Chapter 73

"Nana…Nana, you have to push the button." Elizabeth smiled with amusement and a little bit of frustration. She loved Nana, but the older lady wasn't a tech person.

"I did, my dear. I don't see you."

"Sometimes you have to give it a second or two to connect."

"Oh…there you are!" Nana spoke as she looked closer into the phone. The Facetime connection finally connected, and she saw Elizabeth's face on her screen. Earlier,

Elizabeth texted her directions on how to accept a Facetime call, but first, she had to explain what a Facetime call was.

Elizabeth chuckled when Nana pulled the phone closer to her face. Nana's left eye and forehead were taking up all of Elizabeth's screen.

"Nana, pull the phone away from your face. You're too close." She smiled as Nana pulled the phone away. "Now, that's better. Can you see and hear me?"

"Yes, Beth. This is so cool!" Nana's smile grew at seeing Elizabeth. "Somehow, you are prettier than what I remember from Christmas."

"I think your camera's resolution is off." Elizabeth blushed. "Thank you for saying that, though. You look so beautiful."

"Beth, how are you? School is going well?"

"Yes, Nana. Everything is going well. We only have a little over a month left, so everything is beginning to come to a close. There are not too many projects left."

"That's great, dear. Is my Jayjay treating you well? Are you treating him well?"

"Jack is perfect. Except, he is relentless in pushing to see my prom dress."

"He can't see your dress before the dance!" Nana gasped.

"That's what I told him, but your grandson doesn't always listen."

"He gets that from my Charlette." Nana laughed. "Would you mind sending me a picture of your dress? I would love to see it. What color is it?"

"Hold on for a second…" She smiled her mischievous smile. She propped her phone on her desk against a couple of books and stepped back a few feet. Elizabeth had her dress on. That's why she is Facetime Nana. She wanted to show Nana her prom dress. As she stepped back, she raised her arms a little and tilted her head. "What do you think?" she nervously asked. She couldn't explain why she was nervous about showing Nana her dress but was very nervous. Nana has always been so kind to her.

"Oh…my…" Nana's voice failed her. Her right hand covered her mouth as she leaned forward to her phone, trying to get a better look. Suddenly, she leaned back and turned her head,

"Pops…! Pops…! Get in here!" She yelled out.

After a few seconds, Elizabeth could faintly hear his response.

"Why on earth are you yelling at me? I was reading the paper. I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Hurry up, old man!" Nana called out and then turned her attention back to her phone.

"Oh, Beth…you are stunningly gorgeous." She spoke in a soft whisper.

"I'm here…what do you want?" Pops spoke as he walked into the room. Nana pointed toward the phone in her hand.

Pops walked toward his wife and then turned his attention to the phone. He leaned in and that's when he noticed Elizabeth standing in a stunning, elegant dress.

"Wow…"

"Now remember…my hair and makeup aren't fixed. Do…do you two like it?" She asked hesitantly.

The older couple nodded their heads as their smiles grew. Pops broke the silence when his voice began to work with his mind.

"E-liz-a-beth, other than Nana and my Charlette on their wedding day, no one has ever looked as beautiful as you do right now. You are simply gorgeous." Pop's voice was so full of love and honesty.

"Yes…absolutely beautiful."

"Are you sure?" Elizabeth smile began to overcome her nervous grin.

"Yes." The couple spoke at the same time.

"Jack will be speechless."

"Jayjay will be so dizzy he won't be able to speak."

"He'll be lucky to be able to stand." Pops smiled as only a grandfather, and a man could. "Simply elegant and beautiful."

"That's kind of you to say." Elizabeth's face turned a little red with embarrassment.

"It's true, dear. You are beyond beautiful."

Elizabeth shyly moved a little bit of hair behind her left ear. She appreciated their love and kind words, and their grandparents' approval made her feel special.

…

The next morning, Tom sat at the table in his office, listening to two individuals who were leaders in cyber security. One worked for him at Hamilton Shipping, and the other one was from an outside security company that was brought in to look at the company's security profile. While this fell under Tom's job description, it wasn't his strong point. Therefore, he urged and convinced William to hire a top person to come in and lead the three-man group of the security teams that was over everything computer and internet.

"Tom, I wouldn't really change anything. Your team is doing a great job and has all the safety protocols in place."

"That's why we hired Amanda. She's the best."

"She is."

Amand blushed a little at the compliments. "Thank you." Amanda nodded.

"The only thing I would change would be the passwords changed to once a week instead of every other week."

