Dating A Saint

by Donna McDonald

  “So if you didn’t defend me, what did you say about the situation, Mother? You’re on the board. I’m sure they asked your opinion,” Lauren challenged. “Did you tell them I was a wonderful woman? Remind them that I helped raise money for all the causes that made their sanctimonious asses look so good to the rest of Falls Church?”

  “I told them you were just going through a bad phase and that it would pass soon,” Lydia said softly. “I’m sure it will when your life is back to normal.”

  Lauren stood up just as the waiter set steaming plates of pasta on the table. She looked at her mother, the woman whose loyalty had never been for her. As hungry as she was, there was no way to get food past the bitterness in her stomach. Her mother didn’t like her, didn’t respect her, and hadn’t spoken up for her. The only person who defended her had been a woman she barely knew.

  “I’m leaving because I can’t talk to you anymore right now. It hurts me that you didn’t defend me,” Lauren said angrily, yanking her purse onto her arm, sighing when the contents spilled down into the floor.

  “Great. Just fucking great,” Lauren complained, dropping to the floor to gather up her things.

  “Lauren, watch your vile language. This is not that kind of restaurant. You’re just embarrassed and overreacting,” Lydia bent to retrieve the items that had rolled under her chair, whispering beside the table. “What did you imagine people would think? You’re out with those two awful women all the time, and then you start chasing a married man.”

  “If you could be trusted, Mother, Jim would tell you truth about the situation with his wife. But if you trusted and loved me, you’d accept on my word alone that the situation between me and Jim is the best thing I’ve ever had and is exactly what I want. You’re my mother, for God’s sake. You should love and support me, no matter what you think—but you’re more worried about the opinions of strangers.”

  Too angry to say anything more, Lauren stood and held out her purse for the items in Lydia’s hands. They both saw the white stick at the same time.

  For a moment, Lauren almost laughed at the statistical impossibility of that item ending up in her mother’s hands. She thought about what Alexa had said and tried to see the positive in the situation—or at least the hysterically funny side of it.

  “Fertility testing? Why are doing fertility testing?” Lydia demanded, even as her daughter snatched the item from her hand and tossed it into the bag.

  “It’s not a fertility test,” Lauren said, glaring.

  “There’s no need to lie about it. I saw what it said on the stick. Are you trying to get pregnant? Trying to trap James Gallagher into marrying you? Do you think having his child is going to make him divorce his wife and marry you?” Lydia asked, her voice a quivering shriek. How could her daughter have sunk to such a low point?

  Lauren ignored her mother’s insinuations, her brain fixating on something else she’d said. Something was written on the stick? Why hadn’t she noticed? Pulling it back out of her purse, she held it up to the overhead lights, distantly acknowledging the laughing and giggling of the other diners who couldn’t have avoided overhearing the heated conversation.

  Hell, they deserved a good laugh for having to tolerate Lydia’s bitching. Later, she was going to have a good laugh herself, then she would probably cry and want to beat someone up. This was her true nature, she had learned. She was both sinner and saint, and that was fine with her.

  “Well, shit,” Lauren said succinctly, finding and reading the words ovulation test in raised white letters on the completely white stick. You would think they would make the letters black so a person would easily see them, she thought. So all week she’d been thinking she was negative on a pregnancy test, when she was negative on an ovulation test. Did that mean she couldn’t have a baby?

  “Lauren, please don’t get pregnant. You’ll be raising the child all alone, and at your age—darling, I’m begging you. Remember the good woman you were before that man walked into your life,” Lydia implored, her eyes tearing at the thought of Lauren pregnant and alone. She couldn’t bear what people would say about her daughter or her.

  “I remember exactly what my life was like before Jim. I lived mostly to please other people, instead of myself. There were very few people who ever wanted more for me, very few people who loved me enough to push and shove until I went after what I wanted—which was James Gallagher. Now I have Jim in my life, and I’m not letting him go,” Lauren said, tossing the ovulation test stick in the middle of the table between the steaming plates of pasta.

