Nine months later…

~ Andrea

“Now, just follow this routine that I’ve made for you as well as this list of Do’s and Don’ts…” I hand the two pieces of paper to the woman in front of my desk. “And Annie should be feeling better soon.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” The woman smiles. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

I reach for her hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze to go with the smile I’m giving her. “Stay strong. You’re a mother. You’ll be fine. You’ll get Annie through this.”

She nods.

I turn to the four-year-old girl playing with the toys near my desk.

“I’ll see you soon, okay, Annie?”

She just looks at me.

“Listen to your mother and don’t forget to smile.” I stroke her cheek.

She doesn’t smile, saying nothing until her mother tows her away.

That’s fine. She’s going through a tough time right now but she’ll get over it. Just like Rose did.

Rose.

I glance at my watch. Shit.

“Karlie,” I call the woman from the reception desk.

“Yes, Dr. Maxwell?” A blond woman in her twenties appears.

I take off my white lab coat. “That’s my last appointment, right?”

“Yes. You said you were only seeing a few today. Tomorrow, however, you have six children to see.”

“That’s fine.” I put on my brown cardigan. “But I have to go now.” I grab my purse. “There’s another child waiting for me.”

---

“Mommy!”

Rose breaks away from the crowd of children coming out of school, running into my arms with a wide smile.

I give her a big hug. “So, how was your first day of school?”

“Good.” She holds my hand as we walk to the car. “I like my teacher and the other kids are nice.”

“That’s good to hear.”

It’s a relief, actually. All day long, I’d been worrying about how Rose was doing at school now that she’s finally well enough to attend one. What if she suddenly has a relapse? What if the teacher ignores her? What if she gets lost on her way to the bathroom? What if a mean, older kid shoves her in the hallway?

Thankfully, it seems all of those worries have been unfounded. She’s fine. Of course, that won’t stop me from worrying about her while she’s in school for the next few days or weeks or years, maybe not until she graduates. But I’m really glad that she seems to like it.

“So, you like school?” I ask just to confirm as I get in the car.

“Um-hmm.” She slips into the passenger seat, tossing her backpack into the backseat.

“Did you make new friends?” I ask.

“There was someone named Jessie in my classroom.”

“Really?” I help her put on her seatbelt.

“I almost laughed because I was thinking of Jessie, my pony.”

I chuckle. “Well, you might not want to tell her just yet that your pony is named after her. She might not like it.”

“Why not? Jessie’s pretty.”

I put on my seatbelt. “Of course, she is, but this Jessie in your class is a girl. She wouldn’t want to be compared to an animal, even the prettiest animal.”

“Okay.” Rose nods. “I won’t tell her yet. I’ll tell her when we’re friends.”

“You do that.” I stroke her cheek. “I’m sure the two of you will be great friends.”

I start the engine.

“Where are we going?” Rose asks.

“Well, I did promise you ice cream after school, didn’t I?” I remind. “Or don’t you want it anymore?”

“Ice cream!” Rose cheers, hands in the air and legs swaying.

I chuckle. “I guess that means you still want it.”

“I want strawberry.”

“Sure thing.” I start driving. “After you have your ice cream, we’ll go home, rest a bit and then later, we’re meeting your Daddy for a fancy dinner in Madison so we can celebrate.”

“Celebrate what?” Rose asks.

“Why, your first day of school, of course, and maybe something else.”

“What?” Now, she’s excited, her eyes wide.

I playfully pinch her nose. “Just you wait and see.”

---

“How long do we have to wait?” Rose asks, resting her chin on the table covered in white linen.

“Just a little more, sweetheart,” I tell her as I glance at my watch then look anxiously around the restaurant.

Rose and I have already been waiting here for an hour and Clay is still not here. Where is he?

I get my phone out of my purse, about to send Clay a message when I remember something.

“Oh, you know what, Rose?” I touch her arm. “Guess who else wanted you to have a wonderful first day of school today?”

“Who?” She lifts her head, eyes twinkling.

“Your Aunt Nora,” I inform. “She sent me a message saying she hopes you’ll have fun.”

“You can tell her I did.”

“I will.”

Somehow, Nora and I have become friends and I send her updates about Rose regularly. She’s been keeping me posted about her life, too. She’s already left Adam and has moved back to the farm, which her sons are enjoying. She said she’s found a job, too, working at a nearby bank. I’m truly happy for her.

Where are you? Still coming?

I send the message to Clay.

A few seconds later, I get a reply.

