Small Change

by Sheila Roberts

  “We're tight,” said Chad, moving to where he had champagne chilling in an ice bucket next to the table, which was set for two and decorated with a vase holding a single red rose.

  Rachel followed him over, taking it all in as he opened the bottle. The dishes were Fiestaware, the colors tastefully mix ’n’ match. “You are definitely in touch with your inner Martha Stewart,” she observed.

  “Don't let that stuff fool you,” he said, popping the cork. “My sister picked out the dishes for me.”

  “She has good taste.” Judging from the way he'd spiffed up the house next door, so did Chad. Odd, though, that he'd had to bring his own dishes to stay in a friend's furnished house.

  Before Rachel could say anything he was handing her a glass of champagne. He touched his glass to Rachel's. “Here's to the new year.”

  “To the new year,” Rachel echoed, and they drank, watching each other over the rims of their glasses. She couldn't help but wonder what the coming year held. Surely, with a romantic beginning like this, it had to be something wonderful.

  He took her hand and led her over to the couch. Once they were settled, he took the champagne glass from her hand and set it on the coffee table. Her heart began to flutter in anticipation. Here came the first something wonderful.

  “Rachel, I've got something I need to tell you.”

  His serious tone of voice erased her happy glow and her heart plummeted to her stomach. It was the night Aaron told her he'd found someone else all over again. Dinner. He'd taken her out to dinner and told her right there in the Two Turtledoves so she couldn't make a public scene. She'd gotten dressed up and farmed out the kids, just like tonight. Rachel, I've got something to tell you. Her lips suddenly felt dry. This is not the same scenario, she told herself firmly. Not even remotely.

  “You need to know a few things about me.”

  “What, you're a serial killer?” she joked.

  He smiled and shook his head. “I haven't been entirely honest with you, but before I shared more of my life I wanted to be sure of what we were building together.”

  That didn't sound like the prelude to a breakup. “You're sure now?”

  “I'm sure enough to tell you that this place doesn't belong to a friend,” he said. “It belongs to me.”

  This gorgeous lake house? How was that possible? He was broke. “You?” she stammered.

  “I was hoping you'd like it enough to want to move in,” he continued.

  “Move in? With the kids?” she said stupidly, still reeling from mental whiplash.

  “I figure you're a package deal,” he said with a smile. “Do you think they'd like living on the lake?” Now he was reaching into the pocket of his sports coat. Out came a little box.

  This time she knew it wasn't earrings. Her shocked gaze flew from the box to his face.

  He was looking at her with love and hope. He handed it to her and she opened it with trembling hands.

  There it was, the diamond ring she'd been dreaming of.

  “Will you marry me?”

  Say yes! “There's still so much we don't know about each other.” Or rather, there was so much she didn't know about him. How did he come to be living in this lovely house on the lake? “I thought you were poor, like me.”

  He grazed her cheek with his fingers. “I was, once.”

  “So you own this house and … more?” This was too weird. The cheap dates, the secretiveness—it made no sense.

  “Actually, I own several rentals. I have one in Richland, where I lived before I bought this place and moved up here, the house in Renton where my sister lives, a condo in Seattle that I'm renting out, and, of course, the one next to you. I'm far from poor, Rachel.”

  She blinked. She was sitting on a couch with Prince Charming and staring at a gorgeous diamond solitaire. She opened her mouth to say, “Yes, I'll marry you.” Instead, she said, “When you told me you were in real estate I thought you meant you were a Realtor, that you sold it.”

  “I do. I buy, too.”

  “Why didn't you tell me?”

  “Did it matter? Did you need to know I was rich?”

  He was rich. Tiffany's words from months ago popped into Rachel's mind. Maybe he's really rich and he doesn't want you to know cuz he wants to be sure you like him for him. Tiff had nailed it. “I get it. We were doing a princess and the pea thing. You were testing me to see whether or not I'm a gold digger.” Which meant he'd questioned her character. She left the couch and went to stand in front of the window while excitement over Chad's proposal fought with her sense of outrage. The lake stretched out beyond the deck and the small yard, a length of dark mystery. “I don't know what to say, what to think.”

