Liza asked, “How do you know?” He told her that he heard them when he went into the kitchen to get the bottled water.
Liza teasingly said, “Leave them alone for two seconds and their clothes just automatically fall off.”
The irony of Liza’s statement made both of them laugh. They laughed and talked for a little while longer, until sleep finally overtook them.
~~~~
Chapter 2
Renee was up the following morning at 6:30. She tried to go back to sleep, but she was too excited. Elliott was still sound asleep beside her, so she carefully got out of bed and went into the bathroom. She took a warm shower and put moisturizer on her still damp skin. Since it was still early, she decided to put on pajamas.
Just as she was gathering her laptop, Elliott woke up and said, “Good morning, baby. Why’re you up so early?”
She went back over to the bed and kissed his sleepy face and said, “Good morning. I tried to go back to sleep, but couldn’t. Why don’t you get some more sleep? I’m going to the office, check some emails, and check on things in New York. I’ll be back in a bit.”
He sat up and said, “Are E and Liza up?”
She said “I don’t know, but I doubt it.”
He got out of bed and said, “Okay, I’m up, too.” He pulled her close and said, “You really should try to get some rest.”
She smiled up at him and said, “I’m fine. I’ll get some rest later on, if I start getting tired.”
He made her promise to at least take a nap later.
As she was walking down the hallway, her cell rang. It was Genie.
“Hi. I was just getting ready to call you,” Renee said as she settled into herself into the chair.
Genie said, “You’re up and sounding so chipper for so early in the morning. Isn’t it 7:00 there? I thought I was going to leave you a voice message.”
Renee said, “I have some things to do this morning, so I’ve been up for a few minutes.”
They talked about how things were going in New York. “So, everything here is great. I’m sure you’ve seen the reports. We are a shining success.”
Renee laughed and said, “Yes, I have been keeping up with things and we certainly have a lot to be thankful for.”
Renee listened as Genie told her about a man that she met at a friend’s dinner party.
Genie said, “I’m pretty sure it was a setup, but he’s very nice and smart. And handsome.”
Renee teasingly said, “Will I be getting a wedding invitation soon?”
Genie scoffed at that and said, “Slow down, I ain’t ready for all that right now.”
Renee laughed and said, “I’m going to remember you said that.”
There was a slight pause and Renee said, “Genie, I was going to wait to tell you this later, but I may as well go ahead and tell you now.”
Genie said, “Oh, boy, Renee. Please don’t tell me you want to bail out of business. We can seriously do this even with you in California. We already talked about it before you left”
Renee said, “Oh, no, nothing at all like that. In fact, I’m moving forward with getting our products sold online as well as looking at opening salons here. Everyone that I’ve talked to really wants to use our products and to have a salon that takes care of unprocessed hair.”
Genie calmed down and said, “Oh, okay. Don’t scare me like that again, St. Claire. So, what’s up?”
Renee said, “Well, you know how things were with me and Elliott while he was in New York, before he came back to LA, right? Well, long story short, I’m pregnant, and Elliott and I are getting married.”
Genie whooped into the phone, “I’m not the least bit surprised, though. Girl, congratulations! See, this is way better news than what I was thinking you were going to say. I bet Elliott is beyond excited. Were you surprised or did you suspect that you’re pregnant? When’s the wedding?”
Renee said, “Thanks, Genie. I don’t want you thinking I’m going to be a slacker. I still intend to carry on as usual. Elliott is already in full protective mode. He keeps telling me to take it easy. We have a doctor’s appointment today. I wasn’t even thinking about being pregnant, so when I went to the doctor for sinus headaches and came out with a pregnancy diagnosis, I was surprised, to say the very least. But I’m really happy about it. As far as the wedding, we were going to do it this weekend in a civil ceremony. Liza and Joe are here and you know how she is. She wants us to have something that has to be planned out.”
