Since Cam didn't work on Mondays and had decided to stay home instead of leaving Bluebell as usual, I let him sleep in. Never much of a morning person, he'd been unusually tired lately, between helping me around the house and his less comfortable bed. So I tip-toed around the house as quietly as I could, getting dressed and starting the coffeemaker before heading out to do my morning chores.

When I came back inside, I showered and changed into clean clothes, then poured a cup of coffee and started preparing breakfast. Or possibly brunch, I thought to myself as I sipped my coffee and glanced at the clock—it was late morning already, and Cam was still sleeping.

I decided that as I'd baked some bread a few days ago and the leftovers were just starting to get stale, I'd make French toast. I'd cook up some bacon to go with it, and cut up some fresh fruit. Juice and coffee or tea should round it out nicely, I decided, and I set to work, slicing bread and whisking eggs with cream.

As I washed my hands after laying the bread in the egg mixture to soak, there came a knock on my door. I quickly dried my hands, but before I could move, the door opened and Mikhail stepped in, a broad smile on his face. "Alice! I'm back, and how I've missed you!" he exclaimed as he swept me up in a big hug. I laughed and groaned at the same time—he was hugging me so tightly, it hurt my aching, swollen breasts. He immediately released me, apologizing, then gently caressed my large belly. "Sorry, I just couldn't help myself," he said, sheepishly. "I didn't mean to hurt you. How's your little lady doing? She's gotten a lot bigger since I last saw you!"

Just then, the baby's bedroom door opened and Cam stumbled out, barely awake and wearing only his boxers. "G'morning," he yawned as he headed straight for the coffeepot. He didn't seem to even notice Mikhail until he was practically face to face with him, then he stopped and his eyes opened wide. "Oh.... Oh! You, uhh... you're back."

Mikhail stared at him, then looked at me with a mixture of surprise, jealousy, hurt, puzzlement, and even a hint of resignation in his eyes. "What...?"

"Dr. Ayame urged me to get someone to stay here with me until after the baby's born, just in case I need help or in case of an emergency," I explained. "She thought it wasn't wise for me to be all alone here on the farm, especially as this is my first pregnancy. She suggested a family member or a friend, but I couldn't think of anyone who'd be willing and able to spare so much time. So Cam offered to come and stay here with me. He's sleeping on a cot in the baby's room for now, until my new furniture arrives. It's been a relief to have him here helping out. I hadn't realized what a difference it would make."

"Indeed," was his only reply, as he watched Cam closely.

Cam gave me a half-hearted smile, then squeezed past us to get to the coffee. Taking a big gulp of the steaming black drink, he looked at me uncertainly. "So... should I go to Howard's? Get out of your hair for a while?"

I leaned against the counter and smiled at him. "No, it's okay. Besides, I've already started breakfast. Mikhail, will you join us? I'm making French toast."

He looked at me for a moment, then at Cam, as if appraising the situation. He shrugged one shoulder, saying, "No, but thank you. I've already had breakfast, and I need to go unpack. I'll be leaving again tomorrow morning, so I need to get my laundry done as soon as I can."

"So soon? But you've only just gotten here!" I exclaimed in dismay, looking down and biting my lip. I turned away and flipped the bread to soak on the other side as I sighed, "Well, if you bring your laundry over, I'll wash it and hang it out for you."

"Thanks," he replied. "I think I'll take you up on that, if it's no imposition. That'll give me some time to rest—I'm exhausted."

"It isn't, but I'll warn you now—I'm only washing it and hanging it up. You'll have to do your own folding and ironing," I said with a half smile.

He smiled back, and said, "It's a deal. I'll go get it now. Thank you, Alice—that's very kind of you."

"Sure. If I'm not here, I'm probably at my other farm, so in that case, just leave your laundry and I'll wash it as soon as I get back." I walked him to the door and gave him a kiss, and he left.

Returning to the kitchen, I looked over at Cam, who was leaning against the fridge, sipping coffee and staring at the floor. "Cam? Are you still tired? Do you want to go back to bed?"

He shrugged. "No... it's not that. It's just...." He sighed deeply and took a big gulp of coffee. "It's just really hard to see you with him. Especially knowing that... that if I hadn't been such an idiot, you'd still be with me."