  He was behind her now, his hands on her shoulders. He turned her to face him. “Come back to the couch. Let me tell you a story.”

  She let him lead her back to the couch. She perched on the opposite end, facing him, and waited. There, between them, sat the ring, still in its box. Of course, she wanted to put it on, wanted to say, “Yes, I'll marry you.” It was silly to smart over the fact that he hadn't been more forthcoming with her. He'd been being cautious. So what? She'd felt cautious at first, too.

  But she had told him everything about herself. And he hadn't trusted her. She frowned. “So, once upon a time there was a young prince named Chad.”

  “Who fell hard for a girl he met in college,” Chad finished. He suddenly became fascinated by the sight of the flames dancing behind the glass in the wood stove. “He was quiet, a little shy. She was beautiful and had so much personality, so much life. Every day with her was like a party. He worked hard to give her everything she wanted.” Chad's expression turned sour. “The harder he worked the more she wanted, but he kept trying, thinking if he could become as rich as Bill Gates then maybe she'd finally be happy.” Chad fell silent.

  “And when he became as rich as Bill Gates?” Rachel prompted.

  Chad turned and looked at Rachel now. “I didn't. But I had a good chunk and she took half when she left me for another man.”

  His pain, so like hers, burned into Rachel's heart, consuming her feelings of hurt pride over the fact that he hadn't confided in her sooner. “I'm sorry,” she said softly.

  Chad shrugged like it didn't matter anymore. “I should have learned from that but I didn't. Chita was the first, Monica was the second. We never married but we were together for almost eight years before it dawned on me that if I lost everything she'd be gone in a heartbeat. I haven't had a serious relationship since … until you.” Now his expression pleaded for Rachel's understanding. “I had two strikes against me. I wanted to make sure that you wouldn't be the third. I wanted to find a woman who cares more about people than things, a woman who wants to be with me for what we can be together, not what we can buy together. I'm hoping I've found her.”

  Rachel took the ring out of the box. She picked up his hand, turned it palm up, and dropped the ring in it. “What do you think?” she asked, and held out her left hand for him to slip the ring on her finger.

  His smile split his face. “I think I found her.”

  And there, in the glow of the firelight, Rachel experienced a fairy tale moment where she was kissed by her prince and offered the world.

  They finally came up for air and, drinking more champagne, they talked. And talked. And talked.

  When he finally remembered to offer her dinner, she found she didn't have much appetite. The only thing she was hungry for was Chad.

  “Where's Rachel?” wondered Tiffany, looking around the club. Some revelers were dancing; others were sitting at tables, wearing funny hats. All were drinking. “If she doesn't get here pretty soon she's going to miss midnight.”

  “And our big news,” Brian added, taking Tiff's hand and kissing it.

  Jess and the band were on break and she was sitting opposite them, nursing a soft drink. “You can tell me,” she said.

  “I want you both to be here,” said Tiffany.

  “Well, while
we're waiting, I have some fun news,” Jess said. “Guess where The Red Hots are going to be playing in February.”

  “Las Vegas,” joked Brian.

  “Better,” said Jess. “Heart Lake. So you guys can take turns putting me up on the weekends.”

  “Oh, my gosh, that will be so fun,” said Tiffany.

  “Hey, here comes Rachel with her boyfriend,” said Brian, pointing toward the door.

  Rachel still hadn't gotten in for her hot new hairstyle and she was wearing the same velvet pants Jess had seen her in for the last three holidays, but she still looked elegant, the rhinestone jewelry Jess had loaned her making her outfit look more classic than recycled. In fact, she looked well beyond elegant. Rachel had the glow of a woman in love.

  “What's that I see on her finger?” Tiff said, pointing. “Oh, my gosh!” she cried, and jumped up from the table, plowing her way through the crowd to hug Rachel.

  “It looks like everyone has news tonight,” said Jess with a smile.