Sorry. I might not be able to make it. Still busy here at the office.

I frown. Still, I understand that Clay has a lot to do. He is the CEO of a company, after all. Sometimes, I wish he’d take a break again for a few months like he did last time but hey, I can’t be selfish. Besides, I’m working again, too, so I can’t blame him for doing the same.

I’m just a little sad that he can’t come to dinner, especially since I had something important to tell him.

“Well, sweetheart, I don’t think your Daddy is coming,” I tell Rose the news.

“What?” She looks even more disappointed than I am. “Why?”

“He’s busy at work.”

“He’s always busy at work now.”

“I know.” I stroke Rose’s hair. “But he’s working so that we can all have a good life and so that he can help other people.”

“I know,” she says, frowning.

“Hey.” I hold her hand. “Why don’t we take dinner out from this lovely restaurant that smells so wonderful and then we’ll drive around a bit before we go home. How does that sound?”

Rose nods. She doesn’t seem completely appeased but at least, the corners of her mouth turn up a little.

“Okay. But what about the surprise?”

“Your Daddy and I will tell you tomorrow when you wake up. I promise.”

---

“Rose is already asleep?” Clay asks as he pulls out a chair from the dining table, the food that Rose and I bought, which has already been reheated, spread out on it.

I nod, sitting beside him. “She was tired from her first day of school.”

“I can imagine she was.” Clay gets some food on his plate. “But did she have fun?”

“She did,” I tell him. “She said it was nice.”

“That’s good.” He places his hand over mine. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come to dinner.”

“It’s fine. You can apologize to Rose tomorrow.”

As he eats, I eat a little more as well.

“You’re still hungry?” he asks.

I shrug. “I guess. So, how was work today? I mean I know it was busy but anything important or interesting?”

“Not really.” Clay pops another morsel of steak into his mouth. “Oh, wait. Do you remember that program John made?”

“The one for cardio patients that Rose knew the password to?”

“Yes, that one.”

I can still remember how Clay was working so hard to break the security of that program and then one day, Rose walked into his office, saw what he was doing and just blurted out the password, saying that John had told her. Clay and I just couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“It’s going to be made available to every hospital now,” Clay says, wiping his mouth with a table napkin. “Dr. Elliot agreed to it. That way, more people can be helped. He’ll be given some credit for coming up with the program, though.”

“That’s good,” I tell him, eating a potato wedge.

“What about you? Did anything interesting happen at work?”

“Oh, nothing new. I saw just three kids today.”

“I see.”

“Each time I see them, I remember Rose.”

Clay holds my hand. “Well, I’m sure you’ll help all those kids live better lives, just like you’ve done with Rose.”

“I didn’t do that by myself, you know,” I remind. “We both did it. And Rose, too.”

“I know. I’m proud of her.”

He reaches for the glass of water and drinks.

I take a deep breath. “You know, there was something important I wanted to tell you at dinner, though.”

“What?” Clay sets down his glass.

Now, how do I say this? It’s strange. I’ve been thinking all day of how to say it. I was thinking I’d simply announce it at the restaurant. That didn’t happen, though, so now I just have to say it here. Do I just blurt it out?

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense.”

I take another deep breath. “I’m pregnant.”

The spoon falls from Clay’s hand on the table then he slowly turns his head to look at me with wide eyes.

“You’re…?”

I nod, my excitement brimming now. “We’re having a baby.”

“Oh, Andrea.” He gets out of his chair to give me a hug. “That’s wonderful news.”

“It is,” I agree.

Now that I’ve told him, I can finally let all my excitement and joy overflow.

Clay pulls away. “Have you told Rose?”

“No. I said we’d both tell her tomorrow.”

“Okay.” He cups my face. “How do you feel? Do you feel fine?”

“I feel perfect,” I tell him. “Didn’t I tell you our life was going to be perfect?”

He grabs my hand, kissing it. “I love you, Andrea Maxwell.”

“And I love you, Clay Maxwell.”

I place my hand on his cheek and give him a tender kiss, my heart still fluttering inside my chest that’s swelling with warmth.

Just when I thought life was already wonderful, it becomes more amazing and I can’t wait to see what else the future brings us. I just know it will be better than either of us planned. But no matter what the future brings, we’ll face it together. We’ll always be together now.

And forever.

Curious to read how Andrea’s and Clay’s relationship evolved? Then enjoy this complimentary short story featuring the beloved couple.

Simply

I guarantee you, that you won’t be disappointed ♥