by Nancy Krulik
“Funny, a woman like you talking about heaven … ,” Mac began.
“I beg your pardon?”
“I just mean, you don’t strike me as a religious type,” Mac replied.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” Lola told him frankly.
“Lola’s just full of surprises,” Sami said, grabbing her coat and hurrying her family out the door.
“Well, she seems interesting,” Al said as he and the other Grangers followed Sami down the block toward the Indian restaurant.
“She’s great,” Sami said. “And I owe her a lot. She gave me a job when I really needed one, and she’s full of advice about the fashion business. She was the one who helped me hire seamstresses to do the actual sewing so I could spend more time designing. And she got me a lawyer to run the business end of things.”
“A lawyer,” Mac scoffed. “I’ve been in business for myself for thirty years and I never once needed a lawyer.”
“Well, the fashion business is more complicated,” Sami explained. “There’s copyright laws, and employee compensation issues and … anyway, here we are,” she finished, leading her family into the restaurant and finding them a booth near the back.
“Wow, this smells delicious,” Celia said, settling into a plush purple velvet booth and sniffing the air. “What’s that spice?”
“Curry, I think. They use a lot of that here. The food is amazing. Real traditional cooking. The chef is from India.”
Celia and Al seemed impressed. Mac just rolled his eyes.
“How about I order for us?” Sami asked. “They have really yummy breads for appetizers, and then we can try some chicken dishes, and maybe a shrimp dish. And Dad, I know you like lamb.”
Mac sat stoically silent as his daughter confidently ordered the foreign-sounding dishes from the menu.
“Where’d you learn all that?” Celia asked as the waiter walked away.
“Oh, you just pick it up after a while.” Sami shrugged. “Lola comes here or orders from here all the time.”
“She’s very cool,” Celia offered.
“You’re not kidding,” Sami said excitedly. “She’s like an icon in the Village. She knows everyone. And everyone knows her. They treat her with such respect and, because I work with her, they treat me that way too.” Sami added for her dad’s sake, “She takes care of me.”
“It doesn’t seem like you need anyone to take care of you,” Al told her. “You sure gave it to that Bruce Jamison character last night. It was all over the news.”
Sami blushed. “Oh, I wish you guys didn’t have to see that. It was so embarrassing—”
“Embarrassing? Embarrassing?!” Mac glared at her. “Is that what you call standing up for yourself? Is that what you call putting a jerk like that in his place? As far as I’m concerned, last night was the first time you acted like my Sami since I got here. I was proud of you.”
My Sami. She stared at him. “You were?”
“Heck, yeah,” Mac answered. “But the way you’re acting now, all haughty and sophisticated, ordering for us, and trying to act like that Lola character is someone worthy of respect, well, I’m not so sure. I think you’d better come home with me before you become one of these—”
“AAAAHHHH!”
Before Mac could finish his sentence, Celia let out a sharp cry. She grabbed her belly and bent over.
“Oh, my God! Ceil, are you okay?” Sami asked her.
“It hurts so much,” Celia cried out.
“Shh. It’s going to be all right,” Al told her. But the paleness on his face let Sami knew he wasn’t so sure. He reached over and grabbed a passing waiter. “Call an ambulance! I think my wife’s in labor.”
“Labor? But she can’t be!” Sami said. “She’s only seven months pregnant. She’s got till January.”
“Preterm labor,” Al explained as he slipped an ice cube into Celia’s mouth. “The doctor told us this could happen if she went on a plane this late in the pregnancy.”
“But … Celia said she had a few more weeks,” Sami murmured.
“It was still a risk,” Al admitted.
“Then why fly out here?” Sami wailed, looking at the agony on her best friend’s face.
Al glared at Mac. “Because of him—”
“Al, don’t,” Celia begged in a small voice.
“No,” Al told her. “It’s about time Mac Granger found out what his stubbornness can do to people.” Al turned to Sami. “He said he was coming out here to get you, no matter what. She didn’t want you to have to face him alone. And the doctor said it was only a small chance that she could go into preterm labor.”
