January 24, 2004

Morgan Penthouse

“Thanks, Andrew,” Elizabeth said as the guard set the large package on the coffee table. “I can’t believe how many presents Laura has.”

Andrew nodded. “The Families can be generous when they like.” He left her then and returned to his post on the door while Elizabeth worked on opening the package.

Life during the few months had been close to idyllic. She and Jason had renewed their vows at Christmas time and Laura had been born January 4. Their relationship with Emily was still awkward though she and Emily had made more progress than Emily and Jason.

They knew it would never be the same between all of them but Emily was not hoping for a miracle. Merely her brother’s forgiveness which Elizabeth knew he would one day reluctantly give.

“Jason!” she called. “We have to be at the church in an hour!”

“We’ll be down in a few minutes,” he called back over the sounds of Laura gurgling.

Elizabeth returned her attention to opening the package. She pulled some cotton from the top and withdrew an elegant silver rattle. She smiled and set it aside. She next pulled out a bottle of expensive champagne. “How odd,” she murmured.

The champagne had been resting on a soft white baby blanket that felt luxurious next to her skin. She pulled it from the box and a white envelope with her name scrawled in blood red ink fell from its folds.

She hesitantly set the blanket down and picked up the envelope. The handwriting was not familiar but she felt goose bumps rising on her skin as she opened it and slid out the thick cream-colored piece of paper. The ink inside matched the color outside and Elizabeth could fee her blood chill and her heart began beating fast as she read the note.

Congratulations on the baby, Princess. I’m sure you and your hubby are just thrilled. Have a drink on me and don’t worry—I’ll be sure to see you soon.

Love,
Faith

THE END

Author’s Note: Thanks for reading PD. I know there are some people who have no problem with this version (and may prefer this since there is not a ton of angst as there is in the rewritten version, A Few Words Too Many), but as a writer, I just knew I could do this storyline better. I think I did, but you guys are the ultimate judge. Rather than leaving to expire into the dust when my domain expires, it’ll remain in here for as long the threads work and on my site for as long as that’s around. 

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