"That sounds good to me." Amanda nodded. "We can easily do that."

"Let's do that," Tom stated.

"Now, you all know the internet changes constantly. There are training seminars all over the country on up to date protocols. You don't have to attend every single one of them, but I would make sure your team attends a few each year. The better you stay up on things the better your team will perform their job."

"I agree Tom. We should examine what's available and pick and choose the ones that would benefit us the most. Give me two weeks and I'll have a list of seminars I think we should send people to. I would recommend that I attend along with one other person. Maybe split this up into sections with each person over that section."

"There are times that works well and others not so well. It will depend on your team and their abilities." Tom and Amanda nodded their heads.

"Let's look into this further as we narrow down the seminars."

"I agree Amanda."

Everyone looked up when there was a knock on the door. William stuck his head in, but didn't say anything when he realized the room was full and in a meeting.

"Mr. Thatcher, how may I assist you?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Thornton. I didn't know you were in a meeting."

"That's fine sir. We were just wrapping up." Tom turned his attention to Amanda. "Please wrap this up and keep me in the loop."

"Yes sir."

Tom stood and walked toward his door. "Mr. Thatcher, what may I do for you?" He asked as both men walked out the door.

…

Tom and William walked down the hallway toward William's office door. After walking into his office, William spoke.

"Ted has his semester's concert in a few weeks."

"Yes. Four weeks or so. It's usually a week or so before the end of his semester."

"Yes. Grace and I are going. Are you and Charlette?"

"Not this year. We went last year. That was when I was recovering from my injury. Charlette was having a hard time with me going back to work. That was when she was having nightmares. I was hoping the trip would give us a change of scenery for a few days. I was hoping listening to Ted play would help change her circumstances. It didn't work."

William chuckled. "Well, I hate that she went through all of that, but I'm grateful it didn't work."

"Me too."

"Would you two like to go?"

"I'll ask Charlette, but I don't think so. We are planning a vacation during the summer months. With Jack college-bound soon, we don't know what our summers will look like after that. We also don't know what college basketball looks like in the summer."

"Yeah…" William thought about that same thing with Elizabeth for a moment. "We're going to visit with them while we attend the semester concert."

"That's great. You'll like it there. It's a beautiful campus."

"We were there a couple of times to move Viola in and out of the dorm. We didn't stay very long."

"I hope you guys enjoy the trip."

"I'm looking forward to listening to Ted play."

"That young man is very talented with the piano. He has a God-given gift with it."

"He is, and without the piano too." William paused for a moment. "You know, he called me the other day."

"Yeah? Is everything well with him?"

"He is. Hey, if I tell you something, will you promise to keep it between us?"

"Sure. You know me. What we talk about is between us unless otherwise understood."

William smiled. He was grateful for Tom's friendship. "He said he wanted to have a private discussion with me after the concert."

"A private conversation?" Tom repeated. After a second or two of silence, Tom's head shot up. "The private conversation?" He emphasized the word 'the'. William laughed. "Yes. He shot me down before I was even able to ask him further about it. He wanted to have the discussion in person."

"That sounds like his father. He was always that way with big discussions. He wanted to have those types of talks face to face."

"May I ask what happened to him?"

"Cancer." Tom shook his head. "Shirley did the best she could for him. The doctors said it progressed too far before they found it. There wasn't anything they could have done for him. It all happened very quickly." Thomas paused for a moment, lost in memory. "Ted may have been adopted, but he was Robert's son through and through. That man did right by that boy. He would have required Ted to speak with you in person."

"I appreciate that fact. That speaks of him being a good young man."

"So, how are you handling the fact that Ted will speak with you seeking permission for Viola's hand in marriage?"

William sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk, and Tom sat in the other seat. He had given this subject a lot of deep thought. He liked Ted. He was a good guy and thought he was good for his oldest daughter. In his different conversations with Viola, he knew she loved him. He was grateful for the discussion with Ted a few months ago. He has also spoken with Grace about this. She has only echoed William's thoughts.

"Strangely enough…I'm ok with it…" He paused for a moment. "…then I'm not ok with it."

"I can understand that." Tom chuckled. "It's a big life event."

"Plus, I honestly think Jack will be coming to me this summer asking the same question concerning my middle daughter."

Tom laughed while he shook his head. "I think you may be correct. He hasn't spoken to me about it, but I can easily see it. Are you ok with it?"

William leaned back in his chair. "That's the thing. I know for sure Jack wants to marry Elizabeth. I think that is the same with Ted concerning Viola."

