"Do you play?"
"Yes, a little."
He opened the fallboard covering the keys and motioned for her to sit down. "Go ahead. Knock yourself out."
Her eyes went wide and he could see the longing in them. "Are you sure?"
"Of course. Someone might as well use it."
She sat gingerly at the bench and flexed her fingers before setting them on the keys. She first played what Zane assumed were warm up exercises, her fingers running nimbly up and down the keys. A moment later she started to play in earnest. He felt the passion in her music right down to his marrow. She never stopped amazing him. The passion hinted at in her kiss burst forth with exuberance as she played.
After several moments she stopped and smiled at him. "It's a gorgeous instrument, but you really should look after it." She struck one of the keys. "Hear that? The high C is off and a couple of others as well. It really needs to be tuned."
It sounded fine to Zane, but then he was tone deaf. "I'll get someone to do it for you."
She looked disconcerted. "No, I didn't mean to imply--"
"You're not implying anything. Somebody might as well use it. It's just sitting here gathering dust."
She ran her hand over the smooth wood once more. "That's such a shame. I wish I had more time to play. I play Joe and Maria's piano once in awhile, but not often enough."
"When did you learn to play?"
"When I was a kid. I took lessons until I was fifteen." Her fingers danced over the keys once more, but she seemed distracted, lost in the past. "I loved to play. When I was a girl I dreamt of playing in front of hundreds of people in big concert halls. I loved to sing too. I was in the choir and I was supposed to be the organist in our church when I turned sixteen. But it never happened."
"Why not?"
Her fingers stopped in the middle of her song. "Someone else got the job."
She stood and carefully dropped the fallboard over the keys. "I should really get going. Thanks for lunch and for letting me play your piano."
He caught her at the French doors and took her hand, reluctant to let her leave. "I'd love to hear you play again sometime."
Meg looked longingly at the piano, her dark eyes shimmering. "I think I'd like that."
"I'll take you to dinner tomorrow night and then we can come back here and you can play all you like."
The shimmer in her eyes was replaced with wariness. She pulled her hand from his. "You don't have to do that."
"You have to eat don't you?"
She opened the French doors. "Not necessarily."
"I'd like to talk with you about our children."
She sighed. "If you're going to launch into another tirade about them getting married--"
"I won't. I want to get your opinion on things, like daycare and diapers."
A grin trembled on her lips. "You want to talk about diapers?"
He did his best to keep a straight face. "Yes, of course. Should we use cloth or disposables? It's a big decision."
She regarded him for several moments. Zane held his breath, not fully understanding why her decision to go out with him felt so crucial.
"Mom, Zane! Come here quick!"
Panic flashed in Meg's eyes a moment before she turned to run towards the sound of Tom's voice. They hurried up the stairs to the room Tom was painting to see Erin holding her abdomen. Zane felt his heart lodge somewhere in his throat.
"Erin, honey, are you in pain?"
She looked up at him, joy mingling with her tears. "No, I'm fine. The baby's doing backflips tonight. I've never felt her kick quite so much." She took Zane's hand and placed it on her stomach. "Right there. Do you feel it?"
Something fluttered under his fingertips and Zane realized he was having his first communication with his grandchild. Tears clogged his throat. "Yeah, I do."
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Meg smiling at him.
"I think we need to discuss those diapers very soon."
* * * *
Tom practically danced into the apartment later that evening. "Can you believe it, Mom? I'm going to be a father!"
"So I've heard."
His excitement about feeling the baby move for the first time had affected them all. Meg would never forget the look on Zane's face when he felt the baby move under his hand. In his eyes she'd seen fear and excitement mix with wonder and complete elation. She'd felt that the baby had suddenly become real for him, much as it had for Tom.
Tom flopped down on the sofa and propped his feet on the coffee table. "I've been thinking about something a lot, Mom, and it really hit me today."
"What?" she asked, though she had a niggling fear she knew the answer.
