Life's Second Chances: The Show Me Series: Book One

by Anne Stone

  “I’m good. How about yourself?”

  “Hanging in there. I’m on service the entire week, so it’ll be long one. Hey, the reason I’m calling is I wanted to ask you something. What’s your family doing for the Fourth of July? I was thinking of having a barbeque and wanted to invite you all over. My family is planning on being there, too. This will be the first party I’ve thrown since moving back.” Alejandro felt like he was rambling a bit, so he stopped to give Jackie a chance to respond.

  “We have no plans that I am aware of.” She didn’t have to think about her answer at all. “Yes, we’d love to come over and share the holiday with you and your family. Is there something that we can bring?”

  “No, I’ve got it all taken care of. Just bring yourselves.”

  “Thanks. I’m looking forward to it. I’ll make sure we’re all there.”

  “Well, if I don’t see you before, I’ll see you on the Fourth. I’ll make sure Angelina provides you with the details. Say hello to Ben for me.”

  “Okay, Alejandro. Thanks for the invitation.”

  Alejandro hung up and quickly dialed Angelina. “Well, I did it.”

  “Did what?”

  “I invited your family for the Fourth. Your mom said that everyone would be there. I told her you’d fill her in on the details.”

  “Are we still going this weekend to get the tableware?

  “Yep. I’ll try and give you a call this evening, but you know how my schedule is when I’m on service. I feel like I’m going to have a hectic week.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. If you have some time, I can run by the hospital and meet you for lunch or even dinner.”

  “I’ll call and let you know what works best for me. I love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  Angelina didn’t hear from him until late Thursday. She was sitting in her bedroom, making lists of things they needed to handle for the weekend, and they still needed to discuss their future plans in more detail. Angelina was getting ready to turn off the lights for the night when her phone rang. It was Alejandro.

  “How’s it going?”

  “I’m wiped out. It’s been a long week, just like I thought it would be. I was covering for another doctor and he ended up having some critical patients that I had to handle. Then, I had my own patients to deal with… But enough about me. What have you been up to?”

  “I’m sitting here making lists.”

  “For what?”

  “What do you think?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Try your barbeque with our families and our wedding plans.”

  “Oh, yeah. We still need to discuss that.”

  “We do. Are we still on for tomorrow night?”

  “Yep. How about seven? I’ll swing by and pick you up on my way home. Then, we can grab something quick to eat and go shop.”

  “Sounds good. Gosh, it feels like forever since I last saw you, kissed you…”

  “Angelina, I feel the same way. I’ve missed you so much. I’ve found myself day dreaming about you… Us. Normally I am so transfixed while I’m at the hospital, but lately all I find myself thinking about is you at the most inopportune times.”

  Angelina laughed quietly, “I went shopping with your sister today and couldn’t stop thinking about you, either. Gabriella kept asking what was wrong because I kept zoning out. I told her nothing was wrong, but knowing her she knows something’s up. She’s too perceptive.”

  “Yeah, I know. We only have until next week, and then our secret will be out and we can openly discuss our plans.”

  “I can’t wait to see you.”

  “Nor I you. Hey, I’ve gotta go—I’m being paged.”

  “See you tomorrow.”

  “Yeah. I’ll try and give you a call in the morning. Love ya.”

  Alejandro didn’t arrive at her house the following evening until well after nine. He’d called and told her he’d had an emergency and didn’t know when he’d see her. He told her to go ahead and have dinner, and he’d try and stop by if it wasn’t too late. She was disappointed since she hadn’t seen him since the previous Sunday. He apologized, but told her he couldn’t help it. She understood, but was still saddened by the fact that she wouldn’t see him as expected.

  She’d pretty much given up on seeing him for the night when the doorbell rang. She looked at the clock and it was nine thirty. She was alone except for Colleen and Wyatt—her parents were attending a dinner reception. Her siblings were watching a movie while she’d been sitting in the living room, wondering if he would appear.

  She answered the door and looked up at him. He looked drained. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he looked like a walking zombie.

  “Alejandro, you look absolutely exhausted.”

  “I’m beat.”

  “Why didn’t you go straight home?”

  “Because you sounded disappointed on the phone. I felt bad about the whole evening, and I wanted to make things right.”

  He reached for her hand and pulled her out onto the front porch. She closed the door behind her.

  “Come here,” he said as he pulled her into his arms. “God, how I’ve missed you,” he said. He held her for a moment, then placed his hands on either side of her face and kissed her. It felt like heaven being in his arms again.

  She realized that he probably hadn’t eaten yet, so she broke off the kiss and asked him if he wanted something to eat. At first, he said no, but she persuaded him to stay and have at least a bite of something. She led him back into the house as Colleen called out to her, “Angelina is everything alright?”

  “Yes,” she called.

  She led Alejandro into the media room. “Sit down and I’ll bring you something to eat.”

  “What happened to you?” Wyatt asked, giving Alejandro a once-over. “You look like you’ve been through the ringer.”

  “It’s been a long week.”

  “Hey, I hear we’re coming over to your house on the Fourth.”