"It must be a big thing for two men coming to you asking for your permission to marry your daughters."

"I knew this day was coming…I just didn't think it would be two at the same time." William stared off for a few seconds. "I remember as if it was yesterday that Viola and Elizabeth would lay on my chest and go to sleep as I patted their bottoms. Now, Viola is in her third year of college, and Elizabeth is finishing up her senior year of high school. Tom…how did that happen so quickly?"

"Charlette and I had this conversation just the other day. She received an email from Bryan's. It told Jack his dorm and new address. She wasn't happy about the new mailing address." Tom laughed at the memory of the conversation. "She was pretty upset about that. He's always had our address, and now he'll have a new address different from ours."

"Grace hasn't mentioned anything about it. I must let her know that an email may be waiting for her. She's not going to like that at all." Again, William paused for a few moments. "Change is just hard…even harder when it involves your child."

"Very hard." Tom sighed. "Don't get me wrong. I like the fact that Jack is growing up and making good decisions, but…"

"Yes." William said in a soft tone full of memories.

"I guess we just rest in the fact that we raised our children the best we could. They'll make their decisions, and we will stand behind them and help them when they need it."

"I guess that's all we really do have when your child grows up. Charlette and I did the best we could raising Jack with the life lessons we felt were important to pass down to our kid."

"That's really all we do have. We control our children's decisions when they are younger. However, when they age, we have little to no control over their actions. Elizabeth is pushing for her freedom. Grace and I just hope that the lessons we taught her have taken root."

"William, that is something you do not have to worry about. She is a fine young lady. In every form of the word."

" Thank you. And Jack is a fine young man."

William nodded his head. No further words were needed. Both men, in their own way, were beginning to deal with the fact that their children were growing up and beginning their lives on their own. They did rest in the fact that their children were raised well. They were also bright young individuals. They have made good decisions in their lives and deserve the right to continue to make their own decisions.

…

Jack was sitting behind Elizabeth during Honors English. They still had a few weeks of school left, but the teachers were beginning to slack off on the work for the seniors. There was still work to be accomplished, but everyone was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

While Mrs. Williamson was walking across the front of the classroom discussing Dickens, Jack couldn't resist the urge to aggravate his girlfriend when the teacher's back was turned toward him. He was most certainly beginning to get end-of-school-year fever. He was in a playful mood. He would run the end of his pencil's eraser up the back of Elizabeth's bicep. He knew it tickled her. For the fourth time, she quickly turned her head and looked over her shoulder. She huffed and glared at his smirking face.

"Jarrick Thornton!" She hissed under her breath. "You better stop!" She pointed her index finger at him.

Against all efforts, she couldn't stop the corner of her lips from curling up at his expression. She loved and hated that look. He was so proud of himself for teasing her.

"Pay attention!" She glared at him for another second before turning around to look at her teacher, trying to listen.

A few seconds later, she felt the eraser gently touch the back of her arm again. She stifled her giggle before turning around again. The scary teacher's stare was written all over her face. As her mouth opened, the teacher interrupted her.

"Elizabeth…may I help you?" Mrs. Williamson stopped her walking and discussion. She turned her full attention to a shocked Elizabeth.

Elizabeth quickly turned back around in her seat. She and Jack quickly sat up, trying to act innocent. Mrs. Williamson struggled to keep a straight face when calling out her two top students.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Williamson…Jack was just aggravating me."

"Seriously?" Sassed Jack. "You're throwing me under the bus that quickly?"

"Am I wrong?" She turned her head, challenging Jack.

"Are we in first grade, and you just told on me?" he teased her, amusing the class. The whole class giggled and laughed at the conversation.

The teacher looked from Elizabeth to Jack. "Jack…we all know Elizabeth is a model student. What were you doing?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Williamson."

Jack shook his head at Elizabeth's smirk. She thought it was funny that he was in trouble with the teacher. "Serves him right." She smirked to herself. He slumped in his chair. He knew Mrs. Williamson was going to say something. Worse yet, he knew Elizabeth would gloat over this after class.

"All right, Mr. Thornton, front and center, please."

"Oh, man…" He whispered under his breath as he stood from his seat.

He slowly walked toward the front of the class to stand beside Mrs. Williamson. She would call students to the front of the class if she wanted them to talk more in-depth about something or if they were in trouble. Everyone in the classroom loved it when she did that, except for the person standing in front of the class.

"I'm sorry." He whispered when he stood beside his teacher.