  “Lauren, even if the man is good to you in bed, it doesn’t mean you have to change your entire life because you’re sleeping with him,” Lydia protested. “You can be discreet about the situation.”

  “I love the man, Mother. You’re not even hearing me, but that’s nothing new, is it? I’m finally starting to get it. And I’ll tell you something else I learned today, Lydia,” Lauren said, enjoying her mother’s hiss. “Giving birth to me obviously did not make you my mother. If I ever have a child, I hope I do a much better job of loving and supporting her. It’s going to be a long damn time before I forget you didn’t defend me to the country club board.”

  Lauren turned and walked out of the restaurant.

  She should have been in shock from the fight with her mother, but that had actually felt pretty good. She should probably be sad because the country club people had only pretended to like her, but it was just hard to work up the energy to be righteously upset. She would miss the charity work though. It had given her a sense of satisfaction. Maybe growing her own business would fill her time in a different way.

  No, what Lauren was most worried about as she left was that she’d been taking ovulation tests instead of pregnancy tests. The party was just one more day away. She needed to stop on the way home and get another test—a real pregnancy test this time.

  And she would be sure to read the whole box and all the literature with it before she did anything with the contents.

  *** *** ***

  Later that evening at Jim’s house, while he was working in his study, Lauren kept sneaking to the bathroom at the far end of the five-thousand-square-foot layout to check the pregnancy test stick for progress. When an hour had passed, and it still showed no plus or minus symbol, she pronounced the test a failure, rolled it in toilet paper and carried it to the kitchen trash to toss it out so it wouldn’t be found.

  She had either done something wrong or she had gotten a defective test. Damn it, Lauren thought. Now she was going to have to sneak another test home tomorrow and find some time to take it before the party started. She really couldn’t put off finding out any longer. She was a month late missing her period now, which meant she could be two months along in a pregnancy, or it could mean she was in early menopause like Regina. At forty-two, life could be surprising in lots of ways, but it wasn’t fair of her to keep gambling with fate without Jim’s knowledge.

  Whatever the result of the test—even if it failed again, Saturday she would talk to Jim about what she was doing. It was nerve-wracking trying to keep it from him.

  Hindsight was always twenty-twenty, but there was no excuse for walking around with blinders on and tripping over every obstacle in your path.

  Chapter 21

  A soft knock on the office door at Whispering Pines had Jim’s head springing up from his laptop. There had been no getting around the work he’d had to address today, so he’d brought it along to Whispering Pines with him.

  Casey and Ben were almost finished with installation. This afternoon they would run one simulation, and then they would all head home for the party. Next week they would come back to finish testing and remove the old system. It was all working out much better than Jim could have anticipated.

  “Hector, how are you?” Jim asked with smile. “Come in and give me an excuse to take a break.”

  Hector laughed and walked just inside the doorway. “I can’t stay, but I’ve brought someone I’d like you t
o meet. This is my aunt, Helen Williams. I have asked her to visit with you, but it is our agreement I will not stay to listen—something about culpability if I know too much. She is the angel in my life, much like Lauren is in yours.”

  An attractive woman in her late fifties or early sixties stepped into the doorway with Hector. She was dressed in an expensive business suit and wearing her natural gray hair color as a complement. There was something about her stance and her look that had Jim paying closer attention than he might normally have, even more so when Hector kissed her cheek and she hugged him in return. Hector pushed her gently into the office and closed the door quietly as he left.

  The woman walked over to his desk. Jim started to stand, but she waved him back and dropped into a chair to face him.

  Jim smiled, closed his laptop, and laced his fingers together in front of him.

  “So you’re Hector’s aunt?” he asked, unsure of what else to say.