“Al, you shouldn’t have let her,” Sami said, feeling extremely guilty. She knew her father wasn’t the only one at fault. She’d been pretty stubborn herself, not having called him for all these months. Her father was silent beside her.
“I tried to talk her out of it, Sami, really, but she said you were best friends, and that she couldn’t leave you stranded with him.”
“Celia, if I had known … You didn’t say he was mad …,” Sami stammered hopelessly, knowing that didn’t really matter anymore.
At that moment, the ambulance workers rushed into the restaurant. They lifted Celia expertly onto a gurney and began to wheel her out into the street. “You can ride with us,” one of the men told Al. “You two meet us at St. Vincent’s emergency room.”
As they carried Celia out of the restaurant, Mac collapsed back into the booth. His face was pasty white, and for a moment, Sami thought she was going to have to call for a second ambulance. Then a single tear slid from her father’s eye and down his cheek. Sami was stunned. She’d never seen her father cry before. “What have I done?” he murmured. “What have I done?”
Sami reached over and put a tender arm around her father’s shoulder. This was no time for blame, or arguments. This was the time Celia would need her family most. “It’s okay, Dad,” she assured him. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
Twenty
“We got here as soon as we could,” Rain said, rushing into the hospital waiting room with Vin at her side. “How is she?”
“We don’t know anything yet,” Sami said. “The doctors and Al are in there with her. I’m sorry to have called, but I didn’t know what else to do …”
Vin sat down beside Sami and took her hand. “Don’t be sorry. Of course you should have called. We’re the Three Musketeers, remember? You shouldn’t be expected to go through this alone.”
“She’s not alone,” Mac said suddenly. “She’s with her family.”
“Of course, sir,” Vin said. “I just meant …”
Mac sighed. Oh no, I’m sorry. I know what you meant. I’m glad my little Sami has such a good man in her life. And I’m glad it’s you here instead of that long-haired good-for-nothin’ Franklin Beane.”
Sami thought about that for a moment. How strange that it had never occurred to her to call Franklin. When she needed someone—really needed someone—it was Vin she turned to. In fact, it had always been Vin. She took his hand and squeezed it tightly. Vin squeezed back and looked knowingly into her eyes. He understood without a word.
Mac stood up and offered Rain his seat. She refused, plopping down onto the floor instead. “And I’m glad she has a friend like you,” Mac continued. “With Celia so far away, Sami needs a good girlfriend.”
Sami heaved a heavy sigh. “Some friend I am. Celia risked her baby’s life—and maybe her own—to help me out, and what do I do? I didn’t even make time to see her. I was too busy running to benefits and meeting with clients.” The words sounded strange in her mouth.
“You didn’t know she was in any danger. She didn’t tell you that she could have gone into labor,” Mac began.
“She knew I’d tell her not to come, and she wanted to be here for me. She’s a real friend. Not a jerk like me.”
“You’re not a jerk,” Rain assured her.
“Yeah, well, I’m on my way to being one
.” Sami turned to her father. “You were right, Dad. The city’s a lousy place. It turns people into monsters. Ever since I moved here I’ve done nothing but think about myself. I don’t like the person I’m becoming.” She took a deep breath, recognizing the importance of what she was about to say. “I’m coming home. As soon as Celia’s ready to fly, I’m going home with her.”
Mac looked Sami in the eye. “No, you’re not,” he said simply.
“What?” Sami’s voice scaled up with surprise. That was not at all the response she expected from her father.
Mac put his arm around his daughter. “You know, a few days ago I would have done anything to hear you say that. But now …” He looked toward the closed hospital room door. “My selfishness and need to have things my way have hurt too many people. I won’t ruin any more lives, Sami. This is where you belong. You have a life here. It may not be the life I’d planned for you, but it’s yours. And you’ve got good friends. You’re a good judge of people—those Franklin and Bruce characters aside. I have to trust you. Maybe if I’d trusted your mother more, given her a chance to chase her dreams, she never would have had to leave.”
