by Strider, Jez
Expecting Eternity
By Jez Strider
©2012 Jez Strider
I’d like to dedicate this book to my cat and my dog. They brighten up the darkest days. I love you, Cosmo and Samus! Now if only they could read….
The second hand on my watch moved around at an intolerable speed. Tick…tick…tick…. Five of the longest minutes of my life were passing by. Each second seemed to take longer than the last. I looked at myself in the mirror. Creases accented my forehead and eyes. The worry was becoming overwhelming and it showed. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the pregnancy test my best friend, Ashley Lionas, had delivered. I wouldn’t look directly at it. No, not until it had been a full five minutes.
“I’m ready to go when you are, Evey!” Marcus Hart, my soon to be husband, said from the other side of the closed door. He’d wanted to get married immediately after the ordeal we’d faced with my maker, the vampire Dante Sanuto. It’s what I wanted, too. But first, we both needed to know what we were getting ourselves into.
I looked down at my watch again. “Just a minute!” Literally…just one minute until the test was completed. I’d dressed in a knee length, white summer dress and a pair of sandals. When Marc was in the shower, I’d snuck outside and clipped a small red flower from my miniature rose bush. I now wore it in my hair behind my ear. My hair was half up, loosely. He hadn’t seen me yet. I told him he had to wait until I was finished getting ready. Maybe a white dress wasn’t an appropriate choice for my wedding, but to me it symbolized a new beginning and a clean slate.
Time was up. Why couldn’t I look at the test? I reached out and turned the door knob. With my other hand, I picked up the test without peeking at the results.
Marc was waiting nearby. He was dressed in black slacks and a blue button up shirt that accented his eyes perfectly. His raven hair was pulled back neatly into a short ponytail. He looked uneasy as I stood there staring at him. Usually, he wore t-shirts and faded jeans. “You look beautiful.” He said when I didn’t speak.
“So do you. I mean handsome, not beautiful.” My voice caught in my throat and he smiled when I fumbled over my words. I had to get what was going on out in the open, so I just blurted everything out in one run on sentence. “I love you and want to marry you, but I think I might be pregnant and I just took this test and I’m scared to look at it.” Whew. It was over. I prepared myself for the worst. Younger men than he had children, but we were broke and had already been through so much. I had no idea how he would react.
All he did was grin at me. “I thought that was impossible. You’re probably being paranoid.” He stepped closer to me. “Let’s look.”
I was glad one of us was calm. “I said unlikely, not impossible.” Marcus draped his arm over my shoulder and we looked at the test at the same time. I spoke first. “That…that’s positive. No, it can’t be.” I looked at him for help.
His grin faded and he nodded. “It is positive. I know from when my oldest sister got knocked up…err… I mean pregnant the first time. She was hysterical.”
I was speechless and he wasn’t saying anything either. It was hard to decide if I was happy or not. I’d never expected to have a child. Honestly, I wasn’t even very good with kids. “Well?” I asked. Marc seemed to somehow always have the right answers.
“Well…I’d be thrilled, except....” He seemed reluctant to finish the sentence.
In retrospect, his concern should have been obvious to me. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind and I felt like an idiot when he said what he was thinking.
He gave a soft scoff and shook his head. “We don’t know if it’s mine or not.”
“Oh god,” I walked across the room and sat down slowly, looking down at my hands as the realization set in. So much for starting over. My mistake wouldn’t be erased as easily as I’d hoped. I knew his forgiveness was too good to be true. I propped my elbow up on the arm of the chair and covered my face with the palm of my hand. Then, I started crying. Life was unfair. The truth of my actions hurt, as well as pissed me off.
In an instant, Marcus shed the anger that I had sensed was building inside him. “None of that. Come on now.”
“I…can…get…rid….” Everything I said was broken by sniffles and sobs. Before I could finish what I was trying to say, Marc pulled my hand from my face and made me look at him.
“Don’t even think about getting rid of the baby.” Despite his words, for once even he seemed at a loss for the solution. He looked at me with disappointment, surprised I would even suggest such a thing. I lowered my eyes in shame. Marcus loved children. He paced around for a few moments. “Okay. It doesn’t matter. Either way, it’ll be mine. Nothing changes. We get married as planned. Today.”
This man that I loved amazed me every single day. After everything that had happened, he was still willing to go through with the marriage. “Are you serious? You don’t even care if it’s yours or not?”
He pointed at me. “You’re mine.” Then, he was on his knees in front of me. His hand rested gently on mine. “That means the baby is mine.”
The possessive tone of his voice worried me slightly. Didn’t Antonio have a right to know that the baby might be his? Of course, he did. I’ve said it before, though. I can be really selfish and I wasn’t about to lose my future husband because of one stupid mistake. Besides, odds were good the child was Marc’s. I’d only been with Antonio once. Marcus and I had made love too many times to count.
“Alright.” I nodded and stood up. “Just promise me that no matter what happens. We will get through it together.”
“Evelyn…we always will.” He grabbed the keys to my car. “Now let’s get married. We’re going to be late for our own wedding.”