  She nodded. “Yes. Hector is not my blood nephew, but he is the child of my heart. When my brother Steven married Rosa, Hector was ten. My cat had been hit by a car. Hector built a kitty leg splint which allowed the cat to walk while it healed, but for the most part he carried the cat from place to place. His heart is every bit as good as any person I have ever met. I love that boy as much as my brother’s natural children. When I have to deal with the uglier parts of my work, I think of Hector and his sweet family. They give me faith when my work takes it away.”

  “What is your work?” Jim asked.

  “Short answer—I’m a district court judge. That’s not why I’m here though. I’m here because I am also an attorney and have limited my practice to family law, which I mostly handle for friends and family,” she told him.

  Jim studied the woman and tilted his head. “Forgive my confusion, but I feel like I missed a whole conversation somewhere.”

  Helen Williams laughed. “As part of my family, Hector told me he was praying for a miracle to help you with your situation. He only confided the details of it to me because he knew I would try to help him if I could.”

  Jim rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m sorry if you think I’ve asked Hector to do something unethical or compromising. I’ve truly made no requests of him except that he help me take care of Sam—I mean, his biological father.”

  “Yes, I’ve met Sam,” Helen told him. “I can see the same gentle kindness in the man that’s in his son.”

  “Despite his challenges, Sam is a very good man,” Jim said. “There are a lot worse fathers in the world.”

  “Indeed there are,” Helen said. “I see them every week in my courtroom.”

  “Why do I feel more and more nervous as we sit here chatting? Is there something you want to ask or need to say?” Jim asked, feeling a need to push the woman to just say what was on her mind.

  “Hector tells me you take care of Sam, Sandy, and Sandy’s parents. They’ve lived here in Maryland for over five years?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Jim verified. “It’s probably closer to six now.”

  “Great,” she said. “And you’ve provided for them financially all this time?”

  Jim nodded. “Is this going somewhere?”

  “Indulge my curiosity, Mr. Gallagher,” she said firmly. “Are Sandy’s parents mostly of sound mind and body?”

  “They’re in their seventies, but yes—they seem to be sharp for people their age. Is there some sort of reason you’re interested in Sandy’s parents?” Jim asked.

  Helen shook her head and crossed her arms. “Research. I’m planning to represent them in their adoption proceeding. I’ll be interviewing you in depth about your involvement later.”

  “Adoption? Who are they adopting?” Jim asked, his face scrunched in confusion, his eyebrows practically disappearing into the deep lines of his forehead.

  “They’re going to adopt you, Mr. Gallagher. Once you’re no longer legally married to their daughter,” Helen said, watching the shock play across the man’s face with great enjoyment. She rarely got to be the good guy. Hector’s miracle was going to help her feel better about her life.

  “Obviously, you’ll need to divorce the woman you married in Virginia—file the suit where you live so it’s listed there. The adoption can take place in the venue where your adopted parents live. What was their last name again?”

  “Ames,” Jim said automatically. “Cassandra will tell you it’s Gallagher, but it’s not.”

  “It would be best to take their name as your own legal one. The court will view you as more serious about becoming their son. You could hyphenate if it makes you feel more comfortable,” Helen said, standing. “You’d also have to be willing to accept responsibility for your adopted sister if anything were to happen to your adopted parents.”

  “Wait,” Jim said, raising a hand to stop her from talking for a moment. His mind raced, his heartbeat jumped. “This will work? You’re sure this situation can legally work out?”

  “Mr. Gallagher,” Helen said, standing and reaching her hand across the desk for him to shake. “The legal system is rife with percentages concerning success and failure. There is always a chance there could be a problem, but I am pretty sure this is going to work out just fine.”

  She stood and walked around the chair before looking at Jim again. “Never question a miracle, Mr. Gallagher. Just say a prayer of thanks.”

  “That would be new for me, since I never believed in God before today,” Jim told Helen Williams, his throat tight. “How long will the adoption take?”

  “A month probably. Since you’re an adult and not a child, it shouldn’t take long,” Helen told him.

