With the help of a therapist, Ella could tell that Beth was slowly learning to accept herself and love the person she saw in the mirror. She had to agree with Beth that deciding to get married while she was pregnant was a big step for her. She had been adamant about having the baby and losing the weight before the big day, even though Nick didn’t want to wait. Ella reached over and gave Beth a one-armed hug. “I’m thrilled for you both. You’ll be a beautiful bride. So, does that mean we’re going to look at wedding dresses next?”
“Yep, you bet your ass we are. Ugh, when did I start sounding so much like my sister?”
Ella laughed, thinking to herself that no one would ever sound like Suzy. She was one of a kind. “Do you have any idea where you are going to get married?”
Beth gave her an evil grin and said, “Oh yeah, I know exactly where. I hate to look like a copycat of Claire and Suzy, but I’m going to get married on the beach. I’m sure Suzy would let me borrow her strip of sand for the occasion.”
Still not certain why Beth continued to grin, she said, “I think that’s great, but am I missing something?”
“I hate to admit this because it will probably sound kind of bad, but imagining my parents trying to walk through the sand in their uptight business attire really just sealed the deal for me. I figured trying to get sand out of their shoes would distract them from my pregnant state when I walk down the aisle.”
Ella fell back in the seat, holding her sides as she laughed until tears ran down her face. The poor woman at her feet trying to paint her toenails gave her a nasty look as she removed the polish on her big toe and started over again. She gave her a sheepish look of apology before turning back to Beth. “You may be more like Suzy than I thought. It’s rather brilliant though. From what you’ve told me, they will hate an outdoor wedding. They weren’t at Suzy’s, right?”
“Nope, they had some conference and couldn’t make the last minute arrangements. I think Suzy probably did it on purpose, even though she hasn’t admitted it.”
As it turned out, Claire and Suzy met them at the downtown bridal store and after several hours—and a lot of debate—Beth found a gown that she loved and everyone agreed on. The only thing left to do was get the marriage license and decide on the date. Ella had the feeling it would be smart to keep her schedule flexible for the next few weekends.
While everyone was waiting for Beth to get dressed and pay for her gown, Suzy asked, “So, what’s this I hear about Declan being a baby daddy now?”
Ella wasn’t surprised because she had long since discovered that Suzy knew everything, but apparently Claire was. “Whoa, back up for a minute. What are you talking about?” Then looking at Ella she dropped her voice, “Are you pregnant?”
“What? Oh no, it’s not me.”
“It’s not? Alright, I’m confused here. You aren’t freaking out. Would someone please tell me what I’ve missed?”
Suzy took pity on her and said, “Honey, don’t you ever talk to your friends? Declan appears to be the father of your girl Julie’s baby.”
Claire fell back against her seat in shock. “Shit, I knew something was going on there, but I never suspected that. Things were really weird when we ran into him in the hallway at Danvers. I even mentioned it to Jason. I just figured they had . . . um, well known each other or something.” Claire let her sentence trail off, shooting Ella a quick, “Sorry.”
Ella did her best to look like she wasn’t bothered by the whole conversation. “It’s okay. It’s been a bit of a surprise for sure. I guess they had a one-night thing years ago when he was home for a weekend and then she had no way to find him when she found out she was pregnant. They will do a paternity test, but I would be shocked if it doesn’t confirm that Declan is the father. Evan looks so much like him.”
Surprised, Claire asked, “You’ve already met Evan?”
“Yeah, we met up with them at McDonald’s. Julie told him that we were friends of hers.”
Suzy, being surprisingly gentle, asked quietly, “How do you feel about all this?”
Not for the first time, Ella thought how lucky she was to be a part of such a great group of ladies. She loved that she didn’t have to pretend with them. “I’m trying to be okay with everything. Declan having a child is a surprise, but I can handle it. I don’t mean this in a bad way toward your friend, Claire, but the thing I’m having the hardest time with is having to share him with another woman.”
Claire squeezed her hand, “I completely understand. Julie is my friend, but so are you. If it makes you feel any better, I know she’s engaged so I don’t think she would ever look to Declan for anything romantic.”
“I’d feel a little better about that if she hadn’t been at his place last night when I got there.”
“Doing what?” Suzy demanded.
Shaking her head in shame, Ella said, “I completely embarrassed myself in front of her. When he opened the door, I jumped on him and said some, er . . . things that I hope she didn’t hear. I got out of there as fast as I could.”
Suzy turned to Claire, “Please tell me your friend isn’t a nut like Reva.” Ella knew from Beth that Gray had briefly dated Reva before they got together and that she had tried to trick Gray into believing that the baby she was carrying was his. Luckily, she had suffered an attack of conscience and confessed before she had completely ruined the relationship between Gray and Suzy. Ella could only imagine that some of this was hitting close to home for her.
“No, I’m sure she isn’t. Wow, I still can hardly process all of this.”
“Declan did show up at my place shortly after that. He said that she was upset over a fight with her fiancé. He told her that he wasn’t happy about being put in that position and I guess that was it. I just don’t get why she would go over there in the first place. I mean I know they had sex once, but she hardly even knows him.”
