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Carol woke up feeling a little disoriented…but in a good way. The disorientation was the jet lag talking, but even so, she wouldn’t exchange it for anything. Especially because she got to wake up in Doug’s bed in Seattle, which was now her new home.
Yesterday felt like a whirlwind. It was pretty daring, after all, to leave Chicago on a moment’s notice and quickly call her mother to arrange to have Tess and Kate flown to Seattle. Not to mention she had to sell her house from afar. She had packed most of her clothes in a rush when she was thinking about going and had put suitcases in her car before her last shift at County, a plan unknown to anyone she worked with until she told Mark that she wouldn’t be in tomorrow and let Luka know that she had to find out if Doug still loved her.
Happily, she discovered that he still did, and he was relieved that she finally decided to join him. No more coordinating long-distance visits with the girls or worrying about sending money to Chicago. She also didn’t have to wonder if she could ever fall in love with someone else again. Why would she want to, considering that she and Doug had both been waiting for her to realize that they were meant for each other? Or maybe she already knew that, but it took forever to find the confidence to leave Chicago.
It didn’t matter anymore, she told herself. The past was the past, and today, she was happy to wake up in Doug’s bed. He’d stepped out to call in sick and start the morning coffee, but he assured her he wouldn’t be long.
“Now you’re up,” he said, flashing her a smile when he returned to the room. He handed her a cup of coffee and gave her a kiss. “Before I went downstairs, it seemed like you were still sleeping, so I tried to be quiet. Sorry if I woke you up.”
“I was, like, half-awake,” she said with a laugh. “I’m used to being up early with Tess and Kate anyway. What time is it? Six? Something like that?”
“6:15.”
“Holy crap, it’s already after 8 in Chicago. It’s going to take me a few days to get used to this. That’s all right, though. I figured I’d need some time to get my bearings, even if we didn’t have to factor in the time difference.”
“Don’t worry. After my orientation, I almost went to work at 5 a.m. because it was 7 back home. In my younger days, I would have thought about going back to bed, but old me was already up so I decided to just watch the early morning news for another hour and have extra coffee.” He wrapped an arm around her.
“Can I make you breakfast?” he asked.
“You cook now?” Carol raised her eyebrows and laughed.
“More or less. I can get you some bacon and scrambled eggs, or try an omelet. I really want to cook one successfully, but they keep falling apart when I fold them.”
“Ummm...well, I won’t complain about an imperfect omelet because it’s the thought that counts, as they say. But I’m not hungry just yet. I really want to just stay in bed and have a slow, peaceful morning. It feels like I haven’t had one since before I was pregnant.”
“I’m more than OK with taking it slow,” he replied, and he held her a little tighter. “It seemed like you slept well last night once we finally decided to go to bed. Yeah, we stayed up a little later than usual, but it was necessary. I think we understand each other’s thoughts and actions more now. And once the girls get here, we’ll definitely have more catching up to do. It seems like forever since I last saw them.”
“It’s only been a month or so,” she reminded him. “They haven’t changed that much; I promise. I’m curious about how they’re going to handle a cross-country move and the plane ride with my mother.”
“They won’t even realize what’s happening. It’ll make a cool story to tell them someday, like a real-life romantic movie. I can’t wait to tell them how their mother dropped everything to be with the man she loved, and that eventually, we got married. Because we are still engaged and that’s something else we need to work on.”
“I never considered myself committed to anyone else.” Carol briefly took her engagement ring off before putting it back on. “I always thought if I did decide to join you that maybe we should get married when the girls are older and can appreciate it more. But on the other hand, I don’t know if I want to wait too long because we’re still as in love as we ever were. I know I belong with you.”
“Well, I am playing hooky today. I could make the county courthouse your first sightseeing stop, and we can fill out the marriage license and have a judge marry us today if you want.” It was a classic Doug idea, something only he could suggest: getting married the day after Carol took a last-minute flight to Seattle to reunite with him and hadn’t even adjusted to Pacific time yet.
“Oh God, no. What would I wear? I don’t even know where to find a dress in my luggage.”
“Who cares?” Doug teased. “You can always leave your pajamas on, or re-wear the jeans and shirt you had on yesterday. You said it was still clean, didn’t you? Put on some deodorant, brush your hair, and we’re good to go.”
She shook her head in amusement, and he shrugged. “OK, yeah. Not a good idea. We can plan it another time when you’ve sorted your clothes.”
“Either way,” she said. “Now that I’m here, there’s so much more we can plan and think about. Like how to decorate the girls’ room. I know you won’t get much done before they get here, but we can still pick out paint colors and accessories. You said you’ve been building the cribs…or is that done?”
“Already done. I did it not long after they were born, even though I knew you probably weren’t coming that quickly.”
“Now you’re a planner? What’s gotten into you? You’re sure there’s no other woman?”
“You don’t have a twin out here. Trust me, I looked.” He chuckled, but not for long before she playfully hit him with a pillow.
“You could also use a new mattress,” she quipped. “Look, I loved sleeping with you last night, and part of the reason I slept like a rock is because I was tired from the flight and after our conversation. But now that I’m here for good, can we go shopping and upgrade?”
“Fair enough. I have buyer’s remorse about it anyway. I thought it was one of those things I had to break in, like a new pair of shoes, but it doesn’t feel good too often except after a double shift. And maybe not even then. Not as bad as sleeping in a call room, at least.”
“I don’t think anything can be worse than napping on a hospital bed.”
Carol took another drink of her coffee, even stopping to breathe in the aroma. She could get used to Seattle coffee for sure.
“We don’t have to be married yet for today to be the start of the rest of our lives,” she pointed out. “I could sit here all day and daydream with you about the future. Even though Tess and Kate will be here before we know it, we hopefully have a lot of good years ahead of us to make new memories and maybe even grow our family some more. I’m so relieved you were happy to see me and that we both know I’m where I belong.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Doug gave her another kiss, and she noticed he had yet to stop holding her.
But that was OK. They had to make up for a lot of lost time.