Perfect Pairings

by J. A. Armstrong

  “Tommy…”

  “We all need this. You asked me if I regret being a donor for you and Devon. How could I? In a way, that’s what I was with Dar.”

  “That’s not true at all.”

  “In some ways, I think it is. I don’t think that was something she thought about. Everything, Carrie—she wanted to share everything with you. She never had the strength to tell you that. I think that’s because she knew that she could never give you what you needed.” He took Carrie’s hand. “I can’t give CJ that. I can love her. I can listen when she needs me. I can help support her financially, take her to a museum or a ball game. What she needs is you. You’re the biggest part of Dar. CJ knows that, I think. And, you’re the one who’s always been there for the hard stuff. You’ve wiped more runny noses, and dealt with her nightmares far more than Dar or I ever did. I do need this too. We all do.”

  Carrie blew out a long breath. “When do you want this to happen?”

  Tom smiled.

  “That soon, huh?”

  “Talk to Devon.”

  “Tommy, CJ needs to hear this from all of us.”

  He nodded.

  “I’ll talk to Dev tonight. When do you think your mom might make a move?”

  “I don’t know. I was kind of hoping you might give her a ring.”

  Carrie laughed. “I don’t have a magic wand.”

  “She thinks you do. Please? If she knows that you’d like her to be closer, she’ll…”

  “I’ll call her.”

  “I love you; you know?”

  I do know. “I love you too.”

  “I’m sorry if I…”

  “There’s been enough ‘sorry’ in our lives; don’t you think? Let’s just concentrate on where we go from here.”

  Tom nodded again.

  Carrie squeezed his hand. Please, God, give me the strength for all of this.

  ***

  “Do you feel like telling me what’s going on?” Devon asked.

  Carrie collapsed beside Devon on the bed. “I don’t know where to start.”

  “What happened? I’ve never seen Tom so quiet in my life.”

  Carrie turned and looked into Devon’s eyes. “He wants us to take CJ permanently.”

  “What?”

  Carrie sighed. “He has an offer in Boston. He asked me if we would agree to having full-time custody of CJ.”

  Devon sat up and rubbed her face. “I didn’t hear that right. I know I didn’t.”

  “You did.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “A lot, actually. At the end of it all, I told him that I would talk to you but that I was sure you would agree.”

  “I’d love CJ to be here, but…”

  “I made a few things clear. He can’t ask us to change this again. He can’t ask her to.”

  “Why?”

  “Honestly, I’m not sure of all the reasons. That part worries me. I do know Tommy. He didn’t come to this lightly. He’s trying to convince his mother to move here. He talked to Dr. Sokolski.”

  “What did Eva say?”

  “That she believes CJ needs a familiar and dependable routine, and that CJ might be best served living here.”

  Devon needed a moment to process Carrie’s information.

  “Dev?”

  “I can’t believe he would do this.”

  “I know.”

  “I can’t believe you’re not mad.”

  “What good will that do any of us? Mad? Dev, I’m tired.”

  “Are you okay?”

  Carrie chuckled. Devon’s protective streak was in high gear. She stroked Devon’s cheek. “I’m all right,” she promised. “I mean that I’m tired of the upheaval. It’s hard on all of us, CJ most of all. I have to know that he’s prepared to abide by his decision—not for me or for you—for CJ.”

  “Do you think he is?”

  “I do.”

  “You’re worried.”

  “Only that one day she’ll blame me somehow.”

  “Babe, CJ loves you more than anyone in the world.”

  “Maybe so. Loving someone doesn’t mean you can’t be hurt by them or that you can never harbor resentment toward them.”

  Devon’s mind wandered back to the conversation she’d had with her mother. “That’s true. I don’t know; I think this is a lot like why CJ needs to call you her mom.”

  “How so?”

  “It’s what she needs, Carrie. She’s just as likely to resent us all if things stay the way they are. Who knows what she’ll think in ten or twenty years? She might blame us for being afraid. She might thank us for doing this now. I don’t know.” Devon massaged her brow. “I want her here, Carrie.”