Genie laughed and said, “From sinus headaches to pregnancy. That is too funny. Elliott is right, though. Don’t try to so much all the time. Everything here is great, and it will fall into place out there. You just take care of you and the baby.”
Renee and Genie talked on for a while longer and ended their conversation with Genie making Renee promise to keep her informed of everything.
~~~~
By the time Renee finished with everything she needed to do from the office, it was 9:00. As she was walking back to the bedroom, she heard Liza say, “Good morning.”
Renee turned around and said, “Good morning, sunshine. Did you sleep okay?”
Liza’s mind did a quick replay of the prior evening and she said, “Beyond okay.” How about you? Are you all rested up for your appointment?”
Renee said, “Yes. I feel great. Very well-rested.” Do you guys need anything? The bathroom in the hallway has your favorite body and hair products, and linens are in the closet right across from your bedroom.”
Liza squealed in delight, “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I was hoping I wouldn’t run out of my faves before we head back to New York.”
As they were settling themselves at the kitchen table, Liza said, “Listen, I know I was talking a lot about putting on a wedding for you two. And we both know how I tend to go on and on when I’m excited about something. But if you really don’t want to do it, I’ll drop the whole thing. I just want you to be happy and not stressing over anything.”
Renee leaned over and gave Liza a hug and said, “I know, girl. I admit, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything you were saying, but . . . “
Liza gasped and her eyes widened in anticipation of what Renee was getting ready to say.
“If you really want to plan something small and if you can make it happen within the next two weeks, I could deal with that.”
Liza squealed in delight and said, “Yes! Renee, I promise, you won’t be sorry, and you won’t have to do anything. Well, you might have to come with me when I find a chapel and we’ll have to find you a dress. But outside of that, I’ll take care of everything. I just need to go get the list that I already started.”
Renee laughed at Liza’s enthusiasm and said, “Remember, Liza, small and within the next two weeks are the keywords here.”
Liza was walking up the hallway, her house slippers making sliding noises on the hardwood floor. “Yeah, yeah, I got it,” she said while waving her hand.
As she was going into the bedroom, Joe was coming out. He gave her a long kiss on the lips and she laughed and said, “No time for that right now. I got wedding plans to get started on.”
Joe chuckled and stole a quick nip of her slender neck and went into the kitchen where Renee was making tea.
“Good morning,” Renee said cheerily as Joe went to the refrigerator to get himself a glass of orange juice.
“Good morning, Renee,” Joe said. “I see Liza is back on her wedding planning mission. Lemme guess. She told you she would keep it small and not over-the-top, and you believed her?”
“Renee laughed as she took a sip of her tea and said, “Yeah. But she’ll have to keep it small. She only has two weeks. I figure she can’t get too over-the-top in that timeframe, but we’ll see.”
“She’s your girl, Renee,” Joe said. “You know how she is.”
They were both still laughing when Elliott walked into the kitchen.
“Good morning,” Elliott said to Joe. He kissed Renee and said “Wh
y don’t you go back to bed for a while? I’ll wake you up in a bit.”
She finished the rest of her tea and said, “Okay. That sounds good right about now.”
As he sat across from Joe at the kitchen table, Elliott said, “Did you two sleep okay last night? Renee says that I keep the house a little cool.”
Joe, with a slight smile said, “Oh, everything was great. The temperature was fine, the bed was comfortable. It was all good.”
Elliott knew what Joe was talking about. He chuckled a bit and said, “Alright then.”
He changed the subject. “After we come back from the appointment, it’ll probably be late afternoon. I called Mom and Dad last night to let them know you are here and they’d really like to come over. We thought we’d also tell them about the baby and the wedding.”
Joe said, “Sounds good to me.”
The rest of the morning went by very quickly and it was getting close to the time for Elliott and Renee to leave for their appointment.
Renee was walking back into the kitchen. She was wearing black side zip slacks, a wine color drape neck sweater. Her mid-height heels clicked as she half-ran up the hallway.
