Mary’s eyes filled with tears, knowing how badly she’d hurt him. “I’m sorry.”
“You should be.”
She opened her purse for a tissue and clenched it in her hands as she looked down. “I went to the abortion clinic—”
“I don’t want to hear this.” He started to walk away. He stood with his back to her, his shoulders stiff, looking out the picture window.
Mary squeezed her eyes closed. She needed to tell him. “George, listen to me … I should have told you this long ago. I went to the clinic, met with the doctor—”
“I don’t want to hear it,” he repeated, louder this time.
“I couldn’t do it, George. I couldn’t do it.”
George froze, and then slowly, ever so slowly, he turned around, his face revealing his shock. “What did you just say?”
“I was on birth-control pills … The chances of getting pregnant were a hundred thousand to one. I didn’t forget my pills. I took them religiously every morning, and still I got pregnant. As I sat in the clinic, it came to me that this baby was no accident. This child was meant to be born.”
All George seemed capable of doing was staring at her, his mouth open in shock and disbelief.
“We had a daughter,” she whispered.
George was silent for a long time, and then the words burst out as if he couldn’t say them fast enough: “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I … I couldn’t. I’d left, severed the ties. I didn’t want to hurt you anymore.”
“Hurt me? You didn’t want to hurt me?” he repeated and glared at her, his eyes wide and accusing. “Is this your idea of a joke? You gave birth to my daughter and then didn’t tell me … All these years you’ve deprived me of my own flesh and blood, and the reason is you didn’t want to hurt me?”
“George …”
He held up his hand, stopping her. “I didn’t want to keep loving you. God knows I tried not to. I married someone else, hoping, praying that would purge you from my mind. It didn’t. Kathleen knew I was simply going through the motions. She always knew that despite all my claims I’d never stopped loving you.”
Mary covered her mouth and sobbed. “Oh, George …”
He sank into a chair and covered his face with both his hands. “And now to find out you gave life to my child and then kept her from me all these years …”
“I didn’t keep her from you.” Mary stood, walked over to him, and placed her hand on his hunched shoulder.
He jerked away from her as if her touch had scalded him. He looked up, his eyes rimmed with tears.
In her heart she believed she’d done the right thing, the only thing she could have done for her and for their daughter. “I gave our baby girl up for adoption.”
George tore his gaze away from her, covered his face with his palms again, and released bitter sobs that wrenched at her heart.
Unable to bear his grief, Mary bent over him and set her hands on his shoulders. Tears rained down her cheeks as she whispered softly, “I’m so sorry, so sorry.”
George reached for her then; gripping her around the waist, he buried his face in her stomach.
Chapter 18
Annie walked a complete circle around one of the tables that had been set up in the reception hall where family and friends would be gathering later that afternoon. The hall was beautifully decorated with flower centerpieces and balloons waiting to be attached to the chair backs. Her fear was that this anniversary party was destined to be an unmitigated disaster. It would be a miracle if her grandparents didn’t end up killing each other before the end of the day. What had happened? What had changed? Where was the loving couple she remembered from her childhood?
“Where would you like these chairs?” Oliver called out from the other side of the hall. Folding chairs lined the walls, ready to be placed around the tables.
Annie couldn’t do anything but stare back.
“Annie?”
She scooted out a chair and slumped into it. “This isn’t going to work,” she whispered.
With his hands braced against his lean hips, Oliver surveyed the room. “I think the setup is perfect.”
“I’m not talking about the room. I’m talking about my grandparents.” It was hard to believe that just a few days earlier Annie had told friends she wanted a marriage just like theirs. They had built their lives around each other. They’d raised their family; they’d supported and encouraged each other through the years. They were living proof that love lasts a lifetime.
Oh, my.
“Annie?” Oliver asked, cutting into her thoughts. “What’s the problem?”
“You need to ask?” she cried. Her stomach was tied up in one huge knot and she could easily picture the entire anniversary party going down in flames. If her grandfather mentioned one word that they’d rushed into the wedding because of the fear of pregnancy it would mortify her grandmother and shock their friends.
Oliver joined her, sitting down across from her. He leaned forward and reached for her hands, gripping them both with his own.
“Are they always like this?” Annie asked, pleading with him to tell her this behavior wasn’t the norm.
“No,” he assured her.
“Thank God.” But his words didn’t help ease her worries. “They’ve done nothing but argue from the moment they arrived. Grandpa won’t wear his hearing aids, and then Grandma shouts at him. Then he gets irritated with her for yelling.”
“I know.”
Oliver chuckled, although what he found amusing Annie couldn’t guess.
“Kent gets dressed, and Julie says what he’s wearing isn’t appropriate and insists he change,” he said, adding to her list.
“Exactly.” Annie didn’t know what to do. She felt sick to her stomach. “I thought I wanted a marriage just like theirs,” she said, and was surprised the words had been audible.
“Annie,” Oliver said gently, reassuringly, “people show love in different ways.”
“By fighting? I don’t think so.”