"I want to go back to your hometown. I want to know something about my father, about his family and where I came from." His eyes were shining with excitement.
Meg's spirits plummeted. For seventeen years she'd fought to avoid this very conversation. "I've told you there's nothing left there."
Tom's euphoria dimmed slightly. "Maybe people remember him. Maybe I'd be able to get a sense of what he was like by seeing the place he grew up."
"I don't think so."
"How do you know?" Tom jumped to his feet and started to pace their tiny living room. "Even if I can't find anyone to talk to, I have a right to go there and at least visit their graves. Why are you being so crazy about this?"
"Honey, please trust me on this. There's nothing for us there."
"I don't want to argue with you, Mom. I love you very much, but this is a part of my life and my history that I need to know. I don't understand why you're fighting me on this."
"Sometimes it's better not to know," she whispered. "Sometimes the truth is painful."
"Painful for you, you mean." Tom sighed. "Okay Mom, I'll leave it for now, but we'll talk about this again soon."
He walked out of the living room and Meg heard his bedroom door closing behind him. She squeezed her eyes shut to hold back the tears while her heart pounded in her chest. She might have averted the inevitable for the moment, but the reprieve wouldn't last long. What was she going to do?
* * * *
Meg put the finishing touches on her apple pies before sliding them into the oven. She straightened her back, massaging the aching muscles there. She'd spent a restless night, but woke in the morning more convinced than ever that she needed to protect her son. He wouldn't like it but it was for his own good.
Maria pushed open the swinging doors with her shoulder and carried a tray of dirty breakfast dishes to the dishwasher. "Busy day today. Can you load these for me, Meg?"
"Sure." Meg took the tray from Maria and began stacking dishes in the commercial dishwasher. The kitchen of Joe's Diner hummed with activity. Jane and Maria shouted orders to Joe and Chris, Jane's brother, who cooked pancakes and eggs on the grill, ringing the bell whenever an order was ready. The women bustled in and out with dirty dishes, while Meg rolled pastry in one corner of the kitchen, and washed dishes when she had time. "What happened to the part-time girl you hired?"
"She's sick," Maria said. "Her mother phoned last night to say she's in the hospital getting her tonsils out."
"With Tommy gone now, we're short handed."
Maria nodded. "It's just temporary. We'll manage for a few days."
"I can bus the tables for you. I just have to keep an eye on my pies."
Maria put an arm around her and gave her a quick hug. "Would you, honey? That would help out a lot."
Meg smiled down at her diminutive adopted mother. There wasn't much she wouldn't do for Maria.
She quickly removed dishes and wiped tables so that new customers could sit down. After a while the crowd thinned out and they could breathe a little easier. Joe sank into a chair near Meg's work area.
"I'm getting too old for this stuff," he said, wiping his brow with a cloth hankie.
"You'll never get too old, Joe. The restaurant business is in your blood," Meg said fondly.
She y
awned and thought about her impending dinner with Zane tonight. Why had she agreed to go out with him? Part of her was afraid he'd kiss her again, and part of her was afraid he wouldn't. The attraction she felt for him, the thrill she experienced at the prospect of being with him, was sheer madness. She stared at the phone hanging on a nearby wall. Maybe she should just call and cancel.
A wave of disappointment assailed her at the thought. When she thought of being with Zane, exhilaration grabbed hold of her heart and shook it to life. She shook her head in denial. She didn't want to feel so excited by the prospect of seeing him again. If she were smart, she'd forget about Zane Martin. She looked away from the wall phone. It was far too late to forget about him.
Jane set a load of dirty dishes on the counter next to the sink. "Tough night?"
Meg sighed. "I couldn't sleep."
"What's going on?"
Meg glanced at Joe who listened with rapt attention to their conversation. "Nothing. Aren't I entitled to a bad night once in a while?"
Jane put up her hands in mock surrender. "Okay, sorry I asked."
"No, I'm sorry," Meg said. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I'm just tired."
