by Patricia Fry
He leaned toward her and kissed her. “Well, tell Mrs. Kittredge ‘thank you’ for giving my wife back to me.”
“Huh? I haven’t been anywhere. I’ve been right here all the time.”
“Uh-huh. If you say so, hon.”
She sighed. “Well, I guess I have been a tad distracted.”
“Yeah. Let’s just go with that.” He winked at her. “So glad you’re feeling better.”
She smiled. “Me, too.” She sat straighter, her eyes wide. “Hey, my aunt called this afternoon. She said she and Max picked up the trap out at the Lander place and found a surprise.”
“Yes, she brought them to me—a new momma cat and five kittens. They all checked out okay, but we’re keeping them at the clinic for a few days until her test results come back. Savannah,” he said, smiling, “there’s a mini-Rags among the kittens. I swear his markings are practically exact.”
Her face lit up. “Really?” She gazed at Rags as he lay sprawled out near one of Buffy’s beds washing his face. “Well, he didn’t have anything to do with it, I can assure you.”
“Maggie said the other female gave birth, too.”
Savannah nodded. “Yes, three cute little kittens.” She let out a sigh. “So all of the Lander cats are accounted for.”
“Not really,” Michael said. “Remember the one I told you about with the fish hook infection? I didn’t see him among the cats I examined. Maybe they keep him in the house or he was nabbed by a coyote.”
“Could be. Well, let’s hope he’s being cared for.” Savannah glanced at Rags again, then looked coyly at Michael. “I think I’ll come down to the clinic and visit the kittens. I’d like to see the one that looks like Rags.”
Michael took a deep breath and shook his head slowly. “Oh no, Savannah. I don’t think that’s a very good idea. We do not need…”
She rushed to him, cradled his face in her hands and kissed him. Pulling back, she said, “I just want to look.” She walked away muttering, “…and hold him, and cuddle with him, and…” She laughed when she turned and saw the deer-in-the-headlights look on her husband’s face.
Chapter 9
“When will your mother be here?” Michael asked nearly two weeks later at breakfast.
“Late this afternoon, about the time Marci and Eric are dropping Adam off.” She looked up from her omelet. “Marci and Eric are flying out to the east coast this evening? I hate flying at night.”
“That’s when you get the cheaper flights.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
After gazing at her for a moment, Michael said, “Savannah, I’ll be glad when your mom gets here.”
“You will?”
“Yes. I think you’re doing too much; you could use some help.”
“You’ve been helping me.”
“Yeah, but what about when I’m not here and you decide to move furniture around or hang a string of Christmas lights or carry heavy grocery bags?”
“I’m being careful,” she said. “I’m not an invalid; I’m just pregnant.”
“And you should be taking it easy,” he reminded her.
She took a deep breath. “Well, I’ll be glad to have the help, especially when it comes to running after Lily. Either she’s getting faster or I’m slowing down.”
“Well, you are putting on some weight,” he said.
“You noticed?”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
“This is nothing compared to what I’ll look like in another four or five months.”
“I remember,” Michael said. He took her hand. “I love seeing you pregnant.”
She grinned at him and shook her head.
“How many do you expect this weekend for the big Lily-turns-two bash?” he asked.
“Probably somewhere around twenty-five or thirty. My cousins might come up from LA.” She tilted her head. “Michael, it’s so sad to me that you have no relatives to share our family with and to share with us.”
“I have relatives,” he reminded her. “Didn’t I inherit all of yours when we got married? I thought that was part of the deal,” he quipped.
She stared across the table at him. “Isn’t there anyone left in your family?”
When it became clear to Michael that his wife expected a response, he said, “No. At least no one that I’m aware of. I guess there could be a relative somewhere—a distant cousin or something. But I have no interest in finding him…or them…or anyone.”
Savannah tilted her head. “Him? Him, who? Michael, do you mean you might have a relative and you’ve never made an attempt to find him? Who? An uncle? A cousin? Who is it, Michael? Maybe we could locate him on the Internet.”