Beth walked out with her dress and asked, “Hardly knows who?”
The next several minutes were spent filling Beth in and letting her process her shock.
“Now that everyone knows, give me your honest opinion. Should I be worried about this?”
When there was nothing but awkward silence for a few moments, Suzy sighed and said, “Babe, I’m not going to sugarcoat this for you. I’d be on my guard. I’m not saying there’s anything to be worried about, but until you are certain that this Julie doesn’t want to play happy family with your man, I would keep my eyes open.”
Claire, looking even more pained, nodded hesitantly. “I would never say anything bad about a friend, because I truly don’t think Julie would intentionally try to come between you and Declan, but sometimes things can get confused. If it makes you feel any better, when they met at Danvers, I didn’t detect any type of spark between them. There seemed to be some recognition factor, but nothing sexual. The fact that he took you to meet his son for the first time says a lot about your place in his life.”
“I agree,” Beth chimed in, “That’s huge for a guy.” Just then her phone rang. Smiling at the display she said, “Speaking of guys, here is mine now.” Clicking the button to answer with a, “Hey babe,” she rolled her eyes as she listened for a moment. “Yes, Dad, I’m well aware of how swollen my feet are.”
“Oh barf,” Suzy shuddered, “I really wish she wouldn’t call Nick, ‘dad.’ Talk about a bad mental image.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Beth laughed as she finally hung up. “I can’t help it if the man nags me all the time. I did promise him to come home and put my feet up. If someone will roll me back up, I’ll be on my way.”
Ella was surprised to see a brief look of sadness cross Suzy’s face as she helped Beth to her feet. The look was so fleeting; she had to wonder if she had imagined it. Maybe like her, everyone had their own stuff that they were dealing with. Even someone as no-nonsense as Suzy could still have an off day.
* * *
The next few weeks passed in a blur. In addition to her regular responsibilities at work, she was also helping Be
th and Suzy organize the Danvers Christmas party. Just as she had expected, the results of the paternity tests had proved that Declan was Evan’s father. Julie and Declan had told him at McDonald’s since, apparently, that is where everyone takes their kids when they want to share big news without freaking them out. Ella hadn’t been invited along on that trip, but she thought it was probably something that needed to be done without an extra person along. Declan had said that Evan took it well and his only question had been, “Does this mean we will play cars together a lot now?”
Declan had asked her to go with him to take Evan to the zoo tomorrow. It was their first outing without Julie along and she knew that he was nervous about going alone. Today though, she had convinced him to help her paint her kitchen and so far, thanks to her dropping her paint brush twice, they were both splattered from head to foot. She placed the blame solely on Declan. How was she supposed to concentrate with him wearing low-slung jeans and no shirt?
When his phone buzzed in his pocket, he cradled it against one ear while continuing to paint with the other. “Julie, I don’t know. He doesn’t know me that well. Aren’t kids afraid to sleep away from home? How does he feel about this? Give me a minute and I’ll call you back.” He put down the paintbrush and gave her a grimace. “Ellie . . . I need some help.”
“She wants you to babysit Evan doesn’t she?”
“Yeah, but it’s not that simple. You know that she and Graham are still having problems so she wants me to take Evan overnight so they can have some time alone.”
So far she didn’t see a problem, so she didn’t understand why he was looking at her with a beseeching look in his eyes. “And that’s okay with you, right?”
“I don’t mind, but I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. Do you . . . could we stay here with you or could you stay with us? I know it’s not fair to ask you and I promise I don’t expect you to babysit, but I don’t know what to do if he freaks out or something.”
Ella smiled thinking she had never seen Evan and his father look more alike than at that moment. She walked over to him and put her hand on his broad chest, loving the feel of his warm skin. “Of course you guys can stay with me. If Evan freaks out, we are probably both screwed, but I’m here for moral support. I’ll clean up and run to the store for some supplies. Why don’t you call her back and give her my address so she can drop him off.”
Declan nuzzled her under her chin, which made her shiver in response. Would there ever be a time when she didn’t ignite just from a simple look or touch from him? She had been tormenting him by painting in a long T-shirt with nothing underneath and the breath left her body when he whipped it up over her head. “She can wait, I can’t.” When he took her nipple into his mouth, sucking it until her knees gave way, she didn’t even notice the ends of her hair trailing into the paint tray behind her.
* * *
“You look like a skunk, Ellie.”
Ella looked up from the strange text she had just received from her sister. She could see Declan smothering a laugh at his son’s innocent statement.
Patting Evan on the head, she said, “Thanks, kid. I got a little too close to a man with a paintbrush.”
Declan circled behind her placing a kiss on her head as he passed. “I promise we’ll get you some paint thinner or something before work tomorrow.” Suddenly he froze, “Who’s got a key to your place, babe?” The answer to that question had them both cringing as the door opened and her mother and Crystal stood on the threshold. She heard Declan’s quiet, “Fuck me,” beside her and hoped that her mother and Evan hadn’t.