  “I don’t know how soon the divorce can be done,” Jim said, his mind spinning.

  Helen shrugged. “I used to practice in Virginia. I think when no children are involved, it only takes a few weeks. Cassandra Gallagher is not capable of entering into nor breaking agreements, so you will likely have to show proof of her situation in court. I’m sure your attorney can manage what is needed. You can let us know when the divorce is final. I’ll have the paperwork ready.”

  She stopped at the door. “One more thing—let’s keep this conversation between us,” Helen told him. “Next time you meet me, we’ll be introduced more properly, under circumstances that require no conflict of interest. Until then, imagine all this is just a potential answer to a good man’s prayer. Good day, Mr. Gallagher.”

  After Helen Williams left, Jim sat at his desk in stunned silence. It was more than an hour later that Jim had the presence of mind to pick up the phone.

  Barrett, on the other hand, was elated. He told Jim he had been trying so hard to make exceptions in Virginia and set new precedents, he’d missed the adoption solution. He was drafting the petition to file for divorce before he got off the phone with Jim, and he promised to bring a copy to the product launch party that evening for him to sign.

  By the time Jim got off the phone with Barrett, his head had stopped spinning, and his heart was dizzy with relief.

  Jim closed his eyes in gratitude and sent thanks to God for Hector Gonzalez.

  *** *** ***

  Just to be perfectly sure this time, Lauren had bought the top of the line, most expensive pregnancy test she could find. She laid the stick on several pieces of folded toilet paper, and lifted it gently into the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. She would come back at her first opportunity and check the results, and then finally, she would know for sure.

  As she hurried down the hall, smoothing the snug dress around a figure that—okay she could admit it at last—was a few pounds heavier than at the wedding. It was all the pasta, which she craved like a starving woman. It was the cannoli, which Jim brought home a couple of times a week now.

  She sighed, deciding her already curvy body could not withstand much more of her blissful eating binges.

  “There you are,” Sydney proclaimed, grabbing her hand and tugging her along with him. “There are people here to meet you. Come along, sweetie, and s
mile pretty for the cameras. The press is covering this and you want to be caught looking happy about your future success.

  “Is Jim here yet?” Lauren asked.

  “Haven’t seen him. What’s he look like?” Sydney studied her face. “Lauren—I haven’t met the man. Remember? I’ll ask Ben and Regina to keep an eye out. I saw them arrive just a few moments ago. They’re dealing with the press tonight. How ironic is that?” Sydney laughed at the thought of Regina charming the press for Lauren.

  “Thanks, Sydney,” Lauren whispered. “I’m—just nervous I guess. He calms me down.”

  “No need to apologize,” he told her, rubbing between her shoulder blades. “You’re already a hit tonight. The rest is just about convincing the companies to buy in bulk. Here you go. Smile, cutie.”

  Lauren talked to buyers, and to marketers. Sydney guided her from group to group, person to person.

  She noticed the caterers were handling the growing crowd smoothly. Lauren thought longingly of food, but forced her attention back to her companions.

  On the far end of the terrace, near the food tables, Lauren saw Alexa charming groups of people with her laughter. Alexa looked like a movie star tonight. Her dress was wonderful, but newly married Alexa was shining even more brightly than usual.

  Lauren saw Casey and other men dressed in black tuxedos walking around looking menacing, and it made her laugh. Bored with Sydney’s discussion of profit margins, she entertained herself by envisioning fighting the big burly guys on the mat.

  Then she saw Jim walk out onto the terrace-turned-showcase, look up and around at the canvas cover, the lights, the torches in the pools, and smile. Something in her relaxed knowing he was finally there.

  That same something in her jumped to attention when she saw him scanning the crowd looking for her.

  When his gaze did finally land on her, it traveled down the three-inch spike heels and back up the shiny black dress blatantly advertising all her charms. As he walked across the pavers in long strides, her smile grew and her companion turned to see who had captured her undivided attention.