  Carrie smiled. “I know; I do too.”

  “Maybe it’s selfish but if this is what he wants to do, and it means she’s here with us all week… I don’t want to argue with him about it. I can’t stand seeing her so upset when she leaves. It kills me. I know it kills you.”

  “It’s not what I envisioned.”

  “Well, if there’s one thing I’m learning it’s that our life is a little unpredictable.”

  Carrie laughed.

  “Maybe this is something that will help make things a little more consistent for all of us.”

  “I hope so.” Carrie sucked in a quick breath.

  “Are you okay?” Devon asked.

  “Yeah, just a little soccer match happening, and my ribs are apparently the goal.”

  Devon grinned and moved her hand to Carrie’s belly.

  Carrie watched as Devon’s eyes grew glassy and emotional. It had become a familiar expression. Any time that Devon felt their baby move, she seemed to be awestruck.

  “What do you think she’s doing in there?” Devon asked.

  “I told you; playing soccer.”

  “I’m serious. Do you think she knows we’re waiting for her?”

  Carrie tucked a strand of hair behind Devon’s ear. “I think somebody is getting tired of waiting.”

  Devon’s eyes grew wider. “What do you mean?”

  Carrie smiled reassuringly. “I don’t think you’ll be meeting Mildred or Murdock tonight.”

  Devon let out a sigh of relief.

  “Were you really worried?” Carrie asked.

  “It’s not time yet,” Devon said. “It’s not time,” she said as her lips pressed against Carrie’s stomach. “You play soccer in there with Mommy’s ribs for a little while longer.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  Devon grinned. “I just want you both to be okay. I want everyone to be okay.”

  “We will be. I could do without so much soccer, though.”

  “She’s been pretty active, huh?”

  “Tonight—yes.”

  “She likes my cooking,” Devon said.

  Carrie giggled. She laid back and pulled Devon into her arms. “I think he just asked if Momma could make Mexican tomorrow.”

  “Mexican?”

  “Sure. Tacos or…Oh! Those enchiladas you made for Dakota’s party.”

  “I thought you weren’t eating anything spicy?” Devon questioned.

  “I didn’t ask for it; Murdock did.”

  “I think I prefer Harry.”

  “Well, Harry or Henrietta would like your enchiladas.”

  Devon smirked. “What about you? How do you feel about my enchiladas?”

  Carrie’s laughter filled the room. “Unless you want to sleep in a pool, you will not make me laugh so hard.”

  “Are you saying you don’t like my enchiladas?”

  Carrie laughed some more. “I love your enchiladas.”

  Devon kissed Carrie gently. “Do me one favor?”

  “If I can.”

  “Don’t worry too much about what CJ will think in ten years,” Devon requested. “I know you do; you always do. Concentrate on now,” she said. “On everything we have and everything CJ has to look forward to.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “If it makes you
feel any better, she will probably be more pissed at me when she’s fifteen or sixteen.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Because I’ll be a lot scarier with boys—or girls that she brings home than Tom could ever be. Trust me on that one.”

  “Stop talking.”

  “I’m only saying that…”

  Carrie covered Devon’s mouth with her hand. “Unless you want your child to be named Sausagea, you will stop now.”

  “You made that name up.”

  “I did not. I saw it online.”

  “No one on earth has named their child after a sausage.”

  “They have.”

  “I’m a chef; I should know.”

  “Why is that? Is that one of your specialties—naming babies?”

  “Maybe it is. And don’t get any ideas about Hamenea or Porkodea either.”

  “Porkodea? I think I’d prefer Chewbacca,” Carrie replied.

  “No Star Wars names; we agreed.”

  “No, we didn’t.”

  “Yes, we did; when you told me that you were pregnant.”

  “You said no Anakin.”

  “You agreed,” Devon replied.