  “Yep. I think it’ll be a good time.” As he finished his statement, Angelina appeared with a sandwich and fruit salad. “Thanks.”

  Alejandro ate his dinner and stretched his legs out in front of him. He became engrossed in the movie they’d been watching. Angelina just watched him. All she could think about was how lucky she was to have him in her life.

  When the movie ended, he stood to leave.

  “Hey, we’re going to watch another. Are you in?” asked Wyatt.

  “Well…”

  “Come on and stay. We like having you around,” added Colleen.

  “I’ll take that as a compliment. Thanks, Colleen.”

  Alejandro tried, but just couldn’t make it through the second movie—he drifted off halfway through. When Angelina realized he’d fallen asleep, she covered him with a blanket and let him sleep. It was nearing midnight when she finally tried to wake him. Angelina placed her hand on his arm and shook it. He was out to the world. She knew he needed his sleep, but she didn’t want him oversleeping in case he needed to go back to the hospital the next morning. She shook his arm harder and he woke with a start. He was out of it at first, then realized where he was.

  “Oh Angelina, I’m sorry I fell asleep,” he said brushing sleep from his eyes. “I wasn’t much company.”

  “You needed your rest. Come on, let’s get you home.”

  Alejandro stood and reached for her hand. “Walk me out?”

  She nodded and squeezed his hand. As they walked out the door, they met her parents as they were coming in.

  “Hi. How are you?” asked Alejandro.

  “We’re pretty good. Looks like you’ve had a rough day, though.”

  “More like a week’s worth.”

  “Well, we’ll let you go. See you on the Fourth.”

  Alejandro said his goodbye and Angelina walked with him to his car. “Call me when you get home.”

  “Sure.” He pulled her into his arms and held her again before kissing her goodni
ght. “I’ll call you in a few.”

  Alejandro was good to his word—he called her within ten minutes of leaving her house. He told her he had to go in the following day, but asked if she would meet him at his house at noon. He was sure he’d be there by then. “I love you Angelina. Sorry about tonight.”

  “No need to apologize. You just get some rest and I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you,” she said. That was the last thing he remembered, for he barely made it to his bed. He didn’t know when the last time was that he’d been that exhausted.

  He got a good night’s sleep and actually made it home from the hospital well in advance of the noon-time he’d given Angelina. He spent some time working around the house when he heard the doorbell. It was Angelina, all bright-eyed with a huge smile on her face.

  “Come here,” he said and pulled her into his arms.

  She sighed and said “This feels so good.” She began to kiss him. He pulled away and grabbed her hand.

  “Come on, let’s go. We have a lot to do today and I want to be able to spend some quality time with you. Did you bring a change of clothes? I thought we’d go somewhere nice for dinner. I feel like I’ve been neglecting you lately.”

  “You haven’t. You’ve just been busy at the hospital. I fully understand what’s ahead after we marry. You’re unplanned schedules, late night hours, and all. Don’t worry about it.”

  “I do. I want to spend as much time as I can with you.”

  “Let’s not worry about this now. Come on. Let’s get what we need for next week.”

  They ate a quick lunch at a local pub and ventured to the store where they purchased various paper products, snacks, and drinks. He’d buy the meat and other perishable foods the following week. They went back to his house and put everything away. He led her to the patio where they shared a bottle of wine and enjoyed the late afternoon cloudless day. They discussed the party and the time everyone should arrive. She told him she’d come over as early as possible to help decorate and prepare the food.

  “I’m just happy to be off that day. Actually, I’m off the remainder of the week.”

  “Really?”

  “Uh huh. We’ll have to do a day trip or something. Get away, just the two of us.”

  “Sounds like fun.”

  They spent the remainder of the afternoon enjoying one another’s company. Then, they changed and went to dinner. He’d been planning the evening all week long. He was dressed in a suit and she in a beautiful emerald green dress with spaghetti straps. It was cut low in the front and back. He’d never seen her look so beautiful.

  They arrived at the five-star restaurant and were greeted by the valet. As Angelina exited the car, Alejandro pulled her arm through the crook of his and escorted her into the restaurant. He’d called ahead and requested a private dining room. The hostess greeted him.

  “Yes, Dr. Alvarez,” she said. “Follow me.”

  Angelina was surprised that they didn’t have to wait—with it being a Saturday evening, the restaurant was packed. The hostess led them through the center of the dining room towards the back which was lined with private dining rooms, each containing separate balconies that overlooked the vineyard below.

  Angelina was amazed with the room. “What have you done here?”

  “Ah, nothing special. I wanted to spend a quiet evening with you, and what better way than to have our own private dining room.”

  “You didn’t have to do this. I would have been satisfied with sitting—”

  “Shh,” he said. “Let’s enjoy our evening. I haven’t been able to spend much time with you at all this week. I want this to be special. Okay?”

  She nodded.

  A waiter joined them with a bottle of wine. “Sir, would you care to sample?”

  Alejandro approved the wine and the waiter poured her a glass, then topped off his and left them alone to enjoy their drink. Alejandro ordered dinner for her as well. He seemed to know everything she liked.