"Maybe you should go home and have a nap," Joe commented.
"I'll go home if you go home," she said with a smile, knowing that Joe was about as likely to leave the restaurant as she was to sprout wings and fly.
Joe smiled back. "That's dirty pool. Just make sure you get a good night's sleep tonight."
Maria joined them, dropping a kiss on Joe's bald head. "That's good advice. You might want to think about taking it yourself."
"Has he not been sleeping well?"
Maria sat next to Joe and entwined her fingers with his. "No. He's worried about the restaurant, so he's been stewing on things every night."
"What's wrong with the restaurant?" Jane asked. "Are we in some kind of trouble?"
"Just the opposite," Joe answered with a sigh. "Business is so good that it's wearing us all out. I've been thinking we need to either cut back the hours that we're open or hire a whole new evening shift. We can't keep working the hours we've been working."
"I know for sure that you need to cut back the hours you've been working," Maria said, laying her head against his shoulder. "You need to relax more and enjoy life."
Joe kissed her hair. "I enjoy life by working in the restaurant. You shouldn't worry so much, sweetheart."
They smiled at each other and Meg's heart gave a painful thump. Joe and Maria Evans were one of the only couples she knew that actually made marriage work. They cared deeply for one another and genuinely wanted the best for each other. For one wild moment Meg longed for that kind of love and commitment.
Zane's face popped into her mind. "Whatever you decide," Meg said, banishing the vision. "I'm behind you."
"Me too, Dad," Jane said.
Joe smiled. "Thanks girls. I knew I could count on you two." He slowly got to his feet. "Well, no more lollygagging around for me. Time to get back to work."
"Why don't you two take a little break," said Maria. "I'll go in the restaurant and check on the customers."
Meg sank into the seat that Joe had just vacated. "What do you think we should do?"
Jane sat next to her. "I'm not sure, but I'm kind of leaning towards cutting back our hours. These long shifts are hell on my social life." She slipped her feet out of her shoes and massaged her toes. "Speaking of a social life, I was thinking it might be a nice idea to throw a baby shower for Erin. You know, lots of balloons and presents and food. I thought it might help Erin feel like part of the Evans family."
Jane might drive her crazy on occasion but her generous spirit was one of the reasons she loved her like a sister. "That's a great idea."
"I thought it would be fun to make it a surprise party. We could bring food from the restaurant. All we'd need to do is to get the names of her friends and relatives from Tom and her dad and figure out where to have it."
"I can solve both problems," Meg said. "We can have the party at my apartment and I can also put together a guest list. I'm seeing Erin's dad tonight."
"Oh really?" Jane's eyebrows shot up in interest. "Lucky you. What's the occasion?"
"There's no occasion. We're simply going to dinner to discuss the kids." Meg tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, not only for Jane's benefit but for her own as well. It did no good to wish for things that could never happen. Nothing would come of this dinner because she couldn't let it.
"I'd say just going out to dinner with Zane Martin was an occasion." Jane's eyes sparkled with mischief. "If I were ten years older I'd make a play for him myself. He's got that dangerous-bad-boy thing going for him."
Meg shivered. The last thing she wanted in her life was another dangerous bad boy. She was still dealing with the wreckage the last one had caused.
"Zane Martin is a mature businessman and an excellent father, and for the record I am not making a play for him. This is a...a business dinner." Meg suppressed the urge to wince. She sounded like a spinster school marm.
"A business dinner?" Jane laughed. "Okay honey, if you say so. What are you wearing to this little soirée?"
Meg stared at her blankly. "Wearing?"
Jane shook her head and rolled her eyes. "How long has it been since you've been out on a date--excuse me, a business dinner? You want to make an impression, knock the man's socks off."
"I don't want to knock anything off. It wouldn't be proper." Meg closed her eyes and shook her head. There was that school marm again. "Do you think you have anything in your closet that wouldn't look like a micro-mini on me?"
"I have an idea or two. What about my red dress?"
