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“Oh no, baby, don’t do that!” She reached for the little hand that had just grasped a handful of her extraordinarily full, long dark hair with her little fist.
Apparently, that only amused three week old Elizabeth Rose Jane as she grinned, her little smile meeting those piercing blue eyes. While she had her father’s blue eyes, her love for mischief at such an early age demonstrated that she was truly a Jane, through and through.
Her very happy daughter reached for the collar of her shirt with the fist that had been on her hair, indicating she was ready to get the show on the road now. Though, she swung the other one out into the open air looking for something that just wasn’t there. She nursed her, burped her, and held her until she fell asleep. Even then, she kept holding her little Elizabeth. She was already such a special, loved little girl.
A little while later, she heard the front door close. At that, she placed her in her crib and went to the kitchen.
“Hey.” Jane kissed her lips as he handed her her drink. “Is she asleep?”
“Yeah, she’s been down for about 20 minutes now. I thought you were going for coffee and donuts?”
“I did. Your donuts are on the table.”
“What took you so long?”
He grinned as he lifted a bag into the air. “I ended up taking a little stroll around Target. I bought something for Sunday.”
“For Sunday?”
“For us to wear with Elizabeth on Halloween.”
“Halloween? Jane, she’s three weeks old. She’s not going trick or treating.”
“Maybe not. Doesn’t mean we can’t dress her for the season.”
She sipped her coffee. She was over this decaf nonsense. “Let me see it.”
He withdrew the bag way over her head as she reached for it. “Nope! You’ll see on Sunday once I’ve dressed her.”
She smiled at that. From everything she knew about having a baby, she realized the expectation was that she would take on all of the child care responsibilities. In fact, she expected to take them on.
However, it was hard to separate Jane from his little girl. He even took a leave with her to spend time with them. At the hospital, she actually cried when she woke up and saw him cradling her in his arms and telling her she was his little princess. At home, he took skin to skin contact time with her each day, letting her nap on his bare chest. When she nursed her, he often sat right next to her and held one of her little hands.
She was his top priority. Unless she needed him to run an errand, he always kept Elizabeth in his sight.
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Of course, he loved their daughter. He had made that clear throughout her pregnancy. In addition to the fact that Elizabeth was already his entire world, the other thing still lingered. When she was just over six months pregnant, they found a note in their mailbox with no postmark.
The letter read: Congratulations! Lightning rarely strikes the same place twice, and even then, it only happens when you conduct it.
The tell tale smiley face looked back at them, mocking them both. Even if the words held a permission, or a truce, of sorts, Red John once again asserted himself into their lives. He knew where they lived, and he knew about their baby. It made her blood run cold.
It affected Jane too, even if he didn’t say anything. Indeed, he stopped sleeping again for a little while. He would usually lay in bed with her as she went to sleep, but she would wake to find him sitting in the chair next to her side of the bed, staring at the door.
One night, about 5 weeks after they received that letter, she caught him trying to get up when he thought she was asleep. She placed her hand on his arm.
“Stay.”
“Hmm?”
“Stay in bed with me, Jane.”
“I’m just…”
“You’re going to sit there, in that chair, and wait for him to come in here to attack me. He’s not coming in here, and if he did, there’s not much you could do there.”
“I’m prepared to do what I need to do. He won’t get you. Not again.”
“No, he won’t get us. I promise, but I need you to stay here with me.”
“I am here with you, Teresa.”
“No, you’re not. You said ‘not again.’ You’re thinking about the worst possible scenario. It won’t happen again. Thinking like that...it puts your mind back into a dark place where there’s no room for me or the baby.” She rubbed her bump. “We’re here. We need you here, too. I worry when you’re like this because one day, I don’t know if I’ll be able to reach you. And that scares me, Patrick. I don’t want you to go away. We can’t live waiting for him to come. That’s no way for her to grow up.”
He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to his chest. No other words were spoken that night. Eventually, she fell asleep in his embrace. When she woke the next morning, she was still in his embrace, listening to his soft snores.
She was never sure what she said to make him stay, and she didn’t bother to ask. Though, she did notice not long after that night that he no longer wore his wedding band.
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On Sunday morning, he surprised her while she was doing some laundry.
“I’d like to take Elizabeth to the pumpkin patch today.”
“Okay. I think we can do that this afternoon.”
He nodded as she returned to folding laundry as he held Elizabeth on his chest, napping. She smiled at the sight, but she couldn’t help but worry. She’d worked to keep it in the back of her mind because it felt silly, but since Elizabeth arrived, he paid so much attention to her. He rarely focused on her much.
It was silly, but she worried about their relationship. Was he here because he wanted to be in a relationship with her, because he wanted to be family--or was he here just because he loved his daughter? Worst: had she trapped him here with her? Before, he focused on avenging his family. Now, he focused on his little girl. Did he resent her for that? Would he come to resent her for that?
As soon as she had the thought, she chastised herself. Of course, he loved their daughter. What more could she want for her daughter than a father who doted on her? If he rejected her, then she would deal with it. At least he’d always be there for Elizabeth.
When she started to stir, Jane sat up. “I think she needs to be changed. I’m…”
Reflexively, she reached for her. “I’ll take her.”
