Chapter 12

"So, I was thinking about what you told Betsy the last night." Katrie and Jess were taking a walk around the barn, supervising the chickens and puppies scurrying around in the early morning. Jess silently fingered the silver charm necklace around her neck and studied the dirt, while Katrie looked about as full of energy as the crazed canines.

"Which part?" Jess asked absently.

"When you told her to find her words," Katrie said. "About how this place was where we can find our words."

"And what did you think about that?" Jess finally looked up at her friend, involving herself in the conversation.

"It reminded me of my Paul conflict," Katrie replied. "I thought that maybe it was time for me to find my own words. Whenever he asks me about my health, it tears me up inside because I think about the burden it will put on him when we're married. So last night, when I called him, I had my words all figured out."

"And you actually said them?" Jess was surprised at how her advice had reached more than one friend in need. "What were they?"

"I told him that I was afraid of being his wife," Katrie said. "That scared him a little, but then I explained myself. I told him my estimations of how much my medication would cost us in the future, and how much strain I thought this would put on our relationship. I told him that I was afraid the disease would blow up in our faces and destroy the marriage. I might have been pushing it a little here, but I admitted that I was afraid of losing him to CF." When she finished, tears sparkled on her eyelashes and she needed to pause to swallow her emotion.

"And how did he take this?" Jess was near an emotional outpouring herself. She knew Katrie had apprehensions, but she had no idea they went to these levels of insecurity.

"Wonderfully," Katrie said, brightening. "He told me that before he proposed he had gone to my parents to get their blessings. That's the kind of guy he is- so traditional and corny. When he talked to them, I guess my dad discussed Cystic Fibrosis with him. And you know Dad; he completely exaggerated the entire situation. Paul said he hadn't really thought about it seriously before, but when he finally did it didn't matter to him. He listened to my father's horror stories and nothing changed in his heart. Actually, last night he told me he adored me all the more because of it."

"You're lying," Jess replied. "That is too perfect."

"I know!" Katrie exclaimed. "He thinks we'll be able to deal with it, so now I do too. I have complete confidence in that man. I can't believe it's working out like this. I was expecting him to freak out and cancel the wedding immediately. I was so worried that he'd be scared away from sharing a life with me, but it's completely the opposite. He said he saw this as an obstacle we'd have to tackle, but since it's a huge part of my life- to the point where it practically is my life, he's willing to do anything to make it work out. He admitted that he's actually been researching this week, finding out how we'd do with everything. Paul says it look good. Can you believe I'm so lucky?"

"I'm jealous," Jess said. Katrie came to a halt midstep and gave her friend an embarrassed, horrified look. Jess looked confused for a moment, and then realized what was going on in Katrie's mind. "Oh my gosh, Katrie! I was joking! No, I wasn't serious! I'm so happy for you; Paul seems like the greatest husband you could possibly ask for. No, I'm not really mad at you for having a happy ending! You of all people deserve one, Katrie." The look did not disappear from her face. "Katrie! Come on, I wasn't for real! Don't do this, please."

"But I want you to be happy too, and I didn't want to remind you of Alex and everything you're going through with that...." The voice trailed off with the horrified face, which was replaced immediately with a more apologetic expression.

"Jess! Katrie!" Susanne's shriek could be heard from the back porch. "Cereal's on! Come and get it while it's crunchy!"

"Listen," Jess said, ignoring the breakfast call for a moment. "I'll be fine. I am fine. I know you guys are all worried about me, but don't be sorry because something good happened to you. You're getting married with no worries next week. I'm happy for you, and you should be happy for yourself. Just because I'm having slight problems with my Alex does not mean you can't express your happiness over Paul. Okay? Now let's go eat." With that, she whistled for the pups and fought to get all the chickens in the barn while Katrie retreated to the house.

@*@*@

"Alright, everyone," Betsy said, standing up at the dining room table, fork in hand. "I have an announcement to make." She looked refreshed and glowing, despite the fact that she'd had less than two hours of sleep the night before. "I've found my words." Taking a moment to absorb the meaning behind this statement, the women around her smiled but said nothing.

"What does this mean, exactly?" Pam asked.

"It means that I know what I'm going to say to my parents," Betsy replied. "Now I can go home and talk it out with them and hopefully fix all our problems." She hesitated here, looking down at her Cheerios swimming in milk. "Um, it also means that I'm going home tomorrow morning," she murmured.

"What?!" Susanne cried, clearly shocked. The others expressed similar feelings in their loud expressions.

