THE FALL

by Marie Force

  "Who's out there, Parker?" Elise called from the kitchen.

  Parker felt Gina's withdrawal even before she pulled free of his embrace. He reached out to bring her back. "Hey, she's my friend," he whispered. "Her fiancé is here, too, and he's one of my best friends."

  Gina's cheeks colored with embarrassment. "I'm sorry."

  "I'll be right there," Parker called to Chip and Elise. He took Gina's chin and urged her to look at him. "You don't ever have to worry about other women with me, Gina. I'm thirty-eight years old, and I've sown all my wild oats. I love you, I'll always love you, and after last night I can assure you I'll never be interested in making love with anyone but you."

  Visibly touched, she said, "I have some rather significant issues with trust."

  "That's understandable, but not all men are pigs. You can trust me."

  "I'm sorry. You haven't done anything to deserve this."

  "Don't be sorry. Just give me a chance to prove you can trust me."

  She rested her hands on his chest and looked up at him with her heart in her eyes. "I love you, too, Parker," she said for the first time. "I've thought of nothing but you since you left this afternoon."

  "Then we have that in common." He kissed the end of her nose. "Do you think maybe you could say that other thing one more time, just so I can be sure I heard it right?"

  "What?" she asked with a teasing smile. "That I've thought of you constantly?"

  "Not that. The other thing."

  "That I'm sorry for not trusting you?"

  Amused by this playful side of her, he said, "All these things are good, but they're not what I'm looking for."

  "Hmmm," she said, pretending to give it significant thought. "Oh! I know." She tugged him down and pressed her lips to his. "I think what you're looking for," she said as she made him crazy with a devastating combination of lips and tongue, "is that I love you, Parker King. I love you, I love you, I love you."

  "Now we're talking." He sank into the kiss until he remembered he had guests. "Come meet my friends."

  * * *

  Ted held Caroline close to him in their enormous bed and listened to the soft music coming from the radio on the bedside table.

  He sang along to "You and Me" by Lifehouse, about a guy who couldn't keep his eyes off the woman he loved.

  "I love that song," Caroline said with a sigh of contentment.

  "So do I. And now every time I hear it I'll think about being in bed with my gorgeous new wife at the Ritz."

  "And when I hear it," she whispered in his ear, sending a shiver through him, "I'll think of my sexy new husband and how he drives me wild with that thing he does with his tongue."

  "Wild, huh?"

  "Mmmmm."

  "Want me to do it again?"

  She groaned. "Not yet. I can't take any more right now."

  His smile faded.

  She propped herself up on one elbow. "What's wrong?"

  "I feel kind of guilty having all this fun when my grandmother's so sick."

  "Oh, baby, she wanted us to have this night together. She arranged it for us. She wouldn't want you to feel guilty."

  "I'm going to miss her."

  "I know you are."

  "It makes me so sad that she won't know our kids."

  "You were lucky to have her this long. All my grandparents were gone by the time I was twenty-two."

  "That's too bad. And you're right. I am lucky to have had them so long, but I'm afraid I'm less prepared for life without them than I should be."

  "That's because they weren't your average grandparents," she reminded him.

  "No," he said with a laugh. "They were never average."

  "I don't think she'd want you to be sad. I don't know her very well, but I can picture her saying 'I've had eighty-eight wonderful years. I've got nothing to complain about, so quit your fussing, Ted Duffy.'"

  Impressed, Ted turned on his side to face her. "That's definitely something she would say."

  "Do you want to go soak in the Jacuzzi for a while to get your mind off it?"

  "No." He got up suddenly. "There's something else I want to do."

  "What's that?"

  Ted went out to the parlor and returned with a hotel portfolio and pen.

  "What are you up to?"

  He got back into bed and reclined against the headboard. Pulling out a piece of Ritz Carlton stationary he put it on top of the portfolio. "Remember that list of worries we put aside for tonight?"

  "Unfortunately, I remember it all too well."

  "We need to make a different list."

  "What kind?"