“Never mind,” he said, leaving the table and picking up his jacket.
Savannah stood, grabbed his jacket from him, and held it behind her. “Never mind, heck. You sit down here and tell me. Michael, do you mean you’ve been hiding something from me our whole married life?”
He grimaced and looked down at his shoes. “You know, I really don’t want to have this conversation, Savannah.”
“Too late, Michael. Tell me.”
He gazed at her for a minute, then walked quickly around her, grabbed his jacket, and headed for the door. “Savannah, it has nothing to do with us or with me anymore. Sorry I mentioned it.” He opened the door and stepped out, calling, “I’ll be home early to greet our guests.”
When Lily saw her mommy standing at the window looking out, she ran to her and chirped, “Horsie? Horsie eat?”
“No, honey bun,” Savannah said, picking up the toddler. “Peaches is at Bonnie’s. Bonnie will feed Peaches today.”
Lily held her hands out and turned her palms up. “Horsie all gone?”
Savannah chuckled. “Yes. Horsie’s having a sleepover with Bonnie’s horsies.” When Lily looked confused, Savannah bounced the baby. “Hey, let’s make some cookies. Adam’s coming today and Grammy,” she said. “Want to help Mommy make cookies for Adam and Grammy?”
Lily nodded. She squirmed to get down and ran to the pantry, where she pulled a child-size apron off a hook. “Tie, Mommy,” she said. Once Savannah had tied the strings on the toddler’s apron, Lily pushed a chair up to the kitchen counter and climbed up on it. “Cookies. Me make cookies, Mommy.”
Savannah smiled, kissed the baby on her cheek and began to gather the ingredients for a batch of ginger cookies.
****
“Hi, Auntie,” Savannah said into her cell phone later that morning while Lily sat at her small table with a cookie and a sippy-cup of milk. “Hey, you’ve known Michael for a long time, what do you know about his family?”
Margaret hesitated. “Your husband, Michael Ivey’s family?”
“Yes.”
“Well, he’s married to you, has two children…why do you need me to tell you that, for heaven’s sake? Have you lost your memory?”
“No. I just want to know something about his roots, that’s all.”
“Vannie,” Margaret said, “don’t you think you should have asked those questions before you married him? What are you looking for—skeletons in his closet?”
“No, Auntie. As far as I knew, he had no living relatives—at least close ones, anyway. Now I’m not so sure. Did you meet Michael right after he came here to open his practice? Did he ever talk about his family?”
“Well, let’s see. I didn’t meet him until he’d been in practice for a few years. He came here alone. Hell, Vannie, I didn’t even know he had a son until the day of your wedding.”
“Yeah, that’s when Michael found out, too. I still can’t believe Marci kept Adam a secret from him for eight years.” She paused. “So you don’t know anything about any other relatives he might have? He told me once that both his parents had died and that he had no siblings. I know he was close to his grandfather. But he’s gone, too. I just find it hard to believe that someone doesn’t have any relatives—you know, aunts, uncles, cousins...”
“Why do you doubt him, Vannie? Why would you bring that up now?”
“I just feel kind of sad that we have so many family members and he has no one. Don’t you think that’s sad?” When Margaret didn’t respond, Savannah explained, “I’d like him to have someone special to share his child’s birthday party with and the excitement of his newborn son in May, not to mention Adam.”
“He has us,” Margaret said. “Don’t you think he considers us family?”
“Yeah, he does. I just thought...”
Margaret interrupted. “Is this a pregnancy thing, Vannie?”
“Huh?”
“Is it your pregnancy hormones causing you to want to stir something up?”
“I don’t want to stir anything up. I want my husband to be happy and our family to be complete. If there’s someone related to Michael who we could be sharing our beautiful family with, I want him to have that opportunity.” Suddenly, she yelped. “I have an idea. I’ll bet Marci knows. I’ll see if I can get her aside today when she and Eric bring Adam.”
“Savannah.”
“What?”