"Thank you for saying that." She whispered back with a slight smile. She cleared her throat and turned her attention back to the class. While speaking to Jack, she looked at the class, especially Elizabeth, who was smirking. She was enjoying this a little too much.

Jack loved Elizabeth's grinning, victorious expression. "How is that so stinking adorable?" He silently asked himself. He could only shake his head at her.

While Elizabeth may have been her favorite student, Jack was a close second. He knew the subject material well and was always actively participating in the discussion.

"In our reading that was due today…" She paused and turned her attention back to Jack. "You did do the reading, didn't you?" She playfully challenged him.

"Yes, ma'am. I did."

"Good. What was a quote from Charles Dickeson that stood out to you?"

Without hesitating, Jack spoke. "A quote that really spoke to me is 'No one is useless in this world when they lighten the burden of others.'."

Mrs. Williamson smiled at her student. She was always impressed with him, and today wasn't any different. He was always on top of the work. She glanced at Elizabeth and gave her a slight smile.

"And in your own words, Jack, what does that mean?" Mrs. Williamson asked as she stepped away from him. She turned toward him when she was about ten feet away.

Jack lowered his head before raising it again, giving Elizabeth a little smirk.

"To me, it means that when you do something for anyone without expecting to receive a reward or to be repaid, you make a difference in that person's life. By doing that, you are making a true difference, and that is a good life to live."

Mrs. Williamson nodded her head. "What do you mean when you say, 'do something'?"

"Many individuals want to see grandiose gestures. While those are great, they should never be the most important part of you doing something for someone. It's the little things that take true effort. For me, those little things speak the loudest, and, most importantly, the greatest."
Elizabeth blushed at his statement. Jack was the master of doing little things. Those little things spoke to her innermost heart. The grandiose things just weren't important to her. Of course, she liked them from time to time, but the small gestures were everything to her.

"The little things?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Care to give me an example? Better yet, care to give me a personal example?"

Jack stayed silent for a few seconds. He glanced toward his teacher and shrugged his shoulders. That's when Elizabeth spoke up. She knew her boyfriend did not like the attention on himself.

"Like hugging Adam each morning since the first day of school. Or sitting with him during lunch. Then that leads to the whole special ed group receiving hugs from countless other students and becoming the loudest table during lunch." Elizabeth stated. Jack dropped his head during her statements. She knew he didn't like the attention, but Jack was a living example of doing something without expecting something in return. She didn't want to put the spotlight on him, but he was worthy of recognition. It's one of the many ways he spoke to her heart.

"I've seen that," Mrs. Williamson smiled. All the teachers loved to watch the school love on the special ed group, even if they were loud.

"But that doesn't count."

"And why doesn't that count, young man?"

"Adam and the special ed group have given me much more than I have ever given them."

Mrs. Williamson nodded her head in understanding. She slowly walked toward him.

"On the first day of school, Adam gave me a hug before classes began that day. I was feeling overwhelmed with being in a new school for the first time. I didn't know anyone. And this school is four times bigger than my old school. I was nervous." Jack whispered the last sentence.

"Don't dismiss your efforts too easily, Mr. Thornton."

"Yes, ma'am," Jack spoke softly as he nodded his head.

"When you serve others by making their lives better by your unsacrificial actions, Dickeson declares that your life is not worthless. Actually, you rise to your highest self when you lighten the burden of others." She smiled at her student's red face. "Go ahead, please take a seat." As he walked away to his seat, she spoke again.

"And play nice with others."

"Yes, ma'am," Jack stated as he sat down.

…

The class ended when the bell rang. Everyone quickly stood up to gather their things. Elizabeth turned to face her boyfriend as she put her backpack on her shoulder.

"You were lucky, Jarrick." Sassed Elizabeth.

"And how was I lucky, Princess Beth? You threw me under the bus by telling on me!"

Ignoring his remarks and his pet name for her, she stated. "Mrs. Williamson just happened to ask the one question you knew. You weren't paying attention in class. You were too busy harassing me."

"I wasn't lucky." Sassed Jack. His little, silly, dimpled smile was taking over his face. He took a step to close the distance between them. "I did my homework last night. That quote really did speak to me."

"Hum, hum…" Elizabeth hummed as she turned around to walk out of the classroom.

As she took her first step, Jack tapped her on the bottom as he spoke. "I like lightening your burdens."

She didn't even fight the smile at his words and his actions. She didn't turn around or even acknowledge his little patting of her bottom. She just continued to walk toward the door as if nothing happened. She loved it when he tapped her on the bottom, but she didn't want him to win this little battle.

