Down the road of memories

Baby

Warning : the characters will be confronted in this chapter with denials of pregnancy and abandonment of a child at birth. If this subject is sensitive for you, I suggest you move on to the next chapter.

Noah POV

The return to reality was not necessarily easy for Elle and me. It was a flight of over 16 hours between Athens and Los Angeles with a stopover at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. We felt exhausted with jet lag and travel fatigue that we simply collapsed on our bed when we arrived. Luckily we had a day to recover before Elle started her shift at the hospital and I returned to work. I could only imagine the number of messages and files that will have accumulated on my desk since I have been away for almost 4 weeks.

But I didn't feel like I could think about all that yet. I had 24 hours left to enjoy some peace with Elle before returning to real life, I told myself as I opened my eyes that morning. The sun already seemed high in the sky and as I glanced at my phone I realized we had slept for over 12 hours. Elle was still fast asleep next to me.

I then took my phone to check my messages and emails, which I hadn't done in a long time. There were several texts from my family knowing we were back today.

June : Welcome home newlyweds. We all look forward to seeing you! Do you think you can join us at the Dunes for Evans-Flynn's lunch?

Looking at the time on my cell phone, my wife asleep like a groundhog and knowing her habit of taking forever to get ready, I suspected we wouldn't be there in time. There was also a text from Lee.

Lee : Would you be available to come over for dinner this evening? We have some news to tell you that we can't wait for.

Everyone seemed eager to see us today... So I suggested to my mother that they join us for dinner at Dunes. Lee seemed okay with joining us there and my mother didn't seem to mind that lunch was turned into dinner. This meant we would have to have breakfast at home and there was nothing in the fridge. I got out of bed thinking I was going to make a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up breakfast essentials.

When I returned, I thought I would be quiet and bring Elle breakfast in bed. But as I placed the bags on the kitchen counter, I heard a noise coming from the bathroom like someone was trying to vomit.
- Elle!? » I said without getting a response.

I put away everything that was perishable before going up to the upstairs bathroom. Elle sat with her back to the bath seeming to be fighting off a new bout of nausea.
- Shelly, what's going on?" I said to her, going to sit next to her.
- Probably what I ate on the plane. Or the shock of jet lag. My stomach is all upside down. I just hope it's not gastroenteritis." she said to me, wiping her forehead.
- Do you want to go back and rest? I can cancel dinner with my family tonight.
- We haven't seen them for almost a month! I'll see if my nausea ends up going away." she said to me, taking my hand to get up.

To my amazement, Elle ended up eating her breakfast and seemed relatively herself for the rest of the day. We unpacked and did a mountain of laundry. I'm not very good at washing my clothes, which makes me even more grateful that Elle does it.

In the evening, we joined my family at the restaurant. My mom and dad and Lee and Rachel were already seated when we arrived.
- So, how are the newlyweds?" my father said to me, reaching out his hand and patting me on the back while my mother took Elle in her arms.
- Good, but we're still jetlagged. The flight from Athens to Los Angeles was long. And we're a little nervous about getting back to normal life tomorrow." I said.
- And that's why you're late!" Lee said to me with a knowing look. "Or was it because there was traffic?
- It's because of me, Lee!" replied Elle. "I took an afternoon nap and went over my time. Noah had to wake me up.
- A real nap..." Lee asked, earning a roll of her eyes from my wife.
- Yes, a real nap Lee! I start my shifts again tomorrow and I'm definitely jetlagged. So could you let me go and tell us why it was so important that you tell us a few things today?" Elle asked him with her piercing eyes.