“I wouldn’t go behind Michael’s back to do…um…whatever you’re thinking about doing.”
“Oh, come on. If there’s someone out there who loves him, he’ll be thrilled to know it. Don’t you think so?” Before Margaret could answer, she said, “Oh, I’d better go. Lily has finished her cookie and she’s gathering up her little duckies. I think she’s ready for her bath. Talk to you later.”
****
It was after three that afternoon when Adam arrived with his mom, stepdad, and five-year-old sister, Rose. Once greetings had been exchanged, Savannah invited everyone to sit down and offered them all something to drink.
“We have a plane to catch,” Eric said cheerfully.
Marci put her hand on his chest. “We have plenty of time. I want to give Lily her gift.” When she saw Adam return from putting his duffle bag in his room, she handed him a gift bag decorated with a balloon pattern. “Want to give this to your sister?”
He looked at Lily, then Rose. “Which sister?”
She chuckled. “The one with a birthday, silly.”
“Oh right. Here, Lily,” he said, handing her the gift.
Once he’d helped the toddler open the singing bear toy and she had expressed the appropriate amount of glee, Savannah encouraged her to tell the family thank you.
“Thank you,” she said quietly, avoiding eye contact. She then sat down and began examining the bear more closely.
When Savannah noticed that Michael and Eric were deep in conversation, she turned to Marci. “Could I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure.” She glanced at the two little girls.
Savannah leaned down and asked Rose, “Want to go play with Lily’s toys?” She motioned to Lily. “Come on, honey bun, let’s show Rose your new kitchen set.”
“What’s up?” Marci asked when they entered the nursery.
“Oh,” Savannah said, glancing toward the hallway, “I was just wondering—you knew Michael at least twelve or thirteen years ago, right?”
She laughed. “Longer than that. We went to junior high school together. Why?”
“Well, I was just wondering what you know about his family.” When Marci looked puzzled, she continued, “Do you think there’s anyone left? Could he have any living relatives anywhere—you know, maybe a cousin?”
Marci stared into Savannah’s face. “You mean he’s never told you?”
“Told me what?” she asked cautiously.
“You two seem so close. I can’t imagine he’d keep something like that from you. It doesn’t make sense.” She pursed her lips and let out a sigh. “Well, he must have his reasons—maybe he just doesn’t want to rock the boat.” She took Savannah’s hand. “You two have a nice relationship and I guess he’d rather look ahead and not back.” She glanced at the children, then focused again on Savannah. “Why are you asking?”
“Well, I just got to thinking…”
Marci laughed. “Yeah, we women are thinkers, aren’t we? And sometimes it gets us into trouble. Savannah, if Michael doesn’t want to dredge up the past, I’d leave it alone. He’s happy. That’s what you want, isn’t it—a happy husband?” When Savannah nodded, Marci added, “Then I’d leave it at that. If he wants to go back someday, let him do it on his own.”
“But if he has family somewhere,” Savannah protested, “he should be enjoying them, celebrating with them, sharing his children with them, and letting us get to know something about his roots. Frankly, I feel a little deprived, since I know absolutely nothing about where he came from—what his childhood was like. He has said very little about his parents, although he has told me about his grandfather. He talks about his grandfather in a loving way.”
Marci’s face softened. “Yes, his grandfather was a lovely man.” She looked at Savannah. “So there’s your connection to Michael’s past. That’s a good memory for him.”
Savannah frowned. “I can’t believe he has any bad memories. He’s such a positive, upbeat man, and he sure loves his family.”
“Yes, he does.”
Just then, they heard a voice from the hallway. “Marci,” Eric called, “we’d better get a move on. That plane’s not going to wait for us.”
“Coming,” she called. She walked over and kissed Lily on the head, hugging her. “Happy birthday, sweet girl.” She then took Rose’s hand. Before walking out of the room, she said, “Leave it alone, Savannah. You’ve got everything you could possibly want and so does Michael.” Marci gazed at her for a moment before saying, “Take care. I hope you have a really nice Christmas.”