“Your grandparents are nervous about this party. This celebration wasn’t your grandfather’s idea. He’d much rather be back in Portland, playing poker with his buddies. Saturday afternoon he plays cards. He’s going ahead with this whole setup because he thinks this is what your grandmother wants, but he’d prefer to not be part of any of this. It’s not his thing.”
Frustrated and a little hurt, Annie tilted her chin up. “He might have said something to me about how he felt. I could have toned down the party, made it a small affair.”
“He didn’t want to disappoint your grandmother,” Oliver explained.
Annie wasn’t sure what to think. It was far too late to back out of the celebration now, at the very last moment. Within a few hours the band would arrive, the caterers would set up the buffet tables, and her grandparents’ closest friends and family would gather at the waterfront for the renewal of the wedding vows.
Oliver rubbed his thumb over the tops of Annie’s hands. Concerned as she was, she hadn’t realized he was holding her hands. As soon as she did, she tugged them free.
“Do you remember the summer you were fourteen?” he asked.
“Of course,” she snapped. Why he would bother her with nonsensical questions irritated her all the more.
“You came to Portland for two weeks with your mother. Do you remember why?”
“What I remember about that summer was doing everything I could not to get anywhere in the same vicinity as you.” Annie did her best to hide how annoyed he made her with all these useless questions. After that disastrous kiss she’d been determined never to speak to Oliver again. Annie had done everything she could to avoid him, which made Oliver seek her out with more determination than ever. He’d gone above and beyond the norm to make her as miserable as possible, it had seemed to her.
“You were dreadful to me,” she reminded him.
“I know.”
“You know? Why would you do that? What did I ever do to
you that warranted such meanness?” Other than make a complete idiot of herself and let him kiss her.
Oliver released his breath in a slow sigh. “I wanted to kiss you again.”
“Well, you had a funny way of going about it.”
“True I didn’t show a lot of finesse, but you made sure I paid for it.”
She didn’t know how that was possible, but she didn’t want to get into any of that now. It was a long time ago and not the least bit important. “What does any of this have to do with my grandparents?”
“You don’t remember why you came to Portland that summer?”
“We visited every summer.”
“Sure, for a few days, but that particular summer you spent two weeks.”
“We did?”
“I should know,” Oliver insisted. “It was torture for me having you right next door.”
Despite herself, Annie smiled. “If I made you miserable that summer, then good. It was what you deserved.”
“Your grandfather had surgery, remember,” he said, ignoring Annie’s comment, “and your grandmother refused to leave his side.”
Annie blinked. She vaguely recalled that her grandfather had been sick. What remained prominently in her mind was how much she’d detested Oliver and how miserable he’d made her. It boosted her ego to learn that she’d returned the favor, although she couldn’t imagine what she had done that was so awful.
“Your grandmother had recently opened her own gift shop, remember?”
Annie did, because the shop sold dolls. Not play dolls for children but high-end porcelain ones that women cherished and collected. Annie remembered that some of those fancy dolls cost several thousands of dollars. The shop had been successful for a number of years before the doll market crashed.
“Yes,” she admitted. “I remember Grandma’s shop.”
“Your mother came to work in the shop while your grandfather was hospitalized.”
Frowning, Annie’s mind drifted back to that summer. Although her annoyance with Oliver played heavy in her mind, she did recall that her grandfather had been gravely ill. “Grandpa’s appendix burst. Mom was afraid he might die.”
“So was your grandmother and just about everyone else. I can remember hearing someone say that it was your grandmother’s love that pulled him though. She was with him nearly twenty-four/seven.”
Annie couldn’t remember ever seeing her grandmother during that trip.
“A love that strong doesn’t change, Annie.”
She desperately wanted to believe what he said was true. “I find that hard to believe, seeing how they snipe at each other now.”
“Your grandfather is overwhelmed, and your grandmother isn’t accustomed to being the center of attention. They’re nervous, and this irritation with each other is how it’s coming out.”
“I wish I’d known … Oh, Oliver, I think I’ve done them both a grave disservice.” Annie felt dreadful, as if she’d forced them into an awkward situation for which neither of her grandparents was prepared. She’d given this party her best effort. She’d immersed herself in the details because it had helped her deal with the emotional pain of losing Lenny. The knot in her stomach tightened. She’d been the one to bring up the idea of a large anniversary celebration. She’d been the one who’d set the agenda and then refused to listen when they said she didn’t need to go to all this trouble; what they’d really been saying was that they wanted something small.
“Oh, Oliver, I’ve made such a mess of things.”
“No, you haven’t. Everything you did was out of love for them.”
Bolting to her feet, Annie said, “I’ve got to set matters straight, reassure them. I’ll call the whole thing off if that’s what they want.” She’d find a way to get them out of this, although she didn’t have a clue how she would manage it. Grabbing her jacket and purse, Annie headed toward the door.
“What are you going to say to them?”
“I don’t know … I’ll figure it out when I get there.”
Oliver started after her. “Do you want me to come with you?”
She shook her head. “You stay here and …” Annie looked around the room. “Go ahead and set up the rest of the chairs and attach the balloons. Just assume we’re moving forward until I tell you otherwise.”