  “Yes, not to name a boy Anakin.”

  “You can’t be serious,” Devon said.

  Carrie finally gave up and laughed. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “For what?”

  “For always knowing how to make me laugh.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “No.”

  “Devon, just think about it for a minute.”

  “There is nothing to think about. The answer is no.”

  “Twenty-thousand dollars is a lot of money to pass up, Dev. This is our slow period. The wedding rush is done, the holiday rush is months away. Think about how much this would help. Twenty K? Come on, Dev. All you have to do is take point with Leigh.”

  “No.”

  “I know you’re worried about Carrie…”

  “Why did we hire Stephen?” Devon asked.

  “What?”

  “I asked you why we hired Stephen.”

  “Because we needed someone on banquets full-time.”

  “Right. Someone not you, and someone not me. The answer is no. That’s what he gets paid for. I always check the contracts, and I always review the details. That’s my responsibility. It is not my responsibility to meet with individual clients nor is it my job to help them plan their event. That is what we pay Stephen for, and he is more than capable. He’s talented. No.”

  “So, you’re going to walk away from this because you don’t like the client.”

  “Don’t start.”

  “Devon!”

  “Bruce, stop pushing this. I mean it. Leigh Matthews always has a motive. Trust me on that. And, I would give you the same answer no matter who asked. At least, I would right now. The answer is no. I can’t commit to anything like that with Carrie so close to delivering. It’s not happening; so, either find a way to appease Leigh’s request or don’t but drop the subject with me.”

  Bruce sighed and shook his head. “I’ll see what I can do. You know how she is.”

  “Yeah; I do.” Devon’s phone buzzed. She smiled and answered. “Hey, babe. What? Seriously? You’re not serious?”

  Bruce watched as Devon’s face drained of all color. Uh-oh.

  “Is Mom there? Just have her take you. I’ll meet you there. No, don’t wait for me. Carrie…” Devon groaned. “Well, that’s ten minutes longer than needed. What? Stop arguing with me so I can leave.”

  “Everything okay?” Bruce asked.

  “Carrie’s water broke.”

  “Shit.”

  “I gotta go.”

  “Dev, it’ll be all right.”

  “Yeah,” Devon said. I hope so.

  “Call me!” Bruce called after her.

  Devon waved her hand.

  Oh, boy. God, help Carrie. Bruce chuckled.

  ***

  “How are you doing?” Jillian asked Carrie.

  “Honestly, I’m okay. I’m more worried about Devon. She sounded almost panicked on the phone. I couldn’t even tell her how calm Dr. Brandt was when I called.”

  Jillian patted Carrie’s hand. “I’ve never been on her side of the equation,” she confessed. “I do remember Lance when Kit was born. He was a wreck. He tried to hide it. It was obvious. I think it’s because they can’t do anything but watch. He told me that he wanted to be excited, but he was so unsettled by seeing me in pain and wondering what he should do, that he couldn’t think about a baby at all.”

  “Maybe in some way we have the better end of the deal. All I can think about is the baby.”

  Jillian grinned. “Not nervous?”

  “Maybe a little,” Carrie confessed. “There’s no turning back now.”

  “No, there isn’t.”

  Carrie closed her eyes as a contraction began.

  “Try to breathe,” Jillian said. “Although, I hated it when people told me that—every time.”

  Carrie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I should have known she was on her way.”

  Jillian’s eyes twinkled. Carrie had always referred to the baby as he until now. She suspected that was to tease Devon. “She, huh?”

  Carrie smiled. “I think so.”

  “Haven’t told Devon that, I would guess.”

  “No.”

  Jillian laughed. She squeezed Carrie’s hand. “Soon, you will be holding that little one.”

  “When is soon?” Carrie grimaced then laughed.

  “Not soon enough, I’m guessing.”

  ***

  Devon tripped as she ran up the walkway toward the house. “Fuck!”

  Carrie appeared in the doorway and chuckled. “Be careful. I don’t want to spend the night in the Emergency Room instead of the delivery room.”

