Til We Meet Again (10 page)

“What? Why?” he asked.  “You don’t want to pick a date while you’re feeling this way do you?”

“There’s one in the office, please bring it to me,” she said ignoring his comment.

He left the room then and went to find what she was asking for.  He retrieved it from her desk and brought it to her.  He handed it to her and sat on the bed again as she looked at the months before her.

“We can’t get married in the past,” he teased.

That has to be it,
she thought to herself. 
But should I tell him?
She wondered.

“What is it?” he asked her again.

“I think I might know what the problem is,” she told him.

“What?  Is it something you ate?” he asked.

“No, I don’t think it’s something I ate, but I think it’s something that will go away in nine months,” she hinted.

Dean looked at her and his eyes grew wide.  “Do you really think so?” he asked.

“There’s one way to find out if you don’t mind a trip to the drug store this afternoon,” she said. 

“I don’t mind at all,” Dean said.  He was suddenly very excited about the prospect of becoming a father as well as a husband.  Then his mind turned to the thought that he wouldn’t get more time alone with Katie now.

“What’s wrong?” Katie asked seeing his face fall.

“Nothing, I’m fine,” he told her.

“No, you seemed to be really happy but then your face changed.  You’re not happy about something, what is it?” she prodded.

“It’s really nothing.  It was just a quick passing thought I had,” he reassured her.

“What?” she asked.

“Well, it was just a passing thought that if you’re going to have a baby, there just won’t be as much time for us after we’re married,” he said.  “But I’m really okay with it, it was just a passing thought, okay?” he said.

Katie nodded and tears filled her eyes.  She thought back to Grace and Donald and how they had had so little time at all and Donald had never known about their baby.

“Are you thinking about Grace?” Dean asked sensing that she was.

Katie nodded again.  “They had no time together and she lost him.  She had his baby but they never had a chance to share it.  We can change all of that,” she said.

“I know.  I’m going to have some lunch, because I’m hungry, and then I’m going to go down to the drug store and get you a kit.”

He kissed her before he left the room and Katie got up to change out of the dress she’d worn to church that morning and into something more comfortable.  She lay back on the bed and rested her head against the pillows once more.  She was suddenly very tired and she didn’t even realize her eyes had closed.

Chapter 10

Grace married Matthew in a magnificent wedding that October.  The fall leaves were brightly coloured as a backdrop to the day and the sun shone brightly.  Going to the altar they carried a secret and that was that Grace was pregnant.  She was glowing as she walked down the aisle on her father’s arm and Matthew matched her bright smile as she approached him at the altar.  She had chosen a gorgeous off-the-shoulder gown with long sleeves, a fitted bodice and the fullest skirt she could find with as many layers of petticoats beneath as she could fit.  The gown had a cathedral length train with as much beadwork on it as on the rest of the dress.  She looked as though she was floating down the aisle, her father her anchor.  When she stepped to the front of the church and her father slid her arm into Matthew’s, Matthew couldn’t help but step forward and kiss her cheek.  “You look absolutely delectable,” he whispered.

They turned their attention to the minister who began the service in the typical fashion.  He carried on through the service and when he asked them if they would promise to raise their children they answered appropriately but shared an extra special smile. 

“I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride,” the minister said.

Matthew leaned down and kissed Grace, pulling her into his arms.  “I will keep you safe forever,” he whispered to her.  They turned and walked down the aisle arm in arm to begin their future together.

“Katie, Katie,” Grace was calling. 

“Mmmm,” Katie moaned in her sleep.  Dean had come to tell her that he was leaving but found she was sleeping.  He had turned to leave the room when he heard her moan.  “What is it?” he asked but never got a reply.

“
When you find true love keep it,” Grace was telling her.

“Have I found it?” Katie asked.   Again Dean attempted to ask her what she had found with no answer.

“Yes Katie, you and Dean will bring Donald and I together, please don’t give up,” Grace said.

“I won’t, I love him too much,” Katie replied.  Dean listened to what she was saying in her sleep and wondered if it was Grace she was talking to.  Had the dreams finally surfaced to this point?  Had Grace finally realized the impact she was having on her great granddaughter?  Would this be the end of the dreams? 

He kissed her gently on the cheek and slipped out of the room.

Katie woke a short time later and remembered the dream.  It had been fabulous to watch Grace marry the second time and see how happy she was.  But why had Grace been talking to her?  Was this the end of the foray into the past?  Had Grace said all she had to say? 

She couldn’t wait until she walked down the aisle to meet Dean in a few months and she searched for the calendar that had been left in the room.  She picked it up off the bed beside her and looked forward to December.  The ninth seemed to be the perfect day to her.  It was two weeks before Christmas and would be absolutely wonderful.  She closed her eyes and imagined herself walking down the aisle at the church, her father giving her away and the knowledge that they too would be having a baby.  She imagined wearing the same gown as Grace, if she could find it and get it cleaned up, with the billowy skirt and the image of herself floating down the aisle.  She smiled at the thought.

“What are you smiling about?” Dean said startling her.

“I was thinking about December the ninth,” she replied.

“What’s on December ninth?” he asked.

“Well, if you agree it will be our wedding day,” she told him.

“It sounds great,” he said.  “What else did you have in mind?” he asked.

“I was thinking of our church, and me walking down the aisle and our reception at the restaurant with our friends and family.”

