Happy Valentine's Day (AU M/L Mat-.) ch8-8 2/13/11

[mary mary]

Happy Valentines Day
2011

Genre: A/U M.L. teen/mature language

Summary: Sequel…Merry Christmas To All

Disclaimer: I have absolutely nothing to do with the show “Roswell” nor any of it’s constituents…I have borrowed the characters simply because I like them.

*~*~*~*
Liz:

Well hello everyone. I’m making coffee for Max’s breakfast right now…It’s been a month or so since Christmas and things are moving right along here in the Evans’ household. Morning sickness has arrived right on schedule and why, excuse me a minute, need to get the filters down out of the pantry…to continue on here…why in the name of all that’s good do they call it morning sickness? It’s beyond my comprehension because I think the thought of food, the smell of food and the mention of food makes me ill all day long. I was worrying about gaining fifty pounds when Maria and Tess brought Danish over practically every day when I had my sore toe but believe me, whatever I might have gained has long since disappeared.

When I say ill I am being very kind to you here people…very kind. I think our water bill has doubled in the last month because I have flushed the toilet so many times and I know that they’re going to have to drill another water well for the city before I’m finished. Mmm, need to pick up more coffee filters next time I’m at the market. Anyway… poor Max… I don’t know whether to kill him or kiss him, he is trying to be supportive and so helpful but every time I get sick I look at him and moan. I know, I know, I want this as much as he does but when does he get to suffer? That’s all l want to know here…it just doesn’t seem fair people! He enjoyed making this baby and… well I did too,(insert sigh) but he will enjoy all of the great things our child will do, and again the big “but”, when does his suffering start? Tell me that…oh God, excuse me, here I go again!!!

***

Well…I’m back. We still haven’t shared the news with anyone yet but if the “MORNING” sickness keeps up they will know, believe me they will know… no one will have to say a word, all they have to do is look at me. My eyes are sunk into the back of my head, my hair is disheveled, it has no shine and I look like the Wreck of the Hesperus. Maria and Tess still drop by regularly and if they’ve guessed anything they haven’t said a word. Oh, one thing they don’t know though is that I have taken a temporary leave of absence from work so don’t tell them… they don’t show up on those four days of the week and that’s a good thing. On the days I know they may come by I make sure that I haven’t eaten any breakfast and I keep herbal tea in the coffee pot instead of coffee. I make Max’s coffee in the small four cup coffee maker and wash it immediately after he pours his second mug because the smell makes me ill, I haven’t told him this little bit of information because he likes his coffee in the morning, I gave up drinking the stuff about six weeks ago.. So far I think our secret is safe but I wouldn’t be taking any bets on how long that is going to last, not the way I’m feeling here…not at all!

***

Max:

God, we’ve got to find something that is going to calm her stomach down. The poor thing is in the bathroom the biggest part of the day, she’s lost weight and she hardly has the energy to stand up. I’ve checked with every doctor on staff, I’ve checked with the pharmacy and I’ve read every medical book I can get my hands on to find some remedy but so far nothing has helped her…I even called Amy and asked her if she knew of some herb that would help and of course had to side step the inquisition that came with it, I know where Maria gets it from that’s for sure, I lied like hell to keep our secret, I only hoped it worked…told her it was for a little patient of mine.

This all started about six weeks ago and the first time she started retching I thought she would turn her intestines inside out…but in the past two days she can’t even keep water down and it’s getting worse every day. She really had a serious ‘blow out’ the other morning…God, I thought she’d choke to death before she stopped.

We have an appointment with her OB/GYN next week and I have had a couple of conversations with her regarding Liz’s “morning sickness” and explained to her that she can hardly keep a glass of water down let alone food and she said that some pregnancies are like that and didn’t seem too concerned but I’ve got news for her…I’m concerned and we need to come up with something to help her and soon.

I get the impression that Liz thinks I don’t care about all of this but that could be the farthest thing from the truth. I just want to help her and I feel so useless. You would think, that after all of the years in medical school that I would be able to manage a simple thing like an upset stomach. Although, it was explained to me by many doctors in the past few weeks, she does not have an upset stomach, she is pregnant. What the hell’s the difference I ask you? She’s throwing up constantly!

We still haven’t told anyone yet and Liz wants to wait and see how this situation turns out before we make an announcement... I think she’s afraid of a miscarriage and I really hope that doesn’t happen. She has wanted a baby for so long and it would be such a disappointment if something happened, especially now and after the pain she suffered with that toe of hers at Christmas time with no pain killers just to insure a healthy baby, well I’m praying, that’s all I can say. She’s a fighter though and I’m so proud of her but this situation is just terrible. We figure that she should complete her first trimester by the middle of February. According to all the ‘know it alls’ she should be pretty much past this phase soon…we shall see.

***
Liz:

Well unbeknownst to Max, I don’t want to worry him, I made an appointment with Jane my regular doctor…I don’t care what all the pros say, this is not normal. I don’t want to upset Max needlessly and we won’t do any sonograms or really intense baby stuff without him but I really need some help, I can hardly find my way to the bathroom I’m so tired and worn out from all of this. Maybe I’ll just lay by the toilet all day and I won’t have to try and get there…save time and energy…what do you think?

I meet Maggie, the receptionist, just as she is opening the door and she smiles her happy smile at me, I just want to throw up on her, and then her face shows signs of shock and that’s when I know that I’m not making a mistake by being here and I feel guilty for wanting to mess her up. She can’t hide the surprised look with her cheerful chatter no matter how hard she tries and I still want to throw up, not necessarily on her but the thought is stuck somewhere between my brain and my throat.

When she gets all of the lights on and the various machines up and running she looks up at me and asks what time my appointment is for because I’m not listed in her book. I smile, it’s forced, and tell her that Jane told me to be here at 8:30 and she’d meet me, that we spoke last night. Maggie was a little surprised but didn’t indicate out loud but I knew, this was unusual.

Jane went to Harvard with Max and me and we’ve known each other for years and although my line of work is more research it’s still in the medical field whereas Max and Jane are both medical doctors. Jane is in general practice and Max is pediatrics in case you might have forgotten.

Just as Maggie and I straightened out why I was there Jane walks in and smiles at Maggie and indicates to me that I should follow her back to an examining room. She takes one look at me and asks…

“My God Liz! What in the hell is wrong with you?”

“I’m pregnant and I haven’t kept so much as a glass of water on my stomach for the last two days. I know I’m getting dehydrated…there’s no way I can’t be and Max has read everything he can get his hands on as well as questioned everyone he comes in contact with and they all say it’s normal…but honest to God Jane, there’s nothing normal about this. I’m so weak I can hardly stand up and I don’t want to concern Max about it just in case I’m being a baby.”
I rush the words out and then I almost pass out from exhaustion…

“Good Lord Liz, you’ve never been a baby about anything and Max knows this, now don’t be ridiculous. The first thing we are going to do is get you over to the hospital and pump some liquids and nourishment into you then we are going to run some tests. How far along?”

“Well, we figure right around Thanksgiving or a little before, so maybe 11 to 12 weeks, no longer.”

“Okay, are you seeing Abby?” Abby is my OB/Gyn. She’s in the same complex as Jane and she also attended Harvard with us.

“Yes, I have an appointment for next week.”

“Fine, we’ll get her on the phone and have her meet us at the hospital along with Max. We aren’t going to put the baby in any jeopardy but we aren’t going to put you there either. If you aren’t healthy this baby won’t be healthy and you’re smart enough to know that so… you have to quit keeping things from Max. That’s isn’t a good idea Liz. You may have a doctorate but you don’t practice medicine so quit self diagnosing. It isn’t good for any of you.”

Now that I’ve been properly chastised I answer…

“Okay you old grouch. Are you going to come over to the hospital with me or do you just want me to meet Abby over there?” I was trying to be chipper about all of this but God was I tired.

“I’m going to check my schedule and make sure that none of my appointments are life threatening, which I doubt very much that they are, and then I’ll have Maggie call and reschedule everything for this morning. Then… I am going to drive you over to the hospital myself. I am also going to tell Abby and Max to reschedule their appointments before they meet us there. I don’t trust you.”

All I could do was just sit there in the chair and agree with her. I was too tired to argue.

*~*~*~*

[mary mary]

Natalie36: Oh, I'm sure with all of the doctors Liz knows it's going to be fine.
XAF RU208: I'm really glad you're enjoying these characters because they are fun to write.
Carolyn: I'm surprised she's been able to keep this a secret from them too...especially Maria, she's got a nose as long as Pinocchio's when it comes to sniffing out other people's business.

*~*~*

Chapter: 2

We arrive at the hospital and I see Max pacing the emergency room, scratching the back of his ear, and Abby sitting close by keeping an eye on the door. Jane is walking beside me slowly and the next thing I know Max has me in his arms and is carrying me through the ER doors. I can’t believe it! People in the waiting room are looking at us like a major break out of an infectious disease has just swept the room and why wouldn’t they? There were two doctors waiting while another comes in with me and I’m sure I look like death warmed over the way they are all staring. I feel twice as badly about all of this the way I am being treated, God knows how long some of these people have been waiting, but truthfully, I’m just too tired to make a fuss.

