by Amber Lynn
“You’d be correct. Is there anything else we need to know?” Annie was hoping to be done with the doctor and be able to talk to Nelson for a few minutes on the way back to work. One of the reasons Annie had picked that particular doctors’ office was because of its two-block proximity to her work.
“Everything looks good. They’ll of course run the blood you gave through the usual tests, but I don’t think we’ll find any issues.”
The doctor handed Annie a small piece of paper, a screenshot of what they’d seen. It wasn’t any clearer up close. Annie passed it on to Nelson, so she could take care of cleaning up her stomach.
Dr. Underhill shook hands with both of them and mentioned seeing them again soon prior to leaving them alone. Annie wasn’t sure what to say. There were many things that needed talked about, but Annie was leaving it up to Nelson to start things off. It didn’t take him long to get going.
“Sorry again that I was late. Even when you’re on a private plane, there are some things you can’t control.”
“Don’t worry about it. If you want to come to any of the future appointments, I’ll make sure to schedule them when you’re in town.”
Annie hadn’t wanted him there when they’d talked about it before, but things were a little different. Having him holding her hand made it less scary.
“That’s good to hear, because I didn’t want to start another fight when we’ve still got to clean up the last one. If you’re ready, I’ll walk you back to work.”
The only reason that didn’t sound like a great idea was her coworkers. They weren’t going to stop her from taking him up on the offer, though. She tossed the tissues she’d cleaned up with into a trashcan and got back to her feet.
“Since you’ve been apologizing, I should probably say how sorry I am that things got really weird the other day. I should’ve handled things differently and I really wish I would’ve told you how I felt sooner. I don’t know where you’ve settled with everything, but I’m really glad to see you in one piece after your trip. I always worry about that kind of stuff.”
Nelson took her hand back, having given it up so she could right herself, and led her out of the room and eventually out of the building. They remained quiet until they were on the sidewalk and heading east.
“I’m supposed to tell you phones are meant to be answered. Casey got herself in a tizzy when you wouldn’t call her back.”
“I figured eventually she’d call you for an update. I wasn’t really in the mood to talk to anyone.”
“Yeah, neither was I, but I was stuck on a plane with the whole family, so I didn’t have much choice.” Annie was going to question the Holcombs making the trip, but Nelson continued. “Things between us are going to change, Annie. I’m not sure of a timetable yet, but we can’t just pretend nothing happened.”
That wasn’t news to Annie. She knew they couldn’t just sweep everything under the rug.
“I should have just left things as they were. We make really good best friends.”
It was the end of the regular lunch hour, so there were people rushing around them to get back to work. Their pace was a little hurried, but they were in no means rushed. Annie focused on the cement in front of her and let the tall buildings around them melt into the background.
“We were meant to be together, sweetheart, so all you’ve been doing is delaying the inevitable. By not kicking me to point out we could be something more, you’ve caused us both pain. Thankfully, that pain is only temporary and we had a strong enough base between us that we can fix things.”
Annie smiled as they came to a stop in front of her door. She’d waited years for Nelson, so waiting a little longer while they patched things up wasn’t going to be difficult. The happiness she felt from hearing him say he wanted to work things out almost rivaled hearing they were having a little boy.
“I should probably get in there. The wait at the doctor’s was longer than I thought it would be, and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to get a single bit of work done the rest of the day, but I’m going to try.”
Nelson probably assumed she meant her excitement about them and the baby would deter her from work, and it would to some extent. But it was really the fact that Lani had caught the two of them standing there and was staring with her mouth wide open.
“Getting in late means I’ve got a few things I need to deal with myself. I’ll see you tonight for dinner.”
Nelson leaned down and kissed Annie on the lips. It wasn’t the all-out passion he’d doled out when he was telling her that he loved her, but it made for an intimate moment that got a few claps from people as they walked by. Whenever they patched up their issues, Annie was going to have to be prepared for her life to get a whole lot more interesting.
Chapter Nineteen
“What’s the worst play you’ve seen?” Nelson whispered.
Once the hockey season got in full swing, time started flying by for Nelson. He wanted to spend more time with Annie, but the team had to travel out west for a full week, which meant they had a lot of quality phone time. Within two weeks, Annie had pretty much moved back to Nelson’s place, and she wasn’t sleeping on the couch.
They were taking things slow as Nelson tried to figure out how to be in a relationship. Annie had things a little easier, since she’d had years to fantasize about their current reality. After he got over the feeling of being lied to, it was easy for him to see that having Annie’s feelings out in the open didn’t change anything.
They were still best friends, only they were going to be husband and wife, which was why Nelson had dressed up on one of the only nights he had off three weeks into the season. Most nights he didn’t have to play, but there was always something going on that made it hard to get four or five hours away.
