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She leaned in and brushed her lips against his again. “Thank you for this weekend, Jacob.” Her hand lingered on his cheek. Her eyes watched his. She wanted to remember how he felt; she wanted to burn his eyes into her memory—those beautiful sea-blue eyes.
Finally, she let her hand fall to her side, she turned and walked away before he saw the tears fall from her eyes.
Elizabeth sat on the bench outside her kitchen door and put her face in her hands. A low serene chirping made her look up. The cardinals were on her fence singing a song together. “You two are so lucky. You will never have to be alone. You know you’re loved and wanted.” She continued watching the birds until they flew away together singing their love song.
Looking down, Elizabeth touched, then rubbed her stomach for the first time.
“You ready, Hun?” Mrs. Parks quietly entered Elizabeth’s room. Elizabeth looked up from where she was sitting on her bed and gave her mom a small smile.
“Yeah. I am.” Her mom came over and sat down beside her, placing her arm around Elizabeth, and pulling her close. Elizabeth rested her head on her mom’s shoulder and closed her eyes taking a deep breath. Knowing her mother was there with her helped her to relax.
“You didn’t talk to us when you came back in the house last night, and I wanted to give you space. How did things go with Jacob?”
Elizabeth shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it.” She sighed. “Mom.” She sat up and looked at the woman sitting next to her. “I told him about the baby.” For the second time she placed her hand on her stomach. “It scares me to death, the thought of becoming a mom, but I have no choice, and I can’t make this a part of his life, too.” She was looking down at the hand still moving in a circle on her stomach then she slowly looked at her mother.
Her mom lifted Elizabeth’s chin, gave her a smile, and pushed the hair off her forehead and behind her daughter’s ear. “I’m proud of you. I know that was a hard decision, but it will all work out.” They gave each other a hug and left for the doctor’s office.
Later, in her car on her way to the boutique, Elizabeth could not stop thinking of her morning. The obstetrician wasn’t as bad as she feared it would be, though, it was a little uncomfortable. The doctor said she was in perfect health and performed another ultrasound. Everything was perfect. The baby is healthy, and Elizabeth is healthy. She will be a mother around November 23rd. Near Thanksgiving. Elizabeth’s mom was thrilled and called the baby the best Thanksgiving gift ever.
When she parked and turned off her car, she laid her head on the steering wheel. “Breathe, Liz. Just breathe. One day at a time!” Talking to herself, and taking a few deep breaths seemed to help. She felt calmer and steadier. She was ready to face the next few hours at the boutique. “I am so glad it’s a short day.”
Lifting her head, she spoke words that didn’t feel real until this moment. “I am going to be a mom around Thanksgiving. Oh my God!”
This was real. Elizabeth knew she was pregnant, knew she was going to be a mom, but reality did not really set in until the moment the doctor gave her a due date. She felt as if she were in a dream, but she wasn’t. This was real.
The boutique was busier than usual when Elizabeth walked in, so she got straight to work. She helped one man, and his boys find the perfect gift for his wife and their mother’s birthday. She checked out some teenagers and their clothing finds. The busy and chaotic atmosphere was exactly what she needed to get her mind off things and pass the time.
“Wow, what an afternoon!” Jessica came over to her, placing her arm around Elizabeth’s shoulder. “You have been quiet today. I feel like we haven’t even said hi to each other since you walked in. How you doing? I haven’t seen you all weekend.”
Elizabeth placed her head against her friend’s arm. Relaxing for a bit. “I’m fine. I’m just lost in thought and the craziness was a godsend.”
“Well, look, would you like to go get a bite to eat when you get off tonight? Or do you have plans with Jacob?”
“No, no plans. Jacob and I aren’t seeing each other.” Elizabeth didn’t really want to talk about this, but here she was.
“What?” Jessica stared at her friend in shock and noticed a look which told her not to pry. “Well, we can talk about that later. I’m leaving here and heading to my volunteer job to get some hours in. I can meet you at The Pizza Place later. What do you say? Maybe go to a late movie after?” Jessica squeezed her friend’s shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile.
“That sounds great. Though, maybe not the movie. I feel exhausted. It’s been a long day, but I could really use some girl time.” Elizabeth smiled at Jessica and gave her a hug. Pulling back, she looked at Jessica with a quizzical gaze. “Your volunteer hours? You really are a saint, aren’t you? Where do you volunteer?”
“The Crisis Pregnancy Center here in town.” At this Elizabeth’s gaze became emotionless, but Jessica didn’t seem to notice. “I just do odd jobs for them. Organizing donations, washing clothes, preparing items for pickup. It is fun, and a great organization that helps so many. I really enjoy it.”
Noticing her friend’s look, Jessica questioned her. “Are you feeling, okay? You look a little sick. Are you feeling ill again?”
Elizabeth smiled what she hoped was a convincing smile. “No, I’m good. But yeah, let’s meet at The Pizza Place after work. I’m looking forward to a girl’s night.”
Jessica agreed with that, clocked out, said goodbye, and left the boutique.
It was 8:15 before Elizabeth left the boutique and met Jessica. The girls ordered a pepperoni and mushroom pizza and drinks. Elizabeth felt she needed to tell Jessica about the baby. A friend to confide in would be helpful, and now that she knew Jessica volunteered at the pregnancy center, she felt that she would understand.
“Hey, Elizabeth. Did you hear anything I just said? You seem like you’re on another planet.” Jessica waved her hand in front of her friend’s face trying to get her attention.
Elizabeth shook her head trying to get herself to focus and looked at her friend sitting across from her. Her eyes started filling with tears. “I am so sorry, Jessica!” Elizabeth grabbed for her napkin as tears quietly rolled down her face. She dabbed at her eyes, rolling them toward the ceiling.
Very concerned, Jessica leaned forward grabbing her hands.“Oh, Elizabeth, what’s wrong?”
Breathing in a shaky breath, Elizabeth looked into the sweet, understanding eyes of the girl across the table. “I really hope you don’t think anything bad about me after I tell you this.”
Elizabeth put her hand up to stop the words of denial that were getting ready to pour from Jessica. She took in a deep cleansing breath and started. “I know you won’t. I’m just nervous and need you to listen.” Elizabeth noticed Jessica sit back with a serious look. “Jessica, I appreciate you and am thankful I’ve gotten to know you, and I consider you a friend. My only one really. It has been a crazy couple of weeks, and I’ve had some news that surprised me and scared me all at the same time. Even though it shouldn’t.”