Crystal’s text saying, “Incoming, run!” made a lot more sense now. Her sister looked over at her shaking her head and said, “I tried to warn you.” It looked like the new and fairly normal Crystal was still in residence. She didn’t know what to make of it, but she hoped it would continue. The old Crystal was a disturbing clone of their mother and, frankly, a little scary.
“Ella Marie! It’s wonderful to see you alive because I fully expected to see your dead body when I opened that door.”
She heard Crystal say, “Wait for it, wait for it.”
“Mom, what are you talking about?” Ella asked.
“Well, I had to assume that you were dead since you haven’t answered or returned any of my calls in the last week.”
“Bam!” Crystal yelled, earning a glare from their mother.
She turned to where both Declan and Evan were watching the scene unfold with varying levels of fascination and knew there would be no help there. “Um, Mom, it has just been very busy at work. I meant to call you back, but I’ve been so tired, by the time I make it home that I just go straight to bed.”
Her mother cut her eyes to Declan in clear disapproval before replying, “Yes, I’m quite aware of why you go straight to bed.”
Ella could feel her face flushing at her mother’s insinuation. She knew this wasn’t the kind of conversation to have in front of a child and she couldn’t believe her mother was being so tactless. Turning to Declan she flashed him a strained smile and asked, “Do you think you and Evan could watch television in the bedroom for a few minutes? I need to discuss something with my mother.”
Declan hesitated, obviously torn between leaving her to face the lion and running like hell to make his escape. He shot her mother a look of distaste before nodding and taking Evan’s hand. “Come on big guy; let’s go see if Bugs Bunny is on. Ellie needs some privacy.”
In typical Evan fashion, he gave his father a pitying look saying, “Bugs Bunny doesn’t come on on Sunday. What’s priv-cy?”
She heard Declan saying, “It’s privacy and it means Ellie wants us to go to the bedroom.”
Ella waited until she heard the door shut behind them before turning back to her mother. “Mom, this has gotten absurd. I’m too old for you to be barging into my house unannounced and embarrassing me in front of my guests.”
“Your guests,” her mother sputtered, “Do you mean the man you are fornicating with? And who is that child? Don’t tell me he is married with a family. Good grief, Ella, where have your morals gone?”
Ella was momentarily distracted from her mother’s running diatribe by the spectacle of her sister making choking motions behind her back. My God, her sister really had gone off the deep end. What was up with her? “Mom, enough already. First, I’m pretty sure no one actually says fornicate anymore and, second, Declan is not married. That is his son Evan.”
Her mother interrupted her explanation with an exasperated, “Of course, I should have known. He has a child out of wedlock.”
“Whoa, alert the media!” Crystal added.
Voicing the exact same thing she had been wondering, her mother turned to Crystal and said, “What in the world is wrong with you lately? I swear, you have gotten as bad as your sister. I’m going to have a talk with Bill about your behavior, young lady.”
Crystal rolled her eyes. “Bill isn’t my father and I’m pretty much finished with listening to him nag me.”
Apparently, this argument with Crystal had been going on for some time because even though their mother looked disgusted, she didn’t look surprised. “We’ll address this later.”
“Now, Ella, I had to leave right after church because I couldn’t stand any more embarrassing questions about why you never come. I’m not leaving until you agree to meet us there next Sunday.”
A refusal was on the tip of her tongue until she had an idea. “Sure, Mom, I’ll come, but only if Declan comes with me.”
“Wha . . . what! I just don’t think that’s appropriate. I mean, people will ask questions.”
“Why would they ask questions, Mom? I’m old enough to have a boyfriend. I’d also like to bring Evan. He is Declan’s son.”
“Ella! Are you trying to ruin our name? First, you want to bring a strange man with you and now you want to bring along his child? You know what people will think!”
“No, I really don’t, Mom. Why don’t you enlighten me.”
“And why is that horrible?”
Next came a statement from her mother that was a complete shock to her and even Crystal looked stunned. “Well, if you insist on this, maybe I can explain it to a few people ahead of Sunday. I’ll just tell Joanne that you and Declan were married quietly last year and have adopted an older child. They would understand since you felt it was your Christian duty.”
“Oh brother,” Crystal moaned, “you have officially lost it, Mommy dear.”
“Mom, do you even hear yourself? You’re harassing me about not going to church, yet you want me to lie to everyone there? Doesn’t that go against everything that church is supposed to represent?”
Her mother had the grace to flush guiltily before snapping, “Your father and I are well known and respected in our community. We have a reputation to uphold. You should be more sensitive to our feelings instead of trying to make things worse.”
Ella felt like her head was about to explode. If this continued, she was going to say something unforgiveable to her mother so she decided the only course of action left was to get rid of her. “Mom, I have company that I have neglected for too long. Tell Daddy I said hello.”
“Are you asking me to leave?”
Crystal stepped over and opened the door. “I think that’s our cue, let’s go, Mom. I’ve got an appointment for a tattoo at three.”
Ella didn’t think it was possible to distract her mother when she was irate with one of her daughters, but that one statement did it. Her mother’s voice raised in disbelief as Crystal ushered her toward the door. She gave a quick thumbs-up to Ella saying, “You owe me big time,” before shutting the door behind them.
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