Chapter 39

They showered together, dried off and got dressed. Ariel dried and brushed her hair after putting her bra, panties, stockings, garter belt and blue dress on. She re-applied her makeup while Jack, still wrapped only in a towel, shaved and put on his cologne and deodorant. Jack dressed in a white short-sleeve polo shirt, a pair of blue boxer shorts, black jeans, socks and his black sneakers. Jack fastened the buttons on the back of her dress for her, and she put on her blue high heels. She took her jewelry pouch from the pocket in the suitcase and removed a pair of sapphire earrings, a sapphire necklace, bracelet and ankle bracelet. She put on the jewelry, Jack helping with the necklace, and they were ready to go after a final look in the mirror.

They went out the door, Ariel grabbing her purse on the way. Andy and Joanie were waiting out in the hall for them. Joanie was wearing a mid-calf length, sleeveless, strapless burgundy dress and a wide gold belt with chain link designs on it, and black high heels. She had an ankle bracelet of gold links with small heart charms on her left ankle, a onyx bracelet, necklace and earrings on too. Andy was wearing a black suede shirt, black jeans and cowboy boots. They all hugged and shook hands, then went to the elevator to go down to the dining room on the first floor. The waiter showed them to their table, in the far left corner of the room, near the fountain. They all ordered wine for their drinks, but Ariel ordered sparkling cider instead. Jack looked at her, his eyebrow raised.

"No wine tonight, baby?" Jack asked, curious.

"No Jack. I won't be drinking tonight, or for several months, dearest." she said with a smile.

"Now, I wonder, does this have anything to do with that news you wanted to share with all of us tonight?" he wondered.

She smiled and said, "Yes it does, honey. Are you all ready for my little bit of news?" When they all nodded, she turned to Jack and took his hands in hers. She pulled the pregnancy test out of her purse, handed it to him and said, "Jack, honey, in the spring or early summer of next year, you are going to become a daddy! I'm pregnant! That's why I went into the drugstore this morning, and why I went to the bathroom as soon as we got to our room today. I bought this pregnancy test and took it when we got to our room. It showed two blue lines, which means I'm pregnant!" Jack was speechless until Andy jabbed him in the ribs.

"Wow baby! That's great news!" he said and then pulled her close for a hug and a kiss. Then he stood up from the table, went to the bar along the north wall of the room, stood up on a chair and shouted, "I'm going to be a father!!!!" Everyone in the room started to applaud and offer congratulations to Jack and Ariel. Joanie stood up and gave Ariel a hug, and so did Andy. Jack returned to the table and hugged Ariel tightly. "Baby, you have made me so very happy! Wow! I'm just so surprised!" he said.

Ariel looked into his eyes and said, "You know what this means, don't you Jack?" He shook his head. "It means we're going to have to build on another room to both the house and the cabin to make a bedroom for the baby." she said.

They all laughed and Jack said, "I know, baby. I'll work on that when this weekend is over with and we get back home on Tuesday. But right now, I want to concentrate on my beautiful bride." Then the waiter arrived with the wine and Ariel's cider and gave them all menus to look over for their dinner order. Ariel and Joanie ordered the house salad, boneless chicken breast dinner with potatoes, gravy, corn, and dinner rolls, while the men ordered porterhouse steaks with baked potatoes and green beans. Their meals also came with dinner rolls. They ordered their meals when the waiter returned a few minutes later. Within twenty minutes, they had their plates in front of them and were eating and talking and laughing. They ordered fresh-baked Dutch Apple Pie A La Mode for dessert, along with a refill on Ariel's cider. An hour later, when they were all finished eating, they went to their rooms, saying good night to each other in the hall outside their doors before going inside.

Ariel kicked off her shoes, tossed her purse onto the chair and collapsed on the bed, looking at Jack seductively. He grinned at her as he bent to untie and take off his sneakers. "What is that look for, baby? Is someone feeling a bit happy tonight? Or maybe a tad bit frisky?" he asked, winking at her.

She rolled over onto her belly, her chin on her hands and said, "Well, sweetheart, I am feeling a bit excited about the baby. I'll call Dr. Smith on Tuesday when we get home to set up the pre-natal visits so we can make sure everything's ok. Now, let's get undressed and relax for the rest of the night, ok baby?" Then she got off the bed, and stood in front of Jack, her back to him so he could unbutton her dress. He pushed her hair over her shoulder and slowly unbuttoned her dress, kissing her shoulders as they were bared to him.