Page 42 of More Than Enough

She looked at Charity with wonder and joy in her eyes. “Oh my gosh! Was that the baby?” Charity looked at Desiree and the two girls laughed at Elizabeth’s reaction.

“It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?” Desiree asked Elizabeth as she also laid her hand on her best friend’s stomach. “I love feeling the little guy kick. I can’t wait until he gets to meet his Auntie Des, and I get to spoil him rotten!”

“Move over Des. I need to feel my football star.” Don, Charity’s husband, pushed Desiree out of the way, and sat down next to Charity with one arm around her shoulder, and the other on her belly.

Elizabeth leaned out of the way to give them room. The baby kicked again. Charity’s hand closed over Don’s. They smiled and laughed together. Don leaned over and kissed his wife’s belly. “Hey, little man. That’s one heck of a kick you got there.”

“You’re not kidding.” Replied Charity with a smile of exhaustion on her face. She looked at Elizabeth. “Just wait soon you’ll be losing sleep because your little one will be kicking and punching you all night.”

Elizabeth laughed and placed her hand on her bump. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Don leaned in to give Charity a kiss. “I think I need to get you two home. It’s been a long day.” Don said, looking at his wife. Charity nodded her head in agreement.

Elizabeth stood up as the two departed, gave them hugs and watched them walk away with Don’s arm around Charity helping and leading her toward their car. Elizabeth smiled as she watched them. You could see how crazy the two of them were for each other.

Moving slightly to the left, Elizabeth froze as another couple got her attention over by a tree. Kristen and Jacob were enjoying a quiet moment with their lips locked together in a deep intense kiss. Elizabeth felt her stomach tied up in a knot, and her face grew hot, though, she knew it wasn’t from the weather.

“Hey. I just love them together. Aren’t they the sweetest?” Stacey interrupted Elizabeth’s thoughts and caught her off guard.

Elizabeth broke her stare at Jacob and Kristen and turned to face Stacey. “Excuse Me?”

“Charity and Don. Don’t you just love them? They were that cute in high school too. We all knew they would last forever.”

Elizabeth, more relaxed now that she knew what couple Stacey was talking about, smiled and agreed with her. Turning away, she excused herself. She wanted to get away from Stacey. Though she did consider her a friend, with the ex-rated show going on over by the tree, standing with one of the actors’ sisters just didn’t sit well with her. She needed to find Chad and Jessica.

“Wait, Elizabeth. I’ll go with you if you don’t mind. I want to say something anyway.” Stacey walked beside Elizabeth as they left the deck, and unfortunately had to pass the tree where Jacob and Kristen had still not come up for air. Trying her best to ignore the scene, she held her head high as she passed by.

“I’m sorry about that.” Stacey acknowledged as she wrinkled her nose and curled her lip.

She continued when they were safely out of ear shot. “I don’t know why he’s made that decision again. They are not good for each other, but I don’t know. I guess it’s not my place to say. They’re both adults, and so are you, but I think if you…”

Elizabeth put her hand up and shook her head interrupting Stacey’s words.

“Look, Stacey, if that’s what Jacob wants, it’s fine. I made the decision for us to stop seeing each other, not him. I didn’t want Jacob to have to deal with me, and soon enough, a baby. If he keeps going back to her, maybe that is where he belongs.”

Chad overheard this conversation and put in his two cents. “Bite your tongue woman! Kristen, though I don’t feel she is quite the whore-bitch you call her, is a snake and is out to make only Kristen happy. She likes the game and the hunt. She’ll hurt him again when she gets bored being in a relationship, and I will have to pick up the pieces of his broken heart. We’ve seen it so many times before.”

The group around the tree nodded in agreement, some putting in comments about Kristen’s behavior, or Jacob’s choices.

Stacey, always the peacemaker and defender of the two, broke into the discussion. “Okay, everyone. Let’s find something more positive to discuss. There has to be more exciting drama to talk about other than my brother’s bad choices in women.” Stacey turned to Elizabeth, and placing her hand around her waist added, “present company not included.” Elizabeth and the others laughed at that, and the conversation was changed.

Elizabeth, though she tried to tell herself she didn’t care, noticed that Jacob and Kristen were no longer at the tree. Wondering where they went, she glanced stealthily around the yard, and stopped short when she saw them with their lips locked again in the doorway of the kitchen. They then entered the house and Elizabeth watched as Jacob leaned close to Kristen, making her laugh. They both entered the kitchen, and he closed the door behind him. Elizabeth’s heart broke a little bit more.

It was late when Elizabeth finally said goodnight to her friends, left the party, and went back to her house. She let herself quietly into the kitchen and made herself a cup of green tea. While it steeped, she got comfortable settling into the corner of the couch in the sunroom with her tea in her hand. She bounced the tea bag in the hot water. She leaned her head back and sighed.

Jessica was going to spend the night with her, or at least that was the plan earlier in the day, but she ended up making a huge decision and decided to spend the night with Chad at his apartment instead. Remembering the conversation with Jessica made Elizabeth smile.

Jessica had come over to her, took her hand and pulled her away from the group. She told her that Chad asked her to spend the night with him. Jessica was apprehensive at first, not only because she was nervous about taking their relationship to the next level so soon, but she didn’t want to leave Elizabeth hanging.

Just remembering her friend’s concern for her made Elizabeth swell with pride and acceptance. She truly was thankful for Jessica, and even Chad. They really have become such close friends in such a short time. Thinking about her two friends together made Elizabeth smile even more. They were a cute couple and balanced each other out nicely. Elizabeth finished her tea and sighed.

“Well, little one, I guess we need to go to bed. I’m exhausted.”

As if in answer, she felt for the first time what felt more like a kick than a flutter. It shocked her. She took in a quick breath with a smile and placed her hand on her stomach at the place where she felt the light thump.

“Oh, my goodness, little one. I guess you heard me.”

Elizabeth’s heart swelled with pride at the thought that even though she was feeling down and alone, she was given a reminder that she wasn’t alone at all.

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