“Sorry it took me so long, but I’m ready when you are,” she said to Elliott when she reached the kitchen.
Elliott smiled approvingly at her and said, “Okay, let’s go. Are you sure you want to wear those shoes, though?”
Renee laughed and said, “Yes, I’m sure I want to wear these shoes, that’s why I put them on.”
Renee said over her shoulder to Joe, “You two know to make yourselves at home. Help yourselves to whatever you like.
Joe said, “Will do. We’ll be fine. See you guys later.”
~~~~
On the short drive to Dr. Middleton’s office, Renee told Elliott that she had given Liza the go-ahead with planning a small ceremony.
“She said she could plan something small and fantastic in just under two weeks,” Renee said.
Elliott smiled and said, “Really, now? You believe that? You believe she is going to keep it small?”
Renee took Elliott’s hand in hers and said, “No, I don’t believe it. She will pull it together in two weeks, and I suspect she will keep it small, but I’m pretty sure she is going to add in some element of surprise as only she knows how. But she does understand that she has two weeks because we’re not waiting any longer than that. Oh, would Judge Nichols be willing to perform the ceremony for us at a small venue?”
Elliott said, “I’ll talk to him tomorrow about it. I’m pretty sure he’ll do it, though.”
They pulled into the medical complex and after Elliott parked the car, he leaned over and kissed Renee and said, “I love you so much.”
Renee looked into Elliott’s handsome face and said, “I love you, too.” She took a deep breath as they exited the car. They walked hand-in-hand into the doctor’s office.
Renee filled out the paperwork and after a short wait, she was taken to an exam room by a nurse. The nurse informed Elliott that she would come and get him when it was time for the sonogram.
After the nurse asked Renee some initial questions and took her vital signs, there was another brief wait, and then the doctor came into the exam room.
“Hi, Renee. I’m Dr. Middleton. How are you today?”
“Hello, Dr. Middleton. I’m fine, thank you.”
After Dr. Middleton had finished examining Renee, he left the exam room and sent in the nurse to take Renee to the sonogram room.
The nurse said, “I’ll go and get your husband and then the doctor will do your exam.”
Renee smiled and said, “Okay.”
A few minutes later Elliott was walking into the dimly lit room where Renee was lying on the exam table. A few minutes after that, Dr. Middleton came in and introduced himself to Elliott and started the exam.
Dr. Middleton said, “Well, it looks like the date of your last period and the sonogram are very close. Your due date is July 15.”
Renee and Elliott looked at each other and smiled, barely able to contain themselves.
The doctor finished wiping the gel from Renee’s stomach and said, “After you get dressed, the nurse will show you both into my office.”
Once they were seated in Dr. Middleton’s office, he said, “I just wanted to go over some things with the both of you. As you know, pregnancy after the age of 35 carries certain risks, particularly genetic risks. Renee, you are a perfectly healthy young woman, however, I want to follow your pregnancy very closely. I don’t anticipate any issues, but you did mention that you had some spotting in the beginning. I want you to let me know if you have any further discharge, bloody or non-bloody, cramping, or anything that is unusual.”
Renee said, “Yes, I know that sometimes complications can happen, and I intend to do everything to make sure that this goes as smoothly as possible.”
Elliott took this opportunity to ask the doctor if frequent sex was okay, if Renee could still do yoga, should she eat more, what type of shoes she should be wearing, and anything else that came to mind.
Dr. Middleton said, “You can have sex as frequently as you like, no worries there. As far as yoga, I actually encourage patients to remain as active as possible during pregnancy, unless it becomes too tiresome or uncomfortable, and trust me, Elliott, Renee will know for herself when high-heels become too uncomfortable. As I said, she is perfectly healthy and can pretty much carry on as usual. You both know, however, that as the pregnancy progresses, more fatigue tends to set in.”
