Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
B ecca Wheeler squeezed her husband Christopher’s hand as they walked into the doctor’s office. At a little over five months pregnant, they were excited to find out the sex of their baby.
From the start they agreed to wait until the delivery to find out the baby’s sex. However, as the weeks passed, their anticipation and curiosity got the better of them.
“This is it,” Christopher said. “Are you as excited as I am?”
Becca laughed and then kissed his cheek.
“Probably not. All week long, you’ve been acting like a kid waiting for Santa Claus.”
“I can’t help it,” he said. “As soon as we know, we can start talking about baby names.”
“Do you have a preference?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. I’ve been imagining myself as a girl daddy, but then I’ll see a little boy somewhere and I fall in love with the idea of throwing a baseball to my son.”
“I think if your initial instinct is that it’s a girl, I think we go with that.”
“Really? Why do you think that?”
She smiled. “Because I keep dreaming that I’ll give birth to a girl.”
A nurse came through the door. “Rebecca Wheeler?”
Becca nodded. “That’s me.”
“Come this way, please.”
They followed the nurse into a room with a large table and an ultrasound machine.
“It’s a slow morning, so Doctor Madden should be in shortly,” the nurse said as she handed Becca a hospital gown. “After you put this on, climb up on the table.”
“Thank you,” Becca said.
The nurse smiled at them. “Do you have a preference on the baby’s sex?”
They both shook their heads. “Not really,” Becca answered. “All we care about is that our baby is healthy.”
The nurse nodded. “Good luck. I’ll check on you before you leave. I get as excited as the parents every time we do this.”
Her hospital gown in place, Becca climbed onto the table and reached for Christopher’s hand.
“I have no idea why I’m suddenly nervous. “
He rubbed her arm. “It’s nervous excitement. Nothing to worry about.”
Just then, her doctor came into the room.
“Hello, you two,” she said, placing a clipboard next to the sink and washing her hands. “How have you been feeling?”
“Hi Dr. Madden, I’m feeling great. I’ve got a lot more energy and the nausea seems gone for good.”
Dr. Madden nodded. “And how goes medical school?”
“Still plugging along. I didn’t think I’d be able to handle a pregnancy and third year medical school, but I’m doing it.”
Still smiling, but suddenly serious, the doctor walked toward them.
“That’s great, just understand that things will change as you get closer to delivery. You’re in the honeymoon phase. Women tend to get a lot done during this time.”
“That explains why she’s always cleaning the house and fussing at me to stop making a mess,” Christopher added.
The doctor laughed. “I’m not sure that’s exclusive to this phase of the pregnancy. You might have to get used to it until you stop making a mess.”
Becca laughed at that.
“Well, are we ready to find out the sex of this little one?”
Becca and Christopher nodded eagerly. “I’m ready,” Becca said as she lay her body down on the table.
“All right then, let’s get started.”
The doctor squirted the cool gel onto Becca’s belly and began moving the ultrasound probe over her skin. The room filled with the rhythmic whoosh of the baby’s heartbeat, and the screen flickered with grainy images of their child.
“There’s your baby,” the doctor said, pointing to the screen. “Let’s see if we can get a good look.”
Christopher leaned in closer, his eyes wide with wonder and anticipation.
“There we go,” the doctor said after a moment. “Looks like you’re having a girl.”
Christopher’s eyes filled with tears, and he squeezed Becca’s hand tightly. “A girl,” he whispered. “We’re having a girl.”
Becca smiled, his own eyes misting over. “I knew it,” she said softly. “I just knew it.”
Dr. Madden printed out a few images from the ultrasound and handed them to Christopher. “Congratulations, you two. I’ll leave you to have a moment.”
“Thank you, Dr. Madden,” Christopher said, waiting for her to leave, his expression, one of pure joy. “She’s beautiful, Becca,” he said. “Just like her mother.”
Becca laughed, wiping away a tear. “We’re going to have a daughter,” she said. “Can you believe it?”
Christopher nodded. “I can. I can’t wait to meet her.”
They spent a few more minutes looking at the ultrasound pictures before getting ready to leave. They were almost at the door when the nurse found them.
“Congratulations. Dr. Madden told me the good news. A little girl.”
“Thank you,” Becca said. “We’re over the moon about this news. Thank you for being so caring and supportive.”
The nurse smiled. “It’s hard not to care. I feel like a surrogate aunt for all the mothers we see. I’ve even got a few photos in my wallet of some of the babies we’ve delivered.”
“Well, then, we’ll make sure you get a photo of our little girl when she arrives.”
As they stepped out of the doctor’s office, Becca felt a sense of calm for the first time in weeks. “I feel closer to the baby now more than I ever thought possible,” she said.
Christopher smiled. “I know exactly what you mean. Imagine how we’ll feel when she’s finally born.”