Max gets through the doors and Abby leads him over to a cubicle that looks as though it has already been set up and waiting for me. There is an IV drip and a hospital gown waiting for me to crawl into. Max isn’t letting anyone near me until Jane gets downright nasty about it. If I wasn’t so weak I would be laughing at them, Curly, Moe and Larry… I swear…it’s the three stooges in play here people.

“Look Doctor Evans…right now she’s my patient and you are here as her husband and observer, go that? Now let us do our jobs.”

Max looks down at me and grabs my free hand and smiles. They start the IV drip immediately and then Jane steps out of the way for Abby to take a listen to my stomach. She smiles at the three of us and says…

“There are some very healthy sounds coming from in there but after Jane does what she needs to do I’ll take over. Max, you have to stay out of our way, okay?”

Max gets this sheepish look on his face and he’s nodding his assent. I can tell he was on the verge of yelling at the whole bunch and it isn’t like Max to lose it, not at all. Maybe we should just give him something to calm him down, he looks like Michael just before a major eruption at Maria. I can only lay there in silence and let them do their work because I just want to feel better.

About forty five minutes later they wheel me into ex-ray where the technician lays a lead blanket over my belly and proceeds to take pictures of my upper intestines and throat, I think, I’m really too tired to care at this point. When that is all finished I’m wheeled to a private room where we all wait patiently for the results of what the pictures have to say, well at least two of us are patient, I’m near comatose by now and I’m not speaking for Max, he looks a little ‘spacey’ to me for lack of a better term.

Jane and Abby are discussing all sorts of scenarios when Max finally has it with both of them and tells them …

“Hey! Ladies! Let’s just wait and see what’s going on here. Okay? I don’t think I might have made myself clear to the doctors when I asked about morning sickness…but she looks worse now than she did this morning so whatever is going on has just started taking it’s toll. I guess she’s just too healthy overall for things to show up as quickly as they should have.”

“You’re right Max…we’ll wait and quit speculating.”

I could tell by the tone in Jane’s voice that she knew Max was on the verge of a major melt down. So things settle down and it gets very quiet and I am very thankful for that because, to tell the truth, I just want to sleep.

The IV continues doing it’s job and believe me, I am starting to feel pretty good with some liquid in my system. It isn’t much yet but it is better than nothing.

Soon a technician brings the pictures in for my three worried doctors and they all take a look and see the problem all at the same time, I really don’t give a shit by now, just let me sleep.

“Look at that!” Max whispers in shock…”She really did some heavy retching to cause that!” Abby states as if I’m not aware of what I’ve been doing.

“Yeah, I see it.” Jane answers and the three of them agree…

“Hey, someone want to share? I’m getting a little concerned over here people…”

Max turns and looks at me and Jane nods that it’s okay for him to tell me.

“Liz honey, you have a hernia right at the junction of the esophagus and the small intestine and that’s what is causing you to bring everything back up. It’s right at the spot where everything drops and we need to go in and fix it”

“Look, you do know that you can tell me in medical terms…I’ll understand.” I was getting a little bent out of shape about all of this, not that I’m pulling a ‘poor me’ here but damn…I’m supposed to be enjoying this experience! Right?

All three of the other members in the room laugh at me and then Jane says,

“Look smarty pants Parker… we’re used to speaking to the general population so just bear with us okay?”

I calm down a tad and grin at her and say okay and then the three of them proceed to discuss the procedure and time element. It was decided that surgery would be done this morning and Abby called her office and had her receptionist reschedule all of her appointments for the rest of the day and Jane did the same. Max called and told his receptionist to do the same and if there were any emergencies to send them to the ER that he would be tied up at the hospital until tomorrow. She never questioned why, she was used to emergencies and knew what it was like for doctors.

*~*~*

Meanwhile at the other end of town two young mothers had dropped their children off at school and decided to head on over to have some coffee with their friend. They were sure that this was one of her days off so they made their plans and headed on out with Tess stopping at the bakery first while Maria headed on over to Liz’s.

Tess:

When I arrived at Liz’s I found Maria waiting outside for me and she greeted me with…

“She’s not answering the door Tess.” In a semi-hysterical voice and then she
called the hospital.

“Tess, the lab said she’s on a leave of absence. What’s with that, she never said anything to us about that. Did she tell you?”

“No Maria, she didn’t tell me.”

I was getting a little disgusted with Maria taking it upon her self to investigate Liz’s whereabouts. If she wasn’t home she wasn’t home. Let it rest. Then Maria started again…

“She tells us everything! I’m calling Max…”

I stand there listening to a one sided conversation and gather that Max isn’t in his office and then she proceeds to tell me…

“Tess, they said Max is tied up at the hospital… something is going on and I don’t think I like the feelings I’m getting here. Liz is on a leave of absence and Max is tied up at the hospital all day…what’s this all about?”

I roll my eyes and calm myself before answering her…

“Okay Maria, you’re manufacturing things again.” She really is good at that you know… and I continue…

“Liz is simply not home and it certainly isn’t unusual for a doctor to be at a hospital. Especially a hospital that he works at. Now calm yourself down and accept the fact that our friend isn’t at home this morning. She’s probably out shopping for something for Max for Valentine’s day or…she could be doing any number of things. If she’s on a leave of absence then she’s probably bored with life and decided to get out this morning.”

“Well, you’re probably right but I still don’t like it. She always tells us what she’s going to be doing.”

“Oh for God’s sake Maria, she does have a life that doesn’t include us.”

“When? When has she ever had a life that didn’t include us?”

Now I’m looking at her like she’s out of her mind…

“Will you listen to yourself! You are just plain paranoid girl…get a hold of yourself! Shit, I’m glad you and I never got that close.”

“Oh get real Tess…I’m surprised you don’t call me when you’re going to have a bowel movement. We’re on the phone all day long, we know each others every move and Liz is right in there with us.”

I look at Maria and I know I look horrified, I’m practically speechless…the woman actually believes what she’s saying. Kyle and I are always doing things without the Guerins and Evans’ and I’m certain that they are the same. If they aren’t they’re sick. Kyle and I even have stand by baby sitters in case we need someone in a hurry. Of course I prefer Maria or Liz over anyone, including my mother, to watch my kids but I do have stand bys. Then I think about it a minute. What if Liz really does need our help.

“Maria, come boost me up so I can look in the garage and see if her car is gone. If it’s gone then we know she’s not home.”

*

So we go around to the side of the garage and Maria laces her fingers together and makes a foothold for me, she bends over and leans forward and I put my foot into Maria’s clasped hands and stand up and try to look in the window but I’m still too short so I reach up and do a bench press on the window sill and look into the window. No car…I actually felt better when I saw that it was gone. I slowly lower myself trying to find Maria’s hands to put my foot back into for support but it wasn’t there.

I turn my head a little and look behind me and Maria is sitting on her ass in the wet morning grass looking up at me and then she starts to yell.

*
About that time Mrs. Wilson, Max and Liz’s neighbor, looked out her kitchen window and saw two strange women looking in her neighbors garage window and called 911.
*
Now back to Tess and Maria…

“Do you know how to stand straight up without pushing your foot back? Sheese…I thought you took gymnastics…what happened to cheer leading? You were the flyer for God’s sake, you should know better than to push.”

Maria was on a roll and I started to laugh…I laughed so hard I lost my grip on the window sill and the next thing I knew I was right there beside her in the grass. Both of us start laughing at each other and then, after having calmed down, I say…

“It’s not there Maria. Maybe she went…” And then I stop…if I say her mother’s name like I was going to and Maria calls Nancy that will be one more person she’s managed to upset if Liz isn’t there.

“Went where?”

“Never mind, I don’t know. Come on, let’s go over to your place, it’s closer, and we’ll have some Danish and coffee and I’ll throw these dirty jeans in the wash while we eat. You can give me a towel to wear!” And we both giggle at our predicament.

“Okay.”

“And no more wondering where Liz is…Liz is fine.”

“Fine!”

So we both get up off the grass, dust ourselves off, get into our cars and head to Maria’s house. I was ready to throttle her, she can stir up trouble like no other person on earth as far as I’m concerned. I wouldn’t have thought a thing about Liz not being home but nooooo…..Maria has to make a federal case out of it. Sheeese!

*
About the time the two young women pulled away from the house the local P.D. pulled up in front of Mrs. Wilson’s house to follow up on her telephone call. They knew her by name and didn’t need any directions from the dispatcher…Mrs. Wilson was very well known down at headquarters but you never knew when one of her phone calls would be a serious situation so they made sure to follow up regardless.