Nelson hated going to the theater, but it was something Annie liked to do once or twice a year. He’d bought them tickets to a showing of a local group’s version of Beauty and the Beast. It was a story Nelson could sit through without going insane, and he’d managed to talk the theater group into helping him with a little surprise for Annie.
That surprise had Nelson a little nervous. He did his best to keep his hands from sweating, but the worry about how things would turn out and the heat from the crowd in the theater was making it difficult.
Annie took a second to answer the question. She was caught up in what was happening on the stage. It was a bit of an assault on the senses, with the lead actress singing and the shimmering colors of the set.
“I don’t know. Ask me after the show’s over.”
Even though he generally liked the story, it was still hard for him to sit without adding his two cents to everything. He hadn’t realized it was a musical. Listening to people recite lines was one thing, having to hear them sung, was a little more than he’d signed up for. If the night didn’t end up going like he planned, he was going to blame the music.
“But I’ll probably fall asleep and then forget to ask.” Annie squeezed his hand and shushed him. “Have I mentioned you look devastatingly beautiful in that dress?”
Nelson looked okay in the tux he’d crammed into. It’d been a couple years since he’d put it on, and apparently his muscles had grown just a little.
Annie didn’t think her dress was particularly attractive, at least that’s what she’d told Nelson about five times. It was a long, deep red dress that clung to her body, especially around her stomach that seemed to grow bigger every day.
She’d also had her hair cut to shoulder-length and styled to delicately curl around her thin face. It’d been difficult to get her set up with a quick cut and style after work, but he was glad things had worked out. She looked perfect, and it wasn’t going to be long before she was the center of attention.
The beast character had joined the beauty character on stage and they were going on about something. Nelson was too anxious to really listen. He was sure it was something about love or seeing that beauty wasn’t only skin deep.
“I
was hoping eventually you’d stop bringing up the dress. It’s not fair that I go to bed one night and the baby is barely showing, but the next day I look like I crammed two huge watermelons in my gut.”
Nelson didn’t see things the same way as she did, but it was unmistakable that she was getting bigger. He’d never thought he’d see the day when skinny, little Annie would fill out a bra the way she was.
“I bet it was only one and a half. How much longer do you think this is going to continue?”
Nelson knew how long it would be until the play was at least temporarily over, but he liked to try to keep her mind busy, so she wouldn’t notice initially when things went off course.
“If you can’t be quiet, I’m only going to go to plays with Doug in the future. He at least knows how to be quiet.”
Someone behind them in the rather large theater ended up shushing them, louder than Annie had. Nelson doubted he was the only one trying to carry a conversation amongst the three hundred or so people around them.
Nelson saw it as a challenge to whisper softer in Annie’s ear. He leaned over to make his task easier.
“Doug fell asleep when you guys went out, so unless you want to piss people off because of his snoring, I think you’ll have to stick with me.”
Annie chuckled under her breath. Nelson knew she and Doug wouldn’t be going anywhere together, but that didn’t stop her from bringing him up whenever she thought it was convenient.
“If he told you that, he was lying to protect his image, because he was on the edge of his seat for the whole thing.”
“What in the world did you take him to see? A burlesque troupe performing whatever sports play exists?”
Nelson couldn’t think of any sports plays by name, but the women had to be half-naked and there had to be sports of some sort involved. The thought of Doug sitting through anything else didn’t seem possible.
“Maybe you should have found one of those plays to take me to instead. I know you’re trying to prove we can share every single interest, but we both know this isn’t going to be one of them.”
“Maybe something interesting will happen. You never know when they might break out some guns and turn it into a heart-pumping action reenactment.”
Annie laughed again and put her head down on his shoulder. Nelson couldn’t have timed things better if he tried. Both of their eyes were on the stage for the first indication that he wasn’t far off from his prediction.
One of the supporting cast walked out on the stage and released a single butterfly from a jar. The crowd was temporarily captivated as one of the spotlights moved to follow its flight. While they were looking at it, two more jars were brought out and thirty-two more butterflies joined the first one. Nelson knew the exact number of butterflies, not because he’d rushed out and caught them all himself, but he had paid for someone else to do it.
Whispers in the crowd quickly turned to general confusion. Annie hadn’t moved from her spot leaning against him. For things to continue as planned, she was going to need to let him move.
“What did you do?” Annie whispered. She sat up to get a better look at the butterflies hovering overhead.
“Why do you think I did anything?”
Nelson couldn’t pretend to be surprised about the turn in events. He’d never been a great actor and Annie knew it.
“They’re all black and blue, Nels.”
“I imagine you haven’t had a chance to count them, but there are thirty-three of them. Can you guess why that is?” The meaning was a little obscure, but it was a bit symbolic for him.
“I know of one number that has made it that high, but thinking about it has me wanting to punch you, so you better have another reason.”
Nelson laughed, and moved out of his chair so he could kneel down in front of Annie. Doing so made their hands disconnect.