“But, Dad—”
“No buts about it, Sami. You’re welcome to come visit—stay a month or two at a time. But Elk Lake isn’t big enough for you.” He turned to Vin. “I’m counting on you to make sure she doesn’t get too citified,” he said.
“Don’t worry, sir. The minute she gets out of hand, I’ll remind her about that poison ivy story, or maybe ask her to climb a tree.” Vin leaned over and kissed Sami gently on the forehead. She leaned into his big, strong arms and stayed there, feeling safe.
For a long while, no one said a word. They were all focused on the door to the examining room. Every time a nurse or orderly went through the door, they could catch a glimpse of where Celia lay on the big table surrounded by strange doctors and bright lights.
“She must be petrified,” Sami said quietly.
“She’s okay, she’s got Al there,” Vin assured her. Sami nodded and rubbed her cheek against his. She was suddenly well aware of how important having someone by your side could be. Celia was right.
Al finally emerged from the examination room. His shirt was wet with sweat and his hair was a mess, but he looked relieved.
“Is Celia okay?” Sami asked, leaping up from her seat.
“How about the baby, son?” Mac added.
Al took a sip of water from a nearby fountain. “Everyone’s okay. It wasn’t really preterm labor. It was something called a Braxton-Hicks contraction. They can start up around now. Usually it’s just the belly tightening up a bit, but sometimes they can really hurt. And Celia’s had such a tough time of it up till now, that I guess we both got a little scared. Anyhow, they’re going to keep her here, just overnight for observation, and then”—he turned to Sami—“I think we’re going to have to go home early, kiddo. I want Celia close to her doctor, just in case.”
Sami nodded. “You should be home. Can I see her now?”
“She’s been asking for you.”
Sami raced for the door. She took a deep breath and then entered the room.
Celia was propped up on a gurney, dressed in one of those horrible hospital gowns. But the color had returned to her face, and she looked more like her old self.
“What, you didn’t think New York was exciting enough?” Sami asked her, trying to sound light and breezy, although that was far from how she felt. “You had to add a little of your own thrills to this trip?”
“I kind of overreacted,” Celia admitted.
“No way,” Sami said, shaking her head.
“You were scared, and far from home.”
“People do weird stuff when they’re scared and far from home, huh?” Celia asked pointedly.
Sami blushed. “I’ve kind of been making a jerk of myself over the past few months, a jerk of myself over the past few months, haven’t I?”
“You said it, I didn’t.” Celia smiled. “Still, it’s good to hear it out loud.”
“I’ve missed you, I really have,” Sami told her. “I told Dad I want to come home and be there with you, but he won’t let me. Which is okay, I think, because I don’t know if I can leave Vin and—”
“Vin, huh?” Celia said. “Well, it’s about time.”
“About time?”
“Sami, you’ve been telling me about your best friend Vin since you moved here. I knew you were crazy about him, but you sure were dense.”
Sami laughed. “You always knew me better than I knew myself. Which is why I want to come home—”
“Oh no, you don’t,” Celia warned. “You’re not giving up on your half of the bargain. You were supposed to become famous so I could be the best friend of a celeb, and so my daughter could have an aunt she could really brag about on Career Day. And there’s no way you could do that in Elk Lake.”
Sami shrugged. “I guess,” she said slowly.
“Besides, there’s such a thing as airplanes, you know. You could take a trip or two. You don’t have to be a total stranger.”
Sami reached over and hugged Celia gratefully. “I won’t be. I promise.”
Vin was waiting for Sami as she walked out of Celia’s room. “Rain took your father and Al for a cup of coffee,” Vin explained quietly. He glanced toward the hospital room where Celia lay. “How is she?”
“Its going to be okay,” Sami said, as much to assure herself as anything else. She looked up at him. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” he said softly, pulling her close.
Sami looked into his eyes. He stared back at her, his expression filled with questions. There was only one way for Sami to give him the answers he needed. She reached up and kissed him.