The two policemen walked around to the side of Max and Liz’s garage and noticed that the damp grass had two body indentations in it but other than that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They checked around the back and looked in the kitchen window and saw nothing out of the ordinary there either so they made a call to their chief and gave an oral report as well as going back to Mrs. Wilson’s for further descriptions of the two ‘peeping toms’. After they had all of the information they needed they went back to the station and turned in their written report. Their Sergeant took the report over to one of the detectives sitting behind his desk doing paper work and handed him the file folder and asked him to contact one of the Evans’ and report the intrusion. The detective told the Sergeant he would get right on it and made a phone call to Dr. Evans office and was told by the receptionist where the doctor could be reached.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Carolyn, Natalie36 and Eve, thank you so much , I'm so glad you're enjoying.


Chapter: 3

A/N: I took some author’s license here…I don’t know if this procedure is feasible or not but I do know that something similar was done to my friend so just take it for what it’s worth…a story!

***

After Jane decided what needed to be done she wasn’t sure which procedure would be best suited for the situation so she called in a colleague to discuss the case while Max and Abby stood by and listened in. It was decided to go down through my esophagus with a laser and do the repairs without invasive maneuvers. It shouldn’t take any more than 20 minutes or so and maybe a week or two for recuperation. In my case probably a week due to my excellent health and with a liquid diet, and not the fun liquids either, I would be as good as new. All three of the young doctors decided to keep me overnight to make sure I was hydrated and all of my vitals were stable. Abby asked both Max and me if we wanted a sonogram while I was there and of course we both smiled and agreed. Might as well take advantage of all of the available equipment while I was here, I didn’t have anything else to do.

So, while they prepared an O.R. and Jane got everything ready for what she was going to do Abby brought some equipment into my room for her part of the hospital visit. She had everything all set up and was ready to start the sonogram when Jane came in and smiled at us.

“Abby, as soon as you’re finished up here we can wheel Liz down to pre-op and get her ready. It’s only going to take a matter of minutes so get moving lady.”

“Watch it Jane, my procedure may be important to your procedure so suck it up.”

We giggled at the two of them and then Abby started rubbing that horrible jelly all over my belly and the next thing I knew we were listening to what sounded like a couple of drum beats in the room. Max looked over at Abby and she nodded…she started moving the instrument around and located something that appeared to be a little round ball pulsating and clicked a little button on the monitor and as she rotated the ball in her hand she located another little round pulsating ball. I looked up at Max and he later said that I had a grin on my face as wide as the Hoover Dam. He grabbed my hand and squeezed and the other two smiled right along with us.

“Oh God Max…two! Can you believe it? TWO! Oh Abby, take at least 5 copies of that picture, this is going to be our valentine for the families this year. Oh Max…TWO!!!.”

And Max could only stand there and smile down at me as my eyes glistened with tears of happiness. This is going to be the best time of our lives and I could tell he didn’t want to miss a second of it.

Max:

My only hope is that the morning sickness lets up long enough for Liz to heal but I didn’t vocalize that to the group. I would discuss it with Abby while Liz was in surgery.

*****

“Well Tess, where do you think Liz is?” Maria just couldn’t let it rest.

“Maria, will you just forget it already. It’s none of our business. If she wanted us to know she would have told us already now think about something else. Are you and Michael going to be doing anything special for Valentine’s Day?”

“I don’t think so…we tried going out to dinner last year but by the time I fixed the kids dinner, cleaned up afterwards and Michael went to pick up the sitter I was ready for a nap. We drove to the mall and walked around for awhile, looked at some spring outfits for the kids, grabbed a hot dog, came home and after everyone was settled in for the night we went to bed.” It wasn’t worth the effort.

“I know what you mean…Kyle and I tried the same thing only we wound up at the movies eating pop-corn and wishing we had stayed home. Are we getting old?” I thought about that remark for a minute and then seriously looked at Maria for an answer.

“Shit!!! I hope not. My God Tess, we’re only 29.” Then she started to laugh…”Do you know what we need?”

I looked at my friend and got this terrified look on my face…when Maria acted like this she was dangerous…

“I’m afraid to ask…what?”

“We need lovers!”

“WHAT!!!”

“Yeah, we need lovers. Oh, I don’t mean we need to go out and find some stud to have an affair with…we need to make our husbands into lovers. We need to bring some really great romance back into our lives.”

“Maria, I hate to tell you this honey, but Kyle is FINE when it comes to the romance department. I have absolutely nothing to complain about and we both know that Liz doesn’t have any complaints. Shit, she can’t wait to get her hands on Max and although I don’t get that “Whoopee” look on my face just thinking about Kyle, let me tell you sweetie, I feel that whoopee feeling when I think about him. So…if you need romance in your life I suggest you dig down deep into your soul and find out just what you need from Michael and have this conversation with him.”

Maria thought about that for a minute and then started smiling…nothing was wrong with her “whoopee” either. Michael was not overly demonstrative publicly but when they were alone he was constantly copping a feel and leaving little kisses on her cheek and grabbing hold of her and leaving her with happy moments. No, she didn’t have any complaints either because she knew that with every touch there was love.

“Yeah, you’re right…no complaints here either. It’s nice to be loved isn’t it?”

I thought for a minute and then smiled before she answered her own question,

“Yes it is and I think that’s what makes the romance at home so special, so much more ‘romantic’ for lack of a better word. Going out with friends is fun but for romance, home is the best place to accomplish those feelings of closeness and love. It’s right where it belongs.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, we’ve wasted most of the morning accomplishing nothing so I think I’ll head on out and straighten up the house before it’s time to pick the kids up. I’ll see you tomorrow Maria, thanks for washing my jeans…and stay out of trouble.”

“Yeah, you too.”

And I was off. I had to make a couple of stops in town on my way home so I decided to take a short cut through the medical center at the edge of town right before the main drag. Guess what I saw parked in Jane’s parking lot. Yep, you guessed it…Liz’s car. I made a decision immediately to not call Maria. We did not need her hysteria before we knew what was going on and if Max needed one of us he would call. So I went on about my business but I did call Max’s cell and leave a message when I got no answer.

“Hi Max. It’s Tess. I just drove by Jane’s office and saw Liz’s car. If you need anything give me a call. I did not, and will not, call Maria unless otherwise asked to but know that I’m here. Take care.” And I hung up.

I did wonder why Liz was there and it could be any number of reasons…I only hoped it wasn’t a serious one as I continued on my way to run errands.

***
In the meantime Sheriff Jim Valenti was coming through the PD on his way to his office, the sheriff’s Dept. and the PD shared offices, when he heard the Sergeant mention the Evans’ home and he walked over and asked if there was something wrong…he explained that the Evans’ were personal friends so the Serge took the file from the detective and showed it to Jim who in turn started to read it and when he got to the descriptions of the perpetrators he started to laugh. The Sergeant and the detective were both puzzled and Jim had to apologize before he explained.

“Just give me a minute here and I think I’ll have this sewed up for you in no time.” And he dialed Tess’ cell number from his personal cell in his shirt pocket.

Tess picked up on the second ring…

“Hi Jim. What’s up?” She said, all smiles to hear from her father-in-law.

“Tess, how are you honey. I have a quick question for you and then I’ll be on my way. Did you and Maria happen to make a visit to Liz’s this morning and take a look in her garage?”

“Yeah…Liz wasn’t answering her door and we wanted to make sure before leaving that she definitely wasn’t home and wasn’t in any trouble. Her car was gone so we took off. Is something wrong?”

“No honey, nothings wrong. We’ll talk about this later…you have a good day now, okay.”

“Yeah, sure Jim, and you too. Love to Amy.” And they hung up.

“Well serge, that was my daughter-in-law. It seems your perpetrators are Liz Evans’ best friends. They meet up several times a week for breakfast and when Liz didn’t answer the door they checked the garage to make sure she was indeed gone and not in need of help. Case solved, but never let Mrs. Wilson’s phone calls go unchecked. She once made a call that resulted in the apprehension of a real criminal so don’t ignore the old woman…she’s nosy but she’s a good person.”

The men in the PD looked at Jim and nodded…Mrs. Wilson was a household name among the police and sheriff’s departments in Roswell it seemed.

[mary mary]

Eve and Carolyn: Thank you so much for your fb.

*~*~*

Chapter: 4


After Abby had finished with the sonogram she and Max wheeled me down to pre-op where the surgical nurse took my vitals and prepped me for the quick little surgery that Dr. Jane had planned for me. In the meantime Max and Abby both scrubbed up to accompany me into the operating room and Jane looked at the two of them and shook her head. She thought about it for a minute and then asked Max if he would consider taking a seat in the observation theater and he looked at her and said very quietly but very determinedly,

“No.”

And Jane knew that was as good as it was going to get. She had her colleague assist and they gave me a local anesthetic before inserting the tube with the laser in it and things went amazingly well. She was out of there in 20 minutes and I wanted to go home. Four doctors all said in unison,

“NO!”