“No, I will take care of her.” He kissed the side of the baby’s head and she cooed.
With that, he disappeared up the stairs. Once again, she chastised herself for earlier thoughts. How could she want anything else for her daughter than to have a father who adored her?
“Lisbon! Will you come up here for a second?”
She furrowed her brow. He usually didn’t call for her to help with anything. She sat down the towel she was folding and went up the stairs. When she got to the nursery, the sight of an orange blob in the crib caught her eye.
When she walked in a little closer, she saw what that orange bloc was. He had dressed Elizabeth in a pumpkin costume. She was grinning as she kicked her little legs wrapped in green tights into the air. As she looked over her, she couldn’t contain her own smile as she saw her stem hat and that her costume read “baby.”
“So, what’s she supposed to be? A pumpkin baby?”
“Or a baby pumpkin.”
“I think pumpkin baby makes more sense.”
“Maybe, but why don’t you turn around.”
She grinned as she turned around and saw him wearing a shirt with a pumpkin on it that said “Mr. Pumpkin.”
“Cute shirt.”
“Yeah, do you think so?” Then, he lifted another shirt similar to the one he was wearing in front of him. “I got a matching one for you.”
“Mrs. Pumpkin? We’re not married.”
“Not right now, but what do you say?”
She laughed at first, but then she took in his face. He was serious, which sobered her up quickly. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
“I am.”
“With a t-shirt?”
He shrugged. “I think you were the one who told me we do things on our terms. When I saw the family costumes at Target the other day, I thought it would be a nice idea.”
“You decided we should get married at Target two days ago?”
He chuckled. “No. I knew a lot sooner than two days ago and certainly didn’t decide in Target, but if you remember, today is the anniversary of the day that our lives changed--for what I would consider the better.”
Halloween. A year ago. When everything changed.
She was speechless. She hadn’t expected this. When they talked about marriage before the baby was born, it was something that they weren’t rushing toward. She never wanted to push him on it, especially when he still wore the ring symbolizing his commitment to Angela--which she quickly realized he hadn’t worn in months. Not since the night she asked him to stay.
He grinned before speaking again. “You know, a year ago. When you drug me back to your place and never let me leave.”
She scoffed. “Please!”
But had she never let him leave? Did she trap him here with her and Elizabeth? Obviously, he’d feel duty bound to her. And he took the ring off when she’d asked him to stay with them. Was this all for her?
He reached for her and pulled her closer to him. “Just a little joke because it seemed a bit tense here. The truth is, Teresa Lisbon, once I was with you, I never wanted to leave. I still don’t. I never will. I love you more than anything in the world.”
Just then, Elizabeth spluttered loudly. He looked over at the crib. “Well, present company excluded. Man, you Lisbon women are difficult!” She laughed at that before he continued. “But I love you, and I love our daughter. I want to spend the rest of our lives together. I know that’s what’s right for us. What do you say?”
From behind the shirt, he pulled out a ring with a small diamond in it. “Are you doing this for me?”
“I’m doing this because I want to marry you.”
“But because you think it’s what I want you to want?”
“I know exactly what you think, Teresa Lisbon. And it isn’t true. You should know better than anyone that no one can make me do anything I don’t want to do. You never trapped me, and I hate that you even think that way. I’m here, standing in front of you now and asking you to marry me because I love you. No other reason.”
“As long as you’re sure this is really what you want. You know that I take marriage seriously.”
“I know you take it seriously, and so do I. I’m very certain about this. In fact, I think I might even let you persuade me into having another one of those.”
She laughed at that. “Easy. It’s only been three weeks, and I don’t think that’s the best way of persuasion at the moment.”
“You’re probably right, but I think Elizabeth would like some brothers or sisters.”
Her eyes went wide. “Yeah, so why don’t we table that for a bit?”
“A yard full of kids or an engagement?”
“The kids.”
“And the engagement?”
She bit her lip. “I think I say ‘yes.’”
He looked at her with warmth in his eyes. “Yes?”
“Yes. I’ll marry you.”
He broke into a full smile. She reached up and placed a kiss on his lips as he wrapped his arms around her.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
He leaned out a bit to look at her face. “I’m glad to hear it, but see, this is why she’s Baby Pumpkin. That means we get to be Mr. and Mrs. Pumpkin.”
She scrunched her nose. “I think Pumpkin Baby makes more sense.”
“So, we’re Mr. and Mrs. Baby? Makes no sense, woman!”
“How about Pumpkin Mommy, Pumpkin Daddy, and Pumpkin Baby?”
He narrowed his eyes. “I suppose that works, but it doesn’t really say that mommy is daddy’s.”
“I suppose not, but it does say that the baby has mommy and daddy.”
“She does, but I think you’re missing the point. I like the version that says you’re mine and that I’m yours.”
Elizabeth cooed again. “I think she says that, Jane.”
“She does, but I just want you to hear me say it, too.” He kissed her again. This time, deeply.
Later, they made it to the pumpkin patch where they took what became both their first family photo and their engagement photo: Mr. and Mrs. Pumpkin with Pumpkin Baby propped between them on a haystack.