"I just thought it would be best to get it all out of the way before I lose my words again," Betsy explained hurridly. "I'm sorry to cut my time with you guys short, but I really think it's better to get this whole thing done with as soon as possible. That, and I still haven't reported back to school, and I feel that I'm ready to start weaving myself into American life again. It's okay, though. I'm not going to be missing Katrie's wedding, so I'll be seeing all of you next weekend anyway."

"True." Betsy's logic had gotten to Jess and she sat back, satisfied with the situation.

"But none of us has ever cut one of our get-aways short!" Pam argued. "I understand you're reasons for leaving, but can't you wait two more days?"

"I'm sorry," Betsy replied. "I really think this is the best way to go. I've already called and made arrangements with everyone, too. I hope you're not angry."

"She's not," Susanne interjected before Pam could find her response. "She's just a stickler for tradition. It's okay, though. We completely understand your position, and we wish you luck on your quest for parental peace. I swear."

"Hmph." Katrie wrinkled her brow and leaned forward. "Are you sure, Bets?"

"Um, yeah," she said. "I'm sorry, but I'm going."

"Alright," Pam agreed. "This stinks, but I'm not angry."

"You know what has to happen now, don't you?" Jess asked, grinning.

"Oh, I completely forgot!" cried Betsy. "I get a goodbye party!"

"Exactly!" Jess said. "Although this is kind of short notice, Bets. After all the binging we've been doing this week, I'm not sure what goodies I have left. Let's check, though." With that, her and Betsy scrambled into the kitchen and raided all the cabinets. They were soon joined by Katrie, coming to wash out her nebulizers, and Susanne and Pam soon followed with the empty dinner dishes. Not surprisingly, there was an excessive amount of food suitable for a party. As they were preparing the snacks in Jess' tupperware bowls, though, Katrie decided it would be an excellent time for a water fight. She was the only armed fighter, brandishing the hose from the faucet. A complete drenching of the others quickly followed this decision, and from there the celebration continued in a similar giddy manner.

@*@*@

"Hey there!" Ash sounded surprised to hear her voice this early in the day. "How are my babies?" Susanne smirked at the receiver, overjoyed at how excited he was about the pregnancy.

"We're perfect," she replied. "As usual. I'm just calling now because I'll be gone this afternoon. Betsy's leaving today to make peace with her parents, so we're all escorting her to the airport."

"That's good to hear," he said. "Why don't you escort her all the way back to California?"

"Because it hasn't been two weeks yet, silly," Susanne scolded. "You know, you've really got to learn to be less dependent on me. You need to learn how to accept separation."

"Or perhaps you need to learn how to stay at home," Ash argued. "Let's see, you're coming home this weekend, and then on Friday you're leaving again. And I have the problem?"

"But you're coming with me next Friday!" she protested. "Everything's ready for that, right? You did find something to wear, didn't you?"

"Wait, you mean that bridesmaid's dress isn't for me?" Susanne made horrified gasping sounds, and an alarmed Ash quickly went on. "I'm kidding. Yes, I have this awesome outfit all picked out. I had your sister come with me to help me choose. She says it's fine and I believe her."

"You're horrible, you know that?" she replied. "And how did our people take our wonderful news?"

"They thought I was lying," he said. "Seriously, it took me like three days to convince them all that we're really going to have a baby." He was silent for a second, and Susanne pictured him smiling the smirk that made her fall in love with him. "We're going to have a baby. That sounds so cool, doesn't it?"

"In a terrifying way, yes," she agreed, glancing down at her stomach and thinking ahead nine months. "Are you sure we know what we're doing here? Can we really be parents?"

"Probably not at first," Ash admitted. "For the first week we'll be completely freaked out and overprotective. We'll make a million mistakes and will talk to our extensive collection of baby books more than the baby. Our parents will have to take care of us again and teach us the ropes as quickly as they possibly can. But eventually we'll get it, and we'll have the happiest, most functional family ever."

"Thanks for that vote of confidence, love," Susanne replied sarcastically. "Now I am determined to prove you wrong."

"Whatever," Ash scoffed. "You know I'm right." Suddenly a crash and a muffled yell was heard in the background. "Um, I have to go now, Susie. I think we just lost some food and few tempers. I'll call you tomorrow. Love ya!"

"I love you!" Susanne heard the smooch of a phone kiss come over the line before the click told her Ash was rushing to solve the problems in the restaurant. She missed him terribly, but she wasn't exactly itching to get back to work just yet. In about six months, Ash would probably forbid her prescence in the restaurant. Hey, maybe this pregnancy thing would have some benefits after all.

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