celebrate Christmas Eve and Day as they always did but on the 26th they would leave for Florida.
"I can't wait to be on beach by the ocean," she mused, smiling at the tiny flutters deep inside. "I felt the baby."
"Did you?"
"Yeah. It felt wonderful. I think we should tell everyone at Christmas dinner."
"Perfect." He reached for her hand and smiled, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"What?"
"Will you dance with me?"
"Here?" she asked, looking around.
"Why not?"
"There's no music, hon, and no one else is dancing."
"I can play something on my phone. I just want to dance with you. Right now."
He pulled out his phone and found the song he wanted and then stood up, offering her his hand.
She turned pink but she consented, stepping effortlessly into his arms and started swaying to their wedding song.
"I tiptoed in the room,
I know you got to have your rest
She says, 'Come lay beside me'
'I been waitin since you left'
She's sweet to me
Must be the luckiest man alive
Did I tell you, baby
You are the Joy of My Life?
First time that I saw you mmm
You took my breath away,
I might not get to heaven
But I walked with the angels that day"
Elizabeth rested her forehead against his jaw and just lived in that moment. Who cared that people stared as they danced? Who cared that no one else was dancing? It was perfectly romantic and it was a spur-of-the-moment thing that Lucas orchestrated just for them.
When the music stopped, he placed a soft kiss on her lips and smiled, turning to the room.
"We're having a baby!" he yelled and everyone clapped.
"Congratulations!" an older couple said over the noise.
"Thank you!"
"You're so cute," Elizabeth told him when they sat back down. "And that was great. Thank you for tonight."
"Its not over yet. We are childless tonight so why don't we go for a walk or something?"
"Okay. A walk sounds nice."
…..
The movie finished so Mattie and Zane decided to go get ice cream and take a walk. She still had 90 minutes until curfew so they had plenty of time to enjoy their evening.
Zane took her hand and led her to her car. "Scoops, right?" he asked, squeezing her hand.
"Yeah. They have the best mint chip."
He nodded, not wanting to stop staring into her blue eyes. "Matts…"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad I'm in town."
"So am I."
"I was wondering if…maybe you might want to officially be my…girlfriend?"
Her heart skipped and her stomach swooped. If she didn't know better, she might think she had the flu or something. Gosh, adorable Zane Coulter just asked her to be his girlfriend. For real. Not just friends anymore.
"Matts?"
"Oh sorry. Yes. I want to be your girlfriend."
"Great. Yeah that's awesome."
She giggled and impulsively threw her arms around his waist, hugging him. "It is awesome."
"What do you think our parents will say?"
"We are old enough and responsible. I don't see why they'd have an issue."
He nodded but he wasn't smiling very big. "Z? Do you think your parents will have an issue with me?"
"No. I mean its not like they don't know you. I was just thinking."
"About…"
"Let's talk when we get to Scoops."
"Okay."
He nodded and opened her car door for her. She got in and before long, they were both headed about a mile away to the ice cream parlor.
They parked next to each other and walked inside, hand in hand. She was curious about what he was going to say but she was also just grateful that they were in the same area of North Carolina.
Lucas and Elizabeth walked down the street just outside and decided ice cream sounded good. "We can go to Scoops."
As they walked in, Elizabeth saw Mattie and Zane. "Um, babe, we need to go."
"Why? I want ice cream."
She nodded at their daughter, holding hands and whispering with Zane.
"Oh, well, we can still get ice cream. She won't care."
"Its their first date, love. We don't need to crash their first date."
She pulled him out of the ice cream parlor and they walked back to their car. "I guess we can go home," Lucas said. "And was she holding his hand?"
"Home is fine and yes, she was. If you remember, love, we held hands on our first date. We kissed on our first date. She's growing up and she's very responsible. There is nothing to be worried about with Mattie."
He sighed and opened the passenger side door for her. "I know you're right."
Elizabeth stepped into his space, rested her hands on his chest and gave him a long kiss. "You are a great father, Lucas Bouchard and a wonderful husband. Thank you for being you."