Then Jane looked at me and said…

“You know better…you aren’t going home until you have finished your IV
and have had at least one normal visit to the bathroom. We aren’t going to catheterize you but we need to know that you are hydrated and can swallow normally. We’ll give you some liquid nourishment in a couple of hours and see how you handle it and after that you can watch TV, read a book or talk to Max but you aren’t going home.”

“Okay Dr. Meanie.” And Jane laughed at me as she finished writing instructions in her chart. Then she called her office to see if anyone needed her and her receptionist apparently told her everything was fine because she asked Abby if she wanted to go have some lunch…now that was even meaner than not letting me go home.

Then Max called his office as well and his receptionist said that his sister had called but didn’t leave a message. She could only assume that it was personal since she didn’t ask where he could be reached so Max thanked her and checked his cell phone. He listened to Tess’s message and knew she would be a wreck until he called, thank God she didn’t tell Maria. Tomorrow, after Liz was home, would be a good enough time to do that. But, he would call Tess now that things were okay.

“Hey Tess…I got your message and thanks for not calling Maria.”

“Max! Is everything okay. I saw Liz’s car and got a little concerned. Of course she could have been having breakfast with Jane for all I knew but then the car was still there when I headed home and I figured if you needed me you’d call.”

“Well, Liz had to have a little procedure done this morning. Nothing big, it took about 15 minutes or so to repair a small hernia but Jane is keeping her overnight to make sure everything is in good working order and then I’ll take her home in the morning. But, you know what would be great, if you could bring Kyle by and pick up her keys and take her car home and put it in the garage. I would really appreciate it. I would do it but then I’d have no way of getting back to pick up my car, unless I call a cab.”

“No, don’t do that Max, I’ll be there…do you want me to keep this to myself?”

“Would you please. We don’t need the entourage here right now and if Maria knows the town will know and Liz hasn’t been sleeping well so we both could use some rest if you know what I mean. God, this sounds so selfish.”

“No Max, it doesn’t, and I understand perfectly. I’ll be there in about a half hour. I just want to fold the clothes that are in the dryer before they get cold and all wrinkled. See you soon.”

“Oh Tess, Liz is in room 215.”

“Gotcha, 215. See you soon.” And they hung up.

*

“What did Tess have to say Max?”

“Oh, she saw your car parked at Jane’s and wanted to know if anything was wrong. I told her you had a simple procedure done and asked if she and Kyle could pick up your car and take it home and put it in the garage. She’s coming by to get your keys. We don’t need to tell her anymore than that if you don’t want to.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to Max, but if we tell her now and word ever gets out we are going to be on a whole bunch of shit lists and you know it. So we will just tell her that I had a small hernia and leave it at that until next week. She’ll get a valentine just like everyone else. Maybe we could have a Valentine’s day party and exchange valentines with everyone…with a cute little valentine box and everything. Even have the kids over to help make it. What do you think?”

“I think it’s a great idea. Why don’t we have it catered? That way we can enjoy it too.”

“Great…then we can break the news all at once. I love it. We’ve never had a Valentine’s day party before.”

“Nope, only in grammar school…this should be fun.” AndMax smiled, might as well go along with it, it will happen!

“Where’s your keys?”

“In my jeans pocket. My purse is in the car. Oh shit, I forgot all about that.”

“It will be fine Liz. Tess will make sure it’s taken care of, honest.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I hope Maria doesn’t get pissed at us.”

And then we heard a familiar voice…

“Maria isn’t going to get pissed because Maria is never going to know. So, what was the big emergency here?” Tess asked.

“I haven’t been able to keep anything down, not even water and when they ex-rayed me they found a hernia in the esophagus. Jane fixed it with a laser, it only took a couple of minutes and now, as soon as I get some liquid pumped back into me and I pee I’ll be fine.”

“Christ, how the hell did that happen?”

“Don’t know… but you know what would be nice Tess, if nobody else knows either. That includes my mom and anybody else and by anybody you know who I mean. I’m just too tired to deal with her hysteria right now.”

“I promise to keep my mouth shut. I will have to tell Kyle because he’s going to drive your car home but other than that no one…I promise.”

“Hey Tess.” Max said, “You know what? Why don’t you drive me over to get that car and I’ll drive it home and then you can bring me back. Is that okay with you?”

“Sure Max, but let’s hurry because I have to pick up the kids at 2:30 and if I’m not there you know who is going to be on us like white on rice.”

Max leaned over and kissed my forehead and told me he would be right back and followed Tess out the door. Now there was no need to have Kyle lying to anyone either. Max could grab my purse while he was at it too and I was certain there would be a bunch of messages from a certain nosy blond that we all loved. No one ever needs to know that I was in the hospital today until it’s all better, or maybe never, I hope.

Tess dropped Max off at Jane’s office and headed on over to our home with Max hot on her heels and when she turned the corner to head to our house guess who was headed in their direction. Yep…you guessed it. Max just kept on driving and Tess honked at Maria as she drove past just in case she saw her and wondered what was going on.

Maria pulled over to the curb to see what Tess was up to and Tess pulled up next to her and rolled down her window.

“Hey girlfriend…what’s up?” Maria asked.

“Not much, I thought I’d see if Liz was home yet. Did you stop by?”

“Yeah, but there’s still no answer. She’s probably out with Isabelle or something. Well, I’ll catch up with you at school, I have to stop at the market on the way.”

“Hey, can you pick up a loaf of white for me and I’ll pay you at school.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll see you then.”

“Fair enough…see you later.” And Maria took off. Tess had to drive around the block so Maria wouldn’t get suspicious and then she thought to herself…this really sucks. She passed Max on her little side trip and waved him on and he followed her home.

When Max got back in the car Tess just looked at him and rolled her eyes. She hated this and so did Max really. But I was his main concern right now and he really didn’t want Maria hovering.

“This sucks Max.”

“Yeah, I know…I’m feeling pretty shitty about it too Tess but Liz is my main concern right now. I’m sorry I brought you into it.”

“Hey, it was my own damned nose that got me into it. Next time I’ll mind my own business and you can take that to the bank. Whoever is parked at the doctor’s office, if it’s not one of my own it’s none of my business, bottom line.”

And Max just grinned at her, they both knew better and soon Max was back in my room and I was sound asleep. He took a chair next to my bed, stretched out and made himself comfortable as well. He managed to get through the lobby with my purse thrown over his shoulder without too many strange looks. He just smiled at the thought and closed his eyes. This has been one long day he thought to himself.

[mary mary]

Carolyn: Thank you. I hope the party takes the edge off the small drama that occurred. I especially liked Max's idea of having it catered...that was great!
Eve: You understand "my" Maria perfectly, the woman loves drama and when there isn't any she creates it.
Starcharms: Thank you so much for your fb, it is much appreciated and like you i hope Maria understands Liz's reasoning as well but we are dealing with Maria here!
XAF RU208: You may be onto something here, but it's going to be a couple of holidays down the road...we have Easter and then Father's day coming up!

Thank you ladies, so much. I really appreciate your kind words.

*~*~*

Chapter: 5

That evening I wake up after a very long nap and notice my husband is MIA but a very serious looking nurse is changing my IV bottle and concentrating for all she is worth. I smile…she has to be new on the job to be that serious I think to myself, I read her name tag, ’Jennifer’.

“Jennifer, relax there or you’re going to have a permanent wrinkle across your brow.” I say jokingly.

“Oh, Mrs. Evans, I didn’t want to disturb you. Your chart said to leave you rest and to make sure you are comfortable. I’ll take your blood pressure and temperature now that you’re awake and is there anything else you would like?”

I smiled…a big juicy steak is what I would like and the thought of it didn’t make me sick at all. Boy this recuperation is going to be hell I think to myself.

“No nothing…maybe before you hook that bottle up you can help me to the bathroom though.”

“Sure, let me make sure the insert is in the bowl first. Dr. Jane was very strong with those instructions. We need to measure all input and output.”

I am still smiling at the young nurse when Max walks in with a can of “Ensure” in his hand and that sort of changed the expression on my face very quickly.

About this time Jennifer comes out of the bathroom and releases my IV tube from my wrist tube and helps me into the bathroom while Max waits. He isn’t about to tell me that he had been to the cafeteria for some dinner…he knows I have to be hungry and only hopes that the next week will be easy for me to deal with.

After I am back in bed and sitting up comfortably, everything all hooked back up, Max holds out the liquid meal to me and I wince, but I don’t gag…

“Do I have to?” I whine…looking for sympathy of course…

“Yep. And you know it. It’s chocolate, the other choice was strawberry so I went with the lesser of two evils. They were all out of Vanilla. Tomorrow you can have Vanilla but I think a variety would be the better way to go, don’t you? Not so boring…maybe?” He sounds so chipper that I want to hit him with that damned can…

“Oh hell Max, it’s not filet we’re talking about so give it here. But, when this is over…” and I pat my belly, “these babies are going to be in for a treat because mommy is going to devour the biggest steak she can get her hands on.”