“Okay. Do you want me to kiss you for luck?”
“No.” She left no doubt as to her feelings on the matter.
“Sure you do,” he called after her. “But I’ll collect that kiss later.”
Annie waved him off. Oliver had always been a tease. For most of her life she hadn’t appreciated it. This day was different. She was grateful that he’d taken the time to explain to her what was happening between her grandparents.
Back at the inn, Annie raced up the porch steps and burst through the front door. Rover barked furiously at her.
“It’s me, Rover,” she announced.
As soon as the canine recognized her, he gave one more short bark and then returned to his spot in the kitchen. Jo Marie stepped out of the other room, and it might have been Annie’s imagination, but the innkeeper looked deeply troubled.
“Is something wrong?” Jo Marie asked.
“Do you know where my grandparents are?”
She shook her head. “I haven’t seen them since breakfast.”
For one horrifying moment, Annie feared her grandparents had run away or disappeared. Hurrying to their room on the main floor, she pounded on the door as hard as she could, until her hand hurt too much to continue.
Her grandfather opened the door and, taking one look at her, asked, “Annie, good grief, what’s wrong?”
“I need to talk to you.” She was breathless and panicky.
“Come in.” He stepped aside so she could enter the room. Her grandmother was apparently in the bathroom, because she wasn’t in the room.
“Where’s Grandma?”
“She’s pouting.”
The bathroom door swung open, and Julie Shivers came out, dressed in her housecoat with her hair in giant rollers. “Annie, dear heart, what are you doing here?”
“I just asked her the same thing,” Kent said.
Julie sat down on the bed. “Tell us what’s got you so upset,” she said in the coolest, calmest voice one could imagine.
Annie felt dreadful, and now that she was with them she didn’t have a clue where to start, so she blurted out, “I feel like I railroaded you into this huge party that neither of you want. I am so sorry.”
Both her grandmother and grandfather stared back at her wordlessly, as if at a loss for what to say.
“I got carried away with myself because I wanted … needed a distraction after Lenny. It never occurred to me that you wouldn’t want any of this.” To be fair, her mother and her aunt Patty had both thought the party was a wonderful idea, too.
“Who told you that?” Julie demanded.
“A little birdie.”
Julie quickly confronted Kent, her eyes flashing fire. “What did you do now?”
“It wasn’t Grandpa,” Annie jumped in. “It was Oliver.”
Her grandmother sucked in a deep breath. “He had no business telling you any such thing.”
“But I’m so glad he did,” Annie cried. “Listen, we can put a stop to the party right now. I’ll make everything go away. You don’t need to worry. In fact, if you want, you could leave right this minute. I’ll … I’ll tell everyone you eloped a second time.”
Julie glanced toward her husband, seeking his opinion. “What do you think, Kent?”
“Well,” her grandfather said slowly, thoughtfully turning his attention back to his wife. “I’ve sort of gotten used to the idea, but we’ll do what you think is best.”
“A lot of people have come from out of town,” Julie murmured. “Betty and Vern drove all the way from South Dakota. It would be so rude of us to walk out on our guests.”
“I agree,” Kent said. “I feel we should go through with the party, renewed vows
and all.”
Although relieved, Annie felt she had to do something more. “What can I do to make you more comfortable?”
“Oh, sweetie, we’ll be fine.” Julie stretched out her arm toward Kent. “Isn’t that right, honey?”
“Of course we will,” Kent agreed. He slipped his arm around Julie’s waist.
“We’ve behaved so badly,” Julie said. “Oh, Annie, I do apologize.”
“Hey, you could apologize to me, too, you know.”
Her grandmother pressed her hand against Kent’s jaw. “We’re a pair of old fools, Kent Shivers.”
Annie’s grandfather chuckled and gave his wife a little squeeze. “You hit the nail on the head with that one.”
Julie smiled and told Annie, “Now, you get back to whatever it was you were doing.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive,” her grandfather assured her. “You go, and I’ll finish getting dressed.” Annie turned to leave when her grandfather stopped her. “Hey, Annie, what do you think of your grandmother’s new push-up bra?”
“Kent!”
Her grandfather chuckled. “I like it. The girls are upstairs.”
“Kent,” Julie protested again. “You mean the twins are upstairs,” she said, and giggled as if she were twenty years old all over again.
Feeling much better, Annie left the inn and returned to the reception hall.
When she arrived she found that Oliver had the chairs all set up. “How’d it go?” he asked.
“Good, I think,” she said, as she shucked off her jacket and set aside her purse. “I gave them the option to elope a second time, but they decided to go through with the party.”
“I thought they probably would.”
Annie owed him. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I think this entire day would have been a disaster if you hadn’t said something.”
Oliver shrugged off her appreciation.
“No, really.”
The space between them seemed charged with electricity. Annie tried to break away, but found herself trapped in the moment. This feeling was gratitude, she tried to tell herself. Appreciation. She couldn’t actually be physically attracted to Oliver. Couldn’t long for him to kiss her again, couldn’t …
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