The plan was to drive home from the hospital and have an early lunch, but Becca was too excited to pass up an opportunity to go baby girl shopping.
“Come on, how often do we both have the day off? Let’s have some fun looking at pretty pink things.”
“Oh my. I can see it now, suddenly I’m outnumbered with two girls in the house. I guess there’s no point in shopping for footballs, basketballs or baseballs?”
Becca laughed. “Why not? If I remember correctly, I beat you in volleyball the first day I met you years ago. I don’t see why our little girl can’t do the same.”
“Good point.”
“So, do you think we should tell our families now, or wait until we get to Captiva?” Becca asked.
“I think we should wait. It’ll be a nice Christmas surprise.”
Becca nodded. “I agree. It’ll be fun to see their reactions in person.”
On the way to the mall, they talked about their plans for the nursery, and then brainstormed ideas for girl names. By the time they reached the mall, Christopher was already talking about what kind of college their unborn child should consider attending.
Becca smiled and laughed at his suggestions, and occasionally told him he was jumping the gun a bit. She might have burst his bubble here and there, but she knew he wouldn’t pay her any mind.
Becca understood that soon, their home would be filled with more toys and gifts before the baby was even born.
Along with medical school and several other important responsibilities, she smiled, thinking of her newly-acquired job of keeping her husband’s feet firmly on the ground.
Maggie sat in front of her laptop, searching for more background information on Oliver Laurier. There was plenty to read about his former positions at several well-established restaurants in Manhattan, San Francisco, and Paris, but little about his personal life.
Why she couldn’t take his word for the months he took to deal with a “personal issue,” she couldn’t say. All she knew was that something seemed off. Before she could hire him as a chef for the Key Lime Garden Inn, Maggie had to be certain there weren’t any skeletons in his closet…at least ones that didn’t lead to her front door.
The inn’s housekeeper, Millie Brenner, came up behind Maggie, and she jumped when she realized Millie was standing there.
“Oh, my goodness, you scared me to death,” Maggie yelled, as she quickly closed her laptop.
“I’m sorry, Maggie. I just wanted to know if it was all right if I used the computer to do my bookkeeping. I’ve got lots of Christmas shopping to do, so I’d like to leave a little early if you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t mind. I left a bunch of receipts in the folder, if you want to upload them to the software, that would be great.”
“Thanks, Maggie. What are you searching for online?”
It was none of Millie’s business, but that never stopped her from sticking her nose in where it didn’t belong.
“Oh, just some Christmas stuff. Before you know it, this place will be in complete chaos with my children and grandchildren running around. I thought I’d look over some gift ideas,” she lied.
“Nice. I sometimes buy stuff online, but I enjoy Christmas shopping in person,” Millie added. “Well, I’ll get to the bookkeeping and leave you to do your shopping.”
As soon as Millie left, Maggie opened her laptop again and continued her investigation. She was nearly finished searching when Oliver’s name appeared on a local Miami television station’s website. She clicked on the article, and when it came up on the screen, a photo of Oliver with his wife and two young boys appeared.
The small headline read: Local Chef’s Family Die in Tragic Flood Accident.
Shocked, Maggie put her hand over her mouth and continued to read.
Tragic Loss in Flooding: Chef Oliver Laurier’s Family Among Victims.
Katheryn “Katie” Laurier, 38, her husband Oliver Laurier, and their two young boys, Colin, 6 and Caleb, 4 were caught in a devastating flood in downtown Miami, Florida.
The family was traveling along Biscayne Boulevard around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, to attend a family gathering when a torrential downpour caused severe flooding in the area, disabling their vehicle. They were hit by a sudden wall of water, making it impossible for Oliver to hold on to his wife and their two children.
Miami Fire Chief Arthur Wilkins reiterated reports their vehicle was struck by “a wall of water” from the overwhelmed drainage systems.
Despite Mr. Laurier’s desperate attempts to save his family, the powerful floodwaters claimed the lives of Katie, Colin, and Caleb.
A donation in their name has been set up. Please send all inquiries to the following email address.
Maggie couldn’t read any more and closed the laptop, but not before sending the article to Chelsea. As soon as she could get away, Maggie planned to talk about this to her best friend. She didn’t know Oliver at all, but that didn’t matter when it came to feeling compassion for his situation. Her heart breaking for Oliver and what he must have gone through since that terrible day, and every day since, she didn’t know how to process this news.
She understood Oliver’s reluctance to share this information with her, Riley and Iris. She wanted to tell him that all the employees at the Key Lime Garden Inn were family to her and Paolo and could talk to them about anything.
After a few minutes of debating on what to do, she decided to tell no one but Paolo in the hopes that Oliver would eventually feel safe enough to share this awful news with her and her family.
What she was certain of, however, was that she would hire him to be the new chef at the Key Lime Garden Inn, and as such, the newest member of her extended family.