“You, too, Marci,” Savannah said, moving closer and hugging her. “Bye-bye, Rose,” she said, running her hand over the child’s auburn hair. She picked up Lily. “Come tell Rose bye-bye.”
“No,” Lily protested, turning her back on Marci and Rose. “No bye-bye.”
Savannah and Marci both laughed.
When the women returned to the living room with the two little girls, Savannah noticed that her mother had arrived. “Mom, hi,” she greeted.
“Gammy!” Lily squealed, wriggling to get down. When Savannah set her on the floor, the child ran to Gladys, who picked her up and hugged her tightly.
“Just look at your house!” Gladys exclaimed. “It’s like a Christmas wonderland, inside and out.”
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Marci said. “You’ve really gone all out with your decorations this year.”
“Yeah, for the party, mostly,” Savannah said. “But I do love to live with all the sparkle…” she looked at Michael, “…or dazzle, as he calls it, at least for a few weeks.”
“Angel!” Lily shouted, pointing toward the Christmas tree. “See Gammy, angel.”
Gladys took Lily’s hand and kissed it. “Yes, Grammy sees the angel.”
“Santa, reindeer, snowman…” Lily recited as she pointed around the room. Her face lit up in wonderment when she said, “Presents.”
Everyone laughed.
In the meantime, Rose glanced around the room with big eyes and said quietly, “Pretty.”
“Look at her face,” Savannah said, grabbing her phone and taking a couple of pictures. “She looks so angelic—like she’s in awe.” Savannah put her arm across Marci’s shoulders. “Isn’t family wonderful?”
****
“You really have a crowd here,” Margaret noticed the following Saturday afternoon. “I don’t think I ever entertained this many people at one time when I lived here.”
Savannah chuckled. “The family wasn’t as big then—we’re growing by leaps and bounds.”
Gladys patted Savannah’s bulging belly. “You got that right.” She shivered a little. “Can’t wait to meet my grandson. Being a grandma is really special, you know.”
“So is being a great auntie,” Margaret insisted.
“Did I hear something about grandmothers?�
�� Iris asked, walking toward them with little Rosemary in her arms. She smiled down at the sleeping infant. “Craig and I are sure enjoying this little one.” Just then, she nodded toward the dining room. “Oh, there’s Arthur and Suzette! I don’t think they’ve met Rosemary yet,” she said, moving swiftly toward them.
“So, Savannah, I guess you mended a few fences,” Rob said when he and Cheryl joined her, Gladys, and Margaret.
“Oh my gosh,” she said, her eyes wide, “wasn’t that the weirdest thing—running into that photographer in the hills?” She laughed. “I was trying to get away from all that drama she created and just as I was starting to relax, I run into her on the trail.”
“Yeah, what are the chances?” Cheryl said.
“But it turned out to be a good thing, right?” Rob asked. “I mean, she finally realized what had really happened to her ring and dropped those charges against you and your cat.”
“Thankfully,” Savannah said.
“Yeah, otherwise Rags and Savannah would be dressing alike,” Margaret quipped.
“Dressing alike?” Savannah repeated.
“In prison garb.”
“Phone call for you, Savannah,” Michael said, grinning as he approached with her cell phone.
“Now?” she complained. “Can’t I call them back?”
He handed her the phone. “I don’t think you’ll want to miss this call.”
“Hello?” she said hesitantly into the phone.
In response, she heard a sweet child’s voice say, “Hi, Mommy Savannah.”
“Marissa!” Savannah shouted. “How are you, honey?”
“Awesome,” the child said. “Savannah, it’s snowing outside. It’s so, so, so pretty.”
“I’ll bet it is. Will you send me a picture? You are using your camera, aren’t you? Well, I know you are; I got the pictures you sent of Angel. That kitty of yours is getting so big and beautiful.”
“Yes, she is.” Marissa paused, then said more quietly, “Savannah, I’m getting a really special Christmas present.”
