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Elizabeth looked around at all the gifts Jessica and her parents had brought up. She didn’t remember them doing all that, so she must have taken a quick nap as she was rocking.
“Well, I guess we should open all the clothes, blankets, and sheets. We need to get those washed before we make the bed or put the clothes away.”
Jessica nodded her head in agreement. “Sounds good. Let’s get started.” Jessica sat on the floor and passed Elizabeth some bags. Together they started opening packages and making piles to put in the washer.
The next few days Elizabeth occupied her time with organizing and decorating the nursery.
Since she still did not know if she was having a boy or girl, she decorated the room with green and yellow pastels and teddy bears. She kept the walls the beige they always were. The dark cherry furniture, and accents of pale greens and yellows finished out the room and added just enough color. She loved the look she created.
Standing back admiring the now completed and ready bedroom, she smiled at what she saw. “So, baby, your room is finished. I know you’ll love it here.”
She picked her phone up from the bookshelf and snapped pictures standing in the doorway to get the full view. Without thinking twice, she sent all those pictures to Brady telling him she hoped he’d come by and see the nursery.
“Hi, hon. Are you finished?” Elizabeth turned and saw her mom coming down the hallway with a wash basket in her arms.
“Hey, Mom. Yeah. It looks really good. I love it.” Elizabeth moved over so her mother could look in the baby’s room.
She smiled and agreed. “You’ve been working hard. Why don’t we go into town and grab a sandwich for lunch? We can stop by some stores quickly and pick up anything else you think you might need. It’ll do you good to get out.”
“That sounds great, Mom. I’ll grab a jacket.” Elizabeth left to grab her jacket from her room and run a brush through her hair and put her phone in her jacket pocket. As she walked down the steps, she heard a notification that she had a text. Ignoring it, she picked up her purse and followed her mom out the door.
They made it to the restaurant. Elizabeth planned on getting a salad, but smelling the deli bread that always made her mouth water, she changed her mind and settled on a club sandwich with chips and water.
Not realizing how hungry she was until her meal was placed in front of her and she started eating, Elizabeth devoured her sandwich. Her mother was laughing at the speed in which her daughter shoved food into her mouth.
“Did you not eat today?”
Elizabeth swallowed and took a drink of water. “I honestly don’t remember. I’ve been so focused on finishing the room. But mmm, this sandwich is always perfect.”
She was interrupted by her phone ringing. Remembering the text she received at home, she pulled her phone out of her purse and froze when she saw who the call was from and turned the phone in her mom’s direction.
“Brady? Elizabeth, aren’t you going to answer it?”
An uneasy feeling, maybe more like panic, swept over her. She stared at the phone until it stopped ringing, then quickly heard a notification that she got a voicemail. Holding her mom’s eyes, she tapped the voicemail notification and put it on speaker.
“Hi. I hope this is Elizabeth Parks.”
Elizabeth looked with confusion at her mom and mouthed, “It’s not Brady”.
The message continued. “I’m Christian, Brady’s brother. I know he hasn’t wanted to talk to you, but there’s been an accident and Brady’s in the hospital.”
Elizabeth froze at this news watching the phone like it was going to start talking on its own.
“He didn’t want to tell you, but I really felt like you should know. He just had surgery on his leg. He should be awake soon. I know he really would like to see you, even if he won’t admit it.”
Christian went on to tell her the hospital name and Brady’s room number. He added his phone number as a quick final thought if she wanted to talk to him directly.
The recording ended.
Elizabeth’s mom reached across the table trying to get her daughter to make eye contact. “Do you want to go see him?”
Fear filled Elizabeth’s eyes followed by tears. “Yes. I mean, no.” Shaking her head she finally admitted. “I don’t know, Mom. If he doesn’t want to see me, why should I go?”
“Because you need him to know you care.”
Elizabeth looked at her mom, speechless, lost in her thoughts. Tears rolled down her face. She thought of Brady and then Jacob ran into her mind. “I do, but I don’t know how much. There’s still Jacob.”
Her mom stopped and took a deep breath while a flash of irritation crossed her face. “Really, Elizabeth? Think about it. You and Jacob might have had something, but it looks to me like he has moved on. I don’t want to tell you what to feel, but I think you have moved on also. I feel that all that Jacob is, is your way of not having to face your real feelings. He is the easy way out. But you need to look at what’s right here…” She held up Elizabeth’s phone. “…in front of you, and possible.” She held Elizabeth’s gaze as Elizabeth looked at her mom, then glanced down at her phone.