“It sounds delightful,” he said again.  “I happened to slip out to the drug store while you were asleep,” he told her holding out the bag.  “Did you have a good conversation by the way?” he asked.

“Grace was actually talking to me Dean,” she said.  “It was amazing.  I felt so close to her.”

“Do you think this will all stop now?” Dean asked. 

“I don’t know, maybe.  If we know that she’s happy, and that I’m happy,
we’re
happy, maybe that’s all she needs to know,” Katie said.

“How are you feeling?” Dean asked.  “Would you like a cup of tea?”

Katie nodded and reached up as Dean kissed her.  He left the bag on the bed and went to the kitchen to boil the kettle.

Katie looked at the bag before she reached inside and pulled out the box.  She read the label and it seemed that ‘Pregnancy Test’ was emblazoned on the front.  She opened the end of the box and pulled out what had been sent: a small cup, a one-time-use dropper and the most important part of all, the little stick that would tell her whether she was right or not.  She pulled out the instructions and read them through twice before she got up and carried it all into the bathroom where she set it up on the counter before filling the little cup.

Afterwards, she took her watch, waited for the second hand to reach the twelve and placed the required number of drops in the slot on the test.  She could hear Dean climbing the stairs with her tea but stayed sitting on the closed toilet waiting.  She changed her mind about that and slipped out of the bathroom and met him as he was walking into the room.  “Thank you,” she said to him as he set the cup and saucer on the bedside table.  She sat down on the edge of the bed and reached for the cup and took a sip.

“How is it?” he asked.

“It’s perfect.  You always make the best tea,” she told him.

“How are you feeling now?” he asked.  “Now that you’ve had a nap and some tea.”

“I do feel quite a bit better.  I’m even a little hungry,” she told him.

“I could warm up some soup for you,” he offered.

“That would be really great,” she told him relieved that she could once more get him out of the room before her five minutes was up.

“I’ll be right back then,” he told her and went back out the door.

Katie got up and went back into the bathroom to check the test.  The ‘+’ was already very clearly showing on the test and it wasn’t even time yet.  She got very excited to realize that she was indeed carrying a baby and that in so many ways everything was so similar to Grace.  Then she realized that there wouldn’t have been an early pregnancy test available for Grace to know.  She may have had to wait until she was 3 months before she finally visited the doctor and was made aware that she was in fact pregnant.  She looked at her watch and saw that her five minutes was up and she looked again at the ‘+’ sign that shone bright pink in the little square on the stick and smiled.  She wondered if it was a boy or a girl and she wondered when she would be due.  Nine months would be April of the following year. 
A May baby,
she thought and then remembered that  it had been March that Grace had had her baby.

“Here you go,” Dean called out.  “Soup’s ready.”

She stepped out of the bathroom and couldn’t control her smile. 

“Did you do it?” Dean asked.

Katie only nodded as she sat back down on the bed and let Dean set the tray over her legs. 

“So?” Dean said.

“Go have a look, it’s on the counter,” she told him.

Dean disappeared into the bathroom and next she heard a loud ‘Whoop!’ when he had obviously read it.  He returned from the bathroom with a smile on his face.  “We’re going to have a baby,” he said excitedly.  “I love you so much,” he said to her.

Katie laughed.  He was just like a little kid. 

He leaned over her and placed a long, hard kiss on her lips and then lowered himself to the bed and sat beside her.  “When will it be here?” he asked.

“I don’t know, I’ll have to go to the doctor to find that out but it should be sometime in April,” she told him.

“First thing tomorrow morning you are calling the doctor,” he said firmly.  “And I’ll call if you don’t,” he threatened.

“Don’t worry, I’ll call, I want to find out too you know,” she told him.

He sat with her while she ate her soup and drank her tea and they both absorbed the fact that they would be new parents. 

“I need to find something in the attic,” Katie announced.

“What’s that?” Dean questioned as he collected up the dishes and stood, lifting the tray.

“Grace’s wedding gown,” Katie replied.  “From when she married Matthew, I think she would like if I wore it for our wedding.”

“Yeah, we can look for that later,” he said.  “Do you think it’s a good idea?” he asked.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea.  She was pregnant when she married Matthew you know,” she told him.

“How do you know?” he asked.

“I don’t know, come to think of it, it just seems to be something I know,” she replied.  She didn’t really know how she knew.

Dean headed towards the door.  “I’ll be right back,” he said.

Katie nodded and closed her eyes.  “I’m going to have a baby too Grace,” she said.  She got up and went to the attic.

Dean returned to the bedroom to find Katie was gone.  He checked the bathroom but it was empty and then he saw the door to the attic was open and he climbed the stairs.  “Thought I might find you up here,” he said so he wouldn’t startle her.

“Yeah, I just wanted to see if I could find that gown,” she told him.  She searched through the rest of the trunk they had opened a few weeks ago where they had initially found Grace’s secret cigar box filled with all of the information they needed to know about the initial dreams. 

She stood and looked around.  Since this trunk had been in a corner of the room that wasn’t well lit, she assumed that may have been because of the contents and so she moved closer to the center of the room.  The whole attic was filled with crates and trunks and she didn’t know where to start.  There had to be three generations worth of stuff up here and how she was going to find what she was looking for was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack. 

“Where should we start?” Dean asked thinking the same thing.

“I have no idea.  This trunk was marked with her name, do you suppose the others will be marked the same way?” she asked.