“From that tone, I think it means the same to me as it does you, but I wasn’t aware you were keeping that close of a count.”
“It was your own fault for calling me every time you met someone who could be the one. I kept a silent tally in the back of my head since your first girlfriend. You do realize you thought you found the one about three times a year, right?”
Nelson had always been optimistic that the one was right around the next corner. Sadly for him, she was waiting for him back home while he took on the world. He hadn’t shared all the details with Annie about how far the relationships went, but at least half of them hadn’t even made it to the bedroom.
“If you add up the amount of time I spent with them, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t equal the time we’ve had together this last month. Aside from the butterflies being symbolic of when you fell in love with me, they are also my way of releasing all those who have stood in our way before.”
He reached into his pocket and fished out the ring box he’d kept close to him since the moment he bought it. Even after Annie had said no, he still carried it with him pretty much all the time.
“There are so many things I want to say to you right now, but I knew they’d all vanish the second I looked into those purple eyes of yours. I guess I should start by saying I was a fool, and I still wish you would’ve told me that years ago, but it’s okay. Everything is work out in the end.”
Annie was trying to keep the tears in, but she failed. Nelson hadn’t even got through half of his speech, so they were in for a flood.
“A while back, I wrote you a little note that said we’d been travelling down the same road all our lives without even knowing it. We could’ve tried to keep things the way they were, but it would’ve only delayed the inevitable. You were meant to be the love of my life, Annabelle, and I hope you know that this time I’m not going to take no for an answer.”
Nelson lifted up the lid of the black box and pulled out the purple princess-cut ring. Before Annie had a chance to say anything, he slid the ring on her finger and kissed her hand.
“You already know that I can be an idiot, and at times you’re going to need to slap me to keep me from being stupid, but I’ve always thought that’s one of the things you like most about our relationship. That being said, Annabelle Jean Lake, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
The theater around them had quieted enough that you could hear a pin drop. He’d asked the group performing for them to give him about a five-minute break to ask his question. It wasn’t a lot of time, but he hoped they’d delay a little longer if they noticed him taking too long.
Annie was nodding her head emphatically, but she hadn’t said anything. Nelson really wanted to get the verbal confirmation. Annie’s eyes were darting between his face and the ring that fit a little loose around her finger. He’d asked for the smallest size they were willing to make it without having a finger to size, but evidently it wasn’t small enough.
“It’s not often that you’re speechless, Annie. I don’t think they’re going to start the play back up until I give them a signal, and that’s not happening until you tell me you’ll be my wife.”
Nelson was a little surprised the others in the theater hadn’t taken the nodding as affirmation. He felt eyes on him from every direction, but he only had eyes for Annie.
“Of course I’ll marry you, Nels, but don’t think you’re going to get me in another dress like this one until after the baby comes.” Annie leaned forward and Nelson met her in the middle so they could lock their lips together.
That was the signal the rest of the room was looking for, as cheers of congratulations rang out through the acoustically optimized space. It was almost as loud as the arena got when the team won a game. Nelson didn’t care, though. He just wanted to disappear somewhere to be alone with Annie.
“Well, folks. It looks like the future Mr. and Mrs. Palmer have confirmed there is going to be a wedding. I think that means we can get back on with our show.”
Nelson leaned back from Annie. Even though he didn’t want to ever stop feeling the smooth touch of her lips against his, they needed to find so
mewhere else to continue their own celebration. He grabbed her hand and the pair was off to see what kind of trouble they could get in.
“I can’t believe you just did that. Where did you get the butterflies? It’s not like you can just run down to the nearest meadow and capture them.”
“I originally wanted to get at least a hundred of them, but I had trouble getting less than half of that, not that I caught them myself. You know as well as I do that I spend every second I’m not needed by the team with you.”
Annie’s body was glued to his side, so instead of continuing to hold hands, which seemed like a constant thing for them, Nelson took his arm and draped it over her shoulders, so they could be even closer together. The theater workers outside the hall they were in looked at the couple strangely as they made their way to the front doors. They evidently didn’t see many people walk out before the play was over.
“So instead of a shower of butterflies, you decided to get the number of ex-girlfriends you have. I understand the sentiment you were going for, but it’s not a good idea to remind the girl you’re going to marry there were over thirty before her.”
“If I was smart, I wouldn’t have told you about half of them. You wouldn’t have qualified most of the ones I’ve had since moving here as girlfriends. Four of the ones I called to tell you about were single dates who didn’t even make it through the full date.”
“You’re digging yourself in a hole, so you should probably quit while you’re ahead. I don’t care about what you did up until this moment. I only care that we’re here together.”
She was right, as usual. Nelson wanted to explain he’d kept sharing information about his dates because he hoped one day Annie would share something about her own dating life. Being in two different countries, he couldn’t see with his own two eyes what was going on in her life, and there were times it had been a distraction for him.