  As they sat enjoying the ambience of the room, they discussed the Fourth of July party and how their family would react to their news.

  “I think Gabriella will be too excited for words,” Alejandro said. “And for her, that’s something to see since she’s always got something to say.”

  Angelina laughed.

  He asked her about the start to the school year since it would be upon Angelina before too long. “I’m pretty much ready, I just have to deal with the student-specific stuff. I’ll finish that when I get my class list. At least this year I won’t have to redo everything. My lesson plans are pretty well mapped out for the year. I’ve also developed all of my supplemental materials. I feel good and can’t wait to get back to school.”

  At that moment, their waiter came to serve them their first course. They both started with a nice garden salad topped with shrimp. For Angelina’s main course, he ordered her a chicken breast covered with a creamy sauce that included roasted red peppers and artichokes. He ordered a blackened tuna steak for himself. Both meals were accompanied by roasted red potatoes and mixed vegetables. The waiter continually topped off their wine glasses throughout the meal.

  “This meal is spectacular.”

  “It is,” he agreed.

  They finished their meal and then their waiter returned with dessert. Alejandro knew how much she loved crème brûlée and surprised her with it. The waiter turned and reached for a bottle of champagne that had seemingly appeared from nowhere.

  “I’ll take care of that,” Alejandro said, thanking him.

  The waiter left the room. Angelina felt like something was going on—butterflies started to creep into her stomach.

  Alejandro reached for her left hand. Squeezing it lightly he spoke, “Angelina, you’re so important and mean so much to me. You’ve helped me get through a really difficult time, something I could never have begun to deal with on my own. I love you so much.”

  “I feel the—”

  “Shh, let me finish.”

  She nodded, her eyes never leaving his face.

  “Angelina, I know we still have a lot to sort through between the two of us, but I want you to know that I will always, and I do mean always, be there for you. Those days that you’re sad, I want you to share them with me. Whenever you decide to share your infertility with your family, I want to be there with you. To support you.”

  He stood and walked over to where she was sitting. He got down on bended knee and said, “I wanted to do this right. When I asked you to marry me at the Botanical Gardens, I surprised not only you, but myself as well. It was the right time and the right place, but all along I wanted you to experience a magical evening.”

  He withdrew a jeweler’s box from the inside of his jacket and said, “Angelina, my love, will you do me the honor and be my wife?” When he completed the question, he opened the ring box. There sitting on black velvet was the most beautiful diamond ring Angelina had ever seen in her entire life. She was speechless.

  “Well?” he asked.

  Tears started to glide down her face. “Oh my,” she said.

  He silently wiped her tears.

  “I’m stunned. Of course I’ll marry you. This ring is stunning. I’m…”

  He withdrew the two carat marquise-shaped diamond ring from the box and placed it on her finger. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her finger.

  “Alejandro, when did you have time to buy this?”

  “I’ve had it for quite a while. One day I was walking by the jewelry store and decided to take a peek inside. As soon as I walked up to the counter, I saw your ring. I didn’t think twice. I just purchased it. I wasn’t sure when, or even if, I would ever ask you to marry me. Then, I wasn’t sure if you’d even say yes, but I thought I had to have this ring just in case. It spoke to me, and I knew exactly how it would look on your finger. It looks exactly how I imagined…” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “Now, how about that champagne?”

  They enjoyed the remainder of their dinner. Indeed, it h
ad been a magical evening for both of them. “I want to give you my ring back.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t want my family to see it before the party.”

  “Good idea. I’ll place it back on your finger soon, I promise.”

  They ended their evening and he drove her home—she’d returned her car to her parents earlier in the day. They said their goodbyes, and he told her he’d give her a call the following day. It was only three days until the Fourth and he couldn’t wait to share their secret. He wasn’t sure how their families would react, but he knew he should ask her father for her hand in marriage first. But when? He’d figure it out.

  Chapter Twenty

  The evening before their big day, Alejandro went to purchase the remainder of the food for the party. He’d worked late and found himself at the grocery store near midnight. Angelina had requested a specific dressing for her salad, and he had no idea where to find it in the store. He felt bad, but had to call her. Sleepily, she answered her phone.

  “Did I wake you?”

  “Alejandro, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Where are you?” she asked. He could hear her sit up in bed.

  “Settle down, sweetheart. I’m fine. I am standing in the middle of the grocery store right now, and I have no idea where to find your salad dressing.”

  “You’re where?”

  “At the grocery store.”

  “Why’d you go now? We could’ve gone tomorrow.”

  “I wanted to sleep in a bit. I need to be on my game…”

  “Now, Alejandro. I don’t think it will be that bad.”

  “I’m only kidding. Seriously, I’m beat and just want to try and get a good night’s sleep. I wanted to make sure I got everything so we won’t be hurried before everyone arrives. That’s all.”

  She told him where the dressing was located and that she’d see him around nine. “Will that be too early?”

  “Nah. I should be good to go by then. I’ll let you get back to sleep. Angelina?”

  “Yeah?”