Feeling the negative thoughts begin to pull her down, Amy crawled from her bed and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. As she went through the motions of fixing her hair and makeup afterwards, she kept telling herself to focus forward. The past was never a good place to dwell, but whenit came to Will, it seemed to be the place she always ended up.
It took her longer than usual to settle on an outfit for the day. Finally, she pulled on a pair of stonewashed jean capris and a hot pink, short-sleeve t-shirt. She added a necklace and earrings along with the rings she usually wore and slipped her feet into a pair of sandals.
After making her bed, she sank down on the edge of it and began to review everything she still needed to do that day. She wanted to get the majority of it done before noon so that when Cami and Josh arrived, she wouldn’t be distracted.
She was surprised to walk into the kitchen and find Will sitting at the table with Lance.
“Good morning,” Will said with a smile when he saw her.
Amy returned the greeting, still a little taken off-guard to have found him at the manor so early. “No work today?”
“I took the day off,” Will said as he stood up from the table. “Want some coffee?”
“Uh, sure.” Amy set her notebook down on the counter. She looked at Lance. “What time is Jessa’s appointment?”
“Nine. I’m just waiting for her to text me that she’s done getting ready.”
“Hoping for good news today,” Amy said as she took the mug Will handed her. She dumped some sugar and cream in it before taking a sip. “Where’s Isabella?”
“I picked Julia up earlier and dropped both girls at Laurel’s. I figured it might be easier if you didn’t have them underfoot today.”
Lance’s phone sounded an alert. “Looks like she’s ready to go.” He stood and made his way out of the kitchen.
Amy grabbed a container of yogurt and a spoon before sitting down at the table with her coffee and notebook.
Will sat down next to her with a cup of his own. “So what’s on the agenda for today?”
Amy opened the yogurt and took a bite. “Mainly finishing up the crafts and the goodies bags for the girls.”
“Want to go with me to the church to pick up the table and chairs if you’re not too busy?”
“Sure. When were you thinking of going?”
“I planned to do it later, but Charlotte emailed me that they hoped to arrive this afternoon, so I figured maybe it would be good to get it out of the way.”
“Yeah, I’m trying to finish up what I can before Josh and Cami arrive too,” she said.
“Maybe between the two of us we can do that.”
She was just finishing her yogurt when she heard voices from the hallway. Amy got up and went to see Jessa. The woman moved slowly, her hands cupping her stomach. Lance left her with Amy while he went to bring his truck closer to the front door.
“How are you feeling?” Amy asked.
“Nervous,” Jessa said with a frown. “Whenever we go to these appointments I’m afraid the doctor is either going to say the baby needs to come, or they’re putting me on bed -rest in the hospital.”
Amy gave her a hug. “I’ll be praying that neither happens.” She lightly touched Jessa’s swollen stomach. “You stay put, little one. We all want to meet you, but not just yet.”
They walked together to the front door and met Lance as he climbed the stairs to slip his arm around Jessa’s waist.
As Amy watched them drive away, she said a prayer that God would keep the baby safely inside Jessa for a few more weeks. She touched her own stomach and wondered what it must be like to carry a child and to know that the baby’s life hung in the balance. She hoped that one day she’d have the opportunity to have a child—or two—of her own, but without the stress of what Jessa was going through.
“Everything okay?” Will’s voice drew her out of her thoughts.
She turned and smiled. “I hope so. Just concerned for Jessa.”
Will’s gaze went to the now- empty driveway. “It’s strange how pregnancies can be so different for women. Laurel and Violet had no troubles with their pregnancies, but then Jessa had so many miscarriages.”
Amy noticed he didn’t mention Delia’s pregnancy, but it would have fit his observation as well. “My mom had two easy pregnancies and then couldn’t get pregnant again for several years. After Colin, she had a miscarriage before she had me. And Josh’s first wife carried their baby to term, but then she was stillborn. Bringing life into the world is a blessing but never a guarantee.”
