Page 49 of More Than Enough

“I know it’ll be awkward. We both like each other, but aren’t serious, and I guess you know we’ve had a relationship. I sort of can’t hide that.” With this she placed her hands on her stomach and patted it. “What do you think? Will you meet him, and Dad, will you be nice?” She said this while scrunching up her face.

Mrs. Parks chuckled at her husband as he stopped walking and his mouth dropped open.

“She has a point, honey. You do sometimes get a little bit overprotective.”

Mr. Parks looked at both his girls shaking his head with disbelief. “It hurts me that you two think that little of me, but of course I would love to meet him and make sure he’s good enough for both my daughter and my grandchild.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Elizabeth grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. He returned the squeeze with a wink.

As they walked past Jacob’s house, he pulled in the driveway and waved at them as he stepped out of his car. Mr. and Mrs. Parks waved back and greeted him with smiles and hellos. Elizabeth threw a quick nod in his direction and picked up her walking speed, ready to be back home. Her parents, not ones to miss much of anything, exchanged a look between them.

Early the next morning, Elizabeth woke up at dawn, her thoughts filled with Brady. They had been getting along so well and this made her heart flutter.

Even though she had known him for four years of college, there was something about him now that she didn’t notice before. Maturity maybe, she wasn’t sure, but she knew she liked it, and they were good together.

They learned a lot about each other through their phone conversations. He was focusing on helping his father with their family construction business. They had been working on a project and he had to be on the worksite most Saturday mornings, so it’s been a couple weeks since that day in the park.

She hoped meeting her parents was a good idea. She didn’t realize how nervous she was at the thought,so to help pass the time, she started to dust the furniture and vacuum the rugs.

Awake due to the excessive roar of a vacuum, Mr. and Mrs. Parks descended the stairs and found their daughter dressed and focused on cleaning. With sleep in her voice, Mrs. Parks interrupted Elizabeth who jumped from fright.

“Jeez, Mom! You scared me to death. Whatcha’ do that for?” Elizabeth turned off the vacuum and held her hand over her heart, catching her breath.

“Are you nesting, honey?” Seeing the confused look in her daughter’s eyes, she explained. “Nesting is when pregnant women have an uncontrollable desire to clean. It is said it’s because the baby is coming soon. Well?”

Understanding dawned on Elizabeth’s face. “No, Mom. I’m just getting ready for Brady. You know he’s gonna be here soon.”

“Umm, it’s six a.m. He won’t be here till noon. We have a little bit of time.” Her mother left Elizabeth standing in the living room; she needed coffee and smelled some brewing.

The rest of the morning took forever in Elizabeth’s eyes. As the hours slowly ticked on, she completed her cleaning, placed new towels in the powder room, and made chocolate chip cookies. Her dad, wanting to help, took it upon himself to run to the store to get deli meat, bread, and vegetables for sandwiches.

Elizabeth wandered onto the porch and sat in the swing. While she was waiting, she found herself thinking back to school and her relationship with Brady.

She knew they had both been attracted to each other. That was apparent in how they came together like magnets when they first met on the quad and later when they saw each other at the fraternity house.

They went on a couple dates together over the years, and she was his unspoken date at all the formals his fraternity had. Most guys and girls thought they were an item. The few times she did see him with another girl, she became insanely jealous, and he admitted the same about her. That’s why they decided to be exclusive for a while.

That lasted through the month of February and most of March. They never decided to stop seeing each other, it just mutually happened. Then the school year ended, and they left without discussing anything.

The one thing she was glad about was that she knew she got pregnant in February, the one month there is no question who would be the father. Brady knows that. It makes it a whole lot easier to accept.

Finally, just after twelve, his truck pulled into the driveway.

Elizabeth stood up to welcome him, and her stomach started fluttering. She could not deny that he was a good-looking guy, and she was attracted to him. He must have had his hair trimmed because it fell neater in waves. He looked good in his jeans, T-shirt, and boots. The smile he gave her when their eyes met made her stomach flutter even more.

“Hey, you.” His typical greeting, she always heard, hadn’t changed.

She answered him like she always did. “Hey, you, back.”

That made him laugh, and he leaped up the four steps to her porch and wrapped his arms around her in a quick hug and kissed her cheek.

“I’ve missed you, but it’s like we haven’t been away from each other for four months.”

Elizabeth smiled at him for saying that.

She took a deep breath, looked him in the eyes and grabbed his hand. “So, are you ready? I gotta admit, I’m a nervous wreck.”

Brady squeezed her hand to reassure her. “No use being nervous when you have to face the truth. Let’s do this.”

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