The drive to the wedding chapel was relatively quiet. Wedding jitters are bad enough. Toss in an unplanned pregnancy and the stress gets bumped up exponentially. I watched anxiously out the window for the chapel to come into view. Marcus had made the arrangements that morning and I had no idea what to expect. My nightmare was that we were going to a tacky place with an Elvis impersonator performing the ceremony. Georgia was nowhere near Vegas, but that was the image that kept popping into my head.
We drove a few miles along the beach until we parked. Marc took my hand and we walked toward a small gazebo a short distance from the ocean. It was decorated with white flowers and green vines. As we walked closer, I realized that the people standing at the small structure were my friends and his family. I looked toward Marcus in shock and he gave a little shrug. How he organized the little wedding so quickly is beyond me. Ashley was there with all her children. Fate was standing beside her mom. The twins were playing in the sand nearby. Marcus’ mom and his sisters were there, too. There was an older man in attendance that looked familiar, but I couldn’t place why.
Marc took my hand again and introduced me to the older gentleman. “Evelyn. I’d like you to meet my grandpa Miguel.” It was suddenly apparent why he looked familiar. Marcus resembled his grandfather a great deal.
“A pleasure to finally meet you, sir.” I smiled. It meant a lot to me that he was there. I knew how much Marc admired his grandfather. His grandpa pulled us both into a hug.
“We’re all glad to have you in the family.” Miguel told me. Then, he smirked at his grandson. “It may be sudden, but I understand. I knew I loved my wife, your lovely grandma, the moment I saw her. We were together every day until she passed away.” He didn’t seem sad talking about his wife, but happy for the many years they were able to share.
The wedding official showed up interrupting further conversation and we all took our positions. It was Elvis. My worst fear was coming true. Okay, that was a lie. Actually,
he was a rather normal looking, grey haired gentleman. He began the ceremony after shaking both our hands and shushing the gathering of people. “Do you…” He began.
At that moment, Marcus and I looked into each other’s eyes and said, “I do,” in unison before the man could finish his sentence. The officiator stood silently for a long moment, not sure how to proceed. “Well, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the…” Once again, we jumped the gun. Marc pulled me close against him and very gently kissed my lips, long and slow kisses so that we could savor each one. Some people write their own vows to express their love, some use traditional ones, but what our hearts felt said what words could never express. Our friends and family were cheering and clapping. Our first moment as a married couple was perfect and I was happier than I ever thought possible.
Everyone was congratulating and hugging us. Ash had tears in her eyes. Fate had run off to chase down her siblings after telling us it was a nice wedding despite marriage being an outdated institution. Marcus’ mom was snapping photos every few seconds. The years had been many since I’d had family. Maybe eventually, I could one day tell them all I was a vampire. I think we all long for acceptance, despite the effort we put into convincing ourselves otherwise.
Miguel walked up to us. The pride on his face was evident as he looked at Marcus. “Let’s go celebrate this union with food. It’s my treat for all the guests.”
“Papaw…that’s way too expensive.” Marc said, frowning at his grandfather.
The older man was not listening to the protests. “Let’s all meet up at the Lasso Saloon.” He yelled to the small gathering and people started making their way to their vehicles.
Marcus sighed, looking embarrassed. I had to laugh. He smiled at me and I gave him a playful nudge. “This is awesome. Normal weddings are so boring.”
“A steak house….” He mumbled as we walked hand in hand, slowly across the sand. I was now barefoot, carrying my sandals. “Nothing more romantic than a glorified bar.”
I pried my hand away and gave my new husband a shove before taking off running across the beach. “Everything is romantic with you, Mr. Hart!” I called out behind me.
He started chasing me, quickly closing the gap between us. His arms wrapped around my waist and he picked me up, spinning in a circle. “Mrs. Hart, I didn’t know that you could be so easy going.” After a few rotations, he lost balance and we both crashed into the warm sand, laughing. “Where has that serious doctor I fell in love with gone?” He teased.
“Some great guy melted her frozen heart.”
Slowly, I climbed on top of him and just lay there looking at him as the breeze blew through my hair. I loved the smell of the ocean and the warm sunlight against my skin. Most of all, I loved him. His head tilted up slowly and I pressed my lips to his. It really was a new beginning and it was wonderful.
I’d never been to the Lasso Saloon. The restaurant reminded me of Sassy’s, the saloon I’d managed during the Old West days. I immediately loved the place, but it made me miss the “painted girls” that I worked with who were now long turned to desert dust.
Marc leaned down and whispered in my ear as we made our way to the table. “You danced and entertained men for money in a saloon. Didn’t you?” He’d read about that part of my past in my journal. In a way, I liked that he knew about my history, but I figured he was making some wrong assumptions about the profession. With a grin, he added. “I’ll give you a dollar.”
“With inflation, you can’t afford me.” I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling. “It wasn’t what you are thinking….”