Max looks down at me and grins as he pours the liquid into a glass and gives me a straw.

“Pretend it’s a milk shake.”

I take one sip and look at my husband…he has got to be kidding! If this shit tastes like a milk shake the ice cream business will go belly up. I roll my eyes and say…

“Thank you Max, I hope I never have to return the favor…I would much rather find another, less cruel, means of punishment for you than to make you drink this shit. Isn’t there anything else that I can have besides this?”

“Let me do some research Liz. Bouillon, jello and maybe some tapioca or custard tomorrow or the next day. But I thought you could use some vitamin supplements too.”

“Well, I’ll drink the vitamin supplement but you go down to that cafeteria and find me some clear broth and some orange jello. I’ll go for the pudding later in the week if the mood strikes me. How’s that?”

“Sounds good to me sweetheart. I’ll be back shortly and you finish up that drink you’ve got over there and I’ll write it down on your chart so Jane will know you’ve been doing as you’re told.”

I stick my tongue out at him and he just grins in return.

“Promises, promises…that’s all I get is promises.” He says.

“Maxwell Evans…you’d better take that remark back pretty damned quick or you’re going to find out what unkept promises really are.”

Max turns and looks at me with this horrified look on his face and decides an apology is in order and it had better be a good one because I am as serious as hell.

“Oh sweetheart, you know that was a joke. Don’t be that way…it has to be the situation because this is not like you at all. Do you feel alright?”

I see the look on Max’s face and I have to laugh, it pinched just a little but nothing serious…anyone in their right mind knows that I would never deny him anything.

“I feel fine Max…just go get the jello and broth.”

Then Max comes over and kisses my forehead before leaving the room.

While he is gone the hospital orderly rolls in another bed and proceeds to make it up and I am truly very confused, I was sure they said I had a private room. About that time Jennifer comes in with an extra pillow and blanket and sets it on the extra bed.

“Jennifer, I don’t mind or anything, but I thought this was a private room?”

“Oh, it is. This is for Dr. Evans. He ordered it before he went down to the cafeteria earlier. Said something about not wanting to disturb you while you were still hooked up to the IV and you still had another one to go to make sure that you are totally hydrated before taking you home.”

“Oh, well, I could have scooted over.”

“Oh, I think it’s better this way. We can always push them together if you would like but it would be easier if you just slept alone tonight. It will be much easier on us if you need to use the bathroom again.”

“Well, okay. But this seems like an awfully lot of trouble.”

“We’re just following the doctor’s orders Mrs. Evans. It’s extremely unusual but it has happened on occasion. Usually a parent and child situation but he is on staff so we do as we’re told.”

“Well, I guess that’s the best way to be isn’t it? I’m on staff too you know and I don’t go around making unreasonable demands.”

“No Mrs. Evans, but I’ll bet if the situation was reversed you’d be in here with him.”

“Yes, Jennifer, you’re certainly right about that. I would probably have the entire hospital in an uproar.”

Jennifer smiled…I guess she knew my reputation in the hospital and doubted that she would make an uproar but she also knew that, where her husband was concerned, there was no limits to what she would do for him so she understood me perfectly.

About that time Max came back carrying a tray with a chrome lid over it and when he took the lid off I had to sit there and groan…

“How can something that looks so perfect be so, so, blah!” And I guess the face I made struck someone funny…

Jennifer and Max both laughed at me and then Max noticed his accommodations and thanked Jennifer.

She smiled and said she would be at the nurses station if we needed anything else.

“Please call me if you need to use the restroom again Mrs. Evans or, God forbid, you need to regurgitate.”

Max and I looked at each other with worried expressions and then I said, trying to reassure myself as well as the other two…

“I’ll be fine. I feel fine and I don’t feel as weak as I did this morning so I’m sure everything is going to be okay.”

“Well, we do have some medication in the IV drip as well as Saline solution and vitamins so you should be okay…but please call me will you? For anything?”

“Yes Jennifer, and thank you.”

And with that the woman took her leave and I looked down at the lovely tray my husband presented me with and turned up my nose. If this was as good as it gets I will make the most of it. And I look at Max and smile as I pick up my spoon.

*~*~*

The next morning, right at 7:00 a.m. Jane waltzes into my room like it was the best morning of her life and I open one eye and glare at my friend.

“What in the hell are you doing here so early? Don’t you sleep? Is it necessary to wake up the world at this ungodly hour Jane? It’s still dark out for God’s sake!”

Jane continued to smile at me, picked up my chart and surveyed everything. I had taken in quite a large sum of liquids including her IV’s and I had eliminated just as much and my vitals were all good. I had not regurgitated at all and everything seemed to be going smoothly. She looked up at me, walked around and took her stethoscope off her neck and put it in her ears and took a listen…lungs clear, heart good and then she listened to my belly, normal gases and the extra little sounds coming out of me were wonderful. She smiled bigger and then went over and shook Max’s foot that was sticking out from under his blanket…

“Rise and shine sleeping beauty.” And I looked at my friend and giggled.

Max turned over and looked a little disoriented for a minute and then sat up. He had slept in his pants but his shirt was hanging over a chair next to the window and Jane got a glimpse of Max Evans that she didn’t know existed under that shirt and it seems she couldn’t believe her eyes. I took in this scene and when Jane looked at me I winked at her and then said…

“Sleeping beauty sort of fits doesn’t it?” I was really smiling by now…

“You. Lucky. Dog!!! That’s an understatement.”

And we both stared, admiring Max who was now 15 shades of red and then we giggled. Max grabbed his shirt and put it on as soon as it registered what we were doing and Jane just smiled and shook her head…


“Well Max, you can take your wife home this morning if you want to. She’s keeping everything down and everything else is in good working order. Her vitals are good and her blood work is excellent so she’s good to go. I’ll see you in two weeks Liz. Call and set up an appointment with Maggie. I only ask that you stick with the liquids for a while and then add pudding and custard…maybe a poached egg. You know the score. Be careful… for about two weeks anyway, just to make sure you don’t start throwing up with a vengeance again and I’ve prescribed some meds to keep your stomach calm. Other than that you’re fine. Oh, and it’s okay to keep your appointment with Abby next week also. You aren’t on any restrictions other than food, just use good sense…I’m sure you know what you can tolerate.”

“Thank you Jane. You don’t know how grateful I am to you for finding this and taking care of it. I haven’t slept this good in almost a month and I am going to go home and go right back to bed.”

Max looked over at his wife as he laced up his shoes and smiled as he said…

“Good luck with that. She knows you weren’t home yesterday and she’s going to be at the front door as soon as she drops those kids off if not before.”

“Yeah… you’re right. Did you and Tess decide where I was?”

“You were with Jane for the day…no need to expound on that.”

“Works for me.” Jane said…”And, It’s not a lie.” She knew exactly who we were talking about.

“Well then, I was with Jane. I like it. It’s nice to be friends with your doctor.”

“Yes it is. Now, get home before she reports you missing to the authorities.”

And we all laughed.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

XAF RU208: We'll see how long it takes her to find out... And she does eventually. Hey, I've got to ask...what does XAF RU208 stand for?
Eve: She will, but not this episode...Wait until after Easter!!! It's written in the wind...
Carolyn: Yeah, this Max is sweet...I try to keep my dreams just that!!!

*~*~*

Chapter: 6

Max got me home right at 8:30 and we both headed to the bathroom for a quick shower, he had checked on his one little patient in the hospital before we left… the poor little guy fell off his new bicycle and had a mild concussion. Max wanted to keep him overnight to make sure he was alright so it was easy to slip up to Pedes and check him out before we left.

Max had to be at his office by at least 10:00 and I wanted to be dressed by 9:00 just in case the “Bobbsy Twins” showed up, which I knew they would be after not finding me home yesterday. And just as predicted, the doorbell went off at 9:15. My hair was still wet and Max was still getting dressed but we were pretty close to being prepared for the two friends.

“Hey guys, come on in.” I guess I seemed more chipper today than I had been in the past couple of weeks so Maria had to ask…

“Hey girlfriend…you look better today than you have for a while, new make-up or something?”

I smiled and shook my head as I took their coats and hung them in the closet.

“No, not really. I slept pretty good last night, I guess that must be it.”

“Oh, okay. We came by yesterday but you were gone…something special?”
Maria was fishing for information and we all knew it.

“No, I spent the day with Jane.”

“Oh.” And Maria sounded a little disappointed. Tess looked at me and shook her head…what could I say to make her feel okay about this without casting suspicion on something more dramatic.

“What did you two do yesterday?” I asked, I was in a really big hurry to get the spotlight on to someone or something else.

“Oh, we stopped here after dropping the kids off and when you weren’t home we called the hospital and they told us you were on a leave of absence.” Maria snipped out at me…

This news pissed me off…that was privileged information and Cassie had no right to tell that to anyone that called but I couldn’t let Maria know this…I would deal with her later, maybe I’m still tired?