And since what he said was pretty much true, I really didn't have a comforting reply to give him.

Mikhail left early the next morning, and all I'd seen of him was a few brief stops when he dropped off and picked up his laundry and for dinner at Yun's Tea House. He kissed me goodnight at my door—just a quick kiss—and declined my offer of coffee or a nightcap.

Before he left, though, he apologized profusely for how little time we'd had together, explaining that he needed to leave before dawn to catch the earliest train. "I just wanted to see you, even if only briefly. I've missed you so much, Alice. I'll be gone for at least another week... but it's very likely that it will be longer. There is even a possibility that I won't be able to return at all before we leave. I hope that isn't the case—I want nothing more than to spend some time alone with you before being away all summer. But... it might be unavoidable. I will certainly write to you, although once I'm traveling, you won't be able to write back to me. So just in case it turns out that I don't see you again until the fall...." Then he kissed me again—finally a real kiss, not a quick peck before he rushed off, but a heartfelt kiss full of passion... and something more. Then he was gone.

Tuesday after he closed up shop, Cam came home and asked if I would like to go for a walk with him, since it was a beautiful spring evening—sunny and warm. I agreed, and we started up the mountain path towards the river.

As we strolled along the river, we watched the fish splashing in the shallows and admired the blooms that thickly covered the wild plum trees lining the riverbanks. It felt so nostalgic, walking with him like that—it reminded me of all the times we'd wandered along those same paths while first getting to know each other and then, later, as we dated.

After a while, I felt a little tired and short of breath, so we sat on a log near the water and watched the butterflies dancing among the spring flowers and listened to the tree frogs as they began their evening chorus. The baby apparently didn't approve of my sitting still, though, and soon she began to kick and squirm. I jumped at one particularly firm kick, and Cam quickly looked at me. "Are you okay? Do you want to go home?"

I shook my head. "I'm fine. It's just the baby—" I started to say before he jumped up, looking anxious.

"What about the baby?" he interrupted. "Can you make it to the clinic? Should I run and get the doctor?"

Laughing, I pulled him back down to his seat. "No, no—everything's fine, Cam. Really. Calm down! She's just getting a little active, and she startled me a bit. Here, do you want to see if you can feel her moving?"

His face lit up and he nodded. I took his hand and pressed it against my belly right over where she had just been kicking, but, perversely, she grew still as soon as he touched me. "Just be patient—she's probably just waiting to see what happens. If you wait a bit, she may start up again."

He nodded and waited in silence, as if afraid that speaking would break the spell. After a little while, she shifted a little—not much, but noticeably so nonetheless. His eyes widened as he felt her squirming under his hand, and then she kicked a couple of times. He smiled broadly, and even more so when, a moment later, she somersaulted, flipping over beneath his touch. She then grew quiet, and after a few more minutes, he slowly removed his hand and sighed.

"I don't think I could ever get tired of feeling her moving like that. It's just so... incredible. You're an amazing woman, Alice."

I smiled and shrugged. "Thanks, but I'm no more amazing than any other pregnant woman—we're all busy growing small people, you know."

He shook his head. "No, you're definitely more amazing, to me anyway. And she's going to be amazing, too, just like her mother. I just know it."

He sat silently afterwards, just staring out across the river as the shadows lengthened and twilight crept up on us. After several minutes, I said, "A penny for your thoughts?"

He started, then looked embarrassed. He stood and held a hand out to pull me to my feet, then looked around at the river and the trees as we stood there. "I... was just remembering all the times we've been for walks along here. First as we became friends, then while we were dating... walks in all seasons and in nearly all kinds of weather. And talks—we talked about everything and anything. I have so many memories attached to this place now—and most of them are of you. I can hardly even remember what life was like before you arrived."

I blushed a little, and admitted, "I was thinking pretty much the same thing myself. Remembering our longs walks, talking with you as our friendship grew, then became deeper than friendship. I have a lot of memories connected to this river, too. Some of them are lovely memories—romantic walks, watching the sunset, kissing under the trees; and some of them are bittersweet—arguments and misunderstandings that we'd try to work out here where we had some privacy. But all of them are precious to me."

He fumbled for my hand, then finding it, he gave it a firm but gentle squeeze as he looked down at me with a smile. "Come on, let's go home, shall we?"