Renee and Elliott asked a few more questions and when they were finished, Dr. Middleton said, “Okay, I need to see you back in six weeks and we’ll do another sonogram. If you need to see me before then, just call the office. They’ve already been instructed to work you in if you need to see me before scheduled appointments.”
Renee and Elliott shook Dr. Middleton’s hand and left the office.
~~~~
As they were pulling out of the parking lot, Renee said to Elliott, “See, I told you that you worry too much. Dr. Middleton said I’m perfectly healthy.”
Elliott gave her a sideways glance and said, “He also said he’s going to watch you very closely and that you need to call him if anything strange happens. I still want you to take it easy.”
Renee said, “Okay, instead of going to yoga six days a week, how about three days? I know that’s a big concern for you. Would that be better?”
He looked over at her and said, “Yeah. I guess. Why don’t you just have one of the instructors come to the house and do it with you? That way . . . “
Before he could finish, Renee said, “Because I was going to do that after I have the baby. It would make it easier for me.”
By this time, they were pulling back into the driveway. As they were getting out of the car, the couple from across the street were waving and calling out to them.
“Hi, Elliott,” Robert said. Robert and Kim Maddox had moved into their home shortly after Elliott had moved into his home. Robert, a marketing executive, had taken some time off work to spend some time with his wife in Hawaii. They both looked tan, beautiful and well-rested.
“Hi,” Elliott said to Robert. “You two finally made it back. I was beginning to think that maybe you liked it there better than here,” he teased.
Kim said, “Absolute paradise. I could definitely get used to being there on a full-time basis.”
Kim extended her hand, smiled warmly, and said, “Hi, I’m Kim and this is my husband, Robert. You must be Renee.”
Renee glanced over at Elliott and extended her hand to Kim. “Yes. I am. It’s very nice to meet both of you.”
Robert extended his hand to Renee and said, “So nice to meet you, Renee. Elliott talked about you a lot after he returned from New York.”
Renee smiled and said, “I see. So, you just came back from Hawaii? That must’ve been very nice. I have always dreamed of going there one of these days, but I’ve never had the time to do it.”
Ell
iott said, “This wasn’t the first time you went there was it? I think you told me that you’ve been three or four other times.”
Robert said, “Yes, we have. It’s our favorite place for getting away from it all. You two should really think about going there one day.”
Renee said, “I really need to get inside. We have friends visiting from New York and I want to let them know that we’re back. It’s really nice to meet you both. Maybe we can get together for dinner sometimes?”
Kim said, “Yes, that would be great. Just let us know a good time for you. Elliott has our number, so just give us a call.”
Renee promised to call soon to arrange a dinner time.
When she walked into the house, the smell of Liza’s world-class beef stew filled the house. Usually, the scent of good food was something that Renee looked forward to, almost as much as she looked forward to the taste of good food. However, lately the smell of food, any food, tended to temporarily make her queasy.
As Renee was making a beeline to their bedroom until her stomach settled, she heard Liza walking up the hallway.
“Hey,” Liza asked. “How’d it go?” Liza immediately noticed that Renee seemed to be a little off kilter.”
Liza asked, “Are you okay? Can I get you anything? Joe, could you bring some crackers and a ginger ale in here, please?”
Joe and Elliott walked into Elliott’s and Renee’s bedroom at the same time.
“Thanks,” Renee said as she took the crackers and ginger ale from Joe.”
Liza said, “So, what did the doctor say? How far along are you? When are you due?”
After she ate one of the crackers and took a sip of the ginger ale, Renee said, “I’m due on July 15, so I’m about three months.”
Liza looked at Joe and said, “Okay. Well, I gotta move this wedding thing along fast if you want to walk up the aisle with a flat belly. Otherwise, you are going to have a little pooch showing. Not that it matters or anything.”
Renee said, “Liza, let me just lie down for a minute and then we talk about the wedding.”
Liza said, “Okay, take your time. Elliott, is it okay if I use the office so I can have a desk?”
A Couple of Forevers (This Time Forever Book 2) Page 2