“Well, yeah. Max and I are planning on doing some work on the house and I didn’t want to be leaving things half done for days at a time so I decided to take a couple of weeks, maybe a month off to be able to devote myself to the work here. I’m still on call in case they get bogged down but I don’t have any regular days for awhile.” It wasn’t a total fabrication.

By this time the girls were sitting around the kitchen table while I made Max’s coffee and I asked…

“Hey, would you guys prefer tea or coffee this morning?”

They both said coffee and I almost groaned but the thought didn’t bother me so I figured the smell wouldn’t either. So I made the big pot of coffee and the little pot with tea and so far things were fine

“What did you do after you left here?”

“We just went over to Maria’s and had Danish and Coffee until way too late in the morning. If you want to know the truth I barely had time to run my errands and get home to straighten up before it was time to pick up the kids.” Tess said.

“I came back by on my way to the market but you still weren’t home. I ran into Tess as she came by and then we just went to get the kids. What did you and Jane do?”

Maria wasn’t going to let it rest…and about that time Max came into the kitchen and grabbed his coffee mug from the cupboard and poured himself a cup before kissing my forehead, I love it when he does that and I couldn’t tell you why if I had to.

“Actually, they came by the hospital for awhile to check out a special project I’ve got going on. We’re trying to coordinate our efforts on a special case.” Max interjected, he wasn’t totally lying either.

“Oh. So it’s work related?” Maria asked.

“Yes it is Maria. Why are you so interested? You’re acting as though you’re entitled to know why Liz was gone. Is something wrong?”

Max was sincere now, he had no idea just how possessive Maria could be about my time and I could tell he might just be getting a little testy here. God, I don’t need both of them upset.

“No, no, nothing like that it’s just that Liz usually tells us when she’s not going to be home is all.”

“Mmm-hmm. And if I ask Liz to do something for me does she tell you about it, or does she need your permission?”

“No, not always.”

“I see. Well, anyway…we got most of the problem resolved yesterday and I might add, she might have to take a couple more days to work on it Maria but we’ll be sure to check in with you first.”

Max:

I was really getting perturbed with Maria…I had no idea she was this bad, no wonder Liz treats her with kid gloves, then I thought about it and had to back pedal…I was just tired and overwrought with worry and now I was taking it out on Liz’s best friend….and she is a good friend… just too damned nosy sometime.

Liz:

Tess and I both sat there listening to the conversation and neither one of us wanted to interrupt…neither one of us liked the way it was playing out but Max wasn’t totally wrong…it just wasn’t like him to be this way with anybody let alone a friend…I guess Maria happened to be in the right place at the wrong time this morning.

About that time I interrupted Max…

“Max honey, if you don’t hurry you won’t have time to pick up some treats for the staff.”

Max got the message loud and clear and knew he was close to being in the dog house if he didn’t get out of there and let it drop….

“Oh, Liz…don’t forget to tell the girls about the Valentine’s day party and the kids helping to make the Valentine box. So I’ll see you all later and you girls stay out of trouble.” And Max was gone.

“Liz, I’m so sorry if it seemed like I was prying.” Maria said and I looked at her and then I had to tell her how I felt. I really don’t like keeping things from her but I shouldn’t have to hide from her either.

“Maria, it didn’t SEEM like your were prying, you were prying. There are some things that are privileged that goes on in Max’s life, it is none of your business and if you aren’t in on everything there is a reason. You have got to learn to accept this.”

“I know that Liz but I was worried.”

“Maria, quit making up things to worry about. Read the paper, watch the news. If that isn’t enough to scare the shit out of you then I don’t know what is. You have got to learn to relax Maria. Not everything is a disaster. Especially me not being home. You know damned well if I need you I will call. You know this.”

“Yeah, I do. I’m sorry, now about this Valentine party, what’s that all about?”

Tess:

I had to roll my eyes…’thank God’ I thought to myself. I just wonder how long this talk is going to hold until it’s necessary to have it again. I thought Max was going to throw her out of the house for a minute there and then I had to stifle a giggle. Poor Max…I’ll bet he feels like he has three wives sometime. Then Liz got my attention again…

Liz:

“Max and I decided that we need to have a Valentine’s Day Party and have the kids over to help us make a Valentine box to put all the Valentines in just like we did in school and everyone can bring a Valentine for everyone else. We’re going to have it catered so we can enjoy it too and we’ll have all the kids and adults as well. I think it will be fun.”

Maria and Tess both looked at their friend and smiled…she just has to do things…wait til she has kids.

“Sure Liz…let us know when you want them over and we’ll even help.”

“Great!!!” Liz was so excited. “Why don’t we go to the hobby shop right now and I’ll get the stuff we need. You can help decide what we can put on the box and then I’ll get some invitations too. Maybe we can make our own Valentines.”

Tess:

I looked at Liz and shook my head…there was no way I was going to let the woman drive today…I know she’s just been discharged this morning and regardless of what Jane or Max has said I just don’t feel right about her driving and running around.

“Okay Pollyanna…get your coat, I’ll drive. Let’s do this before I have to go to school…I have playground duty this afternoon.” And the three of us grabbed our coats and headed out the door.


*~*~*

[mary mary]

Evea; Thank you and I agree with you wholeheartedly...
Carolyn: It's really tough to know when to draw a line with some people, it's like dealing with your mother when you aren't really ready to discuss something with her. The timing just isn't right and Liz was really tired and upset and wasn't ready for Maria which has only compounded the problem, because if Maria finds out there's going to be hell to pay. Maria considers herself above all others when it comes to Liz and it's Liz's fault as much as Maria's for allowing her to get away with it.
Natalie36: Yeah, makes you all twitterpated huh?
Valentinebaby: So glad you found us over here. I agree with you...they have always allowed her the privilege of sticking her nose in because it just made their lives easier. It's not always a good thing to take the easy way out, it comes back to bite you.

*~*~*

Chapter: 7


So Tess loaded everyone into her SUV and drove the three of them to the local hobby shop to pick out a nice cardboard box to decorate with pretty valentine motifs for our party. “Max has got to be a saint” she thought to herself. Although, she never thought up things like this so, she had no idea how Kyle would react. He didn’t seem to mind the trip to the mountains for the Christmas tree…as a matter of fact he really enjoyed himself, especially the two dogs playing “ring around the rosy!”. Maybe he’ll like the Valentine party too. And then she giggled.

The three friends entered the shop like a white tornado, they were on a mission but they didn’t split up like they do in the super market. They stuck together like they had been glued to each other, each giving the other ideas of what they thought would be fun and what would look nice on the box that they decided should be red of course, they all agreed on that. Then choosing the rest of the decorations became somewhat of a challenge. Maria found a package of various colored hearts, Tess found paper lace doilies and Liz found a couple of rolls of red ribbons and some white lace in various sizes and after some discussion they decided to get everything. What they didn’t need they could always add it to their craft boxes…which all three of them had to overflowing.

“You know, they have those plain paper bags with handles on them…we can make party favors to carry their valentines in and use stuff to match the valentine box.” Liz was really getting excited now.

“Yeah, look at these Liz. They’re valentine stickers. We can stick cupids on the guys and hearts on the girls and even write their names on them in red markers.” That was Maria…

“Oh, and look at this Liz…rubber stamps with valentines and cupids. Oh how cute is that? We can get different colored stamp pads and really decorate them. How about a spool of this lace for trim?” And I held the Lace I already had in my basket. Tess was getting into the program as well and I had to smile. This was really going to be fun…they’re participating for a change!!!

“Hey, look over here. Make your own valentines! I think the kids will love these.” Liz was so excited and then Maria grabbed two different books…

“I’m getting a couple for the kids to make for the school party. Michael will love helping them put these together.” And then Tess grabbed a couple as well.

“Kyle and I can help Terry and Jimmy with theirs too. Look, they even have envelopes. How cute is that? We can put stickers on them or stamp them!” And I was thrilled.

By the time we left the hobby shop I had everything but Max’s card and I would pick that up at the card shop. It had to be special and I knew just what I wanted to give him as a gift this year, it really had to be special and I would take my time and find just the right frame for his office.

Tess dropped us girls off at my house right at 11:30 so she could head on out to school and asked me if I needed anything before she went home…I assured her I was good and thanked her for taking us.

“It was a blast Liz. I haven’t had this much fun acting nuts in a long time. Thank you.” And she hugged me and whispered in my ear to go take a nap.

I smiled and nodded as Tess drove off.

Maria helped me carry my stuff into the house after putting her purchases into her car and told me she needed to get home and get busy before school was out and I smiled at my old friend and bid her good bye then headed up to my bedroom to take a little rest before thinking about dinner. I was starting to feel a little tired.