  Sure enough, Rachel had a ring with a fat diamond to show off. For a man on a budget, Chad had certainly done well. Sudden concern slipped into Jess's mind. Where had this guy gotten the money to buy that bit of bling? Was he in debt up to his eyeballs? Had they talked about money at all yet?

  Of course, this wasn't the moment to ask those questions, so Jess smiled and hugged Rachel and said how happy she was for her.

  “Have you set a date?” asked Tiff after the men had been introduced and they were all seated at the table.

  “We're thinking June.” Rachel smiled at Chad and he smiled back—an intimate exchange that left out everyone else in the room. If ever a couple was madly in love it was these two.

  “Let me do the music for the wedding,” Jess offered.

  “We can do the flowers for you, too,” offered Tiff. “Oooh, and we can make the invitations ourselves. We'll do a diva on a dime wedding.”

  Rachel shot a look in Chad's direction, which Jess found hard to interpret. “I don't think we want a big wedding.”

  “Well, you still have to have flowers,” said Tiffany.

  “And music,” added Jess.

  “And friends, which means you'll need invitations,” Tiffany said.

  Rachel laughed. “Okay, you've convinced me. We'll do a diva on a dime wedding. And I'll blog about it.”

  “Just so you don't blog about the honeymoon,” said Chad as he signaled for the cocktail waitress.

  “This calls for champagne,” said Brian as she arrived.

  “I've got it,” Chad assured him, and ordered a bottle of champagne that Jess knew Brian sure couldn't afford. Big spender.

  “While we're sharing good news, Brian and I have some,” said Tiffany. She was practically bouncing in her seat.

  “You're having a baby,” guessed Jess. Hardly difficult in light of how they'd been acting.

  Brian grinned and Tiff nodded eagerly.

  “Oh, Tiff, that's wonderful,” cried Rachel, and hugged her. “When?”

  “Next month.”

  “Next … what?”

  “We're adopting,” Brian explained. “Tiff has an uncle who's a doctor. He has a patient about to give birth and she's decided at the last minute that she doesn't want to keep the baby. We're doing a private adoption.”

  “My parents are helping us with the bill,” said Tiffany. “As a reward for handling my money so well these past months,” she added proudly.

  “When did all this happen?” asked Jess, wondering how Tiffany had managed to keep quiet about it.

  “Today,” said Tiff. “Well, the girl made the final decision today. We've been talking all week. I told her we didn't have a ton of money but she said she didn't care. She could tell we had heart.”

  “So do you know if it's a boy or a girl?” asked Rachel.

  “It's a girl,” said Tiffany. “And guess what we're going to name her? Grace.”

  “I love that name,” said Rachel.

  Tiffany smiled at Brian with tears in her eyes. He took her hand and held it. “It seemed like the perfect name. Cuz that's what I've been given a lot of lately, especially from my husband.”

  The champagne arrived and Jess proposed a toast. “To my friends, who are both getting what they so richly deserve. Happy New Year.”

  “Happy New Year,” everyone echoed.

  As she drank her champagne, Jess found herself wishing she still lived in the old neighborhood so she could play grandma and babysit for Tiff. She gave a mental shrug and reminded herself that it could be worse. She could live clear across the country.

  Of course, she could still wind up living far away if Michael didn't find something in the area. She took another drink of champagne. Borrowing trouble was not an option, especially on the eve of a new year.

  It was mid-afternoon on January first when Rachel's children came home from their sleepovers. She found herself more nervous than she'd ever been in her life as she set a plate of the last of the holiday cookies on the kitchen table. Her engagement ring was burning a hole in her jeans. She hadn't had the courage to wear it today, didn't want to answer any questions until Chad was here with her. What she was going to do if her children didn't like the idea of her marrying Chad, she had no idea.

  She thought back to when Aaron started his new life with Misty. He sure hadn't bothered to ask Claire and David what they thought. Well, there was a parenting model she wanted to follow. Not.

  The doorbell rang and she jumped. There's no reason to be nervous, she told herself as she let Chad in. Why wouldn't her children be as excited as she was?