  Devon looked up. “Are you okay?”

  Carrie smiled reassuringly. “Better than you, I think.” She started to descend the stairs, and Devon picked up her pace. “Honey,” Carrie grabbed Devon’s hand. “Relax.”

  “How can you be so calm?”

  “No point in getting upset,” Carrie said. “Isn’t this what we’ve been waiting for?”

  “It’s not time,” Devon muttered.

  “Devon.” Carrie directed Devon to look at her. “I’m okay. We’re both okay. We’re all okay. Relax, honey. It’s only a little over two weeks early. It’ll be fine. Dr. Brandt didn’t sound surprised or concerned.”

  “Where’s your bag?”

  “Your mom has it. Let’s go.”

  Devon fumbled with her keys.

  “Do I need to drive?” Carrie teased.

  “What? No…” Devon sighed. “Okay, I get it. I’m acting like a TV dad or something.”

  Carrie held her thumb and forefinger a tad apart. She winked and kissed Devon’s cheek. “Come on,” she said. She let Devon lead her to the car and winced when she took her seat.

  “Oh, God, was that a contraction?” Devon asked.

  Carrie held the same two fingers slightly further apart in reply.

  “Shit.”

  Carrie laughed. “I’m all right, Dev. Let’s go before Millicent or Murdock gets here.”

  Devon chuckled despite her nerves. I can’t believe this is really happening.

  ***

  “Hi, honey,” Gwen Maynard answered the phone.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Are you in the car?”

  “We are.”

  “Doctor’s appointment?” Gwen inquired.

  Carrie snickered. “More like baby appointment. My water broke.”

  Gwen wasn’t surprised by her daughter’s news. “How are you doing?”

  “Better than Dev, I think.”

  Carrie’s mother laughed. “I believe that. How are you feeling?”

  “It’s fun, Mom,” Carrie said sarcastically.

  “I remember. Just keep thinking about what’s on the other side,” Gwen advised.

 
; “I am. I promised I’d call.”

  “I’m glad you did. You have Devon keep us posted. I’ll look to book that flight this week.”

  Carrie knew better than to argue. Her mother had expressed a desire to come stay for a couple of weeks after Carrie gave birth. Carrie was looking forward to the visit. And, she was positive that her mother was anxious to meet her new grandbaby. “Okay. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “Remember to keep thinking about holding that baby, sweetheart. No matter what, you keep your mind on that.”

  “I will.”

  “How’s your mom?” Devon asked as she turned down the road that led to the hospital.

  “Excited,” Carrie said.

  “And, you? Are you doing okay?”

  Carrie smiled. Her contractions were coming closer together and with growing intensity. She was determined to grit her teeth and bear it. Devon was already a nervous wreck. In Carrie’s mind, she told herself that it would get much worse before she got to see her son or daughter. She’d better be prepared. She thought about her baby. She reminded herself to breathe and relax. And, Carrie also kept an eye on Devon. Few things made Devon falter. Seeing Carrie in pain was one of those things. Carrie had learned that when she’d suffered migraines. She’d seen it when morning sickness had taken over. Devon’s inclination was to fix things. This was an experience that Carrie would have to endure. All Devon could do would be to offer her support.

  “I just can’t wait to hold her.”

  Devon glanced over at Carrie with surprise. “Her?”

  Carrie kept smiling. “Or him. I don’t care,” she said. She took a deep breath as a contraction hit her unexpectedly. She chuckled as it passed. “I’ll take that to mean someone is ready to meet us too.”

  Devon smiled for the first time since arriving home. She reached across the seat and took Carrie’s hand as they pulled up to the emergency entrance. “I’ll bet she’ll look just like you.”

  Carrie laughed. “Heaven help her.”

  ***

  “Any news?” Lance asked his wife.

  “No. How’s CJ?” Jillian asked.

  “Wanting her mother,” he replied.