  "Our plans. We need to make some plans."

  Intrigued and amused, Caroline said, "Okay. What've you got in mind?"

  He wrote their late July wedding date on the top of the page. "All right, number one, is meet Caroline's parents. That's a no-brainer."

  "Number two has to be plan a real wedding or number one isn't going to go too well," she said.

  "Now you're getting into the spirit of things. Number three is move Caroline from New York to Boston."

  "Whew, that's a biggie."

  "You want to, though, right?"

  "I've already moved to Boston. The rest is just details."

  He leaned over to kiss her. "I like your attitude. Number four is a honeymoon involving a significant amount of nudity."

  She laughed. "Oh, God, I've married a nudist. I should've been warned about this."

  "There was no time. That's what you get for rushing me into this marriage thing."

  "Who rushed who?"

  "Details, baby. Either way you're going to have to find out all my secrets as we go."

  "So far, you won't hear me complaining. What's number five?"

  He wrote, "Finish Caroline's book (See that Cameron? You've wormed your way into bed with us.)"

  She dissolved into laughter and reached for the pen. "Number six," she wrote. "Figure out Ted's career and decide where we're going to live."

  "Good one. Number seven," he said as he wrote, "have a baby."

  She took the pen again. "Number eight, have another baby."

  When he had retrieved the pen, he wrote, "Number nine, make sweet love every day."

  She cracked up. "You're dreaming."

  "If I am, don't wake me up, okay?"

  "You say things that just go straight to my heart, Ted Duffy." She brushed her fingers through his hair and kissed him. "All right, I'll compromise." She reached for the pen and inserted the word "almost" in front of every day.

  "I guess I can live with that," he said begrudgingly.

  "I have one more as long as we're going for it," she said. "Number ten, live happily ever after."

  "Perfect." He held up the page to admire their work. "We'll keep this on our fridge and check off each one as we get it done. It'll remind us of this amazing week and this amazing night. That way, whenever real life gets in the way of our plans, we'll remember how we felt on the day we began our life together."

  "I won't need the reminder, but I love the idea."

  "And I love you." He rolled over to kiss her, and the paper fluttered from his fingers onto the floor.

  Chapter 35

  They spent most of the next day at the hospital where Lillian was sleeping for longer stretches and was less lucid when awake.

  After he and his father consulted with her doctor around noon, Ted said, "I don't know if Smitty's going to make it."

  Caroline put her arms around him from behind. "She said she'd wait for him and she will."

  Ted clutched her hands. "As much as I want him here because he belongs here, I'm worried about seeing him. He's going to freak when he hears we're married."

  "He's had a week to get used to the idea of us as a couple."

  "That's not long enough, baby. He's going to be shocked to hear we're married. Everyone is."

  "I'll be very surprised if he says a word about it with your grandmother being as sick as she is. He's going to know this isn
't the time or the place."

  "Yeah, you're probably right."

  Parker, Chip, and Elise came in late that afternoon, and after they had exchanged hugs with Ted's parents and sister, Ted took them in to see Lillian and Theo. Since the small room was getting crowded, Ted stepped into the hallway to wait for them.

  Elise came out first, wiping away tears as she hugged Ted. "Are you doing all right?"

  "I'm hanging in there."

  "If there's anything I can do for you—any of you—I hope you won't hesitate to ask."

  "Thanks, Elise."

  "Um, congratulations. On the wedding and everything."

  "Thank you," Ted said, touched by her support.

  Parker and Chip came out of Lillian's room a minute later.

  "Thanks for coming, you guys." Ted noticed Chip fixating on his new wedding ring.

  "Do you need anything?" Parker asked.

  "No, we're good," Ted said.

  Chip put his arm around Elise. "Well, we're going to get going."

  "Okay." Ted hid his disappointment at the brevity of their visit. "I know my grandfather appreciates you coming."

  Chip nodded and escorted Elise down the long corridor. She looked back over her shoulder and blew Ted a kiss.

  "He's pissed," Ted said to Parker.

