by Val Daniels
Brad frowned. “What did Dan think?” he asked hesitantly.
“I haven’t talked to him yet,” she said. “He only knows that Mr. Randall planned to offer me a job.”
“Well,” Brad said, “I’ve heard good things about Mr. Randall and the company, but you know the old adage, ”If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” This sounds too good. Go slow, Sis.”
“Oh, what a bunch of malarky,” Cindy, who’d been sitting on the sidelines listening, put in. “You’re going to worry Alicia to death. Over nothing. I don’t know how you’ve stood it all these years.” Cindy turned to her, shaking her head in amazement.
“What did I do?” Brad asked.
“This job might not be as wonderful as the picture you seem to have of Alicia being married to a doctor and living happily ever after, but it’s good,” she said. “You’re determined she should try to conform to your picture and fit into your little mold. But you don’t want what’s best for them. You want it your way. Dan and Alicia broke the engagement, and you were upset about that.” She ticked off points on her fingers. “Then Alicia found out she was pregnant, and you had to put in your two cents’ worth about that.” She stopped his attempt at making a defense with a raised hand. “And just the other day, you went ballistic over rumors that have been around a long, long time. You didn’t seem to care if they were true or not, just whether hearing them might hurt your little sister. Poor Dan. He hasn’t stood a chance in all this. So you take off those rose-colored glasses. And quit trying to live Alicia’s life for her.”
Her voice softened as she covered Alicia’s hand with her own. “For the first time since you found out you were pregnant,” she said, “you have options that will let you make decisions based totally on what is best for you and the baby. I’m thrilled for you.” She turned back to Brad. “And you should be, too.” She emphasized the last while jabbing her finger in his direction.
“Whew.” Brad leaned back in his chair and wiped his brow. “I touched a sore point somewhere in there.”
Alicia laughed. “I guess you did.”
“I’m sorry,” Cindy said, “I got carried away.” The words were barely out of her mouth when she straightened and changed her mind. “No, I’m not sorry. Everything I said I needed to say, and you needed to hear. You’ve habitually encouraged her to take the easiest way in everything, to chose the simple way—whether or not it was what she really wanted or needed.”
“That’s right, Brad,” Alicia agreed with a quiet grin. “You thought Dan was a jerk when I told you about him and... about why I broke our engagement, but you encouraged me to marry him anyway. Because it would be easier. That is exactly what you said. Exactly.”
“I was thinking of you and your baby.”
“But you don’t expect your life to be easy for you, do you?” Alicia asked.
“But that’s diff—”
“I don’t know why,” Cindy interrupted.
“Me, either,” Alicia agreed with Cindy again.
Brad looked crushed. “Boy, I know when I’ve been ganged up on.”
“Oh, Brad,” she whispered. “I can’t begin to imagine what life would be like without you. And your advice,” she added. “You haven’t ever led me totally astray.” She emptied the glass of milk Cindy had poured for her and patted her tummy. “But now it’s doubly important for me to do what’s right.”
Cindy nodded approvingly.
“And with this job, she won’t have to compromise any more, Brad. She has choices. And it’s about damn time,” she finished with passion.
“And it’s time for me to get out of here.” Alicia stood and pushed the chair she’d been sitting in back up to their kitchen table. “Dan will be home in a couple of hours and I need to get some things done before then. I’m looking forward to telling him my news. Thanks, Cindy.” She leaned over and kissed her sister-in-law’s cheek.
“I’m not suggesting you do anything rash,” Cindy threw in as Alicia picked up her purse. “Take your time. Just think about your options, okay?”
Alicia smiled. “I will, Cindy. I’m so glad my brother married you.” She pointed a finger at him. “And you’d better not take her for granted, either,” she warned.
Brad held up his hands and leaned back on two legs of his chair. “Hey,” he protested, “I get the picture.”
Alicia tapped a kiss on her finger and plopped it against the side of his face. She started to take her leave, then turned back once more. “Cindy, you grew up here. Do you think Dan and Maggie...” Really love each other? Are sacrificing themselves for me and the baby? Should be together? She couldn’t get any of the questions she wanted to ask past her lips.
“Are having an affair?” Cindy finally finished for her. She shrugged. “I’ve heard the rumors, but I have trouble believing them. They were five or six years ahead of me in school and he was the big football stud, she was the homecoming queen. All of us—the kids my age—idolized them, so maybe I’m the wrong person to ask. Both of them have always seemed so honorable,” she added. “I just can’t picture either of them being that... dishonorable.”
It wasn’t the question she had intended to ask, but probably a much better answer. “Thanks, Cindy,” she said again and left quickly before Brad could add in his two cents’ worth. Deep down in her heart, she agreed with Cindy. And maybe that answered her original question, too. Dan had lived with enough expectations, obligations and honor. Maybe it was time he had choices, too.
Alicia had just hung her jacket in the hall closet when the doorbell rang. She was surprised to see a distorted Maggie when she glanced through the leaded glass window of the front door.
“Come in,” she called cheerfully, as she opened the door.
“Oh, Alicia. I’m so glad I caught you at home.”