I’m not saying the gals never entertained men privately if they wanted, but it wasn’t part of the job description. A different, shabby saloon on the outskirts of town kept the men satisfied with a ready supply of cheap prostitutes. But, Sassy’s had gorgeous women that the cowboys would have married if given the chance. It wasn’t uncommon for the regulars to fall in love with the girls and vice versa. We would dance with them, sing their favorite songs, and listen as they recounted their embellished tales of heroism. It made being lonely bearable. Many of the girls turned to the profession after losing their husbands or parents.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to explain all this to my husband as we were being rushed to sit and order. In truth, his fantasy of the Old West would probably be more interesting to him than the facts. I definitely didn’t want to discuss the hardships and sadness associated with the time period. It wasn’t the day for it.
We greeted everyone again as we took a seat. I found the cheapest steak on the menu and ordered it rare. With Marcus’ grandfather paying, I didn’t want to splurge. I think the others found similarly priced items. Well, except for his oldest sister. Kate had seemed insincere the entire day. Jealousy, I figured. The woman had three children and they were all by different men. I doubt any of the fathers had ever come close to marrying her.
“Let’s dance while we wait on the order!” I reached out, taking Marc’s hand and tugging him gently. In the center area of the room, there was a group of people line dancing. Country music blared forth from large speakers.
He let out a groan and looked at the group of people dancing. “I don’t know…I haven’t done any of those dances since gym class in high school.” Country music and line dancing weren’t exactly our usual entertainment, but hey, why not?
The protests went unheeded as I urged him out onto the floor. Fate was shaking her head. I could tell she loathed the place. As we walked away, I heard her tell Ashley. “This is embarrassing.” Her mother just laughed. I was glad Ash could so easily share in my happiness. You could tell a real friend…a best friend, by how they reacted when good things happened to you.
I found the steps easily. As I’ve said before, dancing is in my blood. Poor Marcus, well, let’s just say when the song changed he was relieved. I wasn’t complaining either. This would be our first slow dance as a married couple. The song was perfect, a duet by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. It was such a change of pace from the raucous line dance. I was where I was meant to be when I rested my head against Marc’s chest and we moved slowly to the music. I knew the craziness of the past few months would eventually settle and we’d fall into a familiar, typical life. One thing I knew for certain, though. The way he made my heart ache with love would never diminish.
Marcus lifted my chin gently, as he often did, and tenderly kissed my bottom lip before pressing his mouth full on against mine. He gave that wink and smirk as he pulled back a little. “You know, I never liked country music until this moment.”
We were still standing there immersed in each other’s company as another rowdy tune started up. After realizing we were standing in everyone’s way, we headed back to our table.
The food had arrived and our starving party had started without us. Fate looked starry-eyed at us. “That was so romantic. I can’t wait to fall in love.” She was stabbing at her salad with a fork. I’m sure it was uncomfortable for her to be a vegetarian in a steakhouse. “I’m not going to get pregnant so quickly, though.” Her mouth hung open when she realized she let the last part slip.
I stopped in mid motion of taking my seat. Ashley had assured me that she was discreet when she bought me the test and dropped it by the apartment earlier that morning. In truth, she looked as shocked as I did at the comment from her daughter.
“Well, that would explain the shotgun wedding. Marc would be the guy to knock someone up and marry her because of it.” Kate, the rude sister, blurted out.
My stern gaze was still fixed on Fate, but it was hardly the time to make a scene. She mouthed, “I’m sorry.”
Without responding, I finished taking my seat and started cutting the steak. I mean, I probably should have said something, but I didn’t know what to say. If Kate hadn’t been Marcus’ sister, I would have probably reached across the table and backhanded her across the face.
“Don’t be a bitch, sis. I wanted to marry Evey no matter the circumstances. Who are you to e
ven say anything?” His anger was about to erupt as he glared at her in disgust. I patted his leg beside me, trying to calm him down.
His mother looked appalled by the behavior, but she didn’t say anything. Miguel, on the other hand, was not one to mince words with his grandchildren. “Enough. It’s none of our business anyway, unless they want it to be. We are here to celebrate the marriage.”
Their grandfather’s firm tone was enough to shut them both up. Kate gave a shrug at her little brother.
“So, I’m going to be reopening the clinic soon.” I said, trying to steer everyone onto a safer topic.
Ashley perked up and nodded. “I can return as soon as they find a replacement for me at my current job. Shouldn’t take long.”
I loved my job and we needed the money. “Great!” My attention turned to Fate who was still avoiding looking at me. “Would you like to help us out, Fate? It’d be a good after school job.”
She looked to her mother and received a nod of approval. “I don’t mind. Maybe it will keep her out of trouble.” Ashley said. I knew she’d been watching her daughter more closely, especially after the wild party with the frat boys.
Miguel turned to Marcus. “How is your work going? Business was good last I heard.”
The unexpected question caused Marc to choke on his beer. People insisted on making uncomfortable conversation. I’d assumed he would have thought up a story about selling his shop already, but then again, we’d both had quite a bit on our minds. After he had cleared his throat, he answered. “I sold the place. We decided to move into Evelyn’s house. Since we didn’t need the apartment, I figured I could find a cheaper work space.”
His entire family looked shocked at first, but the explanation seemed logical enough to satisfy their curiosity for the time being. I sipped my iced sweet tea, trying to look unconcerned.
We had both had enough talk by the time the meal was over. “What about dessert?” His grandpa asked.
