Page 54 of Plan Interrupted

The bathroom door swung open, and Darcy came bounding through the doorway. “What’s going on in here?” she asked in an unmistakable, irritating ‘Nosey Nellie’ tone.

“Nothing of your concern. Don’t worry about it.” Elizabeth snapped. Her gaze shifted from her assistant to the wastebasket where the pregnancy tests lay. Crap.

Elizabeth rushed her glance back to the annoying woman. Too late. Darcy’s wide eyes were fixed on the wastebasket.

Elizabeth led Holly out of the bathroom, and they scooted off to lunch.

“How am I going to tell Sam I’m pregnant with his child? My God, we haven’t even been dating for three months. What’s he going to think?” Holly asked, her eyes pleading for reassurance that everything would be okay.

“Do you love him?”

“Yes,” she replied without hesitation.

“Does he love you?”

“He says so. But this is still going to be a blow to him. His lifestyle is not that of a family man, and mine is not that of a mom. I’m not ready to be a mom. I can’t do this. I need to...”

Elizabeth had a bad feeling about where her friend was headed with this. She thought of Max and Molly, and Joe’s nieces and nephews, and how happy Joe, Nick, Maria, Angelina, and Jim seemed to be with having families.

“I can’t tell you what to do, but you need to take some time and think this through so you don’t regret any decisions, later, that you make now,” Elizabeth interrupted.

Holly’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t want to lose him. Maybe I shouldn’t tell him and just take care of things.”

A lump swelled in Elizabeth’s throat. Four months ago, she probably wouldn’t have thought anything about what Holly was suggesting, but now, she couldn’t imagine doing such a thing, and she wondered how she was going to handle her own situation if she turned out to be pregnant.

She tried hard not to pass judgment on her friend. “Don’t you think Sam has a right to know? After all, it’s his baby also. Maybe his reaction will pleasantly surprise you. Please, just think about it for a while.”

* * * *

By 7:00 p.m. Elizabeth was both physically and emotionally drained. She logged off her computer and headed home. By the time she arrived at Joe’s, he had just tucked the kids in for the night.

As she shrugged out of her coat, the pitter patter of Molly’s quick footsteps drew her attention. The young girl ran toward her with her arms in the air. Elizabeth scooped her up and gave her a hug and kiss. “Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?”

Molly looked sheepishly at her dad and then fixed her gaze back on her. “Yep, can you tuck me in?”

Elizabeth glanced at Joe. Upon his nod, she carried Molly to her room, set her on the bed, and pulled the covers up to her neck. Joe stood in the doorway and watched.

“Good night, sweetie. Pleasant dreams.”

“Good night, Elizabeth. I love you,” Molly eagerly blurted.

She smiled at the beautiful little girl. She couldn’t believe how amazing it felt to hear those three simple words from this sweet child. It filled her heart in a way she could have never imagined before meeting Joe and his family.

“I love you too, Molly.”

Elizabeth lingered in her room for a bit watching her fall asleep.

––––––––

Joe went into the kitchen to heat up a serving of spaghetti for Elizabeth. He thought about the exchange between her and his daughter. It tugged at his heart. He wanted more than anything for his children to know a mother’s love like he had as a child.

“Good night, Elizabeth.” Max’s voice snapped him out of his thought process as his son yelled from his bedroom.

He heard Max’s bedroom door open.

“Good night, Max. Sleep tight,” Elizabeth replied.

The door clicked shut.