  "What did you expect?"

  "I don't know. I've never been in a situation like this before, so I don't know what to expect."

  "I think you know exactly what to expect."

  "So you too, huh?"

  Parker's shrug was weary. "I don't know what I am. I'm doing my best to keep an open mind, but I've got to be honest with you. It isn't easy."

  "Parker…"

  Parker held up his hand. "You've got enough on your plate right now. We'll talk about this later. Call me if there's anything I can do. I mean that."

  "Thanks. Are you getting Smitty in the morning?"

  "Yeah."

  "Will you, I mean, can you…"

  "Prepare him for what he's going to find here?"

  Chagrinned, Ted nodded.

  "Of course I will. Do you think I'd let him discover you've married his ex-girlfriend when he sees the ring on your finger?"

  The shaft of pain surprised Ted and sent him reeling.

  "I'll see you tomorrow," Parker said.

  After he had walked away, Ted leaned back against the wall and hung his head, struggling to absorb the blow. When he looked up he found his grandfather watching him through the window. Ted managed a small smile for the old man.

  Caroline came to find Ted a short time later.

  "Did they leave?" Ted asked.

  "A few minutes ago."

  "Were they nice to you?"

  "Elise was. Parker and Chip kept their distance."

  "Same here. If everything were normal, they would've been here all day."

  She put her arms around him. "I'm sorry, honey. Maybe with time…"

  Ted pulled free of her embrace. "I need some air."

  "Want me to come with you?"

  "No," he said with an absent kiss to her forehead. "I need a minute, okay?"

  "Sure."

  His shoulders were stooped as Caroline watched him go.

  "I take it his visit with the boys didn't go too well."

  Caroline turned to find Theo behind her. "No, not so well."

  "He's going to need you in the next few days, Caroline. Maybe more than he'll ever need you again."

  "He's got me. I'm just afraid he's not going to let me in. After all, I'm the cause of this. I've come between him and his friends."

  "You're his wife now. How that came to be is almost secondary at this point, wouldn't you say?"

  Caroline thought about that for a minute. "Yes, I guess it is."

  "My Lil knew what she was doing," Theo said with a proud smile. "Yes, she did."

  "What do you mean?"

  "She figured if you were married it would be a lot harder to walk away from each other when the going got tough. And it's going to get tough, Caroline. Really, really tough and maybe for quite some time. So Lil made sure you two got half a chance. The other half is going to be up to you and your husband."

  Caroline smiled. "Crafty."

  "Yes, she sure is. I've always loved that about her." His eyes filled when he glanced into Lillian's room.

  She rested a hand on the old man's arm. "Are you all right?"

  "Sixty-five years," he sighed. "How do you say goodbye after sixty-five years?"

  "I don't know." Caroline brushed at the tears that suddenly wet her cheeks. "I can't imagine how you do that."

  "It doesn't just happen, you know." He shifted his eyes back to Caroline. "Finding someone you love is only the start. The rest takes hard work. Every single day. Even the first day. Go find him. Make sure he knows he's not alone anymore."

  Caroline hugged him. "I feel very lucky to have a grandfather-in-law who's so wise and a grandmother-in-law who's so crafty."

  Theo grinned as he kissed her cheek. "We're happy to have you, honey. Now, go find your husband."

  Caroline worked to compose herself in the elevator but couldn't seem to stop the flood of tears as the past few emotional days caught up to her all at once. Theo's grief had made her see how trivial her problems were in comparison, and she summoned the strength to support Ted. Theo was right. Her husband needed her.

  She found him on a bench outside the hospital's main door. Bent over, leaning on his knees, he looked so sad and alone that Caroline ached for him. Sitting down next to him she laid her arm on his back.

  He seemed almost startled to see her.

  She eased him over to rest against her. "It's all right, baby," she whispered. "I've got you."

  * * *

  After a somber second night at the Ritz during which Ted didn't sleep at all, they packed their bags so they could get back to the hospital.