“I just got in,” Alicia said. “Let me take your coat. Can I get you some coffee? I was just going to put some on.”
“I really can’t stay but a minute,” Maggie said. “But could we sit down?”
“Sure.”
Alicia let Maggie lead her into the formal living room.
“I know Dan would have told you tonight, but I wanted to tell you myself because I’ve come to consider you a friend.”
“Me, too,” Alicia said. “But—”
“I wanted to tell you I was leaving town,” Maggie said without preamble as soon as they were seated on the edge of the couch. “I’m moving to Wichita.”
Maggie couldn’t have surprised her more if she’d waltzed in with bells and clackers on her fingers and started a belly dance.
“Why?” she finally managed.
“It’s time,” she said. “Don’t you think? I mean, what is there here for me?”
“What about Dan?” Alicia blurted.
Maggie blinked, then waved mention of him away. “Oh, I turned in my resignation today. It will take him and Bill all of five minutes to replace me. And I’ve given them three weeks notice. He’s sorry to lose me, of course, because we work well together, but he’s happy for me.”
Alicia was relieved that Maggie had intentionally misunderstood her question. “But this is your home,” she protested.
“And it will always be, but I need to get out of my comfort zone and on with my life. There’s nothing for me here anymore,” she finished simply. “And we’ve managed to get way off the subject. I wanted to say goodbye and I wanted you to promise to let me know when that baby is born. After your wreck, I’ve felt like a godmother or something.”
“I’m sure that Laura or Dan or Melanie will let you know,” Alicia said quickly.
Maggie’s tight smile turned grim. “I guess my suspicions about your broken engagement were right,” she said quietly. “It had something to do with me?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I know...” She looked down at her hands. “I had hoped we were friends by now, Alicia.”
“I do consider you my friend,” Alicia said. “And I didn’t mean I wouldn’t tell you, but I’m sure one o
f them will be in touch with you before I get the chance. You’re practically family to all of them. That won’t change.”
“No,” Maggie agreed.
“And, of course, you’ll come see the baby the first time you’re back in town after he’s born. We’ll expect the proper godmotherly sort of admiration for our son or daughter.”
“And proper godmotherly gift, of course,” Maggie said, laughing.
“And gift,” Alicia said, and suddenly felt infinitely sad. “Maggie?”
Maggie looked up hopefully.
“Maggie, this doesn’t have anything to do with the scene my brother caused, does it?”
Maggie met Alicia’s eyes squarely as she took her hand. “Please,” she said seriously, “please, Allie, don’t listen to the rumors. There is nothing going on between us.”
Because you’re both honorable people. Cindy’s description of them echoed in Alicia’s mind.
“I love Dan dearly, because I don’t know any other way to feel about him,” Maggie went on. “We’ve been friends for too long. And maybe that’s one of the reasons I feel so close to you. If he cares about you, how can I not care, too?”
Alicia felt a huge clog rise in her throat, almost blocking her speech. “I wanted to hate you so badly,” she finally managed to say. “You sure have made it impossible.”
“Good.” Maggie said huskily. “And I’d be lying if I said that the fit your brother threw didn’t have something to do with my decision, but I’ve been considering it a long, long time. Brad just helped me realize it was time. As long as I stay here, I’m never going to be anything but Elizabeth and Michael’s daughter, Dan’s old girlfriend, Aunt Emma’s niece, Jeff’s ex-wife. I’m tired of it. I want to be Maggie again.”
“And that’s why you’re leaving?” Alicia wanted to believe whatever Maggie said, even if it wasn’t the truth. Wasn’t it obvious what Maggie and Dan had decided to do?
Maggie used one of her elegant fingernails to push a strand of hair behind her ear. “Mostly. But the two of you have given me another good reason. I’m very jealous. I want what you have. Devotion, marriage, a baby or two. I’ll never have that as long as I stay here.” She paused and smiled. “The guys around here all have the problem I just told you about. They have me typecast. They know me as all of those people I just told you about.” She sighed. “The few I’d be interested in attracting—the few that are available,” she added quickly, “will never think of me in that way because they remember me as a silly little girl. So I’m going to Wichita where I can meet new people—new men,” she amended with a lascivious touch. “I need to get out of this rut.” She slowly rose, only then releasing Alicia’s hand. “It’s just taken me a while to get up the nerve.”
“What about your aunt?” Alicia walked her to the door.
“My cousin is back in the area for a while, so it’s a good time for me to make a move. And job-wise, I’ve sent several résumés out,” Maggie said before Alicia could ask. “Bill offered to get in touch with a couple of doctors he knows in Wichita. They’re expanding their practice and he thought they might be in the market for an office manager. I’m not going out too far on a limb. I know Bill and Dan will both give me good recommendations and I know I’m good at what I do. Don’t worry about me.”
“You’ll keep me posted?”
Maggie nodded. “Or Dan will.”
“Well, good luck,” Alicia said inadequately.
“You, too, Allie. I’ll look forward to seeing that new baby a couple of months from now.” She hugged Alicia self-consciously. Without further ado, she was gone.
Alicia wondered what Maggie would think if she told her about her own plans. She’ll find out soon enough, she reminded herself. I’ll be out of here before Maggie’s three weeks are up. And then...