  He smiled and gave her a fortifying kiss after he came through the front door. “Where are the kids?”

  In their rooms, putting away their things. “Claire, David,” she called. “Come down here. We've got company.” She lowered her voice. “I am terrified.”

  “No need to be,” he said, and took her hand.

  First they heard the thunder of feet on the stairs. Then Claire and David came into view.

  “Oh, hi, Chad,” said Claire. Her tone of voice asked, This is your idea of company?

  They'd done everything with him from mushroom-hunting to playing board games. He probably didn't qualify as company anymore. Rachel hoped he qualified as family.

  “Hey, Chad, wanna shoot hoops?” David asked eagerly.

  “Maybe later,” Rachel said. “Come out to the kitchen, you two. We need to talk about something.” The kids plopped down at the table and Rachel got down glasses for milk to go with the cookies.

  Claire eyed her mother as she poured milk. “Is something going on?”

  “You could say that,” said Rachel. How hard was it to come right out and say …

  “Your mother and I are getting married,” said Chad, taking the whole decision of how to do this out of her hands.

  David grinned and snatched a cookie. “Cool.”

  Claire looked at her mother, her eyes big. “Really?”

  “We want to,” said Rachel. “Are you okay with that?”

  Claire's brow furrowed and she started fiddling with her braces. “Um, where will we live?”

  “How about on the lake?” said Chad.

  Claire's body language changed instantly. She sat up. “On the lake? For real?”

  “Awesome!” cried David. “Do you have a boat? Can we water-ski?”

  “Probably,” said Chad.

  That clinched it. Rachel's offspring looked at each other like two lottery winners who couldn't believe their good fortune.

  They weren't the only ones. Neither could their mother. “Pinch me,” she said to Chad later that day, after he came in from playing basketball with David and the neighbors.

  Chad took the glass of water she'd poured for him and looked appreciatively at her backside. “I could do that.”

  She slipped her arms around his neck. “I never thought I'd fall in love again. I never thought I'd find anyone.” I never thought anyone would want me.

  “That makes two of u
s,” he said, and kissed her.

  “I still can't believe it,” Rachel said to Jess later that week as they talked on the phone. “I feel like any minute now I'm going to wake up and be back in the real world of scrimping and pinching pennies.”

  “I guess you won't have to do that anymore,” said Jess.

  “Not so much, but Chad is definitely the millionaire next door and I'll still be on a budget.”

  “But a heck of a lot bigger one than you had before,” said Jess. “And to think I was worried about him not having any money.”

  “I'd marry him even if he didn't,” said Rachel.

  “I know you would. But I bet you're finding it just as easy to love a rich man,” Jess teased. “Now, for the most important question: where are you going for your honeymoon?”

  “We haven't decided for sure, but it's looking like the Caribbean.”

  Jess began to croon the Beach Boys’ “Kokomo.” “Need someone to carry your suitcase? Oh, that's right. It's your honeymoon. Clothing optional. You may need to remind Tiff of that. She'll want to help you shop for an entire trousseau.”

  “I have a feeling she's going to be too busy with her new baby to worry about my trousseau,” Rachel predicted.

  Sure enough. Every time Rachel talked to Tiffany it was baby, baby, baby. Tiffany had already signed herself and Brian up for parenting classes. Amazingly, Tiff hadn't gone overboard with spending though. She had found bargains online and on eBay to round out what her friends had given her at the impromptu baby shower Cara hosted at the salon.

  “I can't believe it. Grace comes in two weeks,” said Tiff, as she showed Rachel the finished nursery. Of course, all the trimmings were pink and white, and the room looked fit for a princess. Tiff's smile slipped a little. “Do you think I'll make a good mother?” she asked in a small voice.

  “Of course you will,” Rachel assured her. “You're fun and kind. You'll be great.”

  “Do you think I'm selfish?”

  “If you are, don't worry. The baby will beat it out of you,” Rachel said.

  “No, seriously. Do you?”

  “No more than any of the rest of us,” said Rachel. She gave Tiff a hug, saying, “Trust me. You'll be a great mother.”