  When she found him staring into space in the middle of the elegant parlor, Caroline put her arms around him. She was alarmed at the distance he had put between them since his friends had visited the hospital the day before. Reaching up to smooth the blond hair off his forehead, she couldn't miss the far-away look in his blue eyes. "Honey?"

  He looked down at her, his distraction apparent.

  "Hey." She gave him a little shake. "Are you with me?"

  "Yeah."

  "I know you're worried about seeing Smitty and about your grandmother, but no matter what this day brings, I'm right here with you, okay?"

  He nodded.

  "Do you remember what you said to me the other night about sticking together and fighting our way through this?"

  "Yes."

  "It's time to fight."

  "Okay."

  "I love you with my whole heart, Ted Duffy."

  He clutched her hands and kissed her. "I love you, too."

  "Stay focused on that today."

  "I'll try."

  They were in the hallway heading for the elevator when Caroline gasped. "Oh my God! We left our list in the room!"

  He withdrew the key from his pocket and handed it to her.

  She came back a minute later holding the piece of paper to her chest. "I would've been heartbroken if we had forgotten this."

  "We could've made another one."

  "It wouldn't have been the same," she said, adding with a teasing smile, "We never got to number nine last night."

  "I'm sorry. I just wasn't in the mood."

  "I know. I was only kidding." When she realized she wasn't going to be able to cajole him out of his funk, she decided to stop trying.

  * * *

  Parker missed Gina when he woke up without her after having her next to him the last two mornings. He was going to have to convince her to marry him so he could wake up with her every day. Before they could take the next step, though, he had to meet her sons. He hoped that could happen soon so they could get busy becoming a family. A family. Parker wondered why the idea didn't horrify him nearly as much as it should ha
ve. You're a mess, man.

  He moved quietly through the house so he wouldn't disturb Chip and Elise, who were sleeping in one of his extra bedrooms. He had prepared another room for Smitty the night before. Parker downed a quick cup of coffee before he left for Logan Airport to meet Smitty's flight. His stomach clenched with nerves over what he had to tell his friend. Lucky me. I really got stuck with the short straw in this situation. Thanks a lot, Duff.

  The traffic was light on that Sunday morning, and Parker made it to the airport in fifteen minutes, just before the red-eye from Los Angeles was due to arrive. He parked and walked into the terminal to wait. Smitty called twenty minutes later to let Parker know he was on his way down to baggage claim.

  Parker honestly felt like he could puke as he waited for Smitty. If it hadn't been so early he would've called Gina for moral support. A few more minutes passed and desperation had him reaching for his phone to call her when he looked up and saw Smitty on the escalator. Here goes nothing.

  With a two-day beard and bleary eyes Smitty greeted Parker with one of his signature bear hugs.

  "You look like hell," Parker said.

  "I feel like I've been on a plane for a month over the last week. How's Lillian? Please tell me she's still alive."

  "She's holding her own."

  A sigh of relief rattled through Smitty's big frame.

  While they waited for his bag, Parker tried to work up the courage to tell Smitty what he needed to know before he went to the hospital.

  "Spit it out, Parker. Whatever it is, just tell me."

  Parker glanced up at him but couldn't get the words out.

  Smitty kept his eyes on Parker. "Tell me."

  "They got married."

  Smitty's eyebrows knitted with confusion. "Who did?"

  "Ahhh, Duff and Caroline. They're married."

  "Married."

  Parker nodded. "Smitty, listen—"

  "I don't want to hear another word. Not one more word." He grabbed his bag off the carrousel. "Let's go. I need to see Lillian."

  * * *

  Smitty and Parker came in through the ICU door thirty minutes later, and Smitty made a beeline for Mitzi without so much as a glance at Ted or Caroline.

  Mitzi enveloped him in a tight hug. "Come on, darling," she said, leading him down the hallway.

  At the door to Lillian's room, Mitzi stopped and turned to him. "I know this is going to be upsetting for you, but she's not in any pain, and she's saying she's ready. She'll be very happy to see you."