Chapter 22

Annelise had her first prenatal check-up in September and was taken aback to discover she was further along than she'd anticipated. Now it was October, her twenty-first birthday, and she was nine weeks pregnant and feeling sicker than she'd ever felt before.

Her morning sickness lasted all day, and she had to take anti-nausea medication just to keep anything down. The Rothschilds, her surrogate family, rallied around her, offering help in any way they could.

Leslie and Naomi, her closest friends, accompanied her to her appointments and made sure she was eating enough. Ashley, the youngest Rothschild at seventeen, often kept her company when Leslie was out, so she wouldn’t feel alone.

Jonathan, the family’s eldest son, was helping her look for a car, and she was determined not to spend too much of her savings. She needed to stretch the money she'd earned from her job in London and from other part-time jobs she'd worked during college.

She knew she'd need a car once the baby arrived and she graduated, so she could find a job. But she also knew that wouldn’t be easy. Jonathan had a plan to add her to the company’s insurance in December, so her parents couldn’t use that as leverage over her.

She was definitely planning to stay in Nashville for at least a year after the baby was born to get her bearings.

And even though Leslie insisted she didn’t need to move out, Annelise didn’t want to impose on her friend’s life with a newborn, especially since Leslie still had another semester of school and was single and loved to date.

Annelise was relieved that she'd managed to survive a video call with her parents that morning without them suspecting she was sick; she'd managed to keep down her blueberry muffin and ginger ale.

There was a knock on the door, and she opened it to find a delivery man holding the largest bouquet of pink, purple, and white calla lilies, her favorite flower. He brought them in, and she signed for them before closing the door behind him.

She stared at the flowers, knowing they were from Michael. He knew they were her favorite and had bought them for her a few times in London. A card was attached, and her lip trembled as she opened it.

~To the most beautiful twenty-one-year-old in the world. These flowers pale in comparison to you.~

She felt the first tear fall, and then a flood of tears followed. She sat at the table, taking a few deep breaths, as Naomi and Christopher, Leslie’s second brother, walked in.

“Ani! Are you okay?” Christopher asked, concern etched on his face as he moved to rub her shoulders.

She nodded. “Just reading the card from my flowers and the tears started.”

Both of them realized the flowers were probably from Michael and didn’t press her further.

“Ani, you know that you girls crying makes me damn—sorry, Mom—dang nervous. Can you put a hold on that, please?” Christopher pleaded.

Annelise chuckled. “Sorry, Chris, all I do is cry! You should have seen me when I saw a coffee commercial! Leslie and Ashley were laughing their butts off! It’s the hormones, but I'll try to keep it in check.”

Christopher looked a little relieved. He grabbed a soda and retreated to the couch to watch TV.

“Happy Birthday, Ani!” Naomi wished, hugging her tightly.

“Thank you, Naomi! I’m going to change so we aren’t late for dinner,” Annelise said and started back to her room.

“Ani?” Naomi asked, making Annelise turn.

“Could you wear that dress that I helped you buy in London? The eggplant-colored one... I know it might be a bit of a sensitive topic since that’s when your romance started, but please? You looked stunning in the pictures…”

Anelise nodded. “Sure. It is a beautiful dress…”

Half an hour later, Leslie got home, and the four of them were off to the restaurant that was the Rothchilds’ favorite spot for celebrations, ~The Catbird Seat~, where the rest of the family members were waiting.

JJ, the oldest child, hugged Annelise tightly. “Dang girl! You look mighty fine in that dress!”

Anelise grinned, “Thanks JJ. I do look pretty damn good!”

Johnathan hugged her next. “Beautiful, sweet girl! Happy Birthday!”

She blushed. They were seated at their favorite table, and she sipped on her water. She found that if she took smaller bites and small sips, she had greater success in not throwing up everything.

They all laughed and talked, discussing life when Annelise heard her name being called and she turned to find Matt Douglas standing before her.

She stood up and hugged him. “Hi Matt! Good game last week!”

“Hi, Ani, thanks. I do have good guys on the team. I just wanted to stop by and wish you and tell you how beautiful you look. Leslie flaked out on tonight’s chemistry study group because you all were going out,” he said sweetly.

“Thank you, Matt. I appreciate that.” She blushed.

“Hey, I don’t want to keep you, but do you think maybe when the season is over, you might want to go out sometime? I mean I know you will graduate by then, but I thought maybe on the off chance I would ask…” he said nervously.

“Wow, Matt... Let’s see what happens by then, okay?” She replied as nicely as she could, knowing full well that she wouldn’t say yes to him since she was pregnant.

He smiled. “I’ll hunt you down after the season.” He then waved to the family and left. Annelise sat down, and everyone looked at her with wide eyes.

“What? Why is everyone looking at me like that?” she demanded.

“Ani, that was Matt Douglas,” Ashley said.

“I know that,” she said, confused.

“The scale really is gone, isn’t it?” Emily, the oldest daughter, remarked with awe.

At first, Annelise had no idea what she was talking about, but then she thought back to the first time she had met Michael at the airport and what she had told Leslie.

She blushed and shrugged. “Well, some things have changed…”

Leslie smiled, grabbing her hand and squeezing it in support. “And you do look beautiful.”

As dinner continued, they sang to her and handed her gifts. Ashley and Emily got her a spa day card that offered special prenatal massages.

Christopher and JJ got her a gift card to the mall, knowing she would be needing clothes when she started showing, and Leslie got her a coat she had been dying to have.

She thanked them all with kisses and hugs and then sat back down when Naomi handed her a card and Johnathan gave her a small box.

“Okay, these two are a pair,” Naomi began. “You know how we have a tradition of doing something special for the kids when they turn twenty-one. Since we think of you as one of our own, you get a special gift too.”

“And we know you need this, so ~please~ don’t argue with us. Naomi and I have had long discussions about this and we really want to do it,” Jonathan added, gesturing for her to open the card.

The card was filled with heartfelt words that brought tears to her eyes. She untied the red ribbon and opened the box, her mind racing with what could possibly be inside. She froze when she lifted the lid and saw the glint of a car key.

She looked up, her throat tight. “No, you can’t be serious!”

“Dead serious,” Naomi confirmed. “We want you and the baby to be safe, and this is one way we can help.”

“It’s not brand new, because we knew you wouldn’t accept that. But it’s been thoroughly inspected, it’s in excellent condition, has high safety ratings, and it’s only a year old with ten thousand miles on it,” Jonathan elaborated.

Anelise was so overwhelmed by the unconditional love these people showed her that she stood up and hugged them both tightly, thanking them and failing miserably at holding back her tears.

“Like it or not, you’re part of the Rothschild clan now, Anelise. And your baby is going to be spoiled rotten by all of us!” JJ declared, grinning, which made her cry and laugh all over again. “That sounds like the best thing I’ve ever heard!”