"Hey…didn't you…" His voice trailed off as he saw the smile when she turned after walking past the last desk. "You're messing with me now by ignoring me?"

"Come on, Dimples, we have to get to class."

Jack jogged to catch up with her. He took her hand and then squeezed it three times. She returned his gesture.

…

"Hey, I didn't notice this before, but I have an email from the registrar's office from Bryan's. They sent it a couple of days ago." Elizabeth stated as she looked at her phone. They were walking down the hall after the last class of the day.

"What does it say?"

Elizabeth took a few moments to read the email. She smiled, seeing the information.

"They informed me of my dorm and the material list for that particular dorm, like bed sheet size, address, etc."

"That's cool. I wonder if they sent mine yet?" Jack asked as he pulled out his phone from his pocket.

"I'm in Decosimo Dorm in room 2127, " she said as Jack opened his phone and pulled up his email.

"Yeah, I got an email a couple of days ago too. I haven't looked at it. I thought it was just basic stuff." He touched the screen and located the email. "Wait, what dorm did you say?"

"Decosimo."

"Really?"

"Yeah. What dorm did you get?"

"Decosimo. I'm in room 3127."

"Really?" Elizabeth stopped walking and stood beside him. She began to read his email.

"We are in the same dorm. How is that possible?" she asked in disbelief.

"The next paragraph states that the dorm is unisex. The rooms are all one gender, and that's it.

"One suite could be all male, and the suite beside it could be all female."

"Huh…that'll take a little getting used to, too, " she softly stated. For Elizabeth, that was a little weird. She just assumed the whole building would be one gender.

"It will be weird. The college says it's common practice."

"At least the whole suite will be just one gender. So, I'll have three roommates."

Jack opened the email's attachment. It was a floor plan for the suite: "One common living room and kitchen," Jack stated as he pointed to the door and the common areas. You walked into the kitchen and then the living room. It was one large room.

"That's nice that I have only to share the bathroom with one person." Elizabeth pointed to the two bedrooms and one bathroom on the left side of the common room. They both realized the right side matched the left side.

"That's better than I expected. I wasn't looking forward to sharing a bathroom with several people.

"Absolutely."

"I'm on the floor above you."

"Just over me actually. I'm also in room 'B'."

"That's cool." Both stated together.

"You will have to be careful, Princess Beth. I will be able to hear when you throw those dorm parties and when you invite those new college guys over to study."

"Jack…you have my heart. No one will ever take that from you."

"I'm not going to ruin your college fun?" He teasingly grinned, asking her. While in the school hallway, he knew he couldn't kiss her even though that was exactly what he wanted to do. He stepped a little closer to her. She could feel the heat from his body. "I am not giving your heart back to you, Princess Beth. I love you too much to let you slip through my fingers."

"Promise?"

"With all of my heart."

The loving look in his eyes completely captured her. She leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Bella, if we go to the principal's office because you kissed me in school, I expect you to come and explain it to my parents." The flirtatious tone in his voice only drew her in further. "Especially my ma."

"Deal." She flirted as she leaned in again for another loving, quick kiss. "Your mother loves me. By the way, that's twice you called me that awful nickname today. You're done!" She stated with a determined tone with a loving smile.

"You're too stinking cute." He gave her his patent, dimpled smile as he leaned in for another gentle kiss.

…

While there was homework that needed to be finished, especially the Honors English project, Jack's and Elizabeth's hearts weren't quite ready to work on it. They wanted to spend some time together. They also knew they couldn't spend too much time since they really had to work to be accomplished. They just wanted to spend a little bit of time with each other. They decided to go to Abagail's for a snack and a milkshake.

"Well, look at you two." Abagail looked up from the counter. She still loved seeing the young couple together.

"Hey Abagail!" Jack and Elizabeth said at the same time. Both were wearing huge smiles. Abagail was always a fresh breath of air.

"Your normal?"

"Please."

"Chili cheese fries with a weird combination of vanilla and chocolate milkshakes."

Jack laughed.

"Vanilla on top with chocolate on the bottom. And another one the opposite."

"Yup." Jack grinned.

"You two are the only two who order it that way." Abagail shook her in the complete weirdness of the situation. "Why don't you go to your normal booth? I'll bring your snacks by in a few minutes."

Jack and Elizabeth leaned against the little bar and said thank you. He bumped her shoulder as they straightened up and began to walk toward their booth.

"Mother!" Elizabeth gasped when she looked up. Her mother and Charlette were sitting across from each other in their booth.