And then they would all just have to wait and see what happened.
She got out the Sunday paper where she’d circled ads for apartments. If nothing else, surely she could learn a lesson in unselfishness.
Within the hour she had found and put down a deposit on a ground-level apartment about halfway across town. Though it wasn’t anything fancy, it had a small second bedroom that would be perfect for the baby. It was ten minutes from Randall Manufacturing, and the hospital was about ten minutes in the opposite direction. It was a little further from the college than the house here, and about twice the distance to Brad and Cindy’s. But all in all, she was pleased with the apartment, and satisfied that she could afford the rent.
And she could move in next weekend.
It would give Dan and Maggie two weeks to reevaluate the situation before Maggie made major changes.
It would give her a week here to adjust to juggling school and work without the extra complications of single-handedly running a household. It should make her transition simple.
And it would give her one more week to pretend and savor the happiness she had known since she had met Dan. For one week, the rose-colored glasses would be firmly in place.
She started saying her goodbyes to him as soon as he came home that evening. She sat the table with a bunch a fresh flowers from the grocery store. She left out the candles. She wasn’t looking for romantic, just nice, with an air of celebration.
Dan looked from her to the table, his navy eyes lighting to a peaceful sea blue as his smile spread. “We’re celebrating?”
“Exactly.”
He circled her body with his arms then dropped his hands to his sides immediately when she stiffened. Contrarily, she wanted the arms back around her as soon as they were gone but this wasn’t the time to let her guard down.
“I bought steaks for the grill. It’s nice enough out, don’t you think?”
“Almost like spring,” he agreed. “And I’m supposed to cook, right?”
“I hoped,” she said.
He grinned. “I think that’s wise, since you haven’t figured out how to light it yet.”
“All we had when I was growing up was one of those where you put in the charcoal briquets,” she excused her ineptitude.
“I’ll cook,” he said, “if you’ll join me outside. I see the potatoes are in the oven,” he said when she started to protest. “And the salad is on the table. How much more can you have to prepare?”
“I was going to fix a dessert.”
“Maybe we’ll go for ice cream later,” he said. “Get a sweater while I change clothes, and you can give me all the details while I watch over the steaks.”
Within a few minutes, they were outside. He nestled the carefully chosen pieces of meat side by side on the hot grill as she tried to climb up to sit on the deck railing.
He finally quit what he was doing to lift her into place. “Now,” he said slowly. “Tell me about your new job.”
As dusk settled over them and the stars winked on one by one around them, she told him about her new job.
“Then we talked about my classes in Human Resource Management and said he was expanding his company. He asked if I thought it would be a good idea for him to hire a Personnel Manager.” She heard her voice rise excitedly.
“And he’s considering you.”
“He hired me,” she emphasized. “I have a job now.”
He said all the right things, expressing the right degree of admiration over the deal “she had negotiated” as far as working around her classes and their baby’s rapidly approaching due date. But underneath his enthusiasm was a quiet contemplation that set off warning bells in her head.
“It sounds just about perfect,” he said. “And perfect timing, too. The steaks are done.”
He helped her down from her perch, pulling her close against him. She could feel his body, warmed an extra degree by the heat from the grill, through her sweater, through the thin cotton blouse beneath that, and through the fine linen slacks she’d chosen so carefully for her interview.
“I’m very happy for you,” he said, burying his face into her hair, his lips against her ear.
He took her
breath away. “Oh, Dan,” she murmured.
He was caught up in her good mood and exhilarated by the thought of things finally going his way. The pressure was off of him, she realized as he forked the steaks off the grill and she went to get the potatoes and bread from the oven.
“Mmm,” he said a few minutes later, taking a bite from the hot buttered bread. “Wonderful.”
He hadn’t taken his eyes from her. She couldn’t let herself get trapped by the occasion. “It’s the frozen dough,” she explained. “Fresh from the freezer section at Dillions. So don’t get excited about my domesticity.”
“I get excited over lots of things,” he said seriously, “Your domesticity isn’t one of them.”
He’d go on with this marriage, she thought suddenly. All I would have to do is stay. He’d be sweet. He’d be kind. He’d give everything he had to making our marriage work.
Dan reached across the table and took her hand. “What’s the matter?”
The question was so typical of him. He always wanted to make things right. Even if it wasn’t easy or right for him. “I was just thinking,” she admitted.
“About?”
“About how lucky I am,” she admitted truthfully. “About how lucky our baby is to have you for a father.”
“Maybe you should wait and see,” he said. “I could be lousy at fatherhood.”
She shook her head. “You’re going to be wonderful.”
“I’m going to try,” he said sincerely.
“And I’m lucky that you insisted I go back to school. I’m just lucky,” to have you, she finished the statement. “All of this could have been so much worse.”
“And so much better,” he said after a long moment.
And so much better, she echoed the sentiment in her heart.
She was glad when he was called out on an emergency about fifteen minutes later. If he’d stayed, if he’d kept making her feel like she was the most important person in the world, she wasn’t sure what would have happened. She only knew what she wanted to happen...and that it wouldn’t have been wise.