When I woke up I felt a dip in the mattress and an arm wrapped around me and I smiled. Max…he came home early, how sweet. I opened my eyes and I was looking into my husbands chest and when I squirmed just a little Max was awake immediately.

“Hey sweetheart, how are you feeling? I saw all of the packages on the dining room table, it looks like you had a nice little shopping spree.”

“Oh I did. Maria, Tess and I all went to the hobby shop and we had a blast. We didn’t split up this time but spent the entire expedition together, picking and choosing things to make for valentine’s day. Tess insisted on driving and when we came home she whispered to me to take a nap. I must have looked tired because I fell right to sleep when I laid down.”

“I see…good for Tess. Well, you must have been tired because you didn’t even hear me when I came in. What would you like for dinner. I’ll call and order something and bring it home. How’s that?”

“What do you mean…I can cook something.”

“Sweetheart, It’s 5:30. Why don’t I just go get something and bring it home. Are you ready to try some pudding or custard. I think maybe some noodles in your broth might be okay too since you did so well with the broth and jello yesterday. I already checked with Jane and she agreed. Abby said she thinks it will be okay since you didn’t get sick yesterday. I picked up your prescription for you…if you take it now then you should be in good shape by the time I get home. How about some Chinese noodle soup?”

“I’ll have the Chinese noodle soup if you promise to eat your Chinese food at the restaurant. I don’t want to be watching you eating all that good stuff in front of me Max.”

“Ah Angel…would I do that to you. I’ll have noodle soup too.” Max wasn’t about to tell Liz that he suspected this would happen and he ate a big burger and fries on his way home. The soup would be an added bonus.

“Oh Max, I’m sorry.”

“Sweetheart, don’t be sorry…I’ll confess my sins, I ate already so you wouldn’t feel bad but I can handle some noodle soup.”

“Good, then go get some and bring it home. It sounds good and thank you. I don’t want to be tempted by anything.” And I crawled out on my side of the bed and put my slippers on after picking up my shoes and dropping them in the closet.

“When you get back I’ll show you what I bought and you can help me assemble valentines if you want to.”

Max grinned…

“Of course I want to. I’ll be back soon.” And he was off.

*

That evening Max and I sat in front of the TV with a couple of books of valentines in front of us and, surprise of surprises, Max was really enjoying picking and choosing various items to stick on the little cards for our different relatives and friends. The kids valentines were the most fun though, he and I giggled like two school kids as we chose things for the two little boys and then the two little girls. We decided to get each one of the kids a little box of candy to put inside of the sacks that would hold their valentines as well. And then Max put his valentine down and took hold of me and situated me on his lap and kissed the top of my head as I snuggled up to him.

“Liz Evans, I don’t think there is a word in the English dictionary that describes the love I feel for you.” And he was sincere…”not only do you make my life a joy but you make everyone around you feel the same way.”

I looked up into Max’s eyes and could see the sincerity shining there and could only hold his face in the palm of my hands and smile.

“Thank you Max, and I know I don’t have to tell you that you’re my life. I love you so very much Max.”

And Max kissed me like he had never kissed me before and I felt every emotion he was feeling and I shook with happiness. Life was wonderful and only getting better if that was possible.

*

The next day I mailed out all of the invitations I had purchased, inviting everyone to the valentine party and had some more copies of the sonogram made up for the rest of the adult couples that were coming. I had decided to put the pictures in a separate envelope rather than in the valentine cards because the kids would wonder why they didn’t get one too and I thought that maybe their parents might not want to explain what they were.

I can hardly wait until February 14th. This is going to be great…and you know what else is great…I didn’t get sick on the noodle soup.

Jane called to see how I was and when I told her that I had noodles for dinner and felt great she was thrilled.

“Liz, you know you can’t get too brave just yet, right?”

“Yeah I know, I’ll behave but it was nice to bypass the ensure and have something that didn’t taste like condensed milk. I never could stand that stuff, it’s only good for making fudge and pumpkin pie.”

And Jane laughed.

“Well, I won’t bother you again but if you have any problems call me otherwise I’ll see you next week.”

“Fair enough, and I promise to behave.”

And we rung off.

*
Maria stopped in on her way to pick the kids up and I offered her some coffee but she didn’t have time. She just wanted to know if they were still on for Saturday.

I smiled and pointed to the dining room table and all the valentines Max and I had made and Maria grinned.

“You should see what Michael and the kids came up with last night. They really had a good time and I think Michael enjoyed it more than the kids did. I made them hot chocolate and filled it with whipped cream and they had it all over the place but it was a blast.”

“Great. I’m so glad they enjoyed it, I figured they would. Are you sure you don’t want some coffee. You have plenty of time.”

“Nah… I have to get to the store to pick up some spaghetti, Michael’s request, and wouldn’t you know we’re out of noodles. Do you need anything?”

“No, I’m good. You be careful then and my love to the family.”

“Right…take care.” And Maria was off.

About that time the phone rang again and it was Tess.

“Hi Liz…just drove past on my way to the cleaners and saw Maria’s car so I didn’t stop, but I wanted to know how you’re feeling?”

“Great actually. Max went over to the “China Palace” and picked up some noodle soup for me and it went down quite well. Jane said it was okay but not to get too brave too soon. It was a helluva lot better than that ensure, let me tell you.”

And Tess giggled.

“Well, you behave yourself and if you need anything you give a holler okay?”

“Will do Tess…have a good one and hug the kids for me.”

“Will do.” And we hung up. I just stood there and smiled and then I felt a twinge of guilt. I should tell Maria about yesterday but I also know it’s better this way. I hate keeping stuff from her, God, if she ever finds out I just might lose her as a friend…no, she’ll never find out. Tess is the only one that knows. And I went on about my chores and then I called the caterer to set up the arrangements for about 25 people. There would only be 18 adults and 4 kids but extra never hurt, I tried to choose foods that would be pleasing to everyone and only hoped that I would be eating more solids by that time... I should be…everything seemed to be moving along quite nicely.

After the caterer was dealt with I called my superior, Dr. Turner, and filed a formal complaint against Cassie…I told him that he needed to explain to her what privileged information was and what her job was as receptionist. I was not pleased with what she did and then the man tried to placate me. That was it.

“Dr. Turner, did you tell her that I did not want the fact that I was on ‘leave of absence’ divulged?

“Well, I’m sure my secretary informed her Liz. She was told to.”

“Look Dr. Turner…I’ve ignored the rumors going around the office and frankly I don’t give a damn who you’re sleeping with but I’ll tell you this, my private life is just that, private, and I don’t need some snip who can’t even answer phones and direct calls properly or efficiently disclosing private information to anybody that phones in. Now you deal with this or the hospital board will hear about it.”

“I will take care of it Liz. Do you want her fired?”

“No. I want her to do the job she was hired to do, I want your staff to do the job they were hired to do. I f you can’t do your job then maybe you need to stick to research and give someone else the duties of running the office because, the way I see it, it’s just running amok. Send her to school, buy her a couple of books, read them to her, and make sure she understands them as well as yourself, it might make interesting morning conversation, or find something else for her to do…she can always clean your house.”

“Liz, calm down. I’ll take care of it. Are you enjoying your time off?”

“I was!” The miserable SOB is trying to change the subject on me…won’t work damn it! I’m pissed!!!

“Well, I’m sure you’ll be fine. I’ll be looking forward to your return Liz and I will deal with the problem.”

“Good, and good bye.”

And we hung up. I can’t believe that man…he has no business in his position, this needs to be addressed. Maybe I can take care of this while I’m on leave of absence…along with getting ready for two babies. I’ll discuss it with Max.

*

[mary mary]

Valentinebaby: All things will come to a head eventually...happy Easter is next on the agenda.
Carolyn: My husband and I found a card making booklet at the hobby shop one year and did our own just for fun and my dad, God rest his soul, thought I had lost my job and we couldn't afford to buy Valentines...my husband laughed so hard I thought he would get sick. Poor dad!!!
Eve: I think we all have the ability to carry two personalities. I know I have the patience of job when it comes to kids but a really short fuse when dealing with supposedly "intelligent" adults. Oh well!

Here's the final chapter ladies...enjoy and Happy Valentine's Day.

*~*~*Chapter: 8

February 14th rolled around and I was on cloud nine. I couldn’t wait to see everyone’s reaction to the sonograms…this was going to be so much fun. The Kids came over after school yesterday with Tess and Maria and we all put the Valentine box together and it turned out beautiful. The three of us were so happy with it and the kids couldn’t wait to put their valentines in it. They got a list from ‘Aunt Liz’ and made sure that they had enough Valentines to give everybody and I just giggled. I would have to call everyone and make sure that they brought Valentines for the kids just in case they didn’t know they were supposed to. I was sure that Maria and Tess had told their parents but I wanted to double check. I had purchased a small box of candy to put in each Valentine sack that Max and I had made for favors and then placed the envelopes with the pictures in them on the top of the box as a gift card. I was so excited I could hardly stand it.

