Page 54 of More Than Enough

Mrs. Parks became concerned. “Elizabeth, honey, what’s wrong?”

Elizabeth grabbed her freshly brewed tea, dropped heavily in the seat beside her mom, and grabbed a banana, peeling it slowly to waste time.

She contemplated just lying and not telling her mother anything, though, she knew she’d find out soon enough. Who knew if Brady would be coming around again anytime soon anyway. Her mom would eventually find out about the mess she made. No time like the present.

“Mom, I screwed up. Again.” Elizabeth emphasized the ‘again’ as she took a big bite out of the banana. Her mother, always the patient one, waited for her to go on. Elizabeth chewed and thought over what to say.

Figuring the truth was the easiest, she told her mother about what happened Saturday night, how disjointed she was during the entire dinner, how she followed Jacob out to the parking lot, kissed him and that Brady saw the entire thing. She then told her mom about their drive home and the last words they spoke.

“Now he isn’t answering my calls or texts.” She paused, sighing heavily, and completed eating her banana, waiting for her mother’s reaction.

Mrs. Parks thoughtfully looked at her. “I see. That does seem to be a mess.”

Elizabeth dropped her empty banana peel on the counter and looked at her mom with a dumbfounded expression. “I see? That’s all you can say? Really, Mom, I screwed up! One minute I’m so glad Brady is wanting to be with me and be a part of the baby’s life. I am ecstatic! We are talking about plans, and things we can do. I like him, Mom. I do. I always have. But…” Elizabeth put her face in her hands. Breathing in very deeply, she wiped her hands down her face in frustration and continued. “But I can’t get Jacob out of my mind.”

Turning toward her mom, she pleaded, “Why can’t I get Jacob out of my mind? Why can’t I just be happy with Brady? When will I be good enough to have an amazing guy love me?”

Mrs. Parks placed her hand on Elizabeth’s back. “Elizabeth, enough. You are an amazing person. Stop being so hard on yourself. Just take things one day at a time and relax. You’ll figure things out and make the right decision, and you know Brady will come around when the baby’s born. I’m sure he’s hurt, but what will be, will be. Right now, though, we need to get to the doctor. You ready?”

Mrs. Parks got up from the counter, put their mugs in the sink and threw away the empty banana peel. Ending this discussion.

Elizabeth, taking the cue, followed her mother out the door to the car.

The doctor’s appointment went well, and everything was still going perfectly. At two centimeters dilated, her body was preparing for the birth, but it could still be weeks before the baby came.

When he asked if she wanted to know the baby’s sex, Elizabeth couldn’t get herself to say yes. Part of her was hoping Brady would have just shown up to support her, and when that didn’t happen, she couldn’t find out. Not yet anyway. She wanted Brady to know the same time she did.So she told the doctor know and he put the ultrasound picture in an envelope for her

Glancing at the envelope on the passenger seat next to her, Elizabeth wondered what the paper inside had written on it. The temptation to open it and peek was so strong, but she beat the temptation and stayed focused on the radio, singing away to the newest pop song blasting from her stereo speakers.

Before she got out of the car at the boutique, she took a picture of the envelope and sent Brady a text:

Just want you to know that in this envelope is the sex of our baby. I didn’t want to find out without you with me. Can we at least get together to open this, and see? No strings attached.

Elizabeth sat for a minute just staring at her phone screen. Not knowing why she thought he would all of a sudden answer her, but a woman could hope, couldn’t she?

Sighing deeply, she heaved herself out of her car, walked across the parking lot, and through the boutique doors, ready to start her last day of work for a while.

Jessica ran up to the door to greet Elizabeth, grabbing her arm, and pulling her to the back of the store. “Hi, Elizabeth. How was the doctor? Is everything good? I’m sure it is.”

Jessica’s behavior had Elizabeth laughing and wondering what in the world was going on with her friend. She was getting ready to ask Jessica if she was on anything, when a loud, SURPRISE made Elizabeth jump and scream, covering her face with her hands.

When her heart went back to an almost regular rhythm, Elizabeth peeked between her fingers. Her eyes popped wide, and her mouth opened in shock.

Looking into the back room, she saw streamers and balloons hanging everywhere in pink and blue. Tables were covered with tablecloths of the same colors. There were women from church, the pregnancy center, and the town smiling and clapping their hands at the surprise and fright that was apparent on Elizabeth’s face.

Stacey came running over to her along with Desiree and a much skinnier Charity. Elizabeth found herself engulfed in a group hug surrounded by squealing women.

“What did y’all do?” Elizabeth asked, separating herself from the wall of friends.

“Are you surprised?” asked Jessica.

Looking around again, Elizabeth saw both her mother and Mrs. Stanzel smiling broadly at her. She then looked back at Jessica and the girls still surrounding her.

“Surprised? I’m more amazed. I had no idea!” Looking at Jessica, Elizabeth’s smile filled her face. “I can’t believe you kept this from me.” She hugged her friends again, thanking them.

Elizabeth then walked over to her mother and wrapped her in a big hug, smacking a kiss on her cheek. “Is this why you were really pushing to find out whether the baby is a boy or girl?”

Her mom shrugged. “It would have meant a slight change in decorations. But everything looks beautiful anyway.” She returned her daughter’s hug.

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