"That would be almost on schedule," I said. "A little longer."
"A little longer," she replied. "Let's wait a few days and see, but I felt better earlier today than other days."
I kissed her and pulled her into my arms, smiling. "If so, it's the best news yet. Maybe we can plan our honeymoon finally. Should we fly out as soon as you hand in your paper, or whatever you decide about it?"
She sighed. "My advisor said he'll let me know on Monday what he thinks. If he thinks it's good enough, I do another revision, polish it up a bit more and then hand it in by the 13th. We could go after that."
"Sounds perfect," I said and took her hand, leading her back into the dining room so we could join the others. "Keep your fingers crossed."
"Fingers, toes, legs and eyes," Alexa said with a light laugh. But then she made a face that said she wasn't all that hope
ful.
"Don't be so afraid," I said. "Like Candace said, you aced all your papers in your MA. This won't be any different."
We sat back down with our family and friends, and enjoyed the rest of the night, talking, laughing, and reminiscing.
I wished my biological parents could have been alive to see me and Dana, happy to be spending the holidays together.
It would never be the same without them, but it was good. I took Alexa's hand and squeezed it, leaning over to kiss her once warmly.
"I love you, Mrs. Marshall."
"I love you back, Mr. Marshall."
At that moment, I didn't think that I couldn't have been any happier and tried to truly feel thanks for everything I had.
Chapter Fifteen
Alexa
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends, and I was so glad that the beach house was large enough to accommodate everyone who wanted to stay. My parents, Dana and baby James, Mr. Marshall, John and Felicia, and the Thorpes. Of course, Candace was still with us, so it was a full house.
When Sunday night came and it was time for everyone to leave, I felt sad, because I was finally starting to feel good for a change.
On Monday morning, when I woke up, I actually felt only sleepy and not exhausted. I sent little mental feelers down into my body to check if I needed to run to the bathroom for more than just a pee but thankfully, nothing. No nausea.
A stab of excitement went through me, and I felt butterflies in my stomach where once I had only felt a need to heave.
I sat up in bed and waited for something to hit me -- dizziness, nausea, exhaustion -- but nothing.
I slipped out of bed and had a pee, then brushed my teeth, which was my usual routine. Then, I went back to bed and snuck in beside a sleeping Luke, his head under a pillow.
"How are you?" he asked, his voice muffled from the pillow. He pulled it up a bit so I could see his face and opened his eyes.
I smiled. "So far, so good."
He threw the pillow off and rolled over, pulling me into his arms. "Seriously? No nausea? No dry heaving?"
"Nope, nope."
"Oh, thank God."
I held up my hand. "Don't get too excited just yet. There's still a chance that it'll strike when I get up."
He kissed the end of my nose. "You're such a party-pooper."
Then, he jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom for his morning pee and to brush his teeth so we could kiss for real.