Max had helped me rearrange the furniture in the living room, family room, foyer and dining room to allow room for everyone to sit or stand comfortably and we had put all of the extra leaves into the dining room table and arranged it as a buffet. The caterers would be able to wait on everyone as needed and everything looked very festive. There were small card tables and TV trays set up and more than enough room for everyone to sit and enjoy a nice meal and I was able to eat a lot of the things being served as well. I still didn’t want to overdo anything but I was keeping everything down that I ate and I was eating quite a variety of foods as well. I still wasn’t real sure about that big juicy steak just yet but I was certainly looking forward to it.

I called Tess about 5:00 p.m. to see if she could bring a couple of her folding chairs over and when she answered the phone I said…

“Hey Tess…what are you doing?”

“Oh not a lot Liz, just folding laundry…”

“Yeah, well there seems to be a lot of that going around.” And we both giggled…

” Hey, can you and Kyle bring a couple more folding chairs over. We’re about three short.”

“Will do. I’ll throw in a couple more just in case. Anything else?”

“No, that’ll do it. I’m so excited.”

Tess:

And then I knew…Liz sounded more excited about this than she ever has about anything we’ve ever done before…

“Okay Liz, I know something is up and I’m willing to wait but honey, you are just too excited. You’ve got some great news haven’t you Liz Evans?”

“Yes, but that’s all you’re getting out of me. Now, I’ll see you in about an hour and a half. And Tess, thank you for everything.”

“You’re welcome Liz. 6:30 it is.” And we hung up.

*

“Who was that?” Kyle asked me since I happened to be smiling like the cat that ate the canary…

“Liz. She needs some more folding chairs.”

“And folding chairs makes you smile like that? Huh uh, no sir, what’s going on?”

“I swear to you Kyle, the woman asked us to bring three more folding chairs and said she’d see us at 6:30, then she thanked me and hung up.”

“In a pig’s eye Tess Valenti. What aren’t you telling me?”

“Kyle, I swear, I have told you everything she said. Chairs and thanks.”

“Yeah…bullshit Tess.”

“No bullshit Kyle. Chairs and thanks is all she said.”

“I don’t believe you Tess but it’s apparent you aren’t going to tell me any more than that. I swear, you may not tell a secret but you sure as hell can’t hide the fact that you have one.”

“Kyle, I don’t have a secret to keep…chairs and thanks is all the woman said.”

“Then what didn’t she say that you know?”

“How the hell do I know what’s on her mind?”

“You know what’s on her mind because you know her that’s how.”

“Kyle, you’re not making any sense. Chairs and thanks. Bottom line Kyle now go get ready while I get the kids ready and then myself. And don’t you dare go sit in the car and wait for me before I come down those stairs.”

Kyle looked at me and grinned. Nothing makes me more furious than for him to take the kids out to the car while I’m still getting dressed...tonight he figured I deserved it, I could tell, and his grin grew wider.

“If you do Kyle, I won’t go with you. I’ll take my own car and you can explain why we arrived separately.”

Kyle nodded, he knew I meant it but he was still tempted, he has a glint in his eye that tells me he’s thinking nasty stuff.

“Okay Tess, I’m going but I still think you’re keeping things from me.”

“Go Kyle, just go. TERRY, JIMMY COME ON, it’s time to get ready for the party.” And the two little ones were here in a flash. Kyle shook his head as he followed me and the kids upstairs.

***

Liz:

At about 6:30 people started arriving and I was floating, Max was pretty chipper himself and people started milling around catching up with old friends and having a good time and about 7:00 the caterers put all of the appetizers in the kitchen and started putting the main courses on the dining room table. As the guests all took their places in line the caterers set waters and flatware on all of the card tables that had already been set with tablecloths, along with cups, saucers and napkins. They had brought centerpieces of red carnations with battery operated candles for the center of each table. The line went around the dining room table and then people could make their way to their chosen spots around the rooms to sit and eat. When all had been seated it was noted by Mom that everyone could see each other and she remarked to Dad that I really had planned this out quite nicely. Dad looked at Mom and grinned and they both said it together…

“You’ve gotta have a plan.”

And they both laughed as did Isabelle and Alex who was sharing a table with them. That was me alright.

Max was walking by with his plate and I had just passed when we heard the laugh and Max looked at his sister and asked…

“What?”

And Isabelle took her hand and made a circular motion taking in the entirety of the rooms and repeated Nancy and Jeff’s comment and Max grinned.

“Do you know how long it took her to arrange this? She sat in every chair and took in her surroundings until she was satisfied that no one would be separated from any of the group.”

“Well, it shows, that’s for sure.” And they all smiled.



After dinner was over and the waiters had cleared all of the tables and brought out trays of decorated truffles for dessert I had the four little ones bring in the Valentine box and the party favors. Everyone got a decorated sack with their name written on it and I helped the kids read them as they passed them out then they lifted the lid of the box and started to pass out the valentines to each individual with Max’s and my help as well. The entire group of adults got the biggest kick out of the children as they read the names on the envelopes and each one taking a turn to deliver the valentines to each person, it seems like it’s taking forever but no one seems to mind. After the valentines had been passed out Max took the floor and asked each adult female to open the envelope that was attached to her box of valentine candy, which they did of course.

Mom was the first one to open hers and Isabelle took one look at mom’s face before ripping her envelope and they both looked at each other and started to tear up…Dad and Alex couldn’t figure out what was going on and Mom held the picture for Dad to see and he still didn’t know what it was.

“What is it Nancy?” Dad said…

“Oh for God’s sake Jeff, you’re going to be a grandfather and if I’m reading this right…you’re going to be a grandfather twice!” And Mom cried as she got up from her chair and made her way over to give me a hug and then Max.

Then everyone in the room looked at their pictures and Kyle looked at Tess and she just made a “Shhhhh.” sound and he whispered in her ear…

“You knew!”

“No I didn’t, I thought…there’s a difference.”

“Well, you could have shared your thoughts!”

“Not something this big Kyle…never.” And he understood. Tess just would not betray him or a friend like that and she was to be admired and he certainly did that.

About 11:00 o’clock people started to bid their goodbyes with a thank you and congratulations. Michael and Kyle took the kids home in one car while Maria and Tess stayed to help me while Max put furniture back where it belonged. Tess was the first to ask…

“Okay Liz, how far along are you because you certainly don’t look very pregnant, especially with twins.”

“We’re not sure because I’ve never been that regular but we figure about 12 weeks or so, close to three months.”

*

Max was in the kitchen helping the caterer’s put food away and left the girls to bombard me with their questions. We both knew it would happen, we just didn’t figure it would be tonight. Poor Mom, Max thought she would never stop crying…she clung to that picture as though it was her life and he smiled. His mother would be corralling him in the next day or two as well and he decided that he would take some time tomorrow and go spend it with her. Maybe I could go over and see my mom too. We could take care of it at the same time, we knew both women would have a thousand questions to which there weren’t any answers but they deserved to ask them. Max brought this up to me after Maria and Tess left which was close to 12:30 a.m. It was a great idea at the time I thought to myself as I looked at all of the containers in the refrigerator. I would have to make room in the freezer for all of these leftovers after I labeled them.

*

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Maria wanted to know.

“Because you never know how these things are going to go Maria. You know that. And it’s been so long in getting here that we just wanted to give it time to sink in and enjoy it. Probably selfish on our parts but it’s what we wanted.”

Then Tess saw the look on Maria’s face and stepped in…

“Honey, I can understand perfectly where you’re coming from. I know with Jimmy that Kyle and I weren’t really sure about sharing the news either. We didn’t know if I would lose him, or how to act about it….it was all so new and we wanted to share the experience together for awhile and just get used to the idea.”

Maria still looked a little put out…

Then I said…

“Exactly. We just wanted to share it with each other first and then I was sure you would figure it out because I was losing so much weight from throwing up all the time. Thank God that’s over with.”

“You never got sick when we were around Liz.” Maria said.

“No, because I never ate when I thought you might come over. That’s why I took the leave of absence from work…that and I wanted to have some time to get a nursery ready. I don’t know what I want to do yet and with two of them coming I can’t make up my mind if I want two rooms or one set up.”

“Oh definitely one for awhile Liz. They are used to being together and I think they do better together.” Maria said, having experienced twins.

“You really think so?” I wanted Maria to feel like a part of things so I was playing this up big…I knew that these babies would be together for a long time but for Maria’s sake it was important that she feels like a part of it…

And both Maria and Tess agreed and said

“Yes.”

“Oh, okay…then one nursery for a while. There’s still a lot of time to plan things out and I’m going to be home to do it so I’m not worried.”

And as the three of us all smiled one Max Evans got a great big grin on his face too as he helped in the kitchen…

“You’ve gotta have a plan.” He thought…

*

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone and tune in to see all of our Roswell friends back here at Easter with a roley-poley Liz.


The End…