"Dear! How are you?" Grace asked, a little surprised. She stood and kissed Elizabeth on the cheek. Charlette kissed her son on the cheek. The moms switched children and kissed them on the cheek.

"Would you guys like to sit with us?"

Jack nodded his head when Elizabeth quickly looked in his direction. Elizabeth was standing beside Charlette when her mother asked. She sat down beside Charlette. Jack sat down beside Grace.

"Mom, what are you two doing here?"

Charlette patted Elizabeth's hand. "We were just enjoying a milkshake before going home to make dinner." She nodded toward Grace.

"Do you two do this often?" Jack asked.

"Occasionally," Grace muttered softly.

"You know…" Elizabeth began. "…we always thought you two were up to something concerning us."

"What do you mean, dear?" Grace quickly looked at Charlette and then back to her daughter. She wasn't willing to admit to anything. Over the months, the mothers have been able to dodge the questions from their husbands and children.

"You did!" Elizabeth gasped. "You've never admitted to it…but you did! And you!"

"Don't point that finger at me, young lady!" Charlette declared. "We didn't do anything!"

"But you two were planning something, weren't you?"

"You are Salatuartian in your class. And you, you are the third honor in your class. You should know the difference between planning and actually doing something." The older lady sassed with a bit of a grin forming on her lips.

"Technicalities…technicalities…" Jack laughed.

"I knew it!" Exclaimed the young couple.

"You two know nothing," Grace stated as she bumped into Jack's shoulder.

Jack reached for Grace's hand and gently squeezed it one time. Grace's face turned a little pinkish with embarrassment.

"So, did Jack tell you?" Charlette turned her attention toward Elizabeth. She was trying to deflect the conversation away from Grace and the topic of her and Grace's potential interference in the children's lives. "He received information about his dorm next year. He hasn't read it yet."

"Yes, he did. I checked, and I got an email, too. We read them after school. You'll never guess…we are in the same dorm!"

"What?!" Both mothers asked, shocked.

"Yes. We are both in the Decosimo dorm. Jack is on the third floor and I'm on the second floor."

"The dorm is unisex?"

"Yes, Ma. The dorms are but the rooms aren't. I'm in 3127, and Elizabeth is in 2127."

"He's in room 'B' and so am I."

"Yeah, I'm directly above her!" Jack stated with excitement. He pulled out his phone and opened the floor plan attachment to show his mom and Grace.

Both ladies looked at each other. They didn't know what to think about their children being in the same dorm. Yes, they trusted their children, but they also understood that their children were young, in love, and moving away from their homes.

"Mother." Elizabeth began. She knew her mother's look. "You know me, and you know Jack."

Grace nodded her head. "I know. I'm sorry. I do trust you two."

"Me too. I can't say I'm too excited about my son and his girlfriend being in the same dorm, but I do trust you two."

"Thanks, Ma."

"Thanks, Mom."

"You know what this means, don't you Grace?"

"What's that?"

"Elizabeth has a new address, just like Jack."

"A new address…" Grace whispered just loud enough for people to hear. Then she straightened her back and sat taller. With her best mother's tone, she spoke. "I don't think so!"

Jack and Elizabeth were the only ones who were laughing. Charlette and Grace didn't think it was funny.

"Mother, are you telling me that you're not going to send me any care packages?"

"Certainly I will, but your address is our home." She stated confidently. Grace reached across the table to take Elizabeth's hand. "I enjoy seeing you blossom into the beautiful young woman you are becoming. My mind tells me this is a great thing…my heart only sees the little girl I used to help fix her hair and change her diaper, and I used to sit in a highchair and feed her her favorite baby jar food, Tropical Fruit." Elizabeth gave her a loving smile. "I am happy for you, dear. I'm truly happy for you. It's just a mother's heart…" Her voice trailed off.

"What she said." Charlette echoed her friend's statements. "I am happy for you, but…" Her voice stopped when Jack reached for his mother's hand.

Jack's and Elizabeth's eyes connected. They knew they had the support of their mothers. They also understood watching your little one grow up must be difficult.

"Thank you, mother."

"Thank you, ma."

The mothers easily understood the children's true meaning.

The four sat and enjoyed their milkshakes. Even the ladies snuck some chili cheese fries when Abagail brought them to the table. Jack and Elizabeth didn't joke too much about moving to college. While they were looking forward to their new season of life, they also understood that this was difficult for their mothers to accept. No matter how old they were, they were always their mother's child.

"Just remember this…" Elizabeth began.

"…we are doing these things because of you." Jack finished her statement.