“I’ve got to meet some friends in about twenty minutes,” Rain announced as she, Sami, and Vin left the hospital together late that night. “You’ll have to soldier on without me.”
Sami gave her roommate a grateful smile. It was obvious that Rain had sensed the change in the dynamic between the Three Musketeers, and she was giving Sami and Vin time to sort things out.
The November night was cool. Vin reached over to put his arm around Sami as if to protect her from the cold night air as they walked home. Sami laughed lightly to herself—she was, after all, a Minnesota girl. She was used to the cold.
What she wasn’t used to was being with Vin, at least not in this way. As they reached the doorway to their building, she felt her heart pounding wildly. This is silly, she tried to tell herself. After all, she and Vin had crossed this threshold a thousand times together, after trips to the park or late-night pizza runs.
But this was different, and they both knew it. Once Sami entered Vins apartment tonight, nothing would ever be the same.
“Um, I’m sorry about the mess,” Vin apologized as he fumbled with the keys to his apartment. “Your call caught me off guard.”
“It can’t be any messier than my room,” Sami said, keeping the small talk going. “I have more clothes on my bed than in my closet.”
Vin nodded, and once again they slipped into an abyss of uncomfortable silence. Sami sat gingerly on the couch, and Vin sat down beside her, taking care to be close but not so close as to make her uncomfortable.
Sami’s heart beat faster, and she could feel a hot red blush rising up onto her cheeks. She hoped Vin couldn’t tell just how nervous she was, but deep down she was sure he could. There was no way she could keep anything from him: Vin always knew what she was thinking. He’d proven it that night when they were dancing at Lincoln Center, and probably a million times since then. There was no doubt in her mind that Vin could tell how badly she wanted him. Needed him. There was no sense in trying to hide it. Slowly, tentatively, she reached over and gently ran her finger across his hand.
The effect was explosive. Vin leaned over and kissed her, gently at first, as if he were afraid she would break. Sami pulled him closer to her, letting him know that she w
anted this as much as he did. Vin moved his lips gently down her face, kissing her neck and shoulders passionately as he gently stroked her hair and the side of her cheek. Sami breathed heavily, overcome with joy and excitement. She’d loved Vin from the moment she’d met him. She had just been too blind to see it. Now, here in his apartment, on a cold November night, all of the months of love for Vin poured out of her in one long, passionate kiss. She used her lips to let him know that, now and forever, her heart belonged to him.
Epilogue
Celia entered the models’ dressing room and searched for Sami. She finally spotted her kneeling down beside one of the models, giving her nightshirt one last stitch. “There you are,” Celia said. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Sami leaped up and squeezed her newly svelte best chum. “You look amazing,” Sami said. “I love that suit. It’s so chic.”
“Well, I’m in the fashion business now,” Celia reminded her. “How else would you like the manager of the Elk Lake offices of Sami Granger Designs to look?”
“I wouldn’t change a thing,” Sami assured her. “Where’s Alana?”
“With her proud poppa, of course,” Celia said. “Are you sure you want her here? She could cry at any moment. She’s only two years old, you know.”
“Hard to believe,” Sami murmured. “Of course I want her here. I need my family around today. Where’s Dad?”
“He’s already seated, right next to Lola. They’re exchanging battle stories from the nineteen sixties. Personally, I think they’re both full of it, but …”
“As long as they’re enjoying themselves.” Sami laughed. “Whoever thought that they would become friends?”
“I think it was that trip Lola made with you when you opened the Elk Lake office. She and Mac went off during that party and we didn’t see them for hours,” Celia said, giggling.
Sami laughed, remembering. “Celia, I’m so glad you agreed to run things in Elk Lake when I’m not there,” she said. “I feel so much better knowing it’s in your hands.”
“Are you kidding?” Celia said. “I’m having a blast. And everyone in town thinks of you as some sort of hero. Putting your headquarters in Elk Lake has given lots of people jobs, you know. And adding that day care center was a stroke of genius. I had no idea how many moms wanted to work if they could find a way to be close to their kids.”