Meg's jaw dropped. "You mean the one with the plunging neckline?"
Jane laughed again and put an arm around her. "I'll tell you what. I'll loan you a dress and fix your hair for your, uh, business dinner."
Meg touched her ponytail. "What's wrong with my hair?"
Jane rolled her eyes once more. "If you have to ask, you really do need my help."
* * * *
Zane drove around the block one more time, his palms damp on the steering wheel. He'd already driven by Meg's apartment building three times, having arrived far too early. He chided himself for behaving liking an overeager teenager on his first date.
As her apartment building came into sight once more, he glanced at the clock on the dashboard and decided he could safely knock on her door. He pulled up to the curb and turned off the ignition, checking his appearance in the rear view mirror closely, glad he couldn't detect the nervousness he felt. Why he should feel that way he couldn't say. It wasn't as if he'd never gone on a date with a woman before.
Just not this particular woman.
Meg Evans was the last woman he should be interested in. The fact that she'd talked her son out of marrying Erin still rankled. He believed marriage was the right course for Erin and Tom, and especially for the baby. The child needed a full-time father, not the part-time playmate that Meg seemed to advocate as the role for her son. then there was his belief that she still pined for Tommy's father. Even so, he couldn't make himself cancel this dinner date tonight.
He pushed the button on the intercom, and was quickly buzzed in. Jane Evans met him at Meg's door.
"Hi Zane," she said with a grin. "It's nice to see you again. Meg will be out in a minute. Why don't you come in?"
He stepped inside and was momentarily surprised. The small apartment, despite its shabby outside appearance, fairly bloomed with color and life. Bunches of dried flowers adorned the tops of her coffee and kitchen tables. The coffee table had been painted with a floral motif, the colors vivid against a white background. The sofa was covered with a soft yellow material that matched the colorful flowered curtains. Braided rugs covered the floors, probably hiding the most badly worn areas. Dozens of photos of Tom and the Evans family adorned the shelves of a bookcase next to the television. The whole effect was pretty and feminine while at the sa
me time warm and welcoming. Meg's apartment said "home".
"Can I get you something to drink while you wait?" Jane said.
Zane turned his attention to the pretty blonde. "No thanks. I'm fine."
"Why don't we have a seat? I'm sure Meg will be out in a minute." Jane sat in the armchair opposite the sofa. She leaned back and relaxed while Zane sat on the edge of the sofa with his elbows on his knees.
"It's a beautiful apartment, isn't it?" Jane said.
"Yes, very colorful."
"Meg has a talent for decorating. She bought all her furniture from flea markets and garage sales and fixed them up herself. She's a very creative person."
"Yes."
Zane inwardly winced at his lame reply.
Jane's smile slipped a little as well. She'd obviously wanted a more enthusiastic response from him.
He tried again. "Meg never ceases to amaze me."
Jane's smile widened. "She's an amazing woman, Zane."
A door on his left opened and Meg entered the living room. "I'm so sorry to keep you waiting." She steadied herself against the wall with one hand as she slid a sandal on her foot. She wore a black sleeveless dress with a hemline that ended a respectable distance up very shapely thighs. She'd done something different and complicated with her hair. The raven black tresses were tamed into submission in an elegant chignon. She looked polished and chic. Only her tentative smile hinted at a trace of nervousness.
"I'd say it was worth the wait," Jane said cheerfully. "Wouldn't you, Zane?"
Zane slowly got to his feet, unable to tear his gaze away from Meg. "Yes. You look very nice."
He could practically hear Jane's eyes rolling. Nice? Nice didn't come close to describing the way Meg looked. And nice didn't describe the feelings he was experiencing at this particular moment. He fought a Neanderthal urge to fling her over his shoulder and carry her into the bedroom.
As soon as Meg managed to get her shoes on, she straightened to her full height. The top of her head came to his chin with the help of the heels. "I guess we should get going since I